Yellowstone National Park Offers Unique Winter Vacations
Saturday, September 10th, 2011
Most people probably think of Yellowstone National Park as a summer destination. While it’s true that the park receives most of its visitors during the summer months, winter in Yellowstone offers visitors spectacular scenery and a kind of tranquility that is seldom found in the busy season of June through August. Winter in Yellowstone is unique, because it presents amazing photographic opportunities as the steam from geysers and other geothermal features contrasts with the cold air. Somehow, Yellowstone National Park looks like a foreign land or even another planet when it is covered in snow and demonstrates the simultaneous effects of extreme heat and cold.
Several winter vacation packages are available in Yellowstone National Park, and they include snowmobile and lodging combinations, the frosty fun package, nordic heaven package, and trail of the wolf package. Snowmobile and lodging combination packages are available at the west entrance (West Yellowstone) of the park, and they include lodging and daily snowmobile rentals. If you want to snowmobile inside the park, you must hire a licensed guide and you must remain on the road at all times. No off-road snowmobiling is permitted inside the park; however, there are countless snowmobile trails and backcountry meadows in the national forests outside of the park for those visitors with a preference to get off the beaten path.
The frosty fun package includes a minimum of two nights of lodging either at Mammoth Hot Springs or Old Faithful Snow Lodge, snowcoach transportation, two breakfasts per person, one welcome gift per adult, unlimited ice skate rental and ice skating, and one discount card per adult good for 10% off select gift shop items, rentals, meals, and tours.
The nordic heaven package is a dream vacation for cross-country skiers. The package includes a minimum of two nights lodging, snowcoach transportation, two breakfasts per person, one welcome gift per adult, one ski rental per person per day, unlimited ski drops per person, unlimited ice skate rental and ice skating, and one discount card per adult good for 10% discounts on select gift shop items, tours, rentals, and meals.
The trail of the wolf package is an excellent choice for wildlife viewers and photographers. This package offers a combination of guided park touring by snowmobile and wildlife viewing in the park’s northern portions by van transportation. The package includes a minimum of three nights of lodging at Old Faithful and Mammoth Hot Springs, a round-trip guided snowmobile tour between Old Faithful and Mammoth, a wildlife tour in Lamar Valley, and additional components found in the other packages.
Each of these inclusive winter vacation packages offers a different perspective on Yellowstone National Park during a time when the park is generally quieter and less crowded. Imagine the contrast of huge steam clouds rising against the pure, cold, clear, blue sky on a bright sunny day with fresh powdery snow on the ground and evergreen trees. The sunlight glistens on the freshly snow-covered ground. Imagine watching a bison with the fog of its breath rising into the cold mountain air. This is Yellowstone National Park, and there is no other place on earth that will inspire you, heighten your senses, calm your soul, and leave you in awe like Yellowstone in winter.
It’s only September, but visitors are advised to plan their winter vacation early so that they can enjoy the best selection of dates and options. Only two lodges inside the park are open during the winter season. As a result, even certain dates in the winter season can sell out, especially around holidays. Enjoy the ultimate experience that Yellowstone Park can offer, plan your winter vacation today! For more information about Yellowstone winter vacations, visit http://www.nationalparktravel.com/yellowstone_winter_vacations.htm
Each year, many millions of people visit America’s national parks. Visitors use a variety of sources to obtain the information they need to plan a national park vacation. Many use an informative website such as