Yellowstone and Grand Teton: Lamar Valley, Old Faithful and Jenny Lake

Bozeman and Paradise Valley to Gardiner

Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport to Livingston, then south through Paradise Valley to Gardiner

• Welcome dinner
• Nuit : Gardiner
• Environ 2 h de route

Soir

In the evening your guide briefs the group on the week ahead: distances from wildlife, bear spray, layers for cold mornings, and why tomorrow starts in the dark. Then we sit down together to a welcome dinner in town.

Compris

• Pick-up at Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport (BZN)
• Drive through Paradise Valley with your guide
• The Roosevelt Arch at the north entrance
• Welcome briefing and welcome dinner in Gardiner

Lamar Valley at dawn

Gardiner to Mammoth, Tower Junction and Lamar Valley, then back by Tower Fall

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Gardiner
• Environ 3 h de route

Matin

We leave Gardiner about an hour and a quarter before sunrise (about 4:15 am in late June, nearer 5:45 am in mid-September) and drive through Mammoth and past Tower Junction into Lamar Valley, about 75 km, arriving as the light comes up. Wolves, bison, pronghorn, elk and sometimes grizzly bears are most active at dawn, and a local wildlife guide joins us with spotting scopes and news of which packs and herds have been seen that week. Sightings are never promised, but the valley at first light, with bison spread across the flats and the river below, is the Yellowstone most visitors miss. Breakfast is in the field at a pullout above the valley, with hot drinks.

Après-midi

Mid-morning we head back by the Tower Fall overlook, where Tower Creek drops about 40 m between volcanic pinnacles, and sit down to lunch near Mammoth or in Gardiner. The afternoon is yours to rest after the early start.

Compris

• Lamar Valley at dawn with a local wildlife guide and spotting scopes
• Field breakfast in the valley
• Tower Fall overlook
• Sit-down lunch near Mammoth or in Gardiner

Activités en option

• Half-day whitewater rafting on the Yellowstone River from Gardiner in the afternoon (price shown at booking)

Mammoth, Norris and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

Gardiner to Mammoth Hot Springs, Norris Geyser Basin, Canyon and Hayden Valley, then to West Yellowstone

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : West Yellowstone
• Environ 3.5 h de route

Après-midi

At Canyon we sit down to lunch, then stand at Artist Point to see the Lower Falls, 94 m high, between the yellow and rose walls of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Hayden Valley, a few kilometres south, is where bison gather in summer, so we spend the late afternoon there before driving through Norris and Madison to West Yellowstone. About 150 km and three and a half hours of driving, split by stops at Mammoth, Norris, Canyon and Hayden Valley; the longest stretch is the last, about an hour and a half from Hayden Valley to West Yellowstone.

Compris

• Mammoth Hot Springs terraces at 8 am with your guide
• Norris Geyser Basin and the Porcelain Basin loop
• Sit-down lunch at Canyon Village
• Artist Point and the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone
• Hayden Valley in the late afternoon

Grand Prismatic and Old Faithful

West Yellowstone to Midway Geyser Basin and Old Faithful, then back by the Grand Prismatic overlook

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : West Yellowstone
• Environ 2.5 h de route

Matin

Then we walk the Upper Geyser Basin along the Firehole River, past Castle and Grand Geysers, to the deep blue of Morning Glory Pool, about 2.5 km each way.

Après-midi

Lunch is at Old Faithful, then a look inside the Old Faithful Inn, the log hotel opened in 1904. In the early afternoon, when the steam has thinned and the sun is high, we drive a short way back north to the Fairy Falls trailhead, about 1.5 km south of Midway, and walk the 1.9 km round trip to the Grand Prismatic overlook, about 30 m above the basin. That small lot fills in the afternoon, so the van drops us there.

Soir

Then we return to West Yellowstone for a free evening.

Compris

• Grand Prismatic Spring from the Midway Geyser Basin boardwalk at about 7:45 am
• An Old Faithful eruption
• The Upper Geyser Basin to Morning Glory Pool with your guide
• Sit-down lunch at Old Faithful
• The Old Faithful Inn lobby
• The Grand Prismatic overlook in the early afternoon

Yellowstone Lake and south to Jackson

West Yellowstone to Craig Pass, West Thumb and Lewis Falls, then through the South Entrance to Colter Bay, Oxbow Bend and Jackson

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Jackson
• Environ 4.5 h de route

Après-midi

Lunch is a sit-down meal at Colter Bay on Jackson Lake, with the range across the water. In the afternoon we stop at Oxbow Bend, where the Snake River curls below Mount Moran and moose, otters and white pelicans use the shallows, then drive the valley to Jackson. About 205 km and four to four and a half hours of driving at park speed limits, the longest day, broken by five stops and a sit-down lunch; we arrive by about 5 pm.

Compris

• Craig Pass on the Continental Divide
• West Thumb Geyser Basin on Yellowstone Lake
• Lewis Falls
• Sit-down lunch at Colter Bay on Jackson Lake
• Oxbow Bend and Mount Moran

A lake morning in Grand Teton

Jackson to Schwabacher Landing and Jenny Lake, then Moose and back to Jackson

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Jackson
• Environ 1.5 h de route

Matin

This morning is spent at the water below the range. We leave Jackson at about 6:30 am for Schwabacher Landing, where beaver ponds beside the Snake River reflect the range in the still early air, then drive on to Jenny Lake to be on one of the first shuttle boats across. The crossing takes about 12 minutes (the boat is included), and from the west shore dock a rocky trail climbs to Hidden Falls and on to Inspiration Point, about 125 m above the lake, with the view east across the water to the valley. The boat brings us back by late morning.

Après-midi

Lunch is a sit-down meal at Moose, then we visit the log Chapel of the Transfiguration, whose window frames the Grand Teton, at 4,199 m the highest peak in the range, and Menor's Ferry, a rebuilt Snake River crossing from the 1890s. We are back in Jackson by about 2:30 pm.

Soir

The afternoon is free for the Town Square and its elk antler arches, the National Museum of Wildlife Art or a rest, and in the evening we meet for a farewell dinner.

Compris

• Schwabacher Landing in the early morning
• Jenny Lake shuttle boat across and back
• Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point with your guide
• Sit-down lunch at Moose
• The Chapel of the Transfiguration and Menor's Ferry
• Farewell dinner in Jackson

Mormon Row and home from Jackson Hole

Jackson to the Gros Ventre River, Antelope Flats and Mormon Row, then Jackson Hole Airport

• Petit-déjeuner
• Environ 1.5 h de route

Matin

A last morning in the valley before your flight. We leave Jackson at about 7:30 am, when the sun is full on the east face of the Tetons, and drive north to the Gros Ventre River, where moose browse the willows in the early hours. Antelope Flats is just beyond, wide sagebrush where bison and pronghorn graze. On Mormon Row the weathered barns of homesteads settled by Mormon families from the 1890s stand in front of the range, a classic view of the Tetons, and we give it time for pictures without a crowd of coaches. Jackson Hole Airport (JAC) is a short drive away on the valley floor, inside Grand Teton National Park, and we drop you there by about 11 am. Book a flight leaving after about 1 pm. If you are staying on in Jackson, we take you back to town instead, and your guide says goodbye there.

Compris

• The Gros Ventre River and Antelope Flats
• Mormon Row and its homestead barns
• Drop-off at Jackson Hole Airport (JAC), or in Jackson