GAYLORD, MI – When you step onto the new viewing platform that gives you a perched look over the city’s Elk View Park, you should be prepared for a little drama. Especially if you’re visiting in the fall.
Mating season means the big bulls in the city’s elk herd can be heard “bugling” to emphasize their standing in territorial power plays. What’s at stake: Selecting their lady friends in this huge penned park at the edge of town.
Elk viewing is such a unique part of life in Gaylord. On a recent morning, locals who were walking their dogs and stopping with their coffee climbed the stairs to the platform and stood along its huge viewing rail. There, they rubbed elbows with tourists who’d stopped to see the dating scenes unfold.
They didn’t have to wait long. Just after sunrise, one huge bull elk to who looked to weigh about 800 pounds was bugling at other males who kept trying to approach all the cow elks that were gathered on one end of the park’s 100-acre pasture. When the big bull ran to chase off an intruder from one direction, another bull would try to sneak in from the opposite flank and steal away a few of the cows. More galloping and bugling ensued. It was a veritable wildlife soap opera, with visitors commenting on which of the big-antlered suitors stood a better chance at holding their ground.
The new viewing platform is the second viewing area in the park. It’s attached by a paved trail to the city’s next-door Aspen Park. For any Gaylord visitors, this is a great place to walk. It has paved trails that cut through beautiful forested areas. If you’re there around sunset, lights guide you back to the parking area or the elk viewing area, if that’s where you left your vehicle.
Antlers Ahead: Up North’s newest elk viewing platform lets you see 800-pound animals up close
There are about 60 elk in this herd, all cared for by city staff. The penned elk started as a bit of a rescue effort in the late 1980s when a local nature center shut down. There are now sika and fallow deer, as well as a sizeable elk herd. The main entrance is at 116 Grandview Blvd.
Want your elk experience to be a little less tame? Head just north of Gaylord and soon you’ll be entering “The Big Wild,” also known as the Pigeon River Country State Forest. These 114,000 acres of meadows and woods are home to the largest free-ranging elk herd east of the Mississippi River.
The best – and safest – viewing is going to be from your car with binoculars or a spotting scope. For a map of elk viewing areas and the best tips, check the Michigan DNR map here.
More Tips: When and where to see Michigan’s wild elk during bugling season.
It’s estimated Michigan has an elk population of 1,146 in the rolling hills and hardwoods of the northeastern Lower Peninsula. (David Kenyon | DNR)MI Dept. of Natural Resources
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