Winter Hiking and Snowshoeing in Yellowstone

Welcome to Bozeman! This Rocky Mountains town is the perfect jumping off point for exploring the winter beauty of Yellowstone National Park. It’s an early departure today for the drive taking you to your first snowshoe along a groomed road to Tower Falls. Keep an eye out for wildlife like bison, elk, coyote, and bighorn sheep along the way. After a picnic lunch and time to take in the view of the 132 foot (40 metre) high Tower Falls, you’ll retrace your steps to the vehicle for a drive through the Lamar Valley. We can’t guarantee wolf sightings but let’s just say that winter in the Lamar provides some of the best opportunities for viewing these impressive canines. If time permits we will make a stop at Boiling River for a swim before returning to your hotel for dinner and relaxation.

Check out of your hotel and drive to Biscuit Basin where you’ll explore this area’s unique thermal features before snowshoeing through the Upper Geyser Basin on your way to Old Faithful. Watch as Old Faithful sprays over 4000 gallons (14,000 litres) of boiling water into the air. Yellowstone is home to 60 per cent of the world’s geysers and you’ll see plenty of them snowshoeing the trails. From thin fountains to massive eruptions, winter in Yellowstone delivers an impressive sight as thick plumes of steam rise through the frigid air. Tonight you’ll stay in a comfortable lodge named after Yellowstone’s most famous geyser.

After breakfast, take the snow coach to the Fairy Falls trailhead and get ready to see the largest spring in the United States. Grand Prismatic Spring, which is also the world’s third-largest spring, is famous for its rainbow of colours which are caused by a combination of micrcrobes in the water and sunlight dancing across its surface. Take time to enjoy the view then snowshoe back through the Upper Geyser Basin for another chance to take in fantastic views of geysers such as Riverside, Grand, and Old Faithful as they erupt before you return to your comfortable accommodation.

After breakfast, head out to one of the more unique and impressive backcountry geysers in the park – Lone Star Geyser. Make your way through a winter wonderland as you follow the Firehole River, named for the numerous thermal features that feed its waters, before you arrive at the geyser which sits in a clearing surrounded by dense forest. At full force, it sprays boiling water and steam 40 feet (12 metres) into the air each time it erupts from its large, cream coloured mound. After you’ve admired the gushing glory of Lone Star, head back the way you came and enjoy a tasty dinner and time warming yourself by the lodge’s fire this evening.

Take an early morning snow coach back to your first hotel at Mammoth Springs where you’ll drive to a trail head and explore the Mammoth Hot Springs travertine terraces. As we travel along the Upper Terrace loop, the expansion and contraction of this hot spring feature dominates the mixed conifer forest landscape. See areas that have grown or shrunk depending on the changing underground thermal activity and take in spectacular views of the Gardner River Canyon and snow clad peaks of Mount Everts and the Southern portion of the Absaroka – Beartooth Range. After admiring the view, head back to the vehicle for the return drive to Bozeman where your Yellowstone snowshoe adventure will come to an end.