Jackson, Wyoming hides 24,700 acres where thousands of elk gather every winter

Jackson’s Elk Gather by the Thousands

You stand at the edge of a valley in Jackson, Wyoming, and the ground fills with elk as far as you can see.

This refuge covers more than 24,700 acres of grassland and wetland just north of town, and it ranks among the largest winter homes for elk in North America.

Every winter, thousands of them move down from the mountains and gather here in one place. People fly in from around the world just to see it.

What brought this herd here in the first place goes back more than a century.

A Refuge Born From a Hard Winter

Elk were dying in this valley long before anyone protected it.

Brutal winters in the early 1900s left the herd starving, and local settlers started feeding them just to keep them alive.

That effort turned into something permanent in 1912, when the government established the refuge to protect the herd’s winter range. The land itself had started out as a homestead the federal government bought outright.

Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service runs the whole operation, more than a century after those first settlers stepped in.

Why Thousands of Elk Show Up Every Winter

The herd doesn’t live in this valley year round. Through summer, elk graze up in the mountains at higher elevations, spread out and hard to spot.

Then snow piles up from October through December, and it pushes them down toward the valley floor in search of food and shelter. By the time winter sets in fully, herds here often reach 6,000 to 7,000 animals or more.

They stay through the cold months and then head back up to the high country come April and May.

Get a Horse-Drawn Sleigh Into the Herd

A horse-drawn sleigh is how most people get close to this herd, and it’s been running since 1965.

The sleigh carries you right into the middle of thousands of elk, no walking required and no disturbing the animals either. Rides operate from mid-December through early April and last about an hour each.

You’re gliding across snow with nothing but a sleigh and a driver between you and one of the largest elk herds in North America. It’s the closest most visitors will ever get to a wild herd this size.

What Your Sleigh Ride Might Turn Up

From the sleigh, the scale hits you first. Thousands of elk spread across the snow, some of the bulls carrying antlers you can spot from a distance as they move through the herd.

Coyotes and foxes cross the open ground nearby, and bald eagles work the sky overhead looking for their own opportunities.

Your sleigh is often the only man-made object anywhere in view, which makes the whole scene feel less like a tour and more like you dropped into the middle of it.

The Refuge Holds More Than Elk

Elk get the headline, but this refuge runs wildlife well beyond the herd.

Bighorn sheep show up near Miller Butte through the winter months, moving along the rocky slopes above the valley floor.

Bison, pronghorn, and mule deer share the same land, and the wetlands pull in trumpeter swans along with plenty of other migratory birds.

Wolves, mountain lions, and grizzly bears live in the surrounding country too, even if they stay harder to spot than the elk gathered below.

Drive Refuge Road on Your Own Schedule

If a sleigh ride isn’t your speed, Refuge Road lets you see the wildlife at your own pace.

It starts at the end of East Broadway Avenue in Jackson and runs through a mix of flat stretches and gentle rolling terrain.

A section behind Miller Butte stays open for a few miles even through winter, giving you a shot at bighorn sheep along with the elk herd.

You do need to stay on the road or in designated pullouts, and any posted wildlife closures are not optional.

Trails and Fishing for Warmer Months

Come summer, this refuge turns into something different entirely.

A paved trail runs nearly six miles through grassland and wetland, easy enough for most people to walk end to end.

That path connects straight into trails leading toward Grand Teton National Park, so you can turn a short walk into a much longer one.

Anglers can work the Gros Ventre River for cutthroat trout, though you’ll need a Wyoming fishing license before you cast a line.

Antler Arches Frame the Town Square

Head into Jackson and you’ll walk under four arches built entirely from shed elk antlers, standing right over the Town Square.

The first arch went up in 1953, and each one holds roughly 2,000 antlers stacked and woven together. They weigh many thousands of pounds apiece, which is easy to believe once you’re standing underneath one.

These arches rank among the most photographed sights in the whole state, and they trace straight back to the herd out on the refuge.

An Antler Auction Like No Other

Every spring, elk shed their antlers naturally before heading back up to the high country.

Refuge staff collect them with help from local Boy Scouts, working under a special-use permit that’s kept this tradition going since 1968.

Those antlers end up on the auction block on the Town Square each May, drawing bidders to what’s become the largest auction of its kind anywhere in the world.

What started as a simple cleanup effort has turned into one of Jackson’s biggest annual events.

Where That Auction Money Actually Goes

The antler auction isn’t just a spectacle. About 75 percent of what it raises flows straight back into the refuge, covering habitat work and other ongoing programs that keep the herd healthy.

The remaining 25 percent supports local Scouting programs, the same groups that show up each spring to help collect the antlers.

That partnership between the refuge and the Scouts has held steady for decades, turning a shed antler into funding for both wildlife and kids.

The Rules That Keep This Herd Coming Back

None of this works without a few basic rules. Collecting or taking shed antlers off the refuge is illegal, full stop.

Visitors need to stay within areas and routes open to the public and follow every posted seasonal closure without exception.

These limits exist because winter is when the herd is most vulnerable, and staying on the road protects animals and people alike.

Follow them, and you help keep this whole spectacle running for the next visitor and the one after that.

Plan Your Stop at the National Elk Refuge

You’ll want to start at the National Elk Refuge and Greater Yellowstone Visitor Center at 532 North Cache St. in Jackson, open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. That’s where you sign up for sleigh rides and walk through the exhibits before heading out.

The refuge itself is open year round from sunrise to sunset, and there’s no fee to visit.

Best wildlife viewing runs from mid-December through early April, before the elk migrate back up to the high country for the summer.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

Read more from this brand:

• The Outer Banks everyone skips has free-roaming mustangs and a yellow mansion on the shore
• North Dakota’s most dramatic drive connects grasslands, broken canyon rock, and Lake Sakakawea
• One road along Mobile Bay passes brick forts, marshes and beaches in a single day