All 2 in 3 days here: ~20%
Riding Mountain National Park
🇨🇦 Canada
North America, Canada 455 spp. recorded
Riding Mountain National Park sits atop an ancient highland plateau in southwestern Manitoba, Canada, where dense boreal forest meets aspen parkland and native fescue prairie. Visitors walk narrow dirt trails winding through tall spruce stands, damp willow wetlands, and sunlit meadows. This protected landscape is famous for its thriving populations of the American Black Bear, which wanders forest edges and berry patches through the summer months.
50.870° N 100.079° W
🦜 Nature
279 Species sighted
25,785 Verified sightings From 2019 to 2026
Jun Best month
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
🌙 Most active after dark
+ 223 more species with insufficient data
Challenges you can complete here
All 3 in 3 days here: ~10%
All 4 in 3 days here: ~20%
Recent sightings in Riding Mountain National Park
LIVEiNaturalistSighting Calendar
How many species you'd see in a day
18Jan
26Feb
28Mar
30Apr
49May
56Jun
51Jul
40Aug
35Sep
33Oct
27Nov
28Dec
Sighting Zones
Warmer areas are where all species together are recorded most often.
-
South-east park edge
-
Onanole
Daily sight. prob.vs avg -
Wasagaming
Daily sight. prob.vs avg -
Brûlé Trail
-
50.652° N, 99.722° W
Daily sight. prob.vs avg
🏕️ Experience
Essentials
Entrance
Paid
Tourism
Medium
Typical stay
1–2
daysTrails
Easy
World Heritage
No
Climate
Temp °C Rain mm
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
0.0 Good
Wallace's Line Score
How good is this park for seeing wildlife? 🦜
Biodiversity
ExcellentHow rich is the wildlife?
5.0
Species by taxon
🦅 Birds 353
🐒 Mammals 83
🦎 Reptiles 5
🐸 Amphibians 14
455 Total Species
828 Global average across 316 parks
17 Threatened 3 Endemic
🔭
Sighting
GoodHow likely to see animals?
3.0
🎯
Top-12 Avg Probability
60% 📊
Coverage (164 species at ≥5% of 455 in the inventory)
36% 🔀
Taxon variety in top 12 (11 bird, 1 mammal)
20% 🔭
Species per 10 outings (distinct species a visitor would meet over 10 outings — effort held equal across parks)
119 🌟
Iconic-group species (≥15%) (every species from the 19 iconic groups — monkeys, cats, toucans, macaws, sloths, crocodilians… — not just the 4 highlighted above)
7 ⭐
High-prob species (>40%)
27 🏕️
Experience
Very goodHow easy and pleasant is the visit?
3.6
Climate Harsh Low
Entrance Paid Low
Tourism Medium Medium
Trails Easy High
World Heritage No —
What visitors say
We were at the park by 6:50 the following day, and within two hours, we saw four black bears—one a cinnamon morph—and several deer. black bear white-tailed deer Multiple cars drove by as we watched alongside the road, but no one stopped.
We had come to look for Bison in the Bison enclosure and we got to see this one… up close as she walked by our truck. (We think it was a she as we also saw a calf not far from her.) We were lucky enough to see a few more as they crossed the road from one bit of shade to another.
We are on a Canada's Big Five (made up, I realize still) tour and like 10 minutes (yes, I'm officially revising the number...) into our first search for the black bear / moose / bison portion of the Big Five and we see two black bears.
We saw two mink (we think) scampering across the road, and several fawns, but no more bears. ): We visited the bison enclosure.
Before you go
What animals can you see in Riding Mountain National Park?
455 species
Riding Mountain National Park has 455 recorded vertebrate species. The ones wildlife watchers report most often on a given day are American Crow (about 70%), White-throated Sparrow (about 70%), American Robin (about 70%), Blue Jay (about 60%) and Black-capped Chickadee (about 60%). Among mammals, the most-seen is American Black Bear (about 60%); among reptiles, Plains Garter Snake (about 30%); among amphibians, Wood Frog (about 40%).
When is the best time to visit Riding Mountain National Park for wildlife?
May to July
In those months the park's 12 most-seen species average about 70% on a given day, against about 30% in January. Those are among Riding Mountain National Park's wettest months, with about 80 mm of rain a month against 20 mm in February.
Can you see a Moose in Riding Mountain National Park?
Yes
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Moose sighting in Riding Mountain National Park on a given day, based on 54 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is June–July, September and December (about 40%).
Can you see an American Black Bear in Riding Mountain National Park?
Yes
About 60% of wildlife watchers report an American Black Bear sighting in Riding Mountain National Park on a given day, based on 260 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is May to July (about 70%).
Can you see an American Bison in Riding Mountain National Park?
Yes
About 20% of wildlife watchers report an American Bison sighting in Riding Mountain National Park on a given day, based on 42 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is July to October (about 30%).
Where in Riding Mountain National Park is wildlife easiest to see?
Around South-east park edge
The richest sighting zone is around South-east park edge, followed by Onanole and Wasagaming, ranked by how many of the park's headline animals visitors can expect to see in each. See the zones on the map.
Is Riding Mountain National Park good for wildlife watching?
3.6 out of 5
On the Wallace's Line Score, Riding Mountain National Park rates 3.6/5: 175th of 316 parks worldwide and 20th in North America. 31 of its species are reported by about 40% or more of wildlife watchers on a given day.
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