Reliable information about population status, trends, and the current distribution of Spruce Grouse (Falcipennis canadensis) is needed, but questions remain concerning the best method to use to conduct surveys. We evaluated two methods to survey the eastern subspecies of Spruce Grouse (F. c. canace) for application in a large‐scale, long‐term population‐monitoring effort: response to playback of a cantus call and a survey based on fecal pellets conducted in late winter/early spring. Both methods have been used previously, but pellet‐based surveys have not been evaluated as a potential population‐monitoring metric. We conducted surveys in northern Minnesota in 2014 and 2015 using both methods to compare their relative performance in terms of number of detections, the detection process, and ease of implementation by a large number of observers surveying for a few days each year. We had 3–5 times more detections (presence‐only data) with the pellet‐based survey than the cantus‐call survey in both years. Furthermore, the pellet‐based survey was easier for novice observers to implement than the cantus‐call survey because training of new observers was impeded by few detections (75 birds in 1023 surveys) with the cantus call, likely due to the low bird density in our study area. In addition to more detections, pellet‐based surveys allowed more flexibility in application because they could be conducted throughout the day, with less restrictive weather conditions, and conflicted less with other spring surveys. Our results suggest that pellet‐based surveys have strong potential for application in large‐scale, long‐term monitoring applications at the southern limit of the range where Spruce Grouse are challenging to survey due to low bird densities. However, refinements to the cantus‐call survey may be possible to improve its performance as a monitoring metric.