Augustine has a late spring break. So late that actually feels more like a tease of Summer than a mid-session school holiday. Now, while we first thought of this as a big bummer, dealing with a strict absentee policy for the first time really opened our eyes to what an amazing experience it is to have a non-standard vacation time. We began to think :
“Like, what happens only in Spring?”
Well, everything begins to shift towards the summer season. Things being to open-up and prepare for the big vacation season…but without the big vacation crowds – and, really, without the true Summer experience.
It’s the weird pocket, that almost seems like it shouldn’t exist.
I didn’t think it would, but Jade kept searching and discovered Yellowstone actually opened right at the end of our vacation (despite forecasted show showers – it was going to open for Summer)
But – What is Early Season Yellowstone?
Yellowstone Nation Park opens up each year with crews clearing the months of collected snow off the roads and turning back on the lights and heat at the facilities. Aside from a snowmobile tours, the first few days of the Yellowstone Summer Season are really the first time for people to return to the park.
I was worried.
…I remembered seeing images of opening weekend of Yellowstone in 2021 – wide shots from within a grassy field. (Purposely backed up in order to capture sweeping shots of the truly massive line of cars waiting to get in.) From there I just imagined lines of cars at every parking lot, a Stadium sized crowd alongside every wayward buffalo, and Old Faithful looking like a little more than sprinkler from way back behind a wall of endless ‘outdoor-vacationeers’.
Well, what I had in mind was completely wrong. Thank goodness Jade insisted that we at least make the :45 drive from Big Sky to check out the size of the line. Not just us – our Florida family joined in the trip.
Spoiler Alert : There was no line. In our entire day touring Yellowstone, we probably saw less than 100 cars total – and if we don’t count the parking lots, the number is easily less than 20.
What we did see was snow…some ice…but mostly snow – and so much wide open Yellowstone.
Our Experience
We pulled into West Yellowstone (the town outside of Yellowstone with the best entry gate) shortly before 10am. Immediately I flipped on the 4WD – the road wasn’t covered in snow and ice – the road was snow and ice. (This was literally the first time I’ve felt like I was taking my life in my hands going through a McDonald’s drive-thru.)
Still, no accidents – no skidding, we pulled over for a quick picture at the entrance before heading into the park, and then passed right through the Park Gate and entered America’s First National Park.
It was nothing like I’d seen in Nat Geo photos.
No expansive fields of grass. No epic Western cowboy vistas. Yellowstone on opening weekend looks more like a North Pole ranch than an iconic National Park. It’s almost completely white – which makes spotting Bison really easy.
Bison Dead Ahead
Our first pack of bison popped up about 15 minutes into our drive. Augustine (our Spotler – shouted like a pirate seeing land for the first time in months). They were grazing about a snowballs-throw off the road.
I whipped the car over because it was still winter according to the snowy tundra – who knew if we’d see any more. Maybe Bison hibernate in winter – the possibilities are endless.
See, the thing about Augustine is that – at 6 – I really don’t know what she remembers. One day she’ll bring up how some friend at preschool three years ago upset her, and the next – she’ll totally forget ever doing a waterslide. Sure, she’s seen Bison before – but that doesn’t matter if she doesn’t remember. So, I look at all these experiences as new – and then let her tell me ‘yeah, Dad I’ve seen Bison’…which is not what she said this time (even though we just saw some bison a few months ago…ugh, idk).
For me, bison in a field are great. They’re at a safe distance – no one’s tempted to go near them – and they’re close enough to really look at. Sure, but I mean – I still want that iconic bison experience, you know – when they surround your car – full pack coverage. But, these bison were very happy not to overtake the road – no matter how much was tried to wave them over.
Geyser Country
About :30 minutes into the drive from the West Entrance, the Yellowstone road splits at a fork in the road – one way leads to Geyer Country and the other to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. (Where would you start?)
We hooked a right and went to see hot pots, geysers, and – you know – just spots where the ground just steams (as if the Earth is so excited it can’t possibly contain itself).
Weird Symmetry : The last time I was in this part of Yellowstone – I was about 6 years old. All my memories, ideas, everything I had thought made up the ‘Yellowstone Experience’ really came from the few glimpses I remembered from visiting with my family in the 80’s.
This trip would be just about the same for Augustine. I mean she was just about exactly the same age as I was when I went.
Funny, I didn’t even think about this until we pulled over to see the Fountain Paint Pots.
It was the view – the boardwalk overrun with walls of waving steam, the royal blue-to-turquoise pools, the otherworldly bubbling. As soon as I saw all of this – I connected the generational dots…
I was seeing now with my daughter what I myself had seen with my parents thirty years ago. Going back to Augustine’s loosey-goosey memory, I thought really hard about the fragments of my own memories from my trip and tried to imagine what she might remember from all of this when she’s 20-30 years older.
So, I did my Dad thing – I over emphasized stuff. I called her over to the see the bubbling hot pools from the exact angle I remembered. I took pictures. I over explained how the pools worked just so she would have to stare at the bubbling pools for longer – hopefully getting them to sink into that long-term memory zone.
All of this – the calming reflections, the prolonged viewings, the over explanations – it was easy because there were only about a dozen other people sharing the boardwalk. We weren’t waiting for the best spots to see from or tip-toeing around strangers. We went where we wanted and stared as long as we wanted (or as long as I could hold Auggie’s attention).
Looking out at the snow dappled field – I figured that it was probably pretty cool looking when covered in tall green grass (maybe and Elk and baby walking through – then calmly nuzzling my chest – you know – nature), but the hot steam really stood out in the cold and made everything feel like another world – like we’d stumbled onto some ancient secret…which is just about how I remember it from when I was 6.
I was shocked to find that Old Faithful was only another 10-15 mins up the road. (Which is another reason I love the West Entrance of Yellowstone)
I’d love to say we saw more, but the 20 minutes we spent inching through the smoke-thick mist surrounding the Grand Prismatic Spring left us so cold and soaking wet (we could literally wring out our closes) that we had to warm up before we attempted any more hikes. All that, and the steam was so think that we couldn’t even see the spring when we were standing right on top of it.
*Note – Brining raincoats to help protect against the steam soaking everything you own and everything you love is not a bad idea.
Old Faithful
It was clear turning off and crossing the bridge to Old Faithful that this is typically the keystone experience of the park. The area is both serene and massive – prepared for a large crowd of outdoor enthusiasts but the cluster of austere, gabled buildings holding on tightly to the early 18th Century adventure vibe. (Buried in deep snow cover – it looked like a winter wonderland imagined at the same time as Miracle on 34th Street.)
We curved and carved our way through the labyrinthine parking lot. Snow filled as we passed, it was like passing a by a series of small lakes – that gave the impression that this stop shed its outpost feel for a metro vibe during the high season.
I’ve only ever been to Old Faithful in these conditions – deep snow – so I don’t know what the summer rush looks like in the Park. But the array of parking and shuttle options told me that our parking spot (only about 200 yards away from the boardwalk) will be a lucky find in a month or so.
We all hopped out and ran towards Old Faithful. No, at the time, we had no idea when Old Faithful would erupt. Parking and seeing others already gathered gave us a random sense of urgency and so we darted across the walkway and gathered together right along the boardwalk’s edge.
(I’m going to stop emphasizing how few people were in the Park, but I just can’t leave out that we shared the view with probably 50 other people total – a view that is clearly set to handle hundreds if not a couple thousand at a time.)
It turns out – Old Faithful doesn’t erupt just because there are people waiting or because you ran all the way from your car. (Tip – the times are pretty well outlined and you can find out where in our Guide to Pre-Season Yellowstone) So, we made snowmen – well, snow people – Augustine really likes the term ‘Snow families’.
When it came – the eruption was, you know – it was Old Faithful. It’s water spraying up…and it’s really cool, but, honestly, the girls were way more ‘wow-ed’ by the Visitor Center’s museum than the actual eruption.
Having seen a few of the world’s “Great Wonders”, I’m not sure most of us can actually be amazed by them in the way we expect. When Niagara Falls became popular – many, many people wrote that it was a let-down. Old Faithful isn’t a let down – it’s just…I’m not sure my mind knows how to interpret “water jet spraying out of the ground”. It’s like watching something I’ve become super familiar with (via videos) while at the same time witnessing something so odd, so out of the ordinary that my mind is just like “I don’t know what to do with this…so let’s just not touch it..at least not for too long.”
Augustine was sad to leave her snowman family, but, only until she remembered that inside the Visitor’s Center, she’d get to start her Junior Ranger program.
(I’m not going to gush here, but Junior Ranger programs are awesome. You can find out more and our Yellowstone specific tip in our guide post.)
Hiccup #1
Bison – check.
Old Faithful (ie – Snow Family Building backdrop) – check.
Junior Ranger Badge – check.
Now for survival (ie food and water)
Here’s something no one talks about, even the front gate attendant : Just because Yellowstone National Park is open in mid-Apriil, doesn’t mean restaurants and hotels will be. Those amenities don’t actually open until mid/late-May.
We found this out after hiking through 3-foot snow drifts to grab some much needed lunch. And then again, when we slipped-and-slid across the parking lot hoping to at least settle on some chips and nuts from the gas station. And lastly it really ultimately hit home, when we went back to the Visitor Center and begged the ranger for food recommendations.
Nothing.
Luckily, the West entrance to Yellowstone is literally the best. We headed out, grabbed pizza and were back on our way to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone in less than an hour and a half.
Hanging a Left at the Fork
This is really where things started getting dicey, but it really didn’t seem that way until we were way, way in it. We turned away from the geysers at the fork and headed up the mountain. Inadvertently this also meant leaving behind civilization – we’d only end up briefly seeing about 6 people for the rest of the day.
The kinda flurry snow that had been peppering us got a bit thicker as we headed higher in the park. None of us really thought much of it though because it’d been snowing sorta all day without accumulation – and the roads were wide open – and Yellowstone wouldn’t open if the roads could still get snowed in – right?
It was noticeably colder as we made our second stop along the way. In fact, at first, I was the only one to get out.
By this time, the snow was falling with the consistency of an emergency sprinkler system, and it was building towards what would be more like a fire hose in about an hour. It might not have been gathering on the street yet, but it was sticking to everything else – walkways, railings, all over on our clothes and hanging onto our eyelashes.
Steamboat Geyser
This stop though – Steamboat Geyser – it was super unique. The vent sounded like a jet engine as it poured out would could best be termed ‘an unnecessarily large amount of steam’ – there was no need for this small hole to be working this hard. In the winter cold, it really did look like Yellowstone was letting out all-of-its-steam from this one little hole.
Unlike the Grand Prismatic Spring, the waves of hot moisture didn’t flood the walkway. We could all get close (within feet) of the most colorful pool we’d seen all day.
This was just a brief turnout through. We were quickly back on our way deeper into the storm and the Park.
Grand Canyon of Yellowstone
I don’t know what makes Yellowstone close down roads. I didn’t want to find out. So, we passed up the first turn into the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone (already closed) and were lucky to find the second entrance open just about 20 yards before the entire road was shut and still covered in feet of winter snow.
We hopped out to take a look at Upper Falls from the canyon rim and see the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. I also grabbed the sleds that I’d tossed in the back that morning. The snow let up and the sun peeked out for a minute giving us a pretty clear view of the falls. In the winter haze it reminded me of ‘The Revenant’ or some other icy, winter picture where the world really did feel untamed.
Past the most accessible lookout, our expected path disappeared into feet of snow. More as a lark – we’d thrown on our ski pants – and patted ourselves on the back for our foresight as we walked onward – finding a few small hills great for sledding. Sure, the sights were cool – but this was definately more entertaining to the girls.
Then, without warning or ceremony, the sun disappeared again. That would be its last appearance for the day and something we might have been better to take notice of…maybe.
Instead of turning around as the snow began falling in big thick CornFlakes, we eeked out one more stop further down the road – trying to get a good glimpse of Yellowstone’s Grand Canyon.
We found our vista at Artist Point.
Even though the snow was still in full winter mode, the landscape here was different than at the Falls. It reminded me more of Bryce Canyon than I ever would have expected, with brilliant tangerine towers standing on the edge of the cliffs.
I can say a few of negative things about the snow, but it really was gorgeous as it collected on every available surface – giving the orange towers an almost brilliant vibrance.
It was also perfect for packing.
As it began to pour down around us, Augustine and Marquesa set out to create another snow family – this one more life-sized.
Actually, Augustine created a ‘photo-op’ (her words) with a Snowman and a bench for people to sit on and have their picture taken.
Sure, geysers, hot pools, waterfalls, but really – what I think I’ll remember best is rummaging around especially tall evergreens for snowpeople’s eyes, noses, and arms.
Hiccup #2
Again, we probably should have really taken advantage of all the bad-weather omens we were being given, but…
…we didn’t…so…
…getting back to the car – the parking lot (at most 400 yards from our snow family) was completely covered. We had only been stopped at this lookout for 20 mins, and in that time – easily 1/4 to 1/2 inch of snow had blanketed the blacktop. If someone had just wandered upon our sole car in the lot – no trace of wheel-tracks leading in, a pretty significant pile up of snow on the roof – they would have assumed it had been there for hours, if not all day.
Double checking that the 4WD was engaged, we headed out.
Again, I don’t know why Yellowstone closes certain roads or when they decide to re-plow roads throughout the day – I just know that they didn’t re-plow during our storm – not on any of the roads we took.
Making our way back, the road was entirely covered, and, as one of the only cars making the journey, many times our tracks were the only thing left signifying that there was even a road here. I started to worry about animals running across in front of us – as they had been doing for the previous months.
I’ve said this a few times since returning. but…
As we headed up the last hill back to the main road, a 2WD sedan passed us going towards the Grand Canyon…I don’t know how they made it out, but one thing I do know is that they must have a better idea of when Yellowstone decides to re-plow during storms than I ever want to have.
Leaving
By the time we had reached our original fork in the road, the snow had completely stopped. In fact, back down where the roads merged, it hadn’t snowed at all. We made the final turn and headed out to the gate, but were stopped about a mile down.
Bison had overtaken the road!
And..we were the first car on the scene – which meant, we were surrounded by Bison. (Check that off the Yellowstone Bucket List.) The sunroof that Jade had assured me was a good decision came in handy – letting the girls get a great view of the pack as a whole.
Further along, a few more bison were following the road out, and we even got a great view of a Bald Eagle (sure, it was pooping – but still *saw a Bald Eagle*).
After we left the park, the snow began again – the road back to Big Sky was completely covered and even with 4WD we skidded out…I distinctly remember chanting ‘ok, ok, ok…this is it. This is it. This is it.’ But, I got it under control and we made it back to our condo (which surprisingly had very little new snow).
I’m not sure there is a perfect Yellowstone Trip. Would l like to see the park in full Summer bloom? Would I like to see a moose drinking from a bubbling river? Sure. Our experience wasn’t that, but it was completely unique and more about being surrounded by and exploring nature than navigating parking lots and crowds.
It was the moments we were able to create, because of all the empty space we had to explore, that made our day in Yellowstone so memorable. That’s why I’ll always suggest early spring in Yellowstone over any other time of year.
