Cold Air/Hot Water - More from Yellowstone in Winter

WernerG

Norris Geyser Basin


Mammoth Hot Springs


Mammoth Hot Springs


Near Old Faithful


Old Faithful erupting, viewed from Geyser Hill

black mamba

Good series, Werner. Your Winter shots in Yellowstone have helped me make a decision, though. I'll go get my dose of snow somewhere else...and reserve my time in Yellowstone for the Summer. The Winter there is just too restrictive in regards to access to things I want to see.

Thanks for posting,

Tom

WernerG

Thanks Tom. It is also expensive to tour in the winter. From the North you can drive to Mammoth Hot Springs and stay in the hotel. You can also drive the road through the Lamar Valley to Cooke City, MT, which is a wonderful wildlife viewing area. You can snow or ski to anywhere, even get permits for back country camping. Also the road over Dunraven Pass is open only to foot traffic. But beyond that all long distance touring is by snow coach or snowmobile and they are not cheap. The snow coaches and snowmobiles must stay on the roads. From Mammoth you can take day trips to Norris and Canyon. We stayed mostly at Mammoth but took a snow coach to Old Faithful and stayed one night at the Snow Lodge which gave us 24 hours to walk the boardwalks and trails through the geyser basin. Even those shuttle coaches stop at a couple of sites along the route, different ones in each direction. At Mammoth, Norris and Old Faithful the boardwalks through the basins are open and usually packed down. Still they are hard to walk and often icy, clip-on crampons would be a big help.


So you can get to see quite a bit but those snow coaches are slow and expensive. I certainly wouldn't recommend a winter trip for a first visit. It is restrictive, and it can be very cold, making photography a challenge. We were lucky in that regard. It is a more intimate place in the winter, the animals are calmer, more easily viewable and a part of the landscape. But the bears are hibernating. :-(