Rutting season, month by month around the world

Stags roaring, elk bugling, moose on the road — the autumn weeks the big animals are loud and close.

9 destinations on SeasonMap, ranked within each month by the comfort score — because the point is not only where the season is on, but whether the weather is worth the trip while it is.

← All seasonsThe world's calendar

When it is on

Number of destinations with rutting season on in that month. Windows move a little each year.

Rutting season in June

  1. Wind Cave National Park 🇺🇸 United StatesBison rut · 20 Jun – 15 Sep (usually)Late June starts the rut, when two-thousand-pound bulls square off across the mixed-grass prairie along US 385, young red calves from the spring still at their sides.74

What's on around the world in June →

Rutting season in July

  1. Yellowstone National Park 🇺🇸 United StatesBison rut · 20 Jul – 25 Aug (usually)Bulls bellow, wallow and fight through the Hayden and Lamar valleys in high summer, and they stand in the road while they do it.80
  2. Wind Cave National Park 🇺🇸 United StatesBison rut · 20 Jun – 15 Sep (usually)Late June starts the rut, when two-thousand-pound bulls square off across the mixed-grass prairie along US 385, young red calves from the spring still at their sides.72
  3. Theodore Roosevelt National Park 🇺🇸 United StatesBison rut · 15 Jul – 5 Sep (usually)Bulls bellow, wallow and fight through high summer, and they are unpredictable and fast at exactly the time visitors are closest to them.71
  4. Badlands National Park 🇺🇸 United StatesBison rut · 15 Jul – 31 Aug (usually)The herd bunches up on the Sage Creek grasslands and the bulls bellow through the afternoon.66

What's on around the world in July →

Rutting season in August

  1. Yellowstone National Park 🇺🇸 United StatesBison rut · 20 Jul – 25 Aug (usually)Bulls bellow, wallow and fight through the Hayden and Lamar valleys in high summer, and they stand in the road while they do it.77
  2. Wind Cave National Park 🇺🇸 United StatesBison rut · 20 Jun – 15 Sep (usually)Late June starts the rut, when two-thousand-pound bulls square off across the mixed-grass prairie along US 385, young red calves from the spring still at their sides.76
  3. Theodore Roosevelt National Park 🇺🇸 United StatesBison rut · 15 Jul – 5 Sep (usually)Bulls bellow, wallow and fight through high summer, and they are unpredictable and fast at exactly the time visitors are closest to them.73
  4. Badlands National Park 🇺🇸 United StatesBison rut · 15 Jul – 31 Aug (usually)The herd bunches up on the Sage Creek grasslands and the bulls bellow through the afternoon.72

What's on around the world in August →

Rutting season in September

  1. Wind Cave National Park 🇺🇸 United StatesBison rut · 20 Jun – 15 Sep (usually)Late June starts the rut, when two-thousand-pound bulls square off across the mixed-grass prairie along US 385, young red calves from the spring still at their sides.79
  2. Theodore Roosevelt National Park 🇺🇸 United StatesBison rut · 15 Jul – 5 Sep (usually)Bulls bellow, wallow and fight through high summer, and they are unpredictable and fast at exactly the time visitors are closest to them.78
  3. Redwood National Park 🇺🇸 United StatesRoosevelt elk rut · 1 Sep – 31 Oct (usually)Bulls bugle and spar on the meadows at Elk Prairie and Gold Bluffs Beach through the autumn, and they are genuinely dangerous at close range.77
  4. Killarney 🇮🇪 IrelandRed deer rut · 25 Sep – 25 Oct (usually)The native herd in the national park is the last wild one in Ireland, and through October the stags roar across Knockreer and the Muckross oakwoods.73
  5. Banff 🇨🇦 CanadaElk rut in the townsite · 1 Sep – 15 Oct (usually)Bulls bugle on the golf course and the Bow River flats through the autumn and the town fences off the school field.71
  6. Rocky Mountain National Park 🇺🇸 United StatesElk rut · 10 Sep – 20 Oct (usually)Bulls bugle in the Moraine Park and Horseshoe Park meadows at dawn and dusk through the autumn, and the traffic jams that follow are managed by rangers.71
  7. Isle Royale National Park 🇺🇸 United StatesMoose rut · 15 Sep – 20 Oct (usually)Bulls are loud, unpredictable and on the trails through late September and October, and the island has a famously dense moose population with nothing much hunting them.70
  8. Yellowstone National Park 🇺🇸 United StatesElk rut at Mammoth · 5 Sep – 15 Oct (usually)Bulls bugle on the lawns at Mammoth through September and rangers cone off the ones that will not move.68

What's on around the world in September →

Rutting season in October

  1. Redwood National Park 🇺🇸 United StatesRoosevelt elk rut · 1 Sep – 31 Oct (usually)Bulls bugle and spar on the meadows at Elk Prairie and Gold Bluffs Beach through the autumn, and they are genuinely dangerous at close range.66
  2. Killarney 🇮🇪 IrelandRed deer rut · 25 Sep – 25 Oct (usually)The native herd in the national park is the last wild one in Ireland, and through October the stags roar across Knockreer and the Muckross oakwoods.63
  3. Rocky Mountain National Park 🇺🇸 United StatesElk rut · 10 Sep – 20 Oct (usually)Bulls bugle in the Moraine Park and Horseshoe Park meadows at dawn and dusk through the autumn, and the traffic jams that follow are managed by rangers.60
  4. Isle Royale National Park 🇺🇸 United StatesMoose rut · 15 Sep – 20 Oct (usually)Bulls are loud, unpredictable and on the trails through late September and October, and the island has a famously dense moose population with nothing much hunting them.59
  5. Banff 🇨🇦 CanadaElk rut in the townsite · 1 Sep – 15 Oct (usually)Bulls bugle on the golf course and the Bow River flats through the autumn and the town fences off the school field.57
  6. Yellowstone National Park 🇺🇸 United StatesElk rut at Mammoth · 5 Sep – 15 Oct (usually)Bulls bugle on the lawns at Mammoth through September and rangers cone off the ones that will not move.54

What's on around the world in October →