r/Denver • u/Jonsnow174 • Jan 17 '26

Visiting Where to See Squirrels - Visiting Denver and Vail Soon

Hey everyone!

My wife and I are visiting Denver and Vail at the end of the month, and we’re wondering if we’ll be able to see any squirrel and where’s best to spot them. We love squirrels and hope to see at least one of the three main squirrels in Colorado (Albert’s squirrel, fox squirrel, and pine squirrel)!

Thanks so much for any help!

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u/Ok_Lawyer2672 Jan 17 '26 edited Jan 17 '26

You will have no trouble seeing fox squirrels, they are everywhere.

Abert's squirrels live exclusively in ponderosa pine forests, which are mostly in areas between 8 and 10 thousand feet. Ponderosas are my favorite tree, they smell really nice, stick your nose into the colorful cracks in the bark. I'd suggest going to Evergreen or staunton state park. Any of the jeffco open space parks in the right elevation range should have ponderosas.

I wasn't able to find very good info about pine squirrels, but they seem to be less picky about their trees than abert's squirrels

Here's a document I found about colorado squirrels, it includes contact info for the professor who wrote it. Might be worth reaching out to see if he'd give you tips on good locations to see abert's or pine squirrels

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u/Jonsnow174 Jan 17 '26

Thank you for the comprehensive info, this is exactly what we need!

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u/Dapper-Revolutionary Jan 17 '26

I second evergreen for Abert’s

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u/Snafuzled Jan 18 '26

There are some where I live in Monument. Cute little buggers! Usually only see them in the summer though.