15 Best U.S. National Parks for Wildlife Encounters

For a lot of people, wildlife encounters, as in viewing wildlife from a safe distance, are a major draw of our national parks.

While all national parks are havens for wildlife, some are particularly good for reasons including diversity, rare species, and more. The following national parks won’t disappoint if you’re a lover of wildlife.

Denali, Alaska

Denali is the location of its namesake mountain that’s the highest mountain in North America and the largest mountain in the world from base to summit. The park is home to brown bears, wolves, musk oxen, Dall sheep, moose, caribou, and many other species.

Katmai, Alaska

Every summer, salmon return to the rivers here to swim upstream to where they were born and then spawn and die. At a location called Brooks Falls, huge numbers of brown bears gather to feast on salmon they catch as the fish fight their way up cascades. It’s an amazing sight, and viewers can safely watch from an observation platform.

Haleakala, Hawaii

The Hawaiian islands are home to all kinds of exotic and rare species that live only there, which is why the state is so fervent about guarding against the introduction of nonnative species. At Haleakala, there’s a great deal of elevation change, and that supports a great diversity of wildlife species as biological zones change.

Olympic, Washington

Olympic has alpine heights, temperate forests, rainforests, and coastal zones. In the mountains, for example, look for mountain goats.

In the forests look for Roosevelt elk, the largest subspecies of elk in the world. And at the coast, explore tidal pools during low tide to see sea stars, urchins, anemones, and other aquatic life. Keep an eye off the coast for surfacing and spouting whales.

Channel Islands, California

Just off the coast across from Los Angeles, the Channel Islands are a rich refuge for terrestrial and marine species alike. Bird life is abundant, and you may see an endangered blue whale, the largest animal on Earth, in the waters.

Only three mammal species living here are originally native to the island: the deer mouse, spotted skunk, and island fox. The Channel Islands are the only place on the planet where the island fox lives.

Zion, Utah

Known for its incredible sandstone scenery, Zion has a lot of deer and a healthy bighorn sheep population.

The former are common in Zion Canyon, and latter are frequently seen from the East Entrance road and along backcountry trails. Mountain lions are rare sightings in the wilderness areas of the park.

Grand Canyon, Arizona

The largest North American land birds, California condors nearly went extinct, and all of them remaining in the wild were captured in 1987 to preserve and rehabilitate the species.

When they were reintroduced to the wild in the late 1990s, the Grand Canyon was chosen as one of the sites for that because of its vastness and remoteness. Keep an eye out for them as you enjoy the scenery and the other park wildlife.

Glacier, Montana

Glacier is one of the best places in the country to see a grizzly bear (whether you want to or not). Other species that delight visitors here include black bears, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, elk, moose, and eagles.

Yellowstone, Idaho-Montana-Wyoming

All of Yellowstone is rich in wildlife, but two areas in particular– Hayden Valley and Lamar Valley– are exceptional. The latter is known as the American Serengeti for its herds of buffalo, elk, and pronghorns.

Moose often feed in rivers, ponds, and marshy areas. Also thrilling is the sight of grizzlies and wolves showing up in hopes of a meal. In the meantime, raptors soar overhead looking for smaller prey and carrion.

Grand Teton, Wyoming

Just south of Yellowstone, Grand Teton has much the same wildlife array that Yellowstone does.

To see bears, though, you typically have to hike up into the mountains, as they usually don’t come down into the valleys here unless they’ve been habituated to people or are looking for carcasses revealed by melting snow in the spring.

Rocky Mountain, Colorado

The big species you’re virtually guaranteed to see here, in the valleys and the alpine heights, is elk. However, you may also see moose, black bears, and, in a few places, bighorn sheep.

Theodore Roosevelt, South Dakota

There are three animals people principally come here to see: prairie dogs in their busy little towns, bison in their herds, and wild horses in their own herds.

Controversy has roiled around the wild horses in recent years because the Park Service proposed removing them since they’re not native to the region but rather were introduced hundreds of years ago.

Public opposition was fierce enough that the Park Service backed off, but they’re trying to aggressively manage the herd population by suppressing reproduction rates with a vaccine that causes sterilization.

Badlands, South Dakota

Bison roam freely here, especially in more remote areas of the park. At night, listen for the howling and singing of coyotes. When they get especially active and loud, it usually means they’ve caught their newest meal.

Shenandoah, Virginia

The two animals that symbolize Shenandoah are whitetail deer and black bears. You have a good chance of seeing the latter here because Shenandoah has one of the densest populations in the East.

Everglades, Florida

In the Everglades, you have one of the world’s most important biospheres. Well known for its vastly diverse bird species, it’s also critical habitat for several endangered species. An ongoing favorite is the American alligator, and the salty waters of Florida Bay are the only place in the U.S. where you’ll find American crocodiles.

Right now, the park is struggling to control nonnative Burmese pythons. Introduced illegally in recent years, they have become the apex predator in the region, sometimes even making a meal of alligators.