Go to Yellowstone National Park, and keep your eyes peeled. People go to Yellowstone partly for the scenery, and partly for the animals. It’s easiest to find the big grazing animals like bison, but even they are scarce sometimes, particularly during the hot months of summer. Understand that bison are the same creatures we used to call buffalo, monstrously large creatures—up to two thousand pounds—with curved horns and humps on their backs. They look sleepy, but they can be quite dangerous; give them plenty of space.
Look especially for places where the trees thin out and the meadows open up; the bison feed here, and of course you can see further.
Go especially in the late spring and early fall. During the summer, large grazing animals disperse to find fresher grass at higher elevations in Yellowstone. The roads are mostly at lower elevations, so during July and August, these larger animals seem to disappear.
If you can only go during the summer, try two locations particularly. The first is Hayden Valley, a big open expanse along the Yellowstone River between Fishing Bridge (on Yellowstone Lake) and Canyon Junction. You will find very large groups of bison here regularly. You can watch them rolling in dirt wallows, feeding, crossing the river, tending to their young, all the things bison do.
The second location is the Lamar River valley, along the Northeast Entrance Road. Look especially in the vicinity of a group of old buildings that function today as the headquarters of the Yellowstone Institute. Hundreds of bison spend their time in the area. Sometimes they all get up and move, and block the road. Your car will be surrounded by them—an impressive experience.
