advice on tours of Yellowstone in winter
 

We're considering visiting Yellowstone this winter. We plan to stay at Mammoth Hotel and Old Faithful Snow Lodge. We also plan to select from the various tours offered by Xanterra. Would love to know the experiences, good and bad, and recommendations from other travelers. We're especially interested in which Xanterra tours are the best.

Thanks
Rick G

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We stayed at the Old Faithful Snow Loudge in late January a few years back and LOVED it. There are no crowds to contend with, the biggest ones being the snowmobile group day trippers. The food at the restaurant seemed much better than during non winter, probably because it's not high volume frenzied cooking. One morning we set out to walk along the trails around Old Faithful. Near the lodge we passed a coyote napping alongside the trail, all coiled up in the snow. One sleepy eye opened and then back to napping. Along the back, we came across a group of bison, which essentially trapped us for about 45 minutes. We couldn't go past them (they were partially on the trail and a little feisty), and to turn around would have added an hour or more to our walk. So we waited, a little behind some trees. One bison stepped off the trail and right into a snow bank, tumbling head over heels down into the basin. Luckily unhurt, and landed safely on solid ground. Word to the wise - do not step off the trail. We also wore yak-traks and used hiking poles - it can be quite slippery.

One night we took a tour of the geysers at night, think it was called "Stars and Steam," or something like that. The guide told us that we were part of only 14 people, I think it was, out on tour in the park that night. (They keep close track in winter.) Quite memorable, and capped off with hot cocoa in the snowcat.

We'd go again in a heartbeat.

We only did the snowcoach transportation between Mammoth and Old Faithful but they do make stops and wildlife watch along the way. We drove ourselves along the northern road through Lamar Valley as it's maintained year round. From the Tower Junction you can walk/snowshoe/ski along the road to Calcite Springs and Tower Fall. It's about 5 miles roundtrip and the road is well used in winter. There are some other nice shorter hikes along the northern road but you may need snowshoes - Wraith Falls, Yellowstone Picnic and Trout Lake. The road dead ends in Cooke City in winter and you can snowmobile beyond. If you don't want to drive yourselves you can take one of the tours through Lamar Valley. Aside from Xanterra there may be options through providers in Gardiner.

At Mammoth you can walk around the terraces. Bring some kind of microspikes for your shoes as the boardwalks can get extermely slick especially the newer synthetic ones. The Upper and Lower Terraces combined are about 3 miles total.

There are extensive boardwalks and trails around the geyser basin at Old Faithful. You can hike up to Observation Point and watch Old Faithful go off. Watch for bison. I also thought the meals at the Obsidian Room in winter were better than summer.

The one thing we didn't do that we probably should have is taken a tour to the Grand Canyon.

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Old Faithful from Observation Point

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Bison near the trail

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Cooke City

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Road to Calcite Springs and Tower Fall

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Tower Fall

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Trout Lake

I stayed at Old Faithful Snow Lodge as part of a RoadScholar trip in January 2020.
I loved my stay at the SL, but if I go again, I would just stay at the lodge and take the tours offered by the park. The park is magical in winter.

We went years ago and stayed in the Snow Lodge. The food is definitely better in winter! We cross country skied the geyser basin and skied up near Shoshone Lake and back. It was wonderful!! Just bring the warmest stuff you have--it is brrrrr cold.

Three of us will be looking at visiting Yellowstone this winter right after Christmas. My understanding is that a) it can only be done using Snowmobiles, b) we need to be going with a guide. There are lots of companies out there that provide a wiiiiide range of prices. We'd like to spend 1 night and 2 days there.

octabeno,
You can snowmobile, take a snowcoach or drive yourself (only on the road between Gardiner and Cooke City). You can also snowshoe or ski in. Access will depend on where you're staying.

octabeno, if you book a room at one of the park lodges, they will assist you with transportation - they have their own snowcoaches. Here is a link for you to take a look at all your options: https://www.yellowstonenationalparklodges.com/winter/

Three of us will be looking at visiting Yellowstone this winter right after Christmas. My understanding is that a) it can only be done using Snowmobiles, b) we need to be going with a guide. There are lots of companies out there that provide a wiiiiide range of prices. We'd like to spend 1 night and 2 days there.

Also snowcoaches. That's a very short period of time, though. At any rate, plan on your snowcoach or snowmobile group leaving around 8am and getting back around 4pm. If you would like to stay in park at the Snow Lodge, there is a snowcoach that goes there (Old Faithful), and it takes several hours each way. Then you'd want at least a full day in park. Is this part of a longer trip, or are you local?

Sounds like fun. Try to go to Lamar Valley where the wolves feast on the elk and bison at sunrise.

A third option is to drive yourself along the northern road that goes through Lamar Valley from Gardiner MT to Cooke City MT. This road is maintained year round but can have temporary closures during storms. There are also tours departing from Gardiner or Mammoth Hot Springs if you don't want to drive yourself.

For snowcoach and snowmobile access, the oversnow season starts on December 15th and ends between early to mid-March depending on the road https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/parkroads.htm

The two lodges inside the park which are open in winter are Mammoth Hot Springs (accessible by vehicle from the northern entrance) and the Old Faithful Snow Lodge (accessible by snowcoach) https://www.yellowstonenationalparkl...winter-lodges/ Reservations for the 2022/2023 winter season opens on March 15th this year.

If you're planning to stay inside the park and take snowcoach transportation or tours, you need to book early.