More folks are visiting Yellowstone National Park this summer than any other year we’ve seen. While we think it’s wonderful that families are experiencing one of America’s greatest treasures, all of the tourists are making lodging hard to come by. In fact, we’ve heard that some of the most popular lodging towns like West Yellowstone, Gardiner and Cooke City are completely booked some nights!
Instead of struggling to find a hotel room or Airbnb (plus paying exorbitant nightly rates), consider Yellowstone backpacking tours this summer. Continue reading to learn a little bit more about booking your backpacking adventure this summer.
Why go backpacking?
Visitors who haven’t backpacked or camped much might feel like backpacking through Yellowstone would be a bit daunting. These are a few reasons to step out of your comfort zone and go for it:
Avoid the crowds: Yellowstone had 3.81 million visitors in 2020, and that number is expected to be much higher this year. Additionally, 97 percent of those travelers never make it more than half a mile from the road! Instead of dealing with those throngs of people, hit the road and go backpacking.
See the true Yellowstone: With over 2 million acres of terrain, Yellowstone is larger than Rhode Island and Connecticut combined. While that fact is difficult to fathom on its own, it’s harder to picture that only 3 percent of the park is fully developed. The only way to see the other 97 percent of the park—which features more geyser basins, waterfalls and other natural treasures—is to go backpacking.
Truly unplug from everything: Getting away from it all can be difficult, even if you’re spending the day in Yellowstone. The only way to fully escape from everyday stresses and today’s technology is to backpack through the park and sleep under the stars each evening.
Why book through Yellowstone Tour Guides?
Here are a few of the top reasons so many travelers love booking their Yellowstone vacations with us:
Our guides are trained: Some of the guides you’ll find at other tour companies are only outdoors lovers and not specifically trained in guiding tours. That’s not the case with us! All of our team members have undergone rigorous training to ensure they’re capable of leading groups.
We provide everything you need: Many of our guests don’t have their own camping gear—and that’s no problem! We rent out every piece of camping gear you’ll need for your journey. We even provide permits and can set up campsites to make your visit to the park even easier.
We have several options available: Regardless of how long you want to explore the park or where you want to go, we have a backpacking tour for you! We also have day backpacking tours for those who aren’t interested in camping overnight.
Talk to us today!
Now is one of the best times to backpack through Yellowstone—don’t miss your opportunity to experience it this summer! Please email [email protected] to reserve your Yellowstone backpacking tours or to learn more about visiting our beautiful part of the country.
With travel restrictions lifted across the country, Americans are ready to get out and travel this summer! Due to its natural beauty and endless opportunities for outdoor recreation for the whole family, Yellowstone National Park is one of the hottest destinations each summer. But we’ve never seen Yellowstone as crowded as it is this year.
We love hosting 2021 Yellowstone tours, but they’re getting a little hard to come by. In fact, West Yellowstone, Gardiner and Cooke City all have several nights with zero lodging availability. Even if you’re able to find a place to stay, there’s still a major rental car shortage. With that rental car shortage comes sky-high prices, with some companies charging as much as $12,000 per week.
But before you throw in the towel and think it’s too late or expensive to see Yellowstone this summer, consider booking a trip through Yellowstone Tour Guides!
Why book with Yellowstone Tour Guides?
For an unrivaled and hassle-free trip to Yellowstone, be sure to make reservations with us for your 2021 Yellowstone tours. Here are a few reasons families and solo travelers come to us instead of trying to book a trip on their own:
No rental car required: Instead of paying upwards of $12,000 for a week at Yellowstone, just book a tour with us. All you need to do is book a flight to Bozeman, MT, and we can take care of the rest with some advance notice.
We can find accommodations: We mentioned above how lodging is hard to come by this summer. If you’re a little flexible with your travel dates, our experts can find a place for you to stay so you can relax and enjoy your time in the park.
The top tour guides: Our guides aren’t just experts at showing guests the best parts of Yellowstone. We also train them to avoid crowds to ensure you get to see the best of the park without dealing with a ton of other families.
See additional sites: Our guides can’t avoid all of the crowds in Yellowstone—there are just too many people! However, we can take you to less-crowded destinations like the breathtaking Beartooth Highway or historic Virginia City. Wherever you’d like to go or whatever sites you’d like to see, our guides can make it happen.
Affordable tours: There’s no reason to break the bank to see Yellowstone this summer. When you book through us, you can rest easy knowing you’re getting a great deal. We have a wide variety of vacation packages available to meet anyone’s budget.
Later-season dates available: The dates this summer are filling up fast, but if you’re able to visit later in the season, like in August, September or October, we’ve got you covered! Additionally, we offer ski trips each winter for folks looking to hit the slopes.
Don’t delay—book today! As we mentioned above, dates are filling up fast for 2021 Yellowstone tours, so be sure to book your excursion today. Email our team at [email protected] to secure your summer vacation!
The COVID-19 pandemic is finally easing up, we have a vaccine and that means summer vacations are back in full swing. If you’re thinking about coming to Yellowstone this summer, planning ahead is more important than ever. Yours is not the only group that wants to get outside and experience the natural beauty Yellowstone has to offer! Read on to learn why coming to Yellowstone this year requires some serious advance planning—and how Yellowstone Tour Guides can help.
Summer 2021 is a busy season for Yellowstone already
The greater Yellowstone area is expecting beyond capacity visitation this summer. Rental cars and lodging are already filled up during several dates this summer, both inside and outside the park. As you can imagine, now that people are becoming fully vaccinated and are able and willing to travel, they’re planning trips to the park. Not only is it one of America’s most stunning natural wonders, but if you’re still virus-wary, the outdoors is the perfect place to visit. COVID-19 transmission is much less likely to occur when you’re outside, let alone hiking the backcountry with few other people in sight.
If that sounds good to you, let Yellowstone Tour Guides take you on a trip!
How Yellowstone Tour Guides can help you plan ahead
Why plan a vacation when Yellowstone Tour Guides can do it for you? This is the best time to let us plan your multi-day vacation. All you have to do is fly into Bozeman, and we’ll take it from there. We’ll plan your lodging,tours and even your alternate activities. Just tell us about your group—age, activity level and preferences—and we’ll suggest the perfect tours for you. That guarantees you’ll see a side of Yellowstone you’ve never seen before, with experienced guides who know and genuinely love the park.
As tour guides, we know exactly how to navigate the vastness of the park. The best way to see everything you want to see is to move around the area, cutting out the commuting hours to and from the same location. In fact, at least right now, we’ve been able to find lodging and all the amenities our clients want. However, we can’t guarantee that for much longer. Tours and amenities are booking up fast, so you need to act now! Otherwise, you risk missing out on everything Yellowstone has to offer.
In fact, our multi-day trips also travel opposite of the major traffic patterns. This is by design—it keeps you out of the worst traffic jams in the park (unless the wildlife decide to park themselves in the middle of the road, which is not unusual). That way, you can see everything this majestic space has to offer.If you want to spend your summer vacation where the buffalo, bears, birds and other natural wonders are, get in touch with Yellowstone Tour Guides today. We have a variety of trips for every age and level of athleticism. Remember, planning ahead this summer is more important than ever!
Visiting Yellowstone National Park is often a once-in-a-lifetime experience for most visitors. There are few places that match its natural splendor and incredible wildlife—but sometimes that comes with a price. Last month, a bear mauled a victim in West Yellowstone. That’s a tragedy, and in our opinion, the victim did nothing wrong. Read on to learn more about the bear attack and how you can protect yourself when you’re in the back country.
How it happened
While no one knows for sure how this particular bear attack happened, we are familiar with the victim. His name was Carl Mock, and we worked with him at Loomis during the winter seasons for many years. From what we know of the attack and of Carl himself, we don’t believe he did anything wrong—in fact, this could have happened to anyone, even the most well-prepared and seasoned guide.
From what we understand, Carl went fishing after work in a popular area, close to the highway. He then had a surprise encounter with a grizzly bear protecting a buried moose carcass. It is likely the attack happened so quickly that Carl did not have time to deploy his bear spray.
The investigators went to the scene the next day, and found a very aggressive grizzly bear, who would not run away—even with investigators trying to run him off. This is highly unusual. Unfortunately, the bear had to be put down as well.
What you need to know
Most bear mauling incidents, including this one, are surprise encounters. Bear spray is a great option, and Carl was carrying it. However, we must remember there is no way to stay 100 percent safe in grizzly country. It is a risk those of us take to live and work in prime grizzly habitat. Sometimes the bear is simply quicker than someone with bear spray or a gun. That is a sad fact of life—but one that residents of Big Sky, West Yellowstone, Gardiner, Cooke City and Jackson all take on every time we leave our homes in the morning.
Similarly, you must realize that visiting Yellowstone as a tourist carries risks, too. No matter how careful you are, it’s crucial that you respect the wildlife, and take all necessary precautions to protect yourself. Even being in a car does not guarantee your safety. When large animals like grizzly bears decide to attack, there is very little to keep you safe.
However, there’s some good news in that this is only the 15th fatal mauling ever in Yellowstone and the surrounding area. It’s a sad case of wrong place, wrong time and angry bear. As a tourist, you don’t need to be too worried. As long as you carry bear spray and respect the wildlife, you are safer than you are while driving in your car.
We respect Carl Mock’s memory, and encourage our visitors to treat the park with the same respect he did.For more information about our unique Yellowstone tours, call Yellowstone Tour Guides today.
2021 is a big year for Yellowstone Tour Guides, as it marks our 20th anniversary season!
We founded this business in 2001 to provide visitors to Yellowstone National Park with a wide range of comprehensive guided tours that would allow them to get a memorable experience in the park, going as in-depth as they want and seeing all the major sites and wildlife.
While the last year has been particularly unusual and challenging due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are very optimistic that this year will be looking up, with things resembling “normal” more than they have since 2019. There are plenty of ways to book COVID-19-friendly Yellowstone experiences, and we’re here to help you along the way so you can have a national park experience you’ll remember for the rest of your life.
Want to celebrate our 20-year anniversary with us? Here are a few examples of some of the packages we offer:
Summer sightseeing tours: During the busy summer months, we offer a wide range of sightseeing tours to help you get the full Yellowstone experience! Our small group tours are available from Big Sky and West Yellowstone, MT, and go up to six people in size. This is a private tour experience with a per-person rate, using small vehicles and SUVs. This allows us to pull over for wildlife sightings, travel along smaller roads closed to buses and get you up closer to everything you want to see. We also offer various week-long group tours along the lower and upper loop and central Yellowstone, as well as private day tours (up to 11 hours).
Backpacking trips: Approximately 97 percent of Yellowstone is backcountry, so if you really want to get out and explore, backpacking trips are a great way of doing so! It’s safe, rewarding and can be challenging, depending on what you’re looking for. Backpacking trips can be single-day excursions or overnight/multi-day adventures.
Vacation packages: We offer a wide range of multi-day vacation packages, from two days up to 10, which include private tours, park entrance fees and lodging. Plan the trip you want with the activities you want! Meals and gratuities are not included.
Day hikes: As previously mentioned, we do offer some shorter backpacking excursions which we classify as day hikes. These are great opportunities to get out on shorter hikes that still allow you to take in some incredible scenery. Day hikes will typically be four to eight miles in length.
Photography tours: Are you a professional photographer or an avid amateur? We offer a number of photography tours and workshops that allow you to get some fantastic shots of the scenery and the park’s wildlife.
Winter tours: Not all of the park is open in the winter, but there are still some outstanding options to allow you to view the park from a different perspective. This includes various ski trips!
For more information about booking a tour with Yellowstone Tour Guides this year, get in touch with our team today with any questions.
