GAYLORD — You now have the opportunity to view Gaylord’s elk herd from your favorite electronic device.
The Gaylord Area Convention and Visitors Bureau partners with the Otsego County Council on Aging (OCCOA) and the City of Gaylord to offer elk viewing events to the public. As the city was finalizing the final details of the new Elkview Park, community partners came together and discovered that the webcam previously used to view the elk was no longer operational.
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The tourism board previously shared on its website the webcam provided by CommunO2 in partnership with OCCOA. Since that device is no longer in use, a new webcam has been installed near the observation deck and feeding area at Elkview Park, located at the corner of Commerce and Elkview Boulevard near the Otsego County Council on Aging building. The park features a four-season viewing deck, a pavilion with a fireplace, a playground, parking and restrooms.
“In a tourism study conducted in 2017, we learned that approximately 60 percent of visitors to the region participated in elk viewing events,” Christy Walcott, director of marketing and communications for the tourism board, said in a statement. “Seeing elk is a highlight not only for visitors, but also for locals. It’s a pastime we all enjoy in Gaylord, and many want to preserve the experience and share it with others.”
A partnership between the Gaylord Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Otsego County Council on Aging and the city of Gaylord developed a webcam featuring the city’s elk herd.
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“OCCOA’s willingness to work with us provides a great opportunity to showcase the city’s recent Elkview Park expansion,” Wolcott added.
“Cutting Edge Computers utilized the resources of OCCOA Properties and the new building built by the city to do the installation and setup for us,” she said. “This location gives those listening at home a great view of the elk as they pass through the fence and wander into the feeding areas.”
Elk cams can be viewed from the Tourism Office website or the City of Gaylord website.
— Contact Paul Welitzkin: pwelitzkin@gaylordheraldtimes.com
This article originally appeared in the Petoskey News-Review: Viewing Gaylord’s elk herd just got easier with the park’s new webcam