10 Must-Visit Places for Wildlife Encounters in North America

Wildlife encounters have a way of sharpening a trip into something unforgettable. Across North America, there are places where these encounters aren’t rare strokes of luck but part of the rhythm of the land: valleys where wolves still hunt, coastlines where whales return each season, migration corridors that funnel tens of thousands of birds overhead. From deserts and mountains to barrier islands and spring-fed rivers, these destinations offer front-row seats to some of the continent’s most remarkable wild residents.

Add these wildlife-forward spots to your travel wishlist. Then, book your stay with BWH Hotels, so you can be close to the wildlife action without sacrificing comfort. With locations across the country and a family of brands spanning the full spectrum of pricing—including WorldHotels, Aiden, @Home by Best Western, and GLō Best Western—BWH offers lodging for every type of traveler.

They call it “America’s Serengeti” for a reason: this pocket of Yellowstone National Park is possibly the best single wildlife-viewing opportunity in the Lower 48, a place where bison, elk and bears can all be seen. Perhaps most notably, Yellowstone’s legendary wolves frequently make the scene, living out their complex pack dynamics and vital role in the Northern Rockies ecosystem.

The provincial capital is one of the more curious cities on the North American West Coast, with its graceful Parliament and palpable sense of British Empire decorum. But Victoria also sits amid the wild abundance of the Salish Sea. Set sail from either Victoria itself or nearby Sooke to see orcas and humpback whales, almost year-round, along with otters and a soaring array of bird life.

Raptors such as red-tailed hawks don’t like flying over bodies of water when they can’t see land. The soaring birds can’t rest on water, and they rely on thermals, or columns of warmer air from the earth to conserve energy. It means they’ll funnel, instead, toward migratory “superhighways,” such as the Straits of Mackinaw, where the water crossing distance is shorter. Organizations such as Mackinac Straits Raptor Watch in Mackinaw City help count the birds of prey, which can total around 70,000 hawks, eagles and falcons during migration. The Mackinac Island Hawk Watch site at Fort Holmes offers another viewing option in the spring. 

Dauphin Island, the sliver of land just off the Alabama Coast, experiences massive “fallout”—the gloriously dramatic term for when migratory birds dip to land with all their colors and songs to rest and refuel. It happens most often in spring and fall as the birds make their journey between the Caribbean and Latin America to northern reaches bringing brilliant flashes from yellow-rumped warblers, scarlet rangers, red-breasted grosbeaks and indigo buntings.

It’s one thing to hear the remarkable story of the California condor, which perilously circled extinction in the 1980s before a reintroduction program brought them back. It’s quite another to see these broad-winged giants with white shoulder patches swooping and swirling around you in one of their favored desert hangout spots. The right encounter is an unforgettable brush with a prehistoric sense of the wild.

The desert bighorn sheep was once extinct in Zion, but the reintroduction of just 12 sheep in 1973 sparked a dramatically successful comeback. (So much so that sheep are now sometimes moved out of the national park to habitat elsewhere.) Adult male rams’ horns are as charismatic and cartoonish as they come, in a full curl and weighing 30-40 pounds. The iconic rut, when competing males clash horns, occurs July through October.

Cape May, situated at the tip of a peninsula between the Delaware Bay and Atlantic, serves as a prime stopover spot for migrating birds—more than 100 species, according to the New Jersey Audubon’s Cape May Springwatch. One of the top birding destinations in North America, it draws watchers looking to peek songbirds and shorebirds such as the Red Knots and Ruddy Turnstones, among many others, at locations like the Cape May Bird Observatory, Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge and Cape May Point State Park. 

Each fall, the hills around Warm Springs become a quiet waypoint in one of nature’s most extraordinary journeys, as monarch butterflies funnel south toward their wintering grounds in Mexico. The area’s open meadows and late-blooming wildflowers provide critical fuel for the long flight, making sightings especially rewarding during peak migration. Just a short drive away, the Callaway Gardens Butterfly Center offers a complementary, up-close look at these iconic insects, with a year-round conservatory that highlights monarchs’ life cycle, migration story, and the conservation efforts helping sustain it.

When Gulf temps drop, Crystal River becomes a manatee gathering place for the steady 72-degree springs. It’s one of the only places in the country to legally swim with the gentle giants in the area’s exceptionally clear waters. Manatee swim companies, such as Family Adventure Charters, will get you to the good spots with swim instruction that helps keep the animals protected.

Come April, there’s magic in the mountains and valleys when blue ghost fireflies light the forests with their rare blue glow. The only firefly in North America that emits this shade, they are also one of the smallest in the world, measuring about a quarter of an inch. In Southern Appalachia, there’s a dual peak of blue ghost activity during their brief mating season, April to late May and mid-June, in densely wooded areas. Viewing spots like DuPont State Recreational Forest, Cataloochee Valley and Pisgah National Forest are prime for high concentrations; The Cradle of Forestry historic site and Terra Nova Center both offer guided tours during blue ghost season.