Category: Yellowstone

A Guide to Canoeing and Kayaking in Yellowstone National Park

Jim Holstein |

Yellowstone National Park is a land of sweeping plains, towering mountains, and, perhaps most importantly, majestic waterways. With more than 2,000 lakes and rivers, some of which are the purest in the world, canoeing and kayaking are wonderful ways to explore this iconic park.

From leisurely paddling on calm waters to the challenging rapids of the Yellowstone River, there’s something for all levels of canoeists and kayakers. Here are our Yellowstone tour guides’ tips to the best canoeing and kayaking opportunities in Yellowstone National Park.

Planning Your Trip

Before you gear up for your paddling adventure, it’s essential to plan your trip thoroughly. Here are some factors to keep in mind:

– Weather: Check the current and upcoming weather forecast, as it can have a significant impact on your safety and enjoyment.

– Regulations: Be aware of park regulations such as camping restrictions, permits, and boating rules.

– Equipment: Make sure you have the right gear, including life jackets, paddles, and a waterproof bag.

– Route: Choose a route that matches your skill level and time constraints.

Where to Paddle

Yellowstone National Park is open for canoeing and kayaking from late May to early September, depending on the weather. The waterways in Yellowstone vary from calm lakes to fast-moving rivers, so choose a route that matches your skill level and speed preference. Here are some of the best spots for canoeing and kayaking in Yellowstone National Park.

1. Lewis and Shoshone Lakes

Lewis and Shoshone Lakes lie in the southwestern part of the park and form a vast basin with a meandering channel system. These lakes offer beautiful scenery with stunning reflections of the mountains. Paddle along shorelines, through channels, and across open water to see moose, osprey, and other wildlife. Be aware that the wind can create choppy conditions on these lakes, so check the weather forecast before heading out.

2. Yellowstone Lake

Yellowstone Lake is the largest freshwater lake at high elevation in North America. The lake has many paddling routes and plenty to see, ranging from hot springs to geysers and wildlife. This is an excellent spot for an overnight trip, and backcountry campsites are available for reservation.

3. Gardner River

The Gardner River is a magnificent stream that winds through deep gorges with towering cliffs and cascading waterfalls. The river offers some of the best white water action in the park and is ideal for experienced kayakers.

4. Yellowstone River

The Yellowstone River is the longest undammed river in the lower 48 states and is a great spot for a multi-day float trip. The river is also famous for excellent fly fishing that brings in anglers from all over the world.

5. Lamar River

The Lamar River is one of the best gems for summer sightseeing in the park. Paddle along the Lamar Valley, which is known as the “Serengeti of North America,” and spot bison, elk, wolves, and other wildlife. Wildlife viewers must keep a safe and respectful distance from wildlife.

Tips for a Safe and Enjoyable Paddling Trip

Canoeing and kayaking in Yellowstone National Park can be a fantastic experience if you’re well-prepared and cautious. Here are some tips to ensure a safe and enjoyable trip:

– Never paddle alone: Always bring a paddling partner and make sure they have experience in paddling, backcountry camping, and wilderness first aid.

– Wear a life jacket: Always wear a properly-fitted life jacket when on the water.

– Be aware of weather conditions: Yellowstone’s weather can be unpredictable and change quickly. Be aware of wind, rain, and thunderstorm warnings.

– Keep your distance from wildlife: Wildlife, including bison and bears, can be dangerous. Give them plenty of space and observe from a safe distance.

– Plan your route: Make sure to plan your route in advance, including timelines, stopping points, and contingency plans in case of an emergency. Have detailed maps or a GPS device with you at all times.

– Be prepared for emergencies: Bring a first-aid kit, a whistle, a signal mirror, and additional food and water in case of emergencies or unexpected delays.

– Respect the environment: Paddle safely and keep the environment clean by packing out all garbage and disposing of everything correctly.

– Secure your gear: Keep your paddling gear in a waterproof bag or container, and always secure it to your boat.

Conclusion

Canoeing and kayaking in Yellowstone National Park are excellent ways to experience the park’s beauty and wildlife. It’s essential to plan your trip in advance, know your gear and skill level, follow the park’s regulations, and stay alert and cautious on the water. Remember wildlife are wild animals, and the natural environment is delicate, they should be respected. By keeping these tips in mind, you can have a safe, fun, and memorable paddling experience in Yellowstone National Park. Contact us to book your next adventure today!

Photography Tips for Capturing the Beauty of Yellowstone National Park

Jim Holstein |

Yellowstone National Park is a captivating wonderland of natural beauty located in the western United States. With its unique geological features, stunning landscapes, and diverse wildlife, it’s a photographer’s paradise. However, capturing the beauty of Yellowstone is not a simple task. In this blog post, our Yellowstone tour guides explore some photography tips for capturing the beauty of Yellowstone National Park.

1. Plan your shoot

Before you head out to photograph Yellowstone, it’s essential to do your research and plan your shoot. Research the park’s best photographic hotspots and plan the best time of day to visit them. Consider the weather, the time of year, and the lighting conditions. Different areas of the park may have different lighting conditions, so plan accordingly.

2. Bring the right gear

Yellowstone is a vast park, and traveling long distances may be necessary to reach the best photo locations. Make sure to pack only the essentials and bring a sturdy backpack to keep your gear organized. A tripod is essential for taking steady shots of landscapes and wildlife. A polarizer filter will also come in handy when shooting in bright sunlight.

3. Capture the light

The light in Yellowstone can be both beautiful and tricky to master. The park is full of dynamic light conditions, and it’s essential to be mindful of the changing light throughout the day. The early morning light is soft and soothing, producing warm hues, while the nighttime offers a dramatic and moody atmosphere. The magic hour, which is the hour before sunrise and the hour after sunset, is an excellent time to capture the stunning colors of the landscape.

4. Explore the park’s diverse wildlife

Yellowstone National Park is home to a wide range of wildlife, including bison, elk, moose, bears, wolves, and coyotes. Research the best spots to find wildlife on your photography tour, and always keep a safe distance. Yellowstone’s wildlife can be unpredictable, and it’s essential to respect their space and protect yourself. A zoom lens that can capture distant animals is crucial for wildlife photography. But keep in mind that wildlife photography requires patience and respect for the animals.

5. Use depth of field to convey the scale

Yellowstone’s landscapes are vast and awe-inspiring, and it can be challenging to capture their size and scale in a photograph. Using the right depth of field can help convey the scale and depth of the landscape. A shallow depth of field, produced by a large aperture, can create a sense of depth in your photos. On the other hand, a narrow depth of field creates a more focused image, drawing attention to specific parts of the landscape.

6. Experiment with different angles and perspectives

Get creative with your photography and experiment with different angles and perspectives. Try shooting from a low angle to capture the ground features of Yellowstone, or shoot from a high angle to see the landscape from a bird’s eye view. Shooting from different perspectives can help create new and unique perspectives of the park.

7. Consider the weather

Yellowstone’s weather can be unpredictable, and it’s essential to prepare for all types of conditions. Regardless of your planned shoot, always bring rain gear and warm clothing. Be mindful of the wind’s direction, which can affect your shots, and consider how different weather conditions can enhance or detract from the shot.

Final Thoughts

Yellowstone National Park is a photographer’s dream location, where natural beauty and diverse wildlife are plentiful. Capturing the beauty of Yellowstone requires careful planning, the right gear, and an understanding of the park’s unique lighting and conditions. With these photography tips, you’ll be able to capture the essence and mystique of Yellowstone National Park in your photographs. Contact us to schedule your own adventure now!

Yellowstone in Spring – Tips and Activities

Jim Holstein |

Yellowstone Park is one of the most spectacular places on Earth, and springtime is an especially special time to visit. If you’re planning a trip to Yellowstone in the spring, you should know that it can be quite busy. But there are still plenty of things to do and see in the park in the springtime, if you take some time out from your busy schedule to explore. Here are a few tips from our Yellowstone tour guides to help you plan your visit to Yellowstone in the spring.

Get Up Early

If you’re planning to visit Yellowstone Park in the spring, it’s important to get up early. This is the best time to see wildlife, steam from hydrothermal features and be in the right place for Old Faithful to erupt. You’ll also have fewer people around to disturb the quietness of the park and limit your risk for hypothermia. However, you’ll need to pack a little extra warm clothing for April as the temperature can dip below freezing during the day and rain can quickly turn into ice on roads overnight. If you’re interested in seeing wildlife, head to Lamar Valley in April to watch bison calve and black bears emerge from their dens. You’ll also see wolves, moose and elk in the area. Make sure to follow the park’s wildlife viewing guidelines and stay at least 100 yards away from any animal.

Hike

Spring is a great time to explore Yellowstone Park when it’s quiet and less crowded. You’ll have more time to get up close and personal with wildlife without crowds obstructing your view. It’s also an excellent time to take a Yellowstone backpacking day trip! Many of these are accessible and relatively easy, which means you don’t need to be an expert to enjoy them. In addition to enjoying the landscapes and waterfalls, you’ll likely be able to spot a variety of birds and animals as they start to return from their winter homes and migrate back into the park. Some of the most common reappearing species include sandhill cranes, mountain bluebirds and ospreys.

Go Wildlife Watching

Spring is an amazing time to visit Yellowstone Park, with wildlife in full bloom and birds reemerging from their winter hiding places. It’s also less crowded and offers an opportunity to hike in relative solitude. During this brief period, you can enjoy everything from wolf pack hunts to grizzly bear sightings to an abundance of bison and elk calves. As with all Yellowstone wildlife, be aware that animals are wild and unpredictable – always keep your distance. Use binoculars or a telephoto lens to get a better view of animals and back away slowly whenever an animal approaches you. Besides the wildlife, spring is a great time to explore thermal features like geysers and hot springs. The steam that rises and gathers during these times makes them particularly exciting to watch.

Check Out The Old Faithful

If you are visiting Yellowstone Park in the spring, don’t miss seeing the world’s most famous geyser: Old Faithful. This gushing spout of superheated water has fascinated millions of visitors for over 150 years, and it’s a must-see on every trip to the park. The first geyser named in the park, Old Faithful erupts at regular intervals and is the most predictable geyser in the Upper Geyser Basin. You can get an estimated eruption time online, and the rangers at the visitor center and at a Junior Ranger station will let you know if there’s a chance you can see it during your visit. To avoid the crowds, try to arrive early in the morning – ideally before 10 am, but getting here earlier is even better. Then, you can walk the boardwalk trails through the Upper Geyser Basin with far fewer people, and exit the park before it gets too crowded.

Don’t Overdo It

One of the most important things to remember when planning a visit to Yellowstone Park in the spring is to not overdo it. Over 4 million visitors come to Yellowstone each year, and it takes a lot of effort and resources to keep everyone safe while enjoying the park. You don’t want to risk falling in a hot spring or getting charged by a bison. This is a common occurrence, and it can lead to serious injury or even death. For this reason, we recommend exploring Yellowstone on foot, rather than driving around. This way you can get off the beaten path and really enjoy some of the lesser-known parts of the park! Contact us to start planning your next adventure now!

Why 5 Million People Visit Yellowstone Park Annually

Jim Holstein |

Why 5 Million People Visit Yellowstone Park Annually

Yellowstone Park has a wide variety of attractions that draw a lot of visitors. There are geysers, hot springs, a grand canyon, forests, and more, and our Yellowstone tour guides are here to help you find the best!

Old Faithful

Located in the Upper Geyser Basin, Old Faithful is the largest concentration of geysers and hot springs in the world. It’s also the park’s number one attraction and is a great reason to visit Yellowstone. Currently, Old Faithful erupts 20 times a day. Eruptions can be predicted within about a 10 minute variation based on prior eruption length and water discharge.

Mammoth Hot Springs

Mammoth Hot Springs is one of the many unique reasons why 5 million people visit Yellowstone Park annually. The travertine terraces at Mammoth Hot Springs have formed over thousands of years as hot water laden with calcium carbonate flows over them. Over two tons of carbonate are deposited in Mammoth every day! Additionally, Mammoth is both a town and a geological formation, providing a wealth of amenities including history, lodging, and restaurants. Mammoth is also a great place to see wildlife. You can often spot elk grazing in the area and in the fall, you can even witness the rut.

South Rim Trail – Artist Point

If you want to see one of the most awe-inspiring views in the park, head out on the South Rim Trail to Artist Point. It’s a great option for a Yellowstone vacation package. If the weather’s good, you may even be able to see a rainbow over the Lower Falls from Artist Point! During the summer, this hike gets extremely busy so it’s best to try and get up early to beat the crowds. The trail begins at Chittenden Bridge and ends at Artist Point. It’s a 1.9-mile round-trip.

Wildlife

Yellowstone Park is home to a unique mix of geothermal features and wildlife. It holds half of the world’s geysers, mud pots, hot springs and steaming fumaroles. The park also boasts a variety of grizzly bears, wolves, coyotes, elk and bison. Visitors can catch a glimpse of these magnificent creatures while traveling through the park, and some animals are easier to see than others.

Mud Volcano

Mud volcanoes occur where layers of water-saturated clay rocks in the Earth’s interior are under pressure from above, driven upward by nearby gas. They are usually small, just a few inches or meters tall. The mud volcano in Yellowstone Park is unique because it has enough acidity to destroy stone, creating bubbling mud pools and spitting hot springs. This area also has one of the most powerful odors in all of Yellowstone, thanks to hydrogen sulfide gas that escapes from the ground here atop a resurgent dome within the magma chamber of the Yellowstone Caldera. Contact us to start planning your next adventure now!

Things To Know And See Your First Time At Yellowstone

Jim Holstein |

Things To Know And See Your First Time At Yellowstone

The park is a very popular tourist destination and can get very busy, especially during the spring and fall months. During these times, it is very important to take your time and enjoy the scenery. If you’re planning your first time at Yellowstone, there are a few things you should know. These tips will ensure your trip is both safe and fun.

The Grand Prismatic Spring

The Grand Prismatic Spring is the most famous hot spring in Yellowstone, and it’s one of the park’s most popular attractions. At 370 feet in diameter, it’s bigger than a football field and the third-largest spring on Earth. The water is incredibly hot (it’s up to 189 degrees Fahrenheit) and bubbles up in a circle around the center of the spring. The ring of hot water gradually cools as it spreads out across the spring’s massive surface, creating bands of distinct temperatures around each side. These colors are the result of billions of microbes and minerals in the water, as well as sunlight being scattered by mineral particles. The bacteria thrive in the warmer waters and create a rainbow of vibrant colors, with dazzling bright yellows, fierce oranges and deep reds only appearing near the edges of the spring. You can see this incredible rainbow from the boardwalk in the Midway Geyser Basin, but it’s worth a short hike up to the overlook for an even better view. The trail starts at Fairy Falls and climbs 105 feet above Midway Lake.

Old Faithful

If you’re visiting Yellowstone for the first time, then Old Faithful is likely at the top of your to-do list. But, with so many visitors coming to see the world-famous geyser every year, getting the best view can be tough. However, there are a few things you can do to ensure you have a memorable eruption viewing experience. As a rule, it’s best to visit in the shoulder seasons (September or October) when crowds are less likely. Also, avoid times between noon and 6 p.m. when bus tours and visitors are expected to arrive, if you’d like a more intimate experience with the erupting geyser all to yourself. Another thing that’s often overlooked when visiting Yellowstone is the wildlife that lives around and on top of the geyser. Thousands of animals (including bison, elk, mule deer, pronghorn antelope and even birds) call Yellowstone home.

Yellowstone Lake

There are a lot of things to know and see when visiting Yellowstone for the first time. It’s important to understand the basics and plan ahead to make the most of your trip! One of the most popular activities at Yellowstone is exploring the 136-square-mile Yellowstone Lake. It’s the largest high-elevation lake in North America and is home to many thermal features. It’s also a great place to get out of the crowds and view more wildlife. There are a variety of options for boat tours, fishing, and kayaking on the lake. It’s also important to remember that Yellowstone is constantly changing. This means that you won’t be seeing the same thermal features you saw last year!

The Mammoth Hot Springs

Mammoth Hot Springs, one of Yellowstone’s most stunning attractions, is a geothermal site known for its travertine terraces. They are unlike any other thermal feature in the park. These unique formations are a result of a geothermal system that is connected to an ancient volcano. The Mammoth Hot Springs are made up of limestone, a type of rock that is more soft than other types of rock. The water that comes out of the Mammoth Hot Springs is heated by a partially molten magma chamber deep underground, which radiates heat to the earth’s surface. A few springs in the Mammoth Hot Springs area are active. The Liberty Cap, a 37-foot-high cone that’s unique to the Mammoth Hot Springs, is a spectacular sight. And if you are going to visit Mammoth Hot Springs, make sure you stop by the Lower Terrace boardwalk. This trail connects a number of the most spectacular Mammoth Hot Springs, including New Highland Terrace, Prospect Terrace, Orange Spring Mound, Snow Pond, Bath Lake, White Elephant Back Terrace and Angel Terrace.