In honor of the United States’s National Park Services 100th anniversary on August 25th, Exodus Travels asked me to write about one of my most unique National Park experiences.

I’ve been to my share of national parks. (I also have some great photos from Glacier National Park here).

It was easy to choose what to write about. My winter visit to Yellowstone National Park was one of the most unique outdoors experiences I’ve had.

Yellowstone National Park receives far fewer visitors in the winter than in the summer. I guess that kind of makes sense. The snow makes it less accessible and most families take their vacations in the summer.

Yellowstone National Park in the winter is, however, in my humble opinion, way more spectacular when the hills are blanketed in snow webbed with mineral-rich rivers and the famous springs and geysers are gushing thick pillars of steam into the freezing blue sky.

Here’s what I saw during my winter trip to Yellowstone National Park.

The Drive Into Yellowstone

Visiting Yellowstone National Park in winter consists mainly of exploring by various means of transportation, such as snowshoes, cross-country skis, or good old-fashioned hiking.

First mode of transport is the snowcoach, or as I like to call it the bumblebee snowcrusher machine.

Even just the drive to the Yellowstone Lodge is a tour in itself. Here are some of the stops we made.

The Walkways Around Yellowstone’s Springs

The walkways around the most active springs and geysers are the most popular and visually stunning way to explore the park.

X-Country Skiing in Yellowstone National Park

My personal favourite way to see the park was on cross-country skis, but I love cross-country skiing in general, so I’m probably a bit biased.

Leaving Yellowstone

Even the drive out of the park is beautiful — especially if you leave into Wyoming the way we did. This is a shot of the Tetons I took from the side of the road.

Have you ever visited Yellowstone National Park in winter?

What was your favorite part?

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