Elk-viewing hayrides put kids up close and personal with majestic wapiti
It’s a wintry evening in January at The Points Ranch, near Donnelly, Idaho. Big fat snow flakes cascade from the sky, and at least three inches of powder cap the furry brow of a bull elk as it sniffs the happy group of bundled-up people viewing the majestic animal from the comfort of a hay-filled sleigh.
One-hundred to 150 elk winter at the Points Ranch, after deep snow pushes them to the private
refuge in the valley floor.
Normally spooky and secretive, the elk
don’t mind being viewed at a close distance from a horse-drawn sleigh, much to the thrill
of everyone on board. passing by snow-flocked fir and aspen trees, the whole sleigh-ride experience
seems like a page out of a rocky mountain story book. But in valley county, idaho, it’s as
real as home-cooked huckleberry pancakes.
