yellowstone wildlife in september

[McKee80]

Hey all,

I'm going to have a couple nights to backpack in Yellowstone in mid September. My lottery time slot is coming up in a couple days. I'd really like to be in a cool wildlife area or hear the elk bugling. I know Lamar Valley is a good place and has loads of backcountry sites. Are there any other sites I should be looking at? I saw somewhere that during the elk rut, the Gardner Canyon can be busy with elk and there are two backcountry sites back in there. I know wildlife is mostly hit or miss, but if anyone has experience at particular places in the park that time of year, I'd love to hear about it. This will be my first time backpacking in Yellowstone.

Thanks,
Sean

 

[TheMountainRabbit]

September is easily my favorite time to backpack in Yellowstone and there is generally very little competition for backcountry sites that time of year (in 2019 we circled Heart Lake and saw 0 sign of other people). As far as wildlife goes, Lamar Valley is obviously great for the bison and pronghorns, but not many elk unless you start going up the drainages - we did run into four competing bulls w/ harems in a drainage above the Lamar River which was spectacular, but hard to predict; we didn't see any other elk that entire trip. On our loop out to the Thorofare Cabin - that included Snake River, Yellowstone River, Yellowstone Lake, and Heart Lake - the only significant elk activity we saw occurred along the Yellowstone River. It was a lot and pretty awesome, but prohibitive to access due to the distance required. (We heard a few lone males bugling along the Snake River, too.)

All that said, my guess is the Gardiner Canyon (or anywhere near Mammoth) would probably be pretty good for elk - purely based on their density in that area. (It's hard to go wrong anywhere in the park really.) Definitely be prepared for cold nights and be aware that some years can see a pretty good snow in September.

 

[Bob]

Specimen ridge by lamar....

 

[McKee80]

September is easily my favorite time to backpack in Yellowstone and there is generally very little competition for backcountry sites that time of year (in 2019 we circled Heart Lake and saw 0 sign of other people). As far as wildlife goes, Lamar Valley is obviously great for the bison and pronghorns, but not many elk unless you start going up the drainages - we did run into four competing bulls w/ harems in a drainage above the Lamar River which was spectacular, but hard to predict; we didn't see any other elk that entire trip. On our loop out to the Thorofare Cabin - that included Snake River, Yellowstone River, Yellowstone Lake, and Heart Lake - the only significant elk activity we saw occurred along the Yellowstone River. It was a lot and pretty awesome, but prohibitive to access due to the distance required. (We heard a few lone males bugling along the Snake River, too.)

All that said, my guess is the Gardiner Canyon (or anywhere near Mammoth) would probably be pretty good for elk - purely based on their density in that area. (It's hard to go wrong anywhere in the park really.) Definitely be prepared for cold nights and be aware that some years can see a pretty good snow in September.

Thanks! I was in Glacier in Sept a couple years ago and we got snowed on, so we're ready for it!

 

[Yvonne]

I've been many times to Yellowstone in September. I saw many elk around Gardiner and Gardiner Canyon including Lava Creek Canyon and Rescue Creek, also Specimen Ridge in Lamar Valley.
Also lots of elk on that stretch between Madison Junction and West Yellowstone. Weather can be a hit and miss, I had almost ninety degrees one day and snow and whiteouts the next day before warming up again the day after.

While camping, I heard elk bugling every night at Madison and down at Grant campground. Encountered many elk on day hikes at Specimen Ridge, Black Canyon of the Yellowstone, Hellroaring, on trails around Gardiner.

 

[The Trout Whisperer]

As an added bonus, you might see th elusive kilt clad Scatman in Yellowstone’s fabled backcountry during th early fall…now that’s wildlife at it’s finest! P. S. He generally is wearin th fall colored kilts durin leaf change!

 

[scatman]

As an added bonus, you might see th elusive kilt clad Scatman in Yellowstone’s fabled backcountry during th early fall…now that’s wildlife at it’s finest! P. S. He generally is wearin th fall colored kilts durin leaf change!

I think that is the kind of wildlife one tends to want to avoid at all costs.

 

[McKee80]

As an added bonus, you might see th elusive kilt clad Scatman in Yellowstone’s fabled backcountry during th early fall…now that’s wildlife at it’s finest! P. S. He generally is wearin th fall colored kilts durin leaf change!

From all the great trip reports, he may be in the park as much as the other wildlife. But hey, if he's out there serendading us with his bugle, I'll go take some pictures!

 

[Pringles]

I’ve always heard elk bugling in September when I’ve been at Ice Lake. In fact, in the middle of the night, they “go off” and it scares the daylights out of me. When I think about it, that’s the only place I have heard them when I’ve been backpacking in September.