3 January 2025
We celebrated the winter holiday in Yellowstone National Park surrounded by snow, wolves, and some magical landscapes. Unlike our summer 2021 visit (right around the July 4 holiday) this trip was much quieter. Most of the park isn’t open, with only two lodges operating (Mammoth Hot Springs and the Snow Lodge near Old Faithful).
Our stay began at Mammoth Hot Springs, the park entrance. One morning, we drove Lamar Valley and saw coyotes, ravens, many bison, and some moose. Later that day, we took a guided tour to Norris Geyser Basin.
For Christmas (and the nights just before) we headed to the Snow Lodge. Private cars are not allowed - you need to book a trip on a “snow coach” to make the trip from the park entrance to the Old Faithful area. Once there, it’s quiet and peaceful - even though the lodge appeared to be at capacity, it’s so many fewer humans than during the peak of summer. Even so, the geysers remain as active as ever; and the geothermal activity is stunning in the snowy conditions.
I booked a guided photo outing, and we were lucky: we encountered eighteen (18) wolves during our adventure, among plenty of other wildlife!
Cara and I also went cross country skiing to Fairy Falls. A snow coach dropped us at the trailhead, and we were basically alone - surrounded by snow, the occasional bison, and Grand Prismatic Spring.
A few days later, we rode the snow coach back north to the park entrance for one last night at Mammoth Hot Springs. After breakfast on our final morning, we drove Lamar Valley in search of more wildlife - and were rewarded both with a wolf pack sighting, and shortly thereafter a few pups playing a few yards off the side of the road.
