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Exploring the National Parks

137: The Best National Parks for Wildlife Viewing!

Exploring the National Parks

Dirt In My Shoes

Science, Society & Culture:places & Travel, Nature, Places & Travel, Society & Culture

4.8653 Ratings

🗓️ 4 February 2026

⏱️ 70 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The wildlife showdown is on! We’re covering the best national parks to see animals in the wild. Whether you’re hoping to see wolves in Yellowstone or whales in Glacier Bay, we share our favorite parks for seeing animals across the U.S., from the great plains of Yellowstone to the coastal coves of Glacier Bay.  In this episode, we cover: Our favorite national parks for wildlife overall, plus why Alaska is in a whole different weight class Where to go for specific animals, including black bears, grizzlies, moose, wolves, and buffalo (yes, we said buffalo) The best parks for sea life, from dolphins and manatees to whales you can literally hear from your room A rapid-fire list of parks for some surprising creatures, like condors, bats, bighorn sheep, and birds Your task for today: What wildlife have you not seen yet that you really want to see in a national park? Head over to the @DirtInMyShoes Facebook or Instagram page and let us know! Don’t miss the full show notes packed with all the links we mentioned so you can plan your adventures like a pro: https://www.dirtinmyshoes.com/the-best-national-parks-for-wildlife-viewing/  Planning your own wildlife viewing adventure? Dirt In My Shoes Itineraries: https://www.dirtinmyshoes.com/national-park-trip-itineraries/  Master Reservation List: https://www.dirtinmyshoes.com/list/ National Park Checklist: https://www.dirtinmyshoes.com/national-parks-checklist/  Trip Packing List: https://www.dirtinmyshoes.com/pack/

Transcript

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0:00.0

Ash has no idea what's about to happen to her.

0:03.0

I'm really nervous about this episode.

0:05.9

I thought it was a pretty straightforward topic, but John has been doing John things to the script.

0:14.3

I just looked at her notes and I compared them to mine.

0:19.8

And as usual, mine are much funner.

0:24.6

Oh, that was like a squeaky laugh too.

0:27.0

I was not expecting you to say that.

0:30.3

But also, if she was to look at mine, she probably wouldn't use the word fun.

0:34.3

She would say something a little bit more like, I don't understand what this says.

0:40.0

John is chaos personified. And I don't know how this marriage works, but.

0:47.5

Exactly. Chaos is not my favorite. But I also am a little nervous for how this is going to go,

0:52.8

because I have no idea.

0:54.7

So I will go ahead and not let us get too far into the episode before I interrupt you and tell

1:00.4

you what's happening. So today's episode is all about wildlife. Which national parks are

1:07.9

best to see wildlife in.

1:15.6

This is the Exploring the National Parks podcast with Dirt in My Shoes.

1:20.2

My name is Ash and I'm a former park ranger and the founder of Dirt in My Shoes.

1:25.1

I think that the parks are best seen from the trail and I'm here to make National Park trip planning easy.

1:26.6

And I'm John.

1:27.6

I carry the kids on the trails, tell stories,

1:30.2

and notice all the things that Ash doesn't care about much,

1:32.6

like birds.

...

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