Into Yellowstone by snowcoach, snowmobile or wildlife van?
Once the snow closes the park roads, Yellowstone has few ways in. You can ride in a heated snowcoach or steer a guided snowmobile. The third choice is a van along the one road that stays open to cars. Each gives you a different winter, and this guide sets them side by side.
Why winter narrows the choice
From early November most roads in Yellowstone close to private cars. Between about mid-December and mid-March the park grooms the interior for oversnow vehicles alone. In practice that means snowcoaches and snowmobiles with a guide.
The park limits how many oversnow vehicles enter and requires them to travel with guides, which keeps the geyser basins quiet.
Wheels are still allowed on one road all winter, weather permitting. Starting at Gardiner, Montana, on the park's northern edge, it climbs to Mammoth Hot Springs before crossing Lamar Valley to Cooke City.
Old Faithful and the other big geyser basins lie on the closed roads. Snow is the only way to reach them.
Snowcoach, the warm way to Old Faithful
A snowcoach is a heated, fully enclosed cabin on tracks or skis, or on very large tires, that carries a small group over the groomed snow roads. The driver is usually the guide too, so you get commentary between stops.
You can talk and take pictures through the window, with your hat off until the next stop. The trade is speed. Snowcoaches move slowly and bump over rough snow.
Families and older travelers find it the natural choice, and so do photographers with heavy gear and anyone who has never driven on snow. What a snowcoach is, and how it rides goes deeper into the ride.
Snowcoach trips are few on our partner sites. Scenic Safaris, from ~$550, is the only snowcoach day trip, a 12-hour day from Jackson rated 4.8 from 228+ reviews on Viator.
Its listing showed "not bookable for now" when we compared tours, which is normal for a seasonal trip. The price we show comes from when it was last bookable.
The other two fold a snowcoach day into a longer trip. BrushBuck Wildlife Tours, from ~$2,089, starts in Jackson, while Horizon Travel Team, from ~$2,249, starts in Salt Lake City. Multi-day winter tours with a snowcoach day compares those two.
The only snowcoach day trip we found
Scenic Safaris picks guests up in Jackson and Teton Village around 6 am and gives about 2 hours at Old Faithful. Breakfast and lunch are included, as are park fees. Expect it to be unavailable until the winter dates open. Viator confirms availability only after you book, and the booking is non-refundable.
Snowmobile, fast but cold
A snowmobile covers ground faster than a coach, and some people love the feel of driving it.
In Yellowstone you must ride with a commercial guide, apart from a small number of permits given out by lottery for unguided groups. You need a valid driver's license, and the park allows only cleaner, quieter four-stroke machines. Outfitters usually rent helmets and warm suits along with the sled.
The downsides come with the speed. You sit in the open, so the wind chill on a sub-zero morning is severe, and talking over the engine is hard.
Photos happen only at stops, and steering on a snowy road while watching for bison takes real attention. Most snowcoach and snowmobile outfitters are based in West Yellowstone. None of our partner sites lists a Yellowstone snowmobile trip that we compare, though, so this site does not link one.
Wildlife van on the northern road
Yellowstone Hiking Guides, from ~$292, drives the open road in a vehicle for six guests at most, a Suburban according to reviewers. It scores 5.0 from 14+ reviews on Viator.
The day passes the Roosevelt Arch at Gardiner and spends about 2 hours in Lamar Valley with spotting scopes. There is also a stop at the Petrified Tree, and about 30 minutes go to the Mammoth terraces.
Budget for the North Entrance fee of $20 per person on top, unless a park pass covers the vehicle. Visitors from outside the US pay a surcharge of about $100.
This road has no geysers like Old Faithful, but it is the best wolf country in the park. Sightings are never guaranteed, even so.
The Good Trip Adventures private day, from ~$973, covers the same ground with a picnic lunch and an optional snowshoe at the Calcite Springs overlook. Its catch is the per-person price for a private group. The winter wildlife page explains what you might see from the van.
Side by side
| Snowcoach | Snowmobile | Wildlife van | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warmth | Heated, enclosed cabin | Open to wind and cold | Heated vehicle, cold at pullouts |
| Who drives | A guide-driver | You, behind a commercial guide | A guide |
| Price on our partners | Day trip ~$550, multi-day from ~$2,089 | Not listed by our partners | Shared from ~$292, private from ~$973 |
| What you see | Old Faithful and the geyser basins | Old Faithful and the geyser basins | Mammoth and Lamar Valley, no big geysers |
| Main catch | Slow, scarce on partner sites | Cold, loud, license needed | No Old Faithful, entrance fee on top |
Which suits whom
- First winter visit, Old Faithful a must, take a snowcoach, either as a day from Jackson or inside a multi-day trip
- Families with children, a snowcoach, though BrushBuck does not take children under 6
- Wolves first, the northern road and Lamar Valley, ideally with a guide who carries a scope
- Speed and adventure, a guided snowmobile from West Yellowstone, if you can handle the cold
- Tightest budget, the shared road day at ~$292, which is the cheapest guided way into the park in winter
Where you stay shapes the choice as much as taste does. Jackson suits the southern snowcoach route, while Bozeman puts you close to the northern road. Our page on the gateway towns sets out the distances.
Skis and snowshoes, plus longer trips
Some groomed roads and trails near the developed areas are open to cross-country skiers and snowshoers in winter, and the park service publishes which ones. Conditions change with the weather, so treat any route as a hope until you check.
Several of the tours here add a short snowshoe walk when conditions allow. That is the easy way to try it.
Longer trips exist too. Nomad Unlimited Adventure's tour, from ~$2,780, runs five days from Salt Lake City through Yellowstone and Grand Teton with a small group.
Evidence for it is thin (two reviews and few listing details), and the booking is non-refundable. Ask how it travels inside the park before you book.
What a Yellowstone snowcoach tour costs puts all of these prices in one table, and what to wear on a Yellowstone winter tour helps whichever way you choose.