Elk Viewing In Gaylord, MI

In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.

- John Muir

Sleigh Ride

There's a wonderful place I'm going to tell you about. And if you like sleigh rides,viewing elk and going to a log cabin in the middle of woods to have a hot meal - then you will like this place!

Last winter, we went to Thunder Bay Resort located in Hillman, Michigan. It was like stepping back into frontier times! We hopped onto a sleigh and were given blankets. From there we were whisked through the woods by these beautiful horses above. We stopped to view their fenced elk herd and snapped some photos. Then we were off on our sleigh ride again through all these beautiful trees.

Next stop was the log cabin, hidden in woods where a blazing fire and a gourmet meal awaited us. We had a 5 course meal which included a crown roast of pork cooked on an antique wood burning stove. It was so delicious and the hosts were wonderful. I loved hearing their stories and information on the elk herd. I felt like I had stepped into a Currier & Ives painting and wanted to do this again. I would highly recommend this experience and I hope you get to do it one winter night.

Elk

"All good things are wild, and free."

-Henry David Thoreau

Lazy Elk

After the previous post of coming up empty on elk, I thought you would like to see a photo of one I took earlier this year. This one is part of a fenced herd in the city of Gaylord. It's still my wish to see one roaming free in the wild....

Looking for elk at dusk

September is a good time to go view the elk at the Pigeon River Forest in Vanderbilt, Michigan. They have the largest herd of free ranging elk east of the Mississippi River. The best time of day to go is early in the morning or at dusk. This time my husband and I weren't able to capture any photos of them but could hear them bugling in the distance. Maybe next time....

Elk Viewing in Gaylord

Last weekend I visited Elk View Park located in Gaylord, Michigan. There the City of Gaylord has a fenced in elk herd with public viewing areas. They have about 50 elk and various deer and 1 lazy ram (my opinion because the whole hour I was there, the ram stood in the same place.) I stood on top of a snow mound to take pictures without the fence getting in the way. They are such massive animals with sweet faces. The elk and deer seemed very curious about the visitors, picking up there heads to look at you and come closer. One baby deer followed me the length of the fence while I was shooting photos. I thought it was a great opportunity to view wildlife at such a close range. Bring your camera!

Place: Elk View Park located on Grandview near downtown Gaylord.

Link: http://www.gaylordmichigan.net/inside_sub.phtml?id=98