Hello and welcome to this channel. In this video I want to go over some important things to know
and some tips if you want to plan a visit to Yellowstone National Park in the winter. I have
a few Yellowstone in winter videos on my channel and I get a lot of questions about it so I'm going
to put it all in this video for you. Everything I've learned over the years from visiting the park
in the beautiful winter months. So Yellowstone National Park in the winter is so beautiful if you
want to avoid the crowds and just experience the landscape and the animals and in a whole different
way. The winter is really a special time so it's actually my favorite time to go to the park mainly
because like I said there's not a lot of people before we dive in if you are new to my channel,
consider hitting that subscribe button I would love to see you in another video. I am here
with new videos just about every single week. So without further ado, let's dive right in. Alright,
so the first thing that I want to talk about is road closures and in what part of the park you
actually can go to so every year in early November all of the roads in the park close except for the
road from Mammoth Hot Springs to the northeast entrance at Silver Gate. So that is the only road
that you can drive your vehicle through the park that is plowed they do a pretty good job
of removing snow and just keeping it maintained but every other road in the park is closed. So
if you want to see some of the iconic places in Yellowstone such as Old Faithful, Yellowstone
Lake, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone you're going to need to book a snowmobiling guided tour
or a snowcoach tour in order to access those other areas of the park. Now if you're like
me and you really just want to see the wildlife and experience the beautiful winter landscape,
then that drive from Mammoth Hot Springs to Silver Gate Cooke City area is a beautiful drive. And it
really is all you need. If you want to see the animals because you go through the Lamar Valley
section of the park, which is my favorite area. There are always tons of bison there and it's
just a really great wildlife viewing area. And so if that's what you want to do in a park, then
driving your vehicle through the park on that road is really beautiful and there's plenty to see.
Okay so here is a map of Yellowstone National Park this is just the brochure map that you'll get when
you enter the park. And I want to zoom into the areas I'm talking about. So the park is obviously
huge. And the area that I'm talking about is just up here so let me zoom in. Okay, so when I visit
the park in winter and I want to drive my car through the park, I start in Gardiner, Montana,
which is up here. Gardiner has hotels and just lodging options, food, a little gift shops. It's
a cute little town. From here, you can drive into the park all the way up to this Mammoth
Hot Springs area. I will zoom in on that in a second and then this is the road that is open in
the winter all the way here to Tower Junction and then out here into Lamar Valley and all the way to
the northeast entrance at Silver Gate. In Cooke City there is some lodging and some food it's a
small little town but there are some resources here in the wintertime the only way to get to
Cooke City is through the park so it's closed off in this direction. If you live over here
if you're coming from this side, you are going to have to drive up in all the way around to
Gardiner in order to drive through the park and get to cook city. So it is a lot more isolated
in the winter months. But this is the only road that is open in the winter that you can drive in
with your own car. If there is some really intense severe storm this road can be closed. I think it's
pretty rare but it is possible. They do a really good job I think of plowing it and just keeping it
pretty clear but it is icy and snowy at times. So definitely be prepared for winter travel. Now if
you want to visit any of the other areas in the park, you're going to need to book a tour with
a snowmobile or a snowcoach. So these roads are open to over snow travel only. So I want to zoom
into the Mammoth Hot Springs area and there are some resources here. There's really not a whole
lot going on in the winter months. But the hot springs are right here and they are active in the
winter. I actually think they're beautiful in the winter months because the contrast of the steam
with the snow just looks really cool. So you can walk along these terraces. This road is closed,
but there are some snowshoeing and cross country skiing options. So definitely talk to a ranger
to see what's open and what's safe to do on the particular time that you're visiting.
But this area is really beautiful. I just love walking around up here
and on these boardwalks and just experiencing the snow and the hot springs this area in the summer
is so unbelievably crowded, like it is nearly impossible to find parking. But in the winter.
It's very easy. There's like hardly anyone there so it's just a really nice place to explore. Along
this road. There's plenty of opportunities to see animals in the Lamar Valley section. I pretty much
always see bison here. This is just one of my favorite areas of the park. It's absolutely
beautiful. And then there's also some cross country skiing and snowshoeing options as well.
I've snowshoed along this Blacktail Plateau Drive. It is closed for cars in the winter but there are
some snowshoeing opportunities here. Again, just really check with a ranger because conditions can
vary from year to year. So check on that before you head out. So that's really it for what you can
do with your own car. Now if you are interested in booking some sort of a tour West Yellowstone
is a great hub for snowmobiling. If you want to visit Old Faithful that's going to be your closest
entry point. This is a huge snowmobiling town there is some lodging and some restaurants
and often I see snowmobilers just driving through town so this is a great hub. I've personally never
used any of the guiding services here so I don't have any recommendations based on experience.
But this is a great area to check out if that's something that you're interested in doing.
Now. This video is primarily for those of you who do want to drive a car through the park,
you're not really interested in doing any of the guided tours. So a lot of the tips
and other things that we're going to talk about will be geared towards planning a trip
like that. I do have a detailed blog post which I will link to in the description that
has further information if you want to try to book snowmobiling tours or snowcoach tours to
experience some of the other areas of the park. So check that out in the description.
In terms of the best time in the winter to visit the park. I mean, I really think that
comes down to personal preference and it also can vary so much year to year
like the conditions so it's really hard to kind of put concrete things around certain times but I
visited in both December and February and I really I enjoyed both times February had a lot more snow
but the days were also longer and I think I did really enjoy that December were the shortest but
the days are is that does limit the time that you can kind of see things and get through the park.
Whereas later in the winter in February, you know the days are longer and there was more so and
that was really beautiful. If you're into more of the snow sports like snowshoeing or cross country
skiing, you know that can be really great to have a little bit more snow. So it just kind of varies
depending on what you want to do and honestly when you can get there so I don't really think
there is a best time in the winter to visit but for those longer days and maybe more snow
depending on the activities that you want to do. Maybe waiting a little bit later in the winter
is better but now I want to share my top tips for visiting Yellowstone in the winter. These
are things that I've just learned over the years. If you want to take your car and drive through the
park, this is the stuff that I think you should know. So the first one is fairly obvious and it
is to check the weather before you actually enter the park. So there is very very limited to no
cell service in the park. And so you're gonna want to check the weather before you head in
and check it in multiple places. Because that drive from Gardiner, Montana all the way to Silver
Gate and Cooke City area. That's a long drive, you're covering quite a bit of mileage. And so the
weather could be different in Mammoth Hot Springs than it is over in the Silver Gate area. And so
when I checked the weather, I'm going to check the weather in multiple places to kind of cover
most of that drive so I'll try to check the weather in Gardiner or Mammoth Hot Springs
in Tower junction and then in Cooke City or Silver Gate depending on you know, the weather apps and
stuff that you're using. I have experienced where I'm you know in Lamar Valley, and the weather is
very different there and then I drive towards Mammoth and it's perfectly clear blue skies.
Right no snow. So like I said, it does vary and just check on all that before you head in.
So we got into Lamar Valley and we could see the mountains really well, like three minutes ago,
and now they're completely gone. I don't want to get into like whiteout conditions where you just
can't see like anything in front of you. That's not really for driving so we're gonna head back
out now all this talk about checking the weather. Yes, I always check the weather. It's a great
thing to do. But more often than not, I feel like the weather is not always super accurate.
And so that's where my next tip comes in. Tip number two is to make sure that your vehicle
is prepared for winter travel. So even if you know the weather doesn't say it's supposed to snow,
you want to make sure that your vehicle is checked out and prepared with the appropriate tires
and all that stuff to drive in the winter. And to make sure that you are also comfortable driving
in snowy, icy winter conditions through the mountains. So these roads are windy there are
steep drop offs. There are no guardrails and sections of it. And so you just want to make
sure that your vehicle and you as the driver is prepared for that type of a journey, which then
leads me to tip number three, which is to make sure that you have emergency supplies in your
vehicle. This I think is the most overlooked thing when it comes to winter travel and winter road
trips. Or just road trips in general. But you want to make sure that you have the supplies and gear
in your vehicle to stay out longer than you expected and to help yourself in the event of
an emergency because like I said there is no self service there. The park is a lot less crowded in
the winter as well. So you just have a lot less people driving around and you just want to be able
to help yourself in the event of an emergency. For example, I always have a big extra sleeping
bag in my car in case I have to sit out and I need something to keep me warm. I have extra clothing
I have plenty of extra food and water tire changing supplies, you know all that kind of stuff
so that I can handle things if they come up in another thing as a battery powered jumper box for
your car if your battery dies. So these things are really important to be thinking about and to be
preparing for prior to entering the park. Tip number four is to bring plenty of extra clothing
layers have more than you think you're going to need. Yellowstone National Park it gets so cold
typical temperatures in Yellowstone can range from zero Fahrenheit to 20 Fahrenheit during the day
but sub zero temperatures are very common. So it is good to be cold. actually read that the record
low temperature in Yellowstone is negative 66 degrees Fahrenheit. What the heck right?
I cannot even imagine that. And then you add in you know the wind chill and things like that
and it can feel very cold very quickly. So really bringing those extra clothing layers and thinking
about dressing in moisture wicking clothing, and in layers, hats, gloves, all that good stuff you
want to consider like a face guard a neck gator and stuff like that to block you from the wind.
Depending on what activities you're going to be doing in the park. You're going to need gear and
clothing for those activities. For example, if you want to go snowshoeing or cross country skiing,
of course you're going to need specific things for that. But if you are just driving through
the park, think about warm. Insulated boots as well. fleece lined pants are my favorite because
they just had that extra layer of warmth. So just make sure you pack all of those layers in the car
so that you have some options when you're in the park and you're able to adjust as the temperatures
change. Tip number five is to bring lots of snacks and warm drinks. So there are no facilities in the
park other than some little things in Mammoth Hot Springs area. You know once you enter the park and
start that drive thru and into Lamar Valley, there are no places to buy snacks or buy water
and that kind of stuff. So make sure that your car is fully stocked with all the food and snacks
you're going to want for throughout the day. But then also consider bringing a thermos with some
hot cocoa or some hot coffee. I also like to pack my backpacking stove so that I can make some hot
coffee or some hot cocoa throughout the day. But just having a thermos of hot liquid while
you're sitting out looking at animals is just so nice. And so I definitely recommend packing that.
Another thing that I like to do is stop at the local grocery store in Gardiner,
Montana and pick up to go sandwiches, and that just makes a really easy lunch to have on hand
as you're driving through the park. Tip number six is don't forget binoculars or a spotting scope.
If you're going to spend the time and the money to travel to Yellowstone,
then I highly recommend that you at least bring a nice pair of binoculars and maybe even a tripod
to set them on the landscape and Yellowstone is so vast and a lot of times the animals can be at
quite a distance like especially if you happen to get lucky and spot the wolves. You're going
to want some binoculars to be able to look at them a lot closer. So that's just one of those things
that I think a lot of people don't really think to bring if you're just passing through the park but
it will make such a difference in just allowing you to see so many more details and really just
slow things down. Enjoy the landscape and then the tripod is nice if you are going to sit out
and look for your binoculars for a long period of time. You're holding them up to your face.
It's it just gets kind of sickening very quickly so if you have a tripod to put them on, it just
makes things a lot more stable and enjoyable to look through. I will link to the tripod and
the binoculars that I have in the description below. If you want to take that a step further,
you can get a spotting scope and that is something that we're hoping to get before our next trip to
Yellowstone They're a lot bigger bulkier but now they are really spectacular if you happen to spot
some animals in the distance a spotting scope is awesome. So that's our next upgrade. But at
the very least binoculars will be really nice to have And my last tip is to watch out for animals
on the roadway. So the animals in Yellowstone are wild animals. They are unpredictable, so you
obviously don't want to be approaching them. But I have noticed that in the winter especially later
in the winter when there's a lot more snow built up in the park some of the animals specifically
the bison tend to take the roads a lot more because it's obviously easier to move through
the road that is plowed than it is to move through several feet of snow. So I just noticed that the
bison tend to be a lot closer to the road. And so just watch out for the animals and don't approach
them just keep in mind that bison can run up to like 35 miles an hour. They're very agile. They
are not these like big slow moving animals so they can't outrun you. So just do not underestimate the
wild animals or remember they are wild animals. So you just want to be keeping a good safe distance
and not approaching them and being patient if you know they're crossing the road or whatever it is.
So that those are my tips for visiting Yellowstone in the winter. If you want to plan a trip there
and drive through, like I mentioned, check out a lot of the resources and links to things in the
description box below the video. There's tons more info there when you're actually going to plan your
trip. I hope this was helpful if you have any other questions please comment below. I'm happy
to help you. Give the video a like if you liked it and I will see you in the next video.