2 days (Mar 31 and Apr 1): Yellowstone or elsewhere?

[forrest_andrew]

Hey there,

I'll be attending a workshop in Bozeman, Montana at the end of the month and am

planning on extending my trip over the weekend of Mar 31 and Apr 1 (i will have

all day Sat and all day Sun to devote to shooting). I've never been to

Yellowstone NP and, being so close, I see this as a great opportunity.

However, I've learnt that the only road open to motorized traffic at that time

will be the one between the North and Northeast entrances. Not to mention the

over-snow tours have ended for the season. My photo interests are primarily

landscape, however, if in my search for landscape locations i stumble across

wildlife i certainly won't shun the opportunity. So, the question is this:

 

Will my time be best spent exploring the stretch of northern Yellowstone

accessible by car, or should i go elsewhere?

 

I've thought about Grand Teton NP, but have heard that travelling around

Yellowstone can monopolize alot of time and don't want to spend my whole

weekend behind the wheel. Any and all suggestions would be great.

 

At the same time, some indication of snow cover would be handy. I know snow

amounts can be very variable but is there likely to be snow along the road in

Yellowstone, or only higher up? Are the lakes likely to be open/semi-open?

 

Looking forward to the responses - cheers,

 

Andrew Forrest

St. Albert, Alberta

[pvp]

That's pretty early for Yellowstone, even in a light snow year. The earliest I've been in the park was mid-May, but it will simply depend on the snowpack. There are some nice attractions on the north road, including the Lamar Valley (wolf habitat) and Mammoth Hot Springs.<P>

 

<img src="http://mms.nps.gov/yell/webcams/mammoth2.jpg"><P>

 

As for the roads in Jellystone, well to put it simply they are going to be closed, except for the north road you mentioned. See the park webpage for specific dates:<P>

 

<a href="http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/hours.htm">Yellowstone Hours and Seasons 2007</a>

[matthew_newton]

Mammoth hot springs is really nice. I think you would end up spending a lot of time traveling around Yellowstone to reach Grand Tetons and Jackson hole, though they are both really great places. I doubt you can do much wrong with visiting the north end of Yellowstone for a weekend. It would of course be better if you had a week or two and could see the whole park, but even a weekend would not be wasted.

[tonybynum]

glacier national park - rent a car, do an easy 6-7 hour drive (drive when it's dark to get up there). Or, hit the rocky mountain front from sun river to the canadian boarder. If youre a birder, hit freezout lake, you might see as many as 300,000 snow geese and they are EASY to photograph. Or skip the sun river and just hit freezout (45 minuetes from great falls) and head north to the east side of the park.

 

Set you sights high. montana is a big place, but believe me, you can get from one end to the other in the dark and shoot all day and still get some rest!!!!!!!!! I drive about 1000 miles per week! JUST DO IT!!!!!!!!!! it will be the funest trip of your shooting days. . .

[rick_wong]

Yellowstone during the winter is when I like to visit the park.

 

Have been there in late March the snow can still be around but the roads should be no problem. If you want mountains you will find them at the NE part of the park. The road will only take you to where the snow had not been plowed so you will need to backtrack.

 

Here is a link to some shots in Lamar valley http://riwong.smugmug.com/gallery/529261