Home · Register · Join Upload & Sell

Moderated by: Fred Miranda

FM Forum Rules
Landscape Posting Guidelines

FM Forums | Landscape Photographer | Join Upload & Sell

Archive 2013 · Yellowstone Winter Tours

StarNut
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Yellowstone Winter Tours

Hi,

I'm seriously interested in spending several days next winter in Yellowstone, photographing.

My wife is interested in accompanying me, just to experience Yellowstone in the winter.

Perhaps another couple (he's a photographer; she's not) would join us.

Can people give me recommendations, from personal experience on guides/tours which make sense? I would rather pay more and get more, than just be one of 25 people on a cattle-car tour.

Thanks!

Mark

Jun 04, 2013 at 08:34 PM

bflood
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Yellowstone Winter Tours

Went in Feb 2007 with my wife and another couple. We flew into Bozeman (frequent flyer miles) and stayed in West Yellowstone. We took both snow coach tours from there, one to the geyser basin, the other to the canyon and falls. 2007 was a way-above-average year for snow, and it made the trip even better. Both tours were excellent. We were lucky for weather - no snowfall and, most important, no strong wind. The snow coach tours are excellent - they are restricted to a fixed route, so they can't roam around looking for wildlife, but they stay up-to-date on what's going on in the park, such as the location of a carcass that can attract wolves, coyotes, etc. And they stop for any and all animals they encounter, and will stop anywhere else is you ask. Very knowledgeable people.

Also in West Yellowstone you'll find the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center (small town, easy to find). Very nice place to photograph wolves and bears reasonably close-up (I spent a full day).

Do other searching - you can stay at Old Faithful in the park, but I don't know if snow-coach tours are available from there. Cross-country skiing is common, though, with some well defined trails available. Also, Mammoth Hot Springs is open for lodging, and the road from there over through the Lamar Valley and out the east gate are kept open in the winter.

Yellowstone in winter is magical - you'll have a great time.

Jun 04, 2013 at 11:09 PM

bflood
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Yellowstone Winter Tours

A detail: in West Yellowstone we stayed at a place called the Brandin' Iron. Nice place, reasonably priced. I stayed there again in Sep 2011, and the rooms had been remodeled. I'd stay there again.

Jun 04, 2013 at 11:11 PM

Spence_in_LA
Offline
•
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Yellowstone Winter Tours

Check out the Yellowstone Association Institute for a wide variety of options, though admittedly, it's not really geared toward photographers. My family did the Winter Wolf Discovery tour with them a couple years back and it was phenomenal. Highly recommended. You might consider doing something with them in conjunction with a separate photophraphy outing.

Jun 05, 2013 at 01:07 AM

jmontagu13
Offline
•
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Yellowstone Winter Tours

I went on a 7 day photography tour in February with D. Robert Franz. He was a great guide and was very good at pointing out nice landscapes as well as knowing where the wildlife were known to be found. He does day tours as well as the week long ones, so you could just a few days guided if you wanted.

Here is his website (it's currently undergoing maintenance):
http://www.franzfoto.com/page1#ynpwinter

Jun 05, 2013 at 04:32 PM

StarNut
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Yellowstone Winter Tours

Thanks.

I'll see what I can do with these suggestions.

Mark

Jun 06, 2013 at 11:42 AM

Jeffrey
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Yellowstone Winter Tours

Frankly, you don't need a tout guide in Yellowstone. You just get a map and drive all the roads you can, stopping at all the 'sights' and many more pull-overs for great scenic photo ops. There are very few secret places that aren't on maps or park guidebooks, and now that I said that, everyone with their favorite secret places can tell me I'm wrong.

Jun 06, 2013 at 12:04 PM

StarNut
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Yellowstone Winter Tours

Jeffrey wrote:
Frankly, you don't need a tout guide in Yellowstone. You just get a map and drive all the roads you can, stopping at all the 'sights' and many more pull-overs for great scenic photo ops. There are very few secret places that aren't on maps or park guidebooks, and now that I said that, everyone with their favorite secret places can tell me I'm wrong.

I've been there many times in the summer, and I agree. I was asking about the winter, when you can't drive there. In my ideal world, I would have three full days in Yellowstone with a guide, and I would sleep in the Old Faithful lodge.

Jun 06, 2013 at 01:29 PM

Jeffrey
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Yellowstone Winter Tours

Are you going to tour by snowshoe or skis? That might be a good reason for a guide and get you to places the a road might not. But generally, I take the same approach I stated earlier, summer or winter.

Jun 06, 2013 at 03:16 PM

StarNut
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Yellowstone Winter Tours

My hope is to get on a snowmobile trip, allowing us to go significant distances (and carry 30 pounds of camera equipment without worrying about falling down and breaking equipment and me). Staying on the very few open roads would severely limit our options.

Jun 06, 2013 at 04:22 PM

jleom
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Yellowstone Winter Tours

Jeffrey is correct in that the road from Mammoth and Cooke City is open year round and a guide is not need, however there are some if you feel you need one, and Robert Franz is a good one.

I think the clue to what Mark is asking is his desire to "sleep in the Old Faithful Lodge". Access to the Old Faithful area in the winter time is from West Yellowstone and / or Mammoth. This can "only" be done via snowcoach / snowmobile.I'd hate the thought of skiing or snowshoeing that far if it is even allowed / possible. The winter time temps can be brutally cold. Skiing and snowshoeing is offered / available once you are in the Old Faithful area. There are several companies that offer this service from either location.

Leo

Jun 06, 2013 at 04:25 PM

jleom
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Yellowstone Winter Tours

Mark, as mentioned above the snowcoaches and snowmobiles have a very limited route and cannot stray from the main roads. There is a snowmobile guide out of West that is a photographer so he understands a photographer's view. I'm headed up that way early in the morning and I'll try and get you the info.

Also that area of the Park has very limited wildlife encounters during the winter. It is good for snowy landscapes but most of the wildlife is found in the Northern range - Mammoth to Cooke City.

Leo

Jun 06, 2013 at 04:33 PM

StarNut
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Yellowstone Winter Tours

Thanks much, Leo.

I'm not so much interested in the romance of staying in the Lodge, so much as avoiding long drives into and out of the park each day. I would love to take winter photos of the geyser fields, but I also very much want to take wildlife, and other scenes.

I would very much appreciate whatever information you can get me.

Mark

Jun 06, 2013 at 05:21 PM

jleom
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Yellowstone Winter Tours

Mark

This is what I found.

Ken Takata
Customer Service Manager
Yellowstone Adventures Inc.

1-800-231-5991
West Yellowstone, Montana

www.yellowstoneadventures.com

They weren't open when we went through early Friday morning and Ken was off on Saturday so I didn't have a chance to speak with him.
The guys at the gas station say he is the man.

Good luck and if there is something else please let me know.

Leo

Jun 10, 2013 at 04:46 PM

StarNut
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Yellowstone Winter Tours

Thanks so much!

Jun 10, 2013 at 04:51 PM


FM Forums \| Landscape Photographer \| Join Upload & Sell

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.