Benezette Township, Pennsylvania

Elk rut in Pennsylvania's elk country, September and October You do not need to fly west to hear a bugle. Benezette, a tiny village in north-central Pennsylvania, sits in the heart of the state's wild elk range, and in the rut it becomes the destination for elk watching in the East. An education specialist at the Elk Country Visitor Center says it can see 5,000 people a day at the busiest point. That popularity has a cost: locals describe bumper-to-bumper traffic and a line on the porch for restaurant tables on weekends, so a weekday visit pays off. The first two hours after dawn and the last two before dusk are the prime viewing times, and the visitor center runs free public programs on weekends.