How to Watch Wildlife in Jackson Hole Without Leaving Your Vehicle

The Greatest Wildlife Show in the Lower 48

Jackson Hole sits at the southern gateway to what biologists call the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem — 22 million acres of connected wildland that supports grizzly bears, grey wolves, bison, elk, pronghorn, moose, bald eagles, and dozens of other species at population levels that no longer exist anywhere else in the temperate world.

Most of this can be seen from a vehicle. The wildlife here has largely acclimated to cars, which function as effective mobile blinds. Pull off the road, cut the engine, and wait. The valley will come to you.

Where to Go at Dawn

THE ANTELOPE FLATS ROAD, RUNNING EAST FROM HIGHWAY 89 NEAR MOOSE JUNCTION, IS CONSISTENTLY ONE OF THE BEST WILDLIFE CORRIDORS IN THE PARK. BISON GRAZE HERE YEAR-ROUND. IN SPRING, PRONGHORN FAWNS ARE BORN IN THE SAGE. IN AUTUMN, THE BUGLING OF ELK CARRIES ACROSS THE FLAT GROUND IN THE BLUE HOUR BEFORE SUNRISE.

The Gros Ventre Road offers a different kind of watching — slower, more wooded, more likely to produce moose, black bear, and the occasional mountain lion crossing at the edge of the treeline. Pack binoculars. The distances are deceptive.

"This is the only place in the lower 48 where you can watch a wolf hunt in the morning and ski a black diamond run in the afternoon. The density of wildness here is extraordinary."

Yellowstone Day Trips

Yellowstone is 60 miles north of the hotel and makes for a natural day trip with an early start. The Lamar Valley, in the park's northeast corner, is the wolf-watching capital of North America. The Hayden Valley, further south, is where the bison herds are thickest and grizzly sightings are most reliable.

Responsible Wildlife Viewing

A few principles worth internalising before you go: stay in your vehicle or maintain a minimum of 100 yards from bears and wolves, 25 yards from all other animals. Never feed wildlife. Move slowly. Use a telephoto lens rather than approaching on foot.

Faraway's concierge team can arrange guided wildlife tours with certified naturalists who carry spotting scopes, know the current locations of tracked wolf packs and collared bears, and can read animal behaviour in ways that transform a drive into a proper expedition.