Yellowstone, WY

And yes, you will want more than three days!

This page was created in Dec. 2021 for our club's general membership meeting, but we are leaving it up for general information. You are invited to join our meeting:  (Zoom) meeting on Tuesday, December 14, 2021. Hope to see you then!

or more traditional skiing:

From Gail: Skiing in Yellowstone is magical!  We've skied several of the trails there and can report there are few people that go in winter so you can avoid the crowds.  Where else can you see bison, elk, wolves, animals up close (sometimes too close!)? And of course the geysers and steaming hot pots are special.  I truly believe that Yellowstone in winter should be on everyone's bucket list!

• Yellowstone X-C Skiing 101 - NPS page with trail descriptions;
• Note: Yellowstone is a large, complicated park with a number of entrances. It's not necessarily easy to get from one entrance to another. If you want to see Old Faithful, that's different from Mammoth Hot Springs. See map at bottom.
• West Yellowstone gets mentioned many times. So I looked it up and West Yellowstone has extensive ski trails and is in Montana, just west of Yellowstone Park. Their page of FAQs has everything that I could list on this page.
• Yellowstone National Park. the classic trip is to take a snow coach into the park to one of the grand old hotels and base your skiing from there. Check out package tours as a possibility.
• Location: is in NW Wyoming; it's 840 miles from Bellingham. Approximately 14 hours from Bellingham according to Google.
• One word of caution:  you will be skiing at over 7000' elevation. You may need to acclimate yourself for higher elevations  Some report headaches, dizziness, difficulty sleeping if they aren't used to these elevations. Check with your doctor if you think this might be a problem.
• Google Road map to Yellowstone More realistically, you might fly to Bozeman, MT and take a shuttle from there. Scroll to the bottom of this page for winter shuttle information.
• Driving: It's in the mountains and it's wintertime. Better be prepared! And bring chains.
• Type of skiing: Many trails are groomed nightly for classical and skating; back-country touring through the park.
• Trail map - West Yellowstone; Check out their homologated race courses (it's a word - look it up!)
• Length of season: West Yellowstone advertises Dec 1-March 31, plus more on either end depending on conditions.
• Current conditions: West Yellowstone trail web cam;
• Expected Weather:It can get cold in the park!
• Consideration: I know that Yellowstone is also a very popular place to go snowmachining. It would be good to plan your skiing at a certain distance from hundreds of snowmachines. I can't advise you as to what is needed to do this. My understanding is that snowmachines are limited to the park roads.
• Places to stay / price range:There are very traditional lodges within the park (Old Faithful Snow Lodge, Mammoth Hot Springs), with restaurants. Towns outside of the park have a large choice of tourist accommodations.
• Places to eat:
• Trail fees / passes needed:It all depends. The 'normal' Nordic trails in West Yellowstone (Rendezvous Trails) require trail passes like other areas. Skiing in the park itself is free, other than the cost of entering the park (or Golden Age Pass!)
• Nordic Ski Lessons: (both skate and classical) are available
• Equipment rentals are available.
• Special Events: There should be good skiing all season long. But a race/tour gives you a chance to be part of an event! Join others for specially marked trails, feed stations, and the fun of a race! Some to check out: Rendezvous Race, March 5, 2022;
• Other things to do: snowcat wildlife / geyser tours; snowshoeing, walking on board walks around the geyser basins
• Want to talk about it? Want some stories? Want a suggested itinerary? This is a forwarding email address, your questions will be sent to 'the 'experienced user' – questions@nooksacknordicskiclub.org

What I would do/ski:

• Some of the trails for the hardy I (Gail) recommend are: Indian Creek Loop, Bunsen Peak, Roller Coaster and Canyon Rim and Mallard Creek (difficult)

This map is taken from some previous year. It may or may not represent current regulations. But it should give you an idea.