Il Yellowstone National Park (Yellowstone National Park) is located in the United States of America, particularly in the extreme northwestern sector of Wyoming and extends, for a small stretch, into Montana (to the North) and Idaho (to the West), occupying a large area of the Rocky Mountains.
Yellowstone National Park, what to see
In Yellowstone National Park it is possible to do photographic activities such as capturing bison safely from the snow coach, the snowcat, and observing wolf pups playing with adults while stalking bison looking for winter grass. During a night tour aboard the snow coach, you can admire clusters of stars in the sky.
The first National Park of the United States offers as much as 800,000 hectares to explore in winter: it is incredibly beautiful! Steam rises from the hot springs, from the geysers and the fumaroles; the bison graze in the vast snow-covered plains and drink from streams sparkling with ice crystals and Old Faithful puts on a show for guests of the Old Faithful Snow Lodge. You can see everything while comfortably aboard the snow coach, driving a snowmobile, on skis or during a winter walk. Yellowstone Park offers kilometers of cross-country trails, all marked in a series of brochures available at the park’s visitor center and at hotels open in season. Shuttles provide transport to various trails and equipment can be rented directly in the park.
You can also explore the countless snowmobile routes located near the park in West Yellowstone – Montana -, just outside the park’s west entrance, thanks to a multitude of cross-country and ski skate trails, part of the Rendezvous Ski Trails system. Numerous snowmobile tour organizations depart from West Yellowstone and can roam freely through the hundreds of miles of prepared routes, across slopes in American national forests.
Yellowstone National Park, what to do
On Saturday morning in West Yellowstone, there are more snowmobiles racing through the streets than cars. The town, in fact, bases its economy on bars, restaurants, accommodations, and shops for visitors looking for souvenirs and winter clothing, and at the same time it is the perfect gateway to explore the national park and the Gallatin National Forest. The city boundaries around the park allow day trips to Yellowstone, by snowmobile or snowcoach, all the way to Old Faithful. Remember to visit the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center, a nonprofit wildlife park, to admire bears sparring and wolves roaming in search of prey. Inside Yellowstone National Park, snowmobiling is allowed on specific park roads, only with guided tours. Xanterra, the company that manages the national park accommodations, offers snowmobile packages that allow snow riders to spend a night at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge, then drive 144 kilometers to the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel the following day. If you really want to explore other parts of Yellowstone National Park in winter, consider splitting your time between the Old Faithful Snow Lodge and the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel. Neither defines itself as luxury accommodation, but both are extremely comfortable and completely non-smoking, and prices in winter are considerably lower compared to the crowded summer season.
During winter, only these two hotels remain open in the park.
In the morning, look out from your room window at Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, and there is a good chance you will see a deer looking for grass to graze. Staying at the Snow Park Lodge, you are only a five-minute walk from admiring Old Faithful: the reception always knows when the eruption is about to happen.
