Arrive in Bozeman, a historic Montana town shaped by rail routes, ranching traditions and its setting at the edge of the Rocky Mountains. Meet your Travel Director and fellow small group travelers and settle in before gathering for dinner. Share introductions over a relaxed meal and begin your winter journey focused on Yellowstone’s snow-covered landscapes.
Travel south to Gardiner, set along the Yellowstone River beneath snow-covered hills at the park’s northern edge. Join a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience with Yellowstone Forever, focused on how wildlife adapts to winter conditions across the park. Continue to Mammoth, passing steaming terraces and open ground shaped by geothermal heat, before traveling into the wide valley floors of Lamar Valley. Here, an Insightful Encounter brings focus to winter wildlife and the landscape reshaped by the return of wolves. Later, travel on to your hotel for the evening.
Spend a full day traveling through Yellowstone by snow coach, using winter routes closed to regular traffic. You’ll move through quiet forest corridors and broad plateaus towards the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, where the river cuts through ice-lined rock. As the day continues, watch for bison moving across snowy meadows, elk along timber edges and coyotes crossing open ground. Travel on to the Upper Geyser Basin to see Old Faithful erupt into the cold air, then explore the surrounding boardwalks before checking into your lodge for the night.
Explore around Old Faithful with Insight Choice. You could explore the geyser basin on snowshoes, follow groomed trails on cross-country skis, or remain indoors with your Travel Director, warming up by the fire with hot chocolate. Your afternoon and evening are free to enjoy Yellowstone in winter. You could head out for ice skating, take a short walk near the lodge, settle in with a camera as the light changes, or step outside after dark when clear skies bring out the stars.
Spend the morning traveling by snow coach through Yellowstone, moving through thermal ground and open winter landscapes. You’ll pass Norris Geyser Basin, one of the park’s most active geothermal areas, and stop at the Madison Junction Warming Station before continuing through the surrounding thermal basin. Around midday, arrive at Mammoth Hot Springs, where time is set aside for lunch at leisure. In the afternoon, depart the park and travel back to Bozeman. This evening, come together with your small group and Travel Director for a final dinner, marking the the final night of your winter journey through Yellowstone.
After breakfast, say goodbye to your Travel Director and fellow small-group travelers. Depart Bozeman at leisure, bringing your winter journey through Yellowstone to a close.
