Elk View Park in Gaylord, Michigan: We Just Wanted to Park
🦌✨Where roadside randomness meets actual elk
We weren’t planning to see elk. We called ahead to the Elk’s Lodge in Gaylord, Michigan and asked if we could stay the night — Zach’s a veteran, and they said yes. Nobody mentioned anything about elk. We had no idea Elk View Park was sitting right next door until we saw it for ourselves.
And yes, we did the full walkaround. Yes, I took too many pictures. Let’s get into it.
The Elk’s Lodge at 116 Grandview Boulevard is where we ended up staying — it just happens to sit right next to Elk View Park, where you can watch a herd of elk without leaving your car.
Elk Viewing at Elk View Park
The City of Gaylord maintains dozens of elk, along with sika and fallow deer, on 108 acres at Elk View Park. And these aren’t exactly dainty little creatures. Some of the bulls weigh more than 800 pounds and stand nearly six feet tall.
The herd has plenty of room to roam, so they may not be standing around posing the second you arrive, but this is a whole lot easier than wandering through the woods hoping to spot one.
An Update Since Our Visit
We visited the original viewing area next to the Elk’s Lodge on Grandview, and that viewing area is still available. Since then, Gaylord added a newer, larger viewing area as an extension of Aspen Park at 1179 Elk View Drive. It includes a pavilion, restrooms, a playground, and a fully accessible elk-viewing platform overlooking the feeding area. To find it, turn left onto Commerce Boulevard from Elk View Drive and left again into the parking area.
There’s also now a live elk webcam you can check before you head out, if you want a preview of what’s out there that day.
Best Times to Visit
- 🍂 September and October are peak viewing — it’s the elk’s breeding season (the rut), and the bulls get active and vocal. During fall, elk may be visible throughout the day rather than just at the edges of it.
- 🌅 Dawn and dusk tend to be reliable for movement outside of fall.
- 🔭 Bring binoculars if you want close-ups of antlers and attitude.
Visiting Info
📍 Original viewing area (what we visited): 116 Grandview Boulevard, Gaylord, MI 49735, next to the Elk’s Lodge
📍 Newer primary viewing area: 1179 Elk View Drive, Gaylord, MI 49735 (parking via Commerce Boulevard) — pavilion, restrooms, playground, accessible viewing platform
💵 Cost: Free, year-round
♿ Accessibility: Drive-up viewing at both locations; fully accessible platform at the newer Elk View Drive location
ℹ️ Current details: Gaylord Michigan Area Convention and Tourism Bureau
We called the Elk’s Lodge because we needed somewhere to stay that night. That’s it. That’s the whole reason we were in that parking lot. We were just trying to find a place to sleep, and then suddenly … there’s elk. Lots of elk.
We’ve had worse neighbors.