What to do when 15 feet of snow may change your Yellowstone plans?

March 2, 2023 8:50 AM

Will land in Bozeman, and original plan was Yellowstone. With the Big Weather making that highly unlikely, wondering where to go when we have a week and a car with unlimited miles.

We are cross-country skiers and snowshoe types, not telemark/downhill folks, and we are all about outdoors and supporting the local economy in MT/WY. Can you recommend anything?

Thinking Glacier, but state park and town recommendations would be so, so welcome!

We arrive late Saturday night, and again, we have a whole week to enjoy the outdoors and local towns that could use two super-friendly People With Wallets.

posted by Arch1 to Travel & Transportation around Carbon County, MT (7 answers total)

I did West Yellowstone over Christmas one year, though there wasn't a recent snowstorm there was plenty of snow. I remember there being lots of show mobiling rental activities available outside and inside the park(though inside Yellowstone there was a designated snowmobile route that has to be followed on tours during scheduled times with an escort).

The Yellowstone snow mobile tour was awesome, and if you can get close enough to be able to do the tour i highly recommend it.

There are shuttles that run from Bozeman to Big Sky so if driving yourself feels too dangerous but the roads themselves are open, that might be an option. Big Sky is mostly big downhill type skiing from what I remember which isn't what you want but as someone who had never skied and wasn't particularly interested in skiing managed to have a nice day there anyway.
posted by AlexiaSky at 9:06 AM on March 2, 2023

Best answer: There are fantastic community resources for cross-country skiing in the MT/ID/WY region. Try these Bozeman-area options or search for other "nordic skiing" or "cross country skiing" options in the Bozeman, Bridger, and other nearby regions. Moreover, the national forest and national wilderness lands offer as many and often more possible adventures as the state and national parks in the Mountain West. You could literally spend *months* exploring the Custer Gallatin National Forest trails just around Bozeman. Grab a national forest area trail map. Finally, not sure about Glacier, but both Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks offer groomed cross country trails.

You could also just base yourselves in Bozeman for the week and wing it in terms of the outdoor adventures by asking for tips and buying maps and guidebooks from local sports outfitters.
posted by Last_wave_by at 9:23 AM on March 2, 2023 [2 favorites]

Great snowshoeing/winter hiking in the area, especially around Hyalite Canyon, where you can also watch ice climbers on the frozen waterfalls. Many of the most popular hiking trails nearby will also see enough foot traffic to be fairly packed down; I recommend hiking poles and microspikes. Have a beer at MAP brewery afterwards. You can get great hiking maps of the area (and elsewhere around Montana) produced by Beartooth Publishing at the bookstores on Main street.

Most roads in Glacier will be closed and unplowed, so unless you /really/ want to do some serious backcountry xc I wouldn't make the drive there.

If you're itching to leave Bozeman, Butte is a fascinating town with a lot of history and character, and Missoula is a great college town. Good hiking and outdoors areas near each of them as well. That said, highways, especially over mountain passes, often see closures; check https://www.mdt.mt.gov/travinfo/detailed.aspx.
posted by Theiform at 9:39 AM on March 2, 2023

I'll second the snowmobile tour of Yellowstone. It was pretty fantastic. The endless fields of snow, herds of bison, the contrast of the volcanic mud pots with the snow. The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone was particularly spectacular with all the ice and snow. I don't have a company recommendation as we got picked up an hour south of Yellowstone in Jackson.

If you are interested in seeing giant dinosaur fossils, and you have 3-4 hours to kill in Bozeman you could do a lot worse than the Museum of the Rockies.
posted by mmascolino at 10:56 AM on March 2, 2023

I'd call the Yellowstone Visitor's Center and ask a ranger, maybe post on their facebook site. You may be able to book a snowmobile tour and see part of the park. I went with family to Yellowstone & Grand Teton, park staff were incredibly helpful.
posted by theora55 at 12:39 PM on March 2, 2023

Seconding the incredible Museum of The Rockies in Bozeman, and enthusiastically nthing any opportunity to snowmobile. If you're up for a 3 hour drive, the Chief Joe XC ski area at the ID/MT border is beautiful.
posted by scrubjay at 12:50 PM on March 2, 2023

Welcome to my home town! You really can't go wrong with winter outdoor activities here. I'll amplify the others and say that if you want to see Yellowstone, a guided snowmobile tour in the winter is just about the best way to experience the park. Beautiful, fun, and no getting trapped in traffic jams because someone wants to pet the fluffy cows. I don't remember the name of the outfitter from West Yellowstone I used but they're all decent.

For nordic skiing in our area there's plenty of good trails but the best experience is probably at Crosscut Mountain Sports Center up in the Bridger Mountains. I've never been but many people here rave about them.

Just the drive down highway 191 to West Yellowstone can be beautiful, though there's so much traffic that it gets sketchy sometimes. If it's a sunny day the views of nearby mountains from the Madison valley, on highway 287 between Three Forks and West Yellowstone, are my preference and while it looks like it's further out of the way, not really any slower to drive that way.

Speaking of which Three Forks can be worth a visit just to see the headwaters of the Missouri and say you've been there.
posted by traveler_ at 1:24 PM on March 2, 2023 [2 favorites]