Wildlife near Breckenridge
 

I’ll be in the Breckenridge area in mid September. I love looking for wildlife, with my favorites being bear, moose and mountain goats. I’m guessing the chance of seeing bears is remote, but if anyone has tips for where to look for bears or the others, please advise! I will be checking out the Blue Lakes area as it seems odds are very good for seeing mountain goats.

No suggestions for bear sightings unless you want to visit my backyard in CO! Just yesterday we had one on our patio. Last week a mama bear and her three cubs climbed the neighbor's tree.

Take a look at this site, it may or may not help you.

https://gobreck.com/experience-breck...wildlife-guide

I"m not sure you are aware how dangerous some of this can be. You should not be near such animals. I don't know about goats, but even moose can be dangerous.Elk can be very dangerous but don't think you'll see any around there. You should not be "looking" for bears or moose. Do you want to look for mountain lions? There are a lot of moose north of Granby or Steamboat. There are more bears east of I25. There are mtn goats up Quandary Peak south of Breckenridge but you won't see them unless you climb mountains.

There are more bears east of I25

Bears live in the woods and mountains, which in CO, are west of I-25. A typo perhaps?

And yes, moose (and bears) are dangerous. I've encountered them while hiking and it's a bit scary.

Mountain goats are prolific and not dangerous if viewed from a distance. Same for big horn sheep.

I guess I need to be more specific when I say looking for wildlife. I’m not trying to go meet them and pet them, merely observe them, if a safe opportunity presented itself. For example, in the Tetons there was a place where I regularly found moose to hang out and the moose were well out of reach and harm’s way, but also still easily viewable and photographable with a zoom lens.

I never doubted you for a minute aggie (even though, given your screen name, I suspect you're from Texas:)).

Funny, mel.

Aggiegirl, per your other thread I'd opt for Guanella Pass, then take the interesting (to me anyway) drive through South Park. Last October we saw a herd of several hundred elk getting ready to cross the road, maybe near Como. To almost guarantee wildlife the best bet might be to head up to Grand Lake and RMNP, but that's a long drive from Breck.

A nice hiking trail is Mayflower Gulch, about 30 minutes from Breck. You might see something in there but who knows? It's very scenic in any case.

(After 40+ years in Colorado we finally got a great look at a mountain lion in an unexpected location at the base of the foothills last year.)

Good luck.

:lol: Melnq.

And thanks, Nelson.

You are welcome, aggiegirl.

I just found this:
https://www.coppercoloradocondos.com...opper-mountain

A lynx would be the jackpot!

I'm sure a forest ranger in the Silverthorne office of the White River National Forest could point you in the right direction. 680 Blue River Parkway
Silverthorne, CO80498

Nelson, great link! A lynx would be incredible. I met a guy last year who lives in Waterton Lakes NP and he has amazing wildlife photos, including lynx. He’s a regular on the trails and said it’s all about time on the trail.

PrairieHiker, talking to rangers is always good and I try to connect with them when possible. They have helped me find big horn sheep, moose, etc.

Time on the trail can't hurt, no doubt. On the other hand, we were on a 3-week trip in Costa Rica that included about 10 days hiking, kayaking & camping. At around 2:00 AM one night we got to spend 30 minutes with a jaguar that was feeding upon a sea turtle it had killed.

When we got back we spoke with a wildlife biologist who half-jokingly said, "You damn tourists, I've spent 15 years looking for a jaguar, never seen one. You come down here for three weeks and have a sighting like that!"

Good luck, aggiegirl.