Wildlife at first light

What the day is

Animals move at dawn and dusk, and the valley between the lodge and the park is one of the densest wildlife corridors in the lower 48. We take a small van, a naturalist and a scope, and go looking.

In winter the National Elk Refuge holds several thousand elk and the sleigh ride is worth the cold. In spring, moose calve in the willows along Fish Creek. In summer, bison move through Antelope Flats and the pronghorn arrive from Pinedale. In autumn, the elk bugle and nobody who hears it forgets it.

Our naturalist carries a Swarovski scope and a folder of field notes, and will happily spend twenty minutes on a single beaver pond if that is where the interest is. Nothing is baited, approached or crowded: we watch from the road or a pullout, at a legal and sensible distance.

Children are very welcome and go half price. The van has heated seats, blankets and a thermos of hot chocolate, which does more for a cold seven-year-old than any amount of scenery.

How the day runs

1. 6:00 amLeave in the darkCoffee, cocoa and pastries in the van.
2. 6:40 amFirst lightThe valley floor as the range turns pink.
3. 8:30 amSecond stopA pond, a willow flat or the refuge, depending on the week.
4. 10:00 amBack for breakfastTimberline Table serves until eleven.