The Tule Elk is endemic to California. It is the smallest subspecies of North American Elk - Cervus elaphus nannodes. The other two subspecies, also found in California, are Roosevelt Elk (Cervus elaphus roosevelti) and Rocky Mountain Elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni).
In the early 1800's Tule Elk were quite abundant in the Bay area but were driven to local extinction by the 1870's. A small remnant herd was discovered near Los Banos in 1874 on private property of Henry Miller. They were gradually reintroduced into the Mt. Hamilton region between 1978 and 1981 resulting in herds getting established in Isabel Valley, San Antonio Valley, San Felipe, Metcalf Canyon, Coyote Ridge, Anderson Reservoir and surrounding areas. The elk's recovery from local extinction is a remarkable success story.
Tomales Point at Point Reyes National Seashore is a great place to get almost a sure sighting of elk. There are a few hundred animals here.
We were lucky to see and photograph the herd near Sunol off the road leading from Hwy 680 to the park. We have also seen them off Mines Road south of Livermore.
You may get a lucky sighting of the elk in the hills east of Highway 101 in Coyote Valley.
Grizzly Island Wildlife Area in Solano County is another place to see elk with high likelihood. Somewhere between July and September, it is closed to the public to allow for controlled hunting.
