Spotting a moose in the wild can be an exciting experience for the whole family. Seeing five or six moose in the space of three hours is a rare privilege and one worth traveling to the White Mountains of New Hampshire, New England's moose country. North Conway offers one of the best chances in North America for a tourist or wildlife adventurer or child to see moose.
Three moose tours are available in the North Conway area with informed guides who offer good opportunities to see moose while traveling in relaxed comfort and safety. Dan's Moose Tours, operated by family-owned Dan's Scenic Tours, begin at 6:30 p.m., six days a week from April through October 13. Tours are in air-conditioned buses and include a documentary film on moose highlighting their eating and mating habits and habitat preferences.
Children are welcome on these tours. Tourists and adventurers who prefer a quieter and more private tour can arrange one of Dan's private morning tours. All tours operate even when weather is inclement. Remember to bring your zoom or telephoto lens.
Dan's Scenic Tours
Main Street
Gorham, NH 03581
603.723.2501
dansscenictours.com
Mt. Washington Valley Moose Bus Tours are three-hour moose safaris in buses with up to 22 passengers. One of the advantages of an organized evening tour is that, while it is illegal to use spotlights after dark, the Moose Bus can use spotlights and flood lights to view the moose.
Tours operate from May through October. The organizers boast a 96 percent to 98 percent rate of success in spotting moose during those months. Unlike other New Hampshire tour companies, they offer a rain check that is valid for the entire next season if moose are not spotted.
Departure is from Norcross Circle in North Conway Village, and departure times vary between 7:30 p.m. in May to 6:00 p.m. in October since moose are not usually sighted before dusk. At dusk moose roan, searching for salt and saplings.
MWV Moose Bus Tours
PO Box 1123
North Conway, NH 03860
603-662-3159
mwvmoosetours.com
Group discounts are offered on the Gorham Moose Tours, which take nature lovers and tourists along the Androscoggin River and into 13 miles of wooded moose habitat. These tours in air-conditioned buses begin May 29 and end October 2.
On these three-hour dusk excursions, besides seeing a six-foot 1,000-pound moose, it is also possible to see osprey, eagles and deer. Gorham's publicized success rate for seeing moose is 94 percent. However, it is good to remember that the moose mating season begins in early fall, and the moose are less likely to seen on or near the roads then. For best viewing plan a North Conway moose trip in spring or summer.
Gorham Moose Tours
20 Park Street
Gorham, NH 03581
603-466-3322
gorhamnh.org
