Enjoying Yellowstone National Park in the Winter

Montana’s Yellowstone Country is home to three of the five entrances to Yellowstone: the West, North, and Northeast Entrances in West Yellowstone, Gardiner, and Silver Gate/Cooke City, respectively. Each offers a different perspective and landscape, and all are worth a visit, particularly if you've never visited while the Park is covered in its winter white. It's a quiet time of year, and the lack of crowds adds to the feeling of vastness.

If you’re flying, Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport is the closest airport. This winter, they’ve got direct flights to twenty locations, including a new seasonal flight from Boise, Idaho. Bozeman’s a great overnight destination itself, with a robust live music scene, skiing at Bridger Bowl, fantastic restaurants and Bozeman Hot Springs.

Guided Tours and Exploring West Yellowstone

The West Entrance is closed to vehicles during the winter, however, snowmobile and snowcoach tours leave right from town! (You can find a list of authorized tour guides here.) This section of Yellowstone is full of steamy geysers, ice-covered bison and the Old Faithful Snow Lodge and Cabins. Overnight at the Lodge includes ice skating and free skate rentals, and the Bear Den Ski Shop offers cross-country ski lessons, rentals, tours and shuttles. (Although there are trails right out the door!)

West Yellowstone is also a great town to bring the family — their Kids n’ Snow weekends, the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center, and Rendezvous Ski Trails. And, if you’re a hard-core snowmobiler, they have over 400 miles of trails and get an average of 150 inches of annual snowfall.

Wildlife Watching in the Lamar Valley

The North and Northeast Entrances are open to vehicles during the winter, which provides a different experience. The area is known as the “American Serengeti” because of its diverse and large wildlife population, including most of the wolves in Yellowstone. Mammoth Hot Springs is a great place to walk around the terraces, and the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel also stays open during the winter months.

For a cozy mountain experience, Cooke City and Silver Gate are tucked up at the road's end and great for backcountry snowmobiling, skiing and ice climbing. On the other end of the road, Gardiner is close to two different hot springs, dog sledding adventures and wildlife tour companies.