Rangers at Wind Cave National Park will be leading programs through early October listening for the bugle of the Rocky Mountain elk. The elk’s high-pitched whistle heralds the arrival of fall and the elk’s mating season.
Starting this week (Sept. 14, 2022) rangers are giving brief interpretive programs about elk before leading a caravan to a nearby pullout to listen for them. These one-hour programs are offered Monday, Wednesday and Saturday evenings through Oct. 8. Participants meet at the Wind Cave Visitor Center front lawn at 7 p.m. and are encouraged to bring a flashlight, a camp chair or blanket to sit on, and to dress warmly.
To listen to an elk’s bugling call, visit the park’s website at https://www.nps.gov/
Fall ranger programs also include Natural Entrance and Garden of Eden Tours of Wind Cave throughout the day. Participants are encouraged to bring a light coat or sweater and good walking shoes. The Natural Entrance Tour lasts approximately 75 minutes and involves 300 stairs. The Garden of Eden Tour lasts one hour and involves 150 stairs. Depending on current transmission rates, visitors may be required to wear a mask in federal facilities, including on cave tours, regardless of vaccination status.
Reservations for cave tours can be made up until 3 days before the tour at https://www.recreation.gov/.
The park visitor center will be open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily. Tours will be offered every thirty minutes throughout the day between 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. through September 24. For a schedule of fall cave tours, or for information about current mask requirements and other COVID-19 precautions, visit the park’s website at https://www.nps.gov/wica/
For more information, call the park at (605) 745-4600.
Three bull elk standing on a prairie covered with brown grass. Behind them is a hill with bright green trees, some waist high others full grown. The elk on the left has its nose up and appears to be bugling.
National Park Service photo.
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