Douglas Steakley

Photography Tours and Expeditions

Winter in Yellowstone

January 14-20, 2018
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Visiting and photographing in Yellowstone National Park during the winter months should be on everyone's "bucket list". The summer crowds are gone the snow and cold temperatures usher in a feeling of peace and tranquility. I cannot think of a location in the world that offers such a rich combination of wildlife and landscape photography in a single environment. Yellowstone has the largest number of active hot springs and geysers in the world and the resulting localized warm temperatures create a unique environment that allows bison to wade in the rivers with snow on the banks while trumpeter swans and bald eagles remain year round.

I have been leading winter tours to Yellowstone for seven years and have refined the logistics and program so that the tour is comfortable, thorough and filled with unexpected situations. We have been face to face with coyotes, bison, wolves and foxes and have been up early enough to photograph when the temperature is  below zero, which allows frost to cling to bare tree limbs and cover the bison's dark coats. If you are looking for adventure and a visual treat that is different every time, this is the trip for you. Winter in Yellowstone is limited to 6 participants to allow for ample room on the snow coach.
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                                                                                                                            ITINERARY


Day One—Sunday, January 14

Plan to arrive at Bozeman Airport (BZN) where we will meet about 1:00 pm. If you prefer to arrive a day early, I recommend the C’mon Inn as a motel. Their phone number is 406-587-3555 and they have an airport pick up or I will try to pick you up. As soon as we are all together on January 14, we will drive over Bozeman Pass to Livingstone for a late lunch at the Rib And Chop House. Don’t be fooled by the name, they have a great menu! After lunch we will drive south through the beautiful Paradise Valley along the Yellowstone River to Gardiner,  a small town located just outside the park entrance. The Mammoth Lodge is closed for a couple of years for extensive renovations, so we will be staying outside the park in Garadiner for the first two nights and the last night, with three nights at the Winter Snow Lodge inside the park. We will check into our rooms at the Best Western Motel and have dinner and an orientation around 7:00 pm.

Day Two—Monday, January 15

We will be up for early for breakfast and drive into the park and head east into Lamar Valley, often called the Serengeti of the United States due to it’s
abundance of wildlife and wide open visibility. It can be a cold morning in this remote area in the north-east corner of the park so dress appropriately—in layers. We will be on the lookout for wolves, bison, elk, coyote and big horn sheep as well as striking winter landscapes. On the way back we can stop at Udine Falls before returning to the Grill at Mammoth for a late lunch. After lunch we will drive up to the Lower and Upper Terrace Hot Springs, two of the most photogenic areas in the park. We will return to the motel in Gardiner and have dinner in a local restaurant.

Day Three—Tuesday, January 16

After an early breakfast we will board our private snow coach at 7:45 am for the trip down to the Old Faithful area. Because our small group will have a private coach we can ask our driver to stop whenever a photo opportunity presents itself. This trip will include stops at Obsidian Creek,  Gibbon Falls and possibly the Firehole River Basin Falls, as well as a stop at Madison Junction for hot drinks and snacks. We will have a pre-arranged box lunch for the trip and  will arrive in the late afternoon, about 4pm, at the Winter Snow Lodge. We will check into our rooms and relax a little before reconvening in the bar for a glass of wine prior to dinner at 7:00 pm.

Day Four—Wednesday, January 17

Today we will stay near the Winter Snow Lodge and take walks along the trails that leave from Old Faithful. We can visit the many geysers in this area including Castle Geyser and spend time photographing Old Faithful. In the afternoon we can rent show shoes or cross country skis and explore the geyser basin a different way. Breakfast is included and we will order box lunches for the following day. Dinner reservations are at 7:00 pm and we can meet in the bar for a glass of wine before dinner.

Day Five—Thursday, January 18

After breakfast, we will be picked up by our charter snowcoach about 7:45 am for an all day tour of the Lower Geyser Basin area and more. Our comfortable coach will head north from the Old Faithful area for an early stop near the bobby sock trees area and then proceed to the well-known geyser basins such as Midway, Grand Prismatic and Fountain Paint Pots on the way to Madison Junction. At Madison we can take a break with heated rest-rooms and hot chocolate, before turning west to follow the Madison River looking for trumpeter swans and other wildlife. Turning south we will re-trace our route back to the Winter Snow Lodge with the ability to stop along the way whenever we spot wildlife or come across a photogenic winter scene. We will return to the lodge about 4:00 pm for our dinner reservation at 7:00 pm.

Day Six—Friday, January 19

After breakfast we will be picked up no later than 8 am by our private coach for the return trip to Mammoth Hot Springs. We will depart by driving east for an early morning stop at the West Thumb Geyser Basin, which is arguable the most photogenic in the park. Then, turning north, we continue alongside the western shore of Yellowstone Lake up to Fishing Bridge and into Hayden Valley. This wide-open valley is an excellent location for spotting wildlife and the landscapes are spectacular. The Yellowstone River flows through the Hayden Valley and this is the best location for photographing trumpeter swans. We will continue north to visit The Lower and Upper Falls of the Yellowstone River, which are frozen into icy spectacles in the winter. We can walk to the edge of the deep gorges to photograph the dramatic waterfalls and frozen arches that form above them. We sill stop at Canyon village to re-fuel and drive through Norris Junction before turning north to Mammoth Hot Springs. This evening, in the small town of Gardiner, we will enjoy the local hospitality of the Cowboy Grill for a farewell dinner.

Day Seven—Saturday, January 20

After breakfast we will drive north through Paradise Valley along the Yellowstone River beside the Absaroka Mountain Range on the return trip to the Bozeman Airport and flights home. Please book your flights after 12pm; we should arrive at the airport about 10:30 am.

Pricing and Additional Information:

The price for the tour this year is $3275.00 per person double occupancy. There is a single supplement fee of $695.00 for single rooms.

Included:

Double rooms at the Best Western and premium rooms at the Winter Snow Lodge at Old Faithful.

All breakfasts and three box lunches.

All transportation and park entrance fees. Transportation from Bozeman and into Lamar Valley will be in spacious SUV’s and we will have a private snowcoach within the park.


The above price does not include:

Air-fare to and from Bozeman, Montana.

Lunches other than three box lunches, dinners, tips to our driver/guide and personal expenses. Plan on a $50.00 tip for our driver/guide.

A non-refundable fee of $800.00 is required to confirm and hold a space and the balance is due on or before December 1, 2017.
I will appreciate it if you can make payments with a personal check.

Information:

To view photographs from previous trips, please click here.

Prior to departure I will send out a list of what to wear and what to bring.  Please plan to dress for very cold temperatures. These cold mornings are excellent conditions for photography!

Please note that there may be some unanticipated alterations to the itinerary due to weather, road conditions or other travel mishaps. But be assured that I have done this tour many times and have smoothed out and refined the logistics and transportation based on feedback from previous participants.

I have been in touch with Doug Hilborn, our cheerful and resourceful driver from the past five years and he will be able to join us again in 2018. For those of you who are new, Doug is a photographer who leads photo tours in Yellowstone in the summer and works for other photography groups in the winter.
He has a great eye, knows where and when to stop and often takes photographs with us.

Please feel free to call or email me with any questions:

[email protected]
Cell phone--831.601.0632.

This winter in Yellowstone tour is always an excellent expedition/adventure and I look forward to seeing you in Bozeman!

Please print the Registration Form and Liability Release forms below and return them with a deposit check for $800.00 to:

Doug Steakley
P.O. Box 736
Carmel Valley, CA. 93924

Registration Form                    Liability Release Form