Yellowstone Winter Snowcoach Tours - Worth It?
 

Taking our first winter trip to Yellowstone in January - we are considering signing up for the snowcoach tour from West Yellowstone to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. It's an all-day excursion, of course, and I'm not finding much feedback about it online.

If anybody has done this, I'd love to hear about it.

On a side note, we will also be taking a snowcoach to Old Faithful that week and spending 2 nights at the Snow Lodge. So we would not be our only chance to experience the snowcoach. Will we see much wildlife?

I've never done it but I would LOVE to do it. Check the Yellowstone.net forums for more information. Those guys LOVE Yellowstone and track the wildlife = families/generations/sightings/where and when to go for photo opps. I'm also Facebook friends with a guide service who posts amazing wildlife photos during the winter. I'd do it in a heartbeat! Lucky you!

This forum is amazing. http://forums.yellowstone.net/

We did it a couple times and loved it! We saw a lot of wildlife too. The snowcoaches are really bumpy. Sitting towards the front helps.

My wife and I did it as a day trip from Old Faithful some years ago in January. Neither of us enjoy sitting in noisy, bumpy vehicles, but this was fantastic. Would not hesitate to do it again.

Lots of wildlife (bison and elk for sure) and amazing photo ops all along the way. Good luck!

Great website, starrs, thank you. We'll be sure to try to site up front, thanks all for that.

Absolutely!! Only drawback is that the snowcoaches are crowded and noisy. But the driver/tour guides are very knowledgeable and the scenery is fantastic! You will love Yellowstone in winter....my wife says that she does not want to go back in summer.

sludick, you'll get addicted. The forum regulars LOVE Yellowstone and seem to know every inch of it. If you are on Facebook, friend this guide service. They don't operate winter tours, but they post winter pictures. I love the feed on to my Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/brushbuck

When I was in Yellowstone last Feb., my companion took the Canyon tour and loved it. I skipped it b/c I'd been to the Canyon before.

As others have said, the snowcoaches are bumpy, but they are the only means of seeing the park in winter. Sitting in the front is best.

You will love your time in Yellowstone during the winter. It is a completely different park and so helpful to understand what the animals experience. Yes, you will see animals. I"m glad you'd have down time at Old Faithful. I really enjoyed our one full day there when we were snowed in.

I also completely enjoyed the trip to Canyon. But it was part of our long day trip from Old Faithful to Mammoth. I'm not sure the short and limited visit time you'd have would have been worth an all day trip just for that. I'm sure you'd stop at other spots along the way, they do give you a chance to see other things and take a break. And the more time in the park for me is better.

Thanks all - I've got the week covered with lodging in West Yellowstone, the Snow Lodge for 2 nights with the package that includes the snowcoach, breakfast, and discount card. And, it picks up right next door to the Worldmark, where we will be staying before and after.

Now I just need to pick a Canyon trip and we are set. Oh, and shop for warm clothes appropriate for late January...