I’m in the process of doing a complete overhaul of my old Yellowstone National Park posts because, well, they’re old and in dire need of an update. Given my many visits to the park over the years, it’s a large undertaking. We’re also headed back to Yellowstone this coming summer, so I’m going to wait until after that trip to re-publish them.
In the meantime, I wanted to put together a separate post for winter, because visiting the park in the offseason is a very different – but also very worthwhile – experience.
Table of contents
- Traveling within the park
- Accommodations
- Mammoth Hot Springs
- Snow Pass
- Blacktail Deer Plateau
- Tower Falls
- Lamar Valley
- Snowcoach tours
- Weather
- Winter safety
Traveling within the park
(Here is the official park map.)
The first thing to know about winter in Yellowstone is that only one stretch of road remains open: the northernmost stretch (US Highway 212) from the North Entrance (Gardiner, Montana) to the Northeast Entrance (Cooke City, Montana). The road is plowed during the day as necessary, but may still be snowy and icy for much of the winter. Good winter tires and/or traction devices are advised.
From November-April, all other park roads are closed to regular vehicles. From roughly mid-December to mid-March, some of these roads open for what the park calls “oversnow travel” – in other words, guided travel by snowmobile or snowcoach. Roads are groomed for this and these vehicles must remain on designated roadways at all times.
Travel on foot – walking, skis, snowshoes, etc. – is also allowed, though boardwalks and trails are not groomed and may be covered in deep snow and ice. If you do walk the trails, please be sure not to step in the ski or snowshoe tracks, as footsteps destroy these established paths.
I’ve never snowmobiled in Yellowstone, but I have visited numerous times during the winter months, including by car, skis, and snowcoach. I’ll share details on all of these below.
Accommodations
Only two hotels within the park remain open during the winter: Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel (inside the North Entrance and accessible by car) and Old Faithful Snow Lodge (reachable only by oversnow travel).
Other hotels, cabins, etc. can be found outside all five entrance stations, though staying in West Yellowstone, Montana (West Entrance) or near the East or South Entrances would only make sense for those entering the park on foot or via oversnow travel, as no roads are open to vehicles from these entrances.
Mammoth Campground, just inside the North Entrance, also remains open in winter. Sites are available first-come-first-serve and amenities are limited.
Mammoth Hot Springs
Located just inside the North Entrance, Mammoth Hot Springs is one of the most easily accessible winter destinations. The boardwalks through both Lower and Upper Terraces Area remain open, though they will likely be covered in snow and ice; microspikes may be needed.
To visit Lower Terraces, simply follow signs to the roadside parking areas.
To visit Upper Terraces, continue along the main road until you reach the winter closure. Beyond this point, it’s oversnow travel only. The 1.5-mile (2.4 km) Upper Terrace Drive branches off from here and can be traveled on foot. It’s a one-way road for cars; however, on foot, you can travel in either direction. I recommend following the one-way signs, though, so you can end the loop with a nice long stretch of downhill.
Boardwalks branch off from the road and lead through the terraces.
Snow Pass
Though not shown on the standard Yellowstone map, a ski trail branches off from Upper Terrace Drive leading up and over Snow Pass and then dropping down around the other side of Terrace Mountain and returning to the park road at Rustic Falls. It’s somewhat of a steep climb up to Snow Pass through forested terrain, and then much more moderate and open for the remainder of the journey. I wouldn’t recommend this for beginners, but it’s a nice 6.8 mile (11 km) loop for moderately experienced skiers.
My mom and I skied this loop on a very cold and blustery day a few years ago. In fact, it was so windy we were never able to determine if it was snowing or just blowing. Whatever it was doing, the snow was being driven horizontally into our faces.
Owing to the fact that I couldn’t operate my camera while wearing gloves under my mittens, and didn’t particularly feel like losing my fingers to frostbite, I only have a few photos of this particular adventure
Blacktail Deer Plateau
Back at Mammoth, US Highway 212 heads east toward Tower-Roosevelt Junction, undulating through the landscape with the Yellowstone River to the north and Blacktail Deer Plateau to the south. A short distance from Mammoth are three sequential parking areas for Undine Falls, Lava Creek Picnic Area, and Wraith Falls. It’s about a 100-yard (90 m) walk to Undine Falls while roundtrip distance to Wraith Falls is 1 mile (1.6 km). During our visit the path to Undine Falls was walkable, but Wraith Falls Trail was snow-covered, so we skied it.
Right: Undine Falls
Continuing east, Blacktail Plateau Drive is closed to cars in the winter, as is the road to Petrified Tree, though both are accessible on foot.
Tower Falls
The 132 foot (40 m) Tower Falls is actually not located right at Tower-Roosevelt Junction. It’s about 2.3 miles (3.7 km) south, and this section of road is open only to foot travel. We found it to be a very nice ski route.
Along the way, there are ample views of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone; my favorite is Calcite Springs Overlook, which encompasses a little bit of everything Yellowstone has to offer – river, canyon, hot springs, and we even saw some bighorn sheep on the opposite rim of the canyon!
Tower Falls is, in my opinion, cooler in the winter than it is in the summer. Though it’s decently tall, there’s not usually a ton of water tumbling over it. However, in the winter there was a thin layer of ice covering the falls and we could see the water falling down behind it. I’d never seen anything like it, and I wish I’d taken a video so you all could see it too.
Lamar Valley
From Tower-Roosevelt Junction, a right turn out of the parking area will put you back US Highway 212 toward the Northeast Entrance. The road meanders through the expansive Lamar Valley, which is the prime place to see wildlife – specifically elk, bison, coyotes, and possibly even wolves.
As the Northeast Entrance nears, the mountains get larger and the views get better. On the eastern edge of the Lamar Valley is Icebox Canyon, a deep gorge that was – at least on this particular occasion – lined with colorful ice.
From here, the road leads out of the park and into Cooke City, where it dead-ends for the winter. The only option is to turn around and retrace your steps back to Gardiner.
Snowcoach tours
For those interested in oversnow travel, snowcoach tours depart daily from mid-December to mid-March from either West Yellowstone, Montana (West Entrance) or Gardiner, Montana (North Entrance). Options include day trips into the park and transportation to Old Faithful Snow Lodge for overnight stays. Once you’re in the park, separate tours depart from Snow Lodge to various other locations, including the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Tours should be booked well in advance.
For our recent snowcoach trip, we departed from West Yellowstone, traveled to Snow Lodge where we spent the night, and were picked up 26 hours later for our return trip to West Yellowstone.
With the lodge as our basecamp, we spent the day walking the boardwalks and trails through Upper Geyser Basin and Black Sand Basin. Other options include renting snowshoes or skis from the lodge to travel through the geyser basins or other nearby trails.
We also took a nighttime snowcoach tour, departing from Snow Lodge and traveling out to a couple thermal areas, before returning to the lodge for the night.
Weather
There’s no sugarcoating it; winter in Yellowstone is cold. With all the hot springs and geysers, it’s easy to forget that the park sits at an elevation of about 6000 feet (1830 m) with mountains rising to over 11,300 feet (3444 m). Average annual snowfall is over 12 feet (3.7 m), with higher elevation areas of the park often receiving quite a bit more.
Even during the day, temperatures rarely climb above freezing. Nighttime temperatures may drop below 0°F (-18°C). It’s often cloudy and windy, making it feel even colder. Lots of warm clothes – preferably layers so you can adjust as conditions change throughout the day – are the name of the game.
(This list I put together previously is centered around winter hiking, but much of it applies to a winter visit to Yellowstone as well.)
One thing we learned the hard way on our most recent visit is that your outer layers should be waterproof. If you’re in a thermal area, it’s impossible to avoid walking through steam, and the droplets will coat – and sometimes freeze on – your clothing.
Winter safety
Aside from being prepared for the weather, the main safety concerns during a winter visit to Yellowstone aren’t specific to winter, but rather to the park itself: wildlife and thermal areas.
Yellowstone is home to deer, elk, moose, foxes, coyotes, wolves, bison, mountain lions, black and grizzly bears, and many other species. Contrary to popular belief, bears don’t hibernate the entire winter, so you should still carry bear spray in the winter months (and know how to use it). We saw fresh bear tracks in the park this past December.
All of Yellowstone’s animals are wild and dangerous and should never be approached. While there are specific distance requirements, I find the rule of thumb to be much easier to follow. Extend your arm straight in front of you, hold up your thumb like you’re hitchhiking, and close one eye. If you can totally block the animal from view with your thumb, you’re far enough away. If not, you’re too close.
While it’s a rule in all national parks to stay on established roads, boardwalks, and trails, this is especially important in Yellowstone. The ground in the park can be hot, thin, and fragile; every year, at least one park visitor suffers third-degree burns when their foot breaks through the crust and falls into the boiling water below.
Also, ground conditions change constantly. There is evidence of this in many places, including fenced-off sections of roads, parking lots, and trails where a new hot spring has arisen and melted away the asphalt. It can be particularly difficult to remain on established paths when everything is covered in snow, so careful navigation is especially important in the winter.
And speaking of snow: avalanches. If you’ll be staying on or relatively close to the roads and geyser basins, this isn’t an issue you’re likely to encounter. But if you’re planning to hike, ski, or snowshoe trails into the backcountry, closer to the mountains, this is very much a risk and should only be attempted by those with proper avalanche training and gear.
And I think that’s about it.
Yellowstone is one of those places everyone should see in their lifetime. In fact, if someone asked me if there was only one place in the United States they absolutely should go, Yellowstone would be my answer. It has an incredible amount of cool stuff in a fairly compact area. There’s nowhere else in the world quite like it.
If you’re planning a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Yellowstone, definitely go in the summer when all parts of the park are accessible. But if you’re lucky enough to have the opportunity for a return visit, I absolutely recommend a winter trip to the park.
Yellowstone is beautiful in a whole different way when it’s covered in snow!
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