Wolves & Winter Wonders 6-Day Package

In order for this package to operate, there is a minimum total enrollment of 4 participants

Winter 2026-2027 trips are scheduled for the following dates:

• 12/27/26 – 1/1/2 FULL
• 1/10/27 – 1/15/27
• 2/7/27 – 2/12/27
• 2/21/27 – 2/26/27  FULL

Itinerary:

Day 1: Sunday  – Arrive in Bozeman, MT. at your leisure

Free shuttle to Best Western GranTree in Bozeman, MT. Dinner is on your own. There is a restaurant on site.

Day 2: Monday– Meet guide for transfer to Gardiner and afternoon exploring Mammoth Hot Springs

Breakfast on your own. (We recommend you eat early or wait until lunch with the group around 11:30 a.m.). Your Naturalist Guide will pick you up at 10 a.m. for a leisurely transfer to Gardiner, MT, with a stop for lunch at the popular Old Saloon in Emigrant, MT. After lunch you will continue to Gardiner where you will then head into the park for an afternoon exploring the magnificent Mammoth Hot Springs terraces. You’ll  check into your lodging (Absaroka Lodge or similar) around 4:30 to 5 pm. Day 2 will include a private, catered dinner with your guide as you get to know each other and learn more about what’s to come in the following days.

Days 3 & 4: Tuesday & Wednesday – Wolf & Wildlife Watching on the Northern Range

Your instructor will pick you up each day at 6:00-6:30 a.m. (exact time dependent on dates) to venture out in search of wildlife on the Northern Range. These days focus on viewing and learning about wolves, elk, bison, moose, bighorn sheep, coyotes, foxes, river otters, winter songbirds, birds of prey, and as many other species as possible. Each day begins before the sun rises, increasing the possibility for observing wolves in action at their most active time. Breakfast, lunch, snacks, and a variety of hot beverages will be enjoyed in the field throughout the day. Each afternoon you’ll return to your lodge between 2:30 t0 3:30 pm. Day 3 will include a privately catered dinner followed by a presentation delivered by a local wildlife biologist, naturalist, artist/storyteller, or educator . Day 4 will include a field presentation at lunch presented by a member of the Wolf Project, while dinner will be a group sit-down affair at a lovely local eatery/art gallery.

Days 5: Thursday – Old Faithful via private chartered snowcoach.

Your instructor will pick you up at 6:30 a.m. for transfer to Mammoth Hot Springs where you will board your private chartered coach. You’ll spend the day heading into the heart of the Yellowstone volcano to explore the diverse thermal landscapes that provides a magnificent backdrop for the wildlife that calls this area of the park home.  You’ll enjoy learning about the geologic wonders of the park—including Old Faithful Geyser—while continuing to search for wolf packs/individuals and other wildlife not often seen on the Northern Range.  Breakfast, lunch, snacks, and a variety of hot beverages will be enjoyed in the field throughout the day. You’ll return to Gardiner between 5:30 and 6:00 pm . Dinner on Day 5 will be privately catered and includes an evening presentation by a local wildlife biologist, naturalist, artist/storyteller, or educator to wrap up a full final day!

Day 6: Friday – Transfer back to Bozeman – Package concludes

Your guide will pick you up at 7:30 a.m. to enjoy breakfast together at a local restaurant before transferring the group back to Bozeman, where our package come to an end. Due to possible adverse weather conditions during this travel day, we ask that you DO NOT book flights out of Bozeman/Yellowstone International Airport any earlier than 12:30 p.m.

In order to reserve your tour, a deposit in the amount of 30% of the package total is due at the time of booking. The balance due will be charged to the card on file 45 days prior to your tour start date. If you would like to change your form of payment prior to the final payment, it is your responsibility to notify Yellowstone Wild in advance. A receipt will be emailed upon payment of deposit and again when the balance has been collected.

Should you need to cancel your tour with us more than 46 days prior to your tour departure date, your deposit is fully refundable minus a *$200.00 service fee. 

*If you booked online, the fees charged by the third-party booking system are also non-refundable.

Should you need to cancel your tour  within 45 days of your tour departure date, your payment is non-refundable.

Should your tour need to be canceled due to factors beyond our control, including (but not limited to) extreme weather conditions, wildfire, natural disaster, park closure, airline cancellations, war, government shutdown, pandemic, or an “Act of God” we are unable to offer a cash refund.

As a small business, we are rarely able to make exceptions.  Due to winter travel involving additional challenges related to flights, roads, and severe weather, we highly encourage you purchase third party trip insurance to protect your investment.

We reserve the right to cancel the trip if minimum enrollment of 4 guests is not met by 30 days prior to the trip departure date, or due to extreme weather conditions or other factors that are outside of our control. Full refund of your Yellowstone Wild package price is given if this occurs. Yellowstone Wild is not liable for reimbursement of travel-related expenses such as airfare, car rentals, or other incidentals.

We strongly recommend you purchase third-party travel insurance that will protect you in case of unforeseen cancellations or changes to your travel plans (for suggested travel insurance companies, use the following link for highly-rated options):  [Forbes Advisor]

Yellowstone possesses some of the most extreme weather conditions anywhere. Temperatures on any given tour could range from -40°F to +40°F (-40°C to +10°C). We therefore recommend plenty of warm clothes that can be layered and easily removed; therefore, allowing you to adjust and stay comfortable throughout your tour.

Visit our Blog “The Art of Layering: How To Dress For a Yellowstone Winter Adventure” to learn more about appropriate clothing including links to purchase or rent the items you’ll need.

Here are our suggestions and what our guides wear on winter tours:

• Long underwear. Starting with your base layers, synthetic or wool long underwear tops and bottoms are critical to your comfort (we can find places to shed this layer later in the day if necessary). Please stay away from cotton, which can hold moisture and drastically chill the body, whereas wool and synthetics wick moisture and can even insulate while wet.
• Sweater or fleece. Ideally more than one layer of insulating layers like fleece or wool sweaters will allow for effective layering and allows you to easily shed layers as the day warms up.
• Fleece or down vest. Vests are great as a layering item that can really hold in core body temperature, yet also allow for maximum comfort and mobility.
• A windproof and water repellent insulated jacket is your most important protection from the biting Wyoming winds. Gore-Tex or something similar is highly advised as the best moisture/wind barrier and goose down insulation is the best insulation.
• Snow pants/ski pants – Insulted pants with moisture/wind barrier. You should have long underwear thermal layers in addition.
• Heavy gloves or mittens with windproof barrier.
• Warm hat that covers your ears. We lose tremendous body heat from our heads. Protect your ears from the chilly wind with a wool or fleece hat.
• Warm wool or synthetic socks are key to keeping those toes from hampering your good time.  Be sure you have plenty of wiggle room inside your boots.  If your socks are too thick and fit too tightly in your boots, you will actually reduce blood flow to your feet, resulting in cold toes, regardless of how warm your socks are.
• Insulated winter boots (roomy boots are better as you do not want to restrict circulation in your feet/toes) (see below for boot recommendations).
• Hand and toe/foot warmers. These are lifesavers! We advise everyone to place a full-sized foot warmer inside your boots every morning before the tour. This keeps the edge off and keeps you comfortable to be able to enjoy yourself to the fullest during those hard-earned wildlife encounters! Toe and hand warmers can be used as needed
• With high elevation sun, many of us burn easily, especially when we are distracted by something like watching wolves for extended periods of time.
• Even if you are not a serious photographer, a camera is nice to have on tour.
• A day pack is very handy for personal items: hand and toe warmers, water bottle, sunglasses, camera, and of course for all the extra layers you will want.

Weather

Yellowstone National Park is a very large place divided by mountain ranges, deep valleys and a massive lake. The weather within the 2.2 million acres can vary widely, so checking the weather in the park can be a difficult task. We recommend checking several different NOAA weather stations around the park, and working an average of those if you’re planning to travel around the entirety of the park.

• Gardiner MT
• Tower Junction, WY
• Cooke City, WY

Can you expect to see all the wildlife you hope for?

It is important to remember that the wild animals we seek to observe are exactly that, WILD free-ranging animals that can roam across all of Yellowstone’s vast and rugged 2.2 million acres. The probability of locating and observing them is greatly elevated due to your guide’s intimate personal familiarity with the landscape and the animals themselves. We do not guarantee any wildlife sightings on our tours; however, we will guarantee that your guide will use their knowledge, skills, and network of other guides, wildlife watchers and photographers to do everything we can to find you the animals you’d like to see. We are in the park nearly every day searching for and watching wildlife, and that consistent experience pays off in finding the animals you’ve traveled to see.

Yellowstone National Park is a reminder that everything is connected and that its landscapes thrive through balance, diversity, and coexistence – as do all of us. When the world feels divided, we turn to this wild place for lessons in how to move forward together.

At Yellowstone Wild, we promise to lead by example. We will choose curiosity over judgment, compassion over indifference, and connection over division — both on and off the clock. We welcome our guests into an environment of shared discovery guided by kindness and curiosity. On our tours, we honor the backgrounds, beliefs, and cultures each guest brings, while holding firm to the expectation of respect for one another and to this place we all care for.

We believe our tours, though limited in time, have the power to establish common ground, form connections, and share experiences that bring us closer together as humans.

Ethics, Regulations & Responsibility

Yellowstone Wild operates as a licensed Commercial Use Permit holder under the National Park Service (NPS). This means we are required to follow—and strictly enforce—all NPS rules and regulations. Beyond that, as lifelong advocates for wildlife and wild places, we uphold our own ethical wildlife-viewing and resource protection standards.

Our goal is to provide exceptional viewing and photography opportunities without negatively impacting wildlife or the natural fluctuations of ecological processes. That balance is only possible when animals are allowed to move, feed, rest, and hunt without interference, and our geologic features are allowed to function without human tampering.

While on tour with Yellowstone Wild, the following National Park Service regulations apply and are non-negotiable (subject to federal law enforcement). Please note this list is not all-inclusive. You can visit the Yellowstone National Park NPS website for a comprehensive list of all regulations:

● Maintain at least 25 yards from all wildlife

● Maintain at least 100 yards from wolves, bears, and cougars (mountain lions)

● Never approach, follow, or remain near wildlife—including birds—if your presence alters their behavior

● Vehicles must be completely pulled off the road when stopping to view wildlife or load/unload passengers

● Feeding wildlife is illegal

● In thermal areas, travel is restricted to boardwalks and designated trails only

● Throwing anything (including snow or natural objects) is prohibited and may result in fines and/or tour termination

Why These Rules Matter

Wild animals live demanding lives. The ethical responsibility of visiting Yellowstone is to ensure our presence does not add stress, risk, or hardship to theirs. Your guide is trained to read animal behavior, and if an animal shows signs of disturbance, we must increase our distance immediately.

Failure to follow a guide’s instructions—especially regarding wildlife proximity—may result in the immediate termination of your tour, at the guide’s discretion.

Special care must be taken around animals feeding on or resting near carcasses. Approaching these areas can displace animals from critical food sources and may put people at serious risk. Carcasses are often defended by predators and scavenged by multiple species, including grizzly bears. Approaching such areas is strictly prohibited.

Finally, we share this park with other visitors, researchers, and permanent employees. Quiet, respectful behavior ensures the best possible experience for everyone and helps preserve the integrity of wildlife observations and continued preservation of our sensitive thermal features, waterways, and all pristine areas.

At Yellowstone Wild, ethical behavior is an expectation. Meeting these expectations is the foundation of meaningful, safe, and responsible wildlife and wilderness experiences.