Spring Break Gone Wild

Spring break isn’t just about lounging poolside – it’s about getting wild. Literally. “Spring Break travelers seem to be trading in ‘fly-and-flop’ vacations for experiences that offer a little more adventure,” reports Coastal Living. So if you want to get really adventurous this spring, you should get up-close-and-personal with some amazing wildlife in these spectacular destinations.

Estes Park, Colorado

With more than 100 peaks, abundant wildlife and incredible adventures for every season, it’s no wonder Rocky Mountain National Park is the third most visited park in the National Park System. But during early spring, Rocky Mountain National Park is relatively uncrowded, reporting about an eighth of the visitation of summer months. Because there aren’t any accommodations or restaurants inside the park boundaries, visitors stay in  Estes Park, the charming mountain town that serves Nast the basecamp to Rocky Mountain. Estes Park is known for the elk population, even officially renaming October “Elktober,” but the spring is calving season and affords travelers the opportunity to see baby elk learning to walk and roam the area.

• Rocky Mountain Conservancy offers excursions led by park rangers. Travelers can learn about coyotes, bird migrations and more.
• Yellow Wood Guiding offers wildlife safaris in Rocky Mountain National Park and Estes Park, citing spring as the prime time to find Big Horn Sheep and wild turkeys.

Western Mexico — Occidental Nuevo Vallarta

Winter and early spring is prime whale watching season – it’s when thousands of these magnificent mammals head south to feed and breed in warm waters. Occidental Nuevo Vallarta is an all-inclusive resort amidst the stunning scenery of the Riviera Nayarit. The resort is easy to access, has a sophisticated design and outstanding services. During the months of December to April, the property offers eco-discovery adventures to the Marieta Islands, a natural sanctuary with a great diversity of marine life, including whales (blue, sperm, California grey, humpback, and Orca), dolphins, giant manta rays, tropical fish and more. Guests can board a catamaran and explore this unique and complex eco-system.

San Luis Obispo County, California

Whales aren’t the only enormous mammals you can pay a visit to this spring. Head to Piedras Blancas (Spanish for “white rocks”), alongside California’s Highway One, just a few miles north of San Simeon in SLO CAL (San Luis Obispo County). Elephant Seal Vista Point is home to 17,000 (!) elephant seals. Once hunted to near extinction, these huge creatures come to the rocky sands to breed, have their young, molt, and rest.

Alberta, Canada

March and April are the ideal times to catch glimpses of the Canadian Lynx in Alberta, just as they are coming out of hibernation and roaming the landscape for mating season. In 2017, Parks Canada also reintroduced bison back into Banff National Park. The Canadian Rockies in general are less crowded than other mountain destinations in the United States and visitors often forget that the ski and snow season extends well into late spring.

Nebraska

Often overlooked as an adventure destination and referred to as a “flyover” state, the only thing that should be flying over Nebraska is the birds. Every March/early April, more than 80 percent of the world’s population of sandhill cranes (600,000+ birds) converges on the Platte River Valley (Grand Island, Hastings & Kearny. NE) - the world’s largest gathering of one of the oldest living species. But this unusual convergence of nature is not the only thing that makes Central Nebraska take off, the region is teeming with flights of craft beer, aerial adventures and arguable some of the  best wing sauce in the world.