Yellowstone Trips

The park sits on top of a supervolcano, which is why it holds roughly half the world’s geysers and hot springs, from Old Faithful and the vast blue-and-orange Grand Prismatic Spring to the travertine terraces of Mammoth Hot Springs. Beyond the geothermal basins, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone drops past two large waterfalls, and the broad Lamar and Hayden valleys hold the wildlife the park is known for: bison herds, elk, grizzly and black bears, and the wolves reintroduced in the 1990s. Just to the south, the sharp peaks of Grand Teton National Park make a natural add-on, and several trips combine the two. It is a centrepiece of the American West within Guided United States tours and the wider Guided North America tours.

In summer and early autumn the walking is the main draw, from short boardwalks around the geyser basins to full days on backcountry trails, with the wildlife of Lamar Valley a highlight of any visit and a reason Yellowstone ranks among the best wildlife tours anywhere. The guided hikes run from gentler introductions that take in Grand Teton to harder routes into the park’s remote corners, and sit among the country’s finest hiking tours. When winter closes the roads the park turns quiet and white, and snowshoeing around Mammoth Hot Springs is the way to see it, one of the more rewarding snow tours in the West.

Deciding when to go to Yellowstone depends on what you want to experience. The summer months offer warm weather and full access to park facilities, making it the peak season for hiking and wildlife watching. Spring and fall provide a chance to see the park with fewer crowds, while winter transforms Yellowstone into a snowy wonderland ideal for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.

Yellowstone sits over one of the world’s largest volcanic systems, and the heat close beneath the surface drives more than 10,000 hydrothermal features, roughly half of all those on earth. They come in four kinds: geysers, which erupt when water trapped in narrow underground channels flashes to steam; hot springs, the most common, where water circulates freely and simply pools; mudpots, where acid breaks the rock down to bubbling clay; and fumaroles, vents that hiss out steam alone.

Trips on offer in and around Yellowstone, shorter to longer:

1. Guided Yellowstone and Grand Teton Hiking Tour 5 days of guided hikes across Yellowstone and neighbouring Grand Teton.
2. Guided Yellowstone Snowshoe Adventure 5 days snowshoeing the winter park around Mammoth Hot Springs.
3. Guided Yellowstone Hiking Adventure Tour 7 days hiking beyond the geysers into the park’s remote corners.
4. Self-Guided Yellowstone, Tetons, Glacier Self-Drive Tour 15 days driving three great national parks at your own pace.