OCTOBER 2-3,2010

Each October, elk in Estes Park are regaled, imitated, watched and otherwise celebrated during the community’s annual Elk Fest, timed to coincide with the elk rut – and the natural sight and sound spectacle created during the big game’s mating season.

Elk Fest visitors can view elk during the rutting season in the wild on guided tours, as well as learn more about elk, their habitats and how to observe them in the wild.

There are bugling competitions (elk bugling is characterized by deep, resonant tones that rise rapidly to a high-pitched squeal before dropping to a series of grunts), a Mountain Man Rendezvous, Native American story telling and music, archery contests, and more.