Gaylord City Elk Park

In the heart of northern Michigan’s snowbelt, and just 1 mile from the city of Gaylord’s Alpine-themed downtown, an elk herd roams 108 fenced-in acres adjacent to Aspen Park. Visitors gather at three viewing areas at Gaylord City Elk Park to watch as the 40 city-owned elk graze, roam, rest or, in autumn, rub up against trees to scrape the velvet from their horns. About a dozen smaller sika and fallow deer share space with the herd. 

Elk viewing, a free and family-friendly activity, is best at dawn and dusk, although visitors may glimpse the elk any time year-round. They’re especially active during fall mating season, mid-September to mid-October, when the herd’s males, or bulls, try to impress the females, known as cows. Lucky elk watchers may get the chance to see an antler battle or hear the males’ piercing bugling sound. 

Gaylord’s public works crew sets out corn, hay, vitamins and nutrient pellets flavored with molasses at the park’s newest viewing site near the corner of Elkview Drive and Commerce Boulevard. That’s the best chance to see elk up close, near the fence line. Among the roaming singles or family groups, you can’t miss the herd’s largest elk, a bull that stands over 6 feet tall and weighs more than 750 pounds. Cameras, spotting scopes or binoculars can come in handy to take in the sights. 

A half-hour north of Gaylord, in Pigeon River Country State Forest, an estimated 1,100 wild elk roam free, and there are designated viewing spots there too, but sightings are not guaranteed. 1179 Elkview Dr., Gaylord, Michigan 49735, 989/732-4000, gaylordmichigan.net