All five North American deer species—white-tailed deer, mule deer, caribou, elk, and moose—are found in the Canadian Rocky Mountain and Columbia Mountain regions between Alberta and British Columbia, where there is the highest concentration of large deer species in temperate North America. On the British Columbia side of this region are Mount Revelstoke National Park, Glacier National Park (Canada), Yoho National Park, and Kootenay National Park, while on the Alberta and Montana sides of this region are Banff National Park, Jasper National Park, and Glacier National Park (USA).

The habitats found on mountain slopes range from moist coniferous and mixed-forest habitats to dry subalpine and pine forests with alpine meadows higher up. A mix of cropland and deciduous parklands can be found in the foothills and river valleys between the mountain ranges. The most restricted range is that of the rare woodland caribou, which inhabit higher altitudes in the subalpine meadows and alpine tundra of some mountain ranges. Mule deer and elk migrate between alpine meadows and lower coniferous forests, where they are typically most common.

Along with White-tailed deer, elk also share the bottomlands of river valleys. Due to cropland conversion and the clearing of coniferous forests to allow more deciduous vegetation to grow up the mountain slopes, the White-tailed deer’s range has recently expanded within the foothills and river valley bottoms of the Canadian Rockies. Additionally, they share habitat with moose in the aspen parklands north of Calgary and Edmonton. Herds of pronghorn, American bison, and elk inhabit the grassland habitats in the Great Plains that are adjacent.