Well worth the stop. Anything you buy there will go to fund improvement and education in the park. Get all your cool Yellowstone gear there.
Back in summers of 1995 and 1996 we built the sleeping cabins, store, director's cabin and generator cabin for the Yellowstone Institute at Bufflalo Ranch. We loved our opprortunity to live and work in Lamar Valley. The wolves released to Rose creek, the six griz at one time viewed through the spotting scope, the huge elk and bison herds, the badger interupting our work day are just some of the little memories that were sprinkled through the days. Yellowstone is an amazing place and the Yellowstone Association is great for the hands on learning experience. We are fortunate to live in the Yellowstone area and visit every chance we get. Thanks, from Gonebeaver Co., Bozeman, Montana.
I am an ongoing member of this wonderful institution. It is all about educating visitors to all of the natural aspects of Yellowstone National Park. A wealth of books and brochures are available at their many park locations. They have guided tours in both winter and summer. I have visited the park for over 25 times, never tire of the beauty, and the institute is one of the best things to happen to the park in my lifetime. So...if you are not a member, become one.
After many years of exploring Yellowstone with family, friends and on my own I finally signed up for a Yellowstone Association Institute group program.It was well-organized, full of great options for daily activities and great fun to meet a very wide variety of people. The evening programs were great and the food was very tasty.I can understand why many attendees were back for their second or third Rendezvous.
these people are doing research all the time trying to get a better understanding of Yellowstone and its history. Please support them and check it out. Great stuff.
This organization was recommended by a family member and it certainly paid off for our party of four. Ted was our guide and he did an amazing job of spotting and setting up the spotting scope so we felt up close and personal to the animals. We were able to see long horn sheep, coyotes, mountain goats, a momma moose and baby, a grizzly (grizz), a badger, a yellow bellied marmot and buffalo galore! This is a great organization that gives everything back to Yellowstone! I would use this organization again and I would ask for Ted.
Use their services if you have never been to Yellowstone and want to avoid the crowds but see the area. Book a tour and it will include rooms inside the Park, van pickup each morning, and various hikes/observation stops. We saw everything but a bear.
This visitor center is a perfect place to begin your visit to Yellowstone. In addition to valuable information about the Park, it has quality souvenirs for all ages and my favorite to purchase Yellowstone related gifts.
I hope this review is helpful to future travelers. I know that I didn't find very much information about the winter lodging and learning trips beforehand.Introduction: Our family of 5 took a week long winter package that included lodging (mammoth/old faithful), all breakfasts, lunches and one group dinner. It also included transportation, drivers, and an amazing guide. Our guide during our trip was Danielle. She is a native from Montana who had a huge depth of knowledge about the park, animals, trees, hot springs and history. She made the trip absolutely worth it!First night: we met for a quick introduction at 7pm. Danielle went over the logistics and told us what time to meet in the morning. She also gave us thermos', which we used the entire trip for hot beverages. There were 10 people on our tour. First full day: our adventure included wildlife watching on a bus. There was plenty of space and easy viewing. We went snowshoeing in the afternoon. Lots of fun , but quite a bit of time driving around. We saw bison, huge elk, and two moose. We also got to watch the park rangers doing a wellness checkup on a bison female. Danielle sets up long range spotting scopes to get better views, if needed. She is great about helping visitors to get a photo through the scope. She even narrates video!!Second full day: our favorite day. We spotted a fox, coyotes, bison and elk before heading out to cross country ski. After skiing to a waterfall, we headed out to find the wolves....and success! We watched a pair of wolves, a female and male. We also spotted more bison, elk and a mother moose with her baby.Third day: We boarded a snow coach and headed to Old Faithful. Try not to get stuck in the back. The windows get fogged/icy and it is a tight fit with gear/clothing. It was a long day of driving. We did see a fox sleeping, took a walk around hot springs, stopped to check out views, watch two coyotes eating an elk carcass and more. Fourth day: It was a cold windy morning and a few members of the group weren't up for cross country skiing. Only 3 of us ended up skiing 5 miles out to a geyser. We patiently waited and saw a moderate size eruption without a single person around. Very peaceful! Since we finished our ski quickly, we skied over to " thumper". You can feel the gas bubbles bursting below the water in the hot springs and it makes a shuddering sound/feel below your feet. It was a highlight!!Danielle leaves plenty of time to watch Old Faithful go off and explore the area surrounding the hotel. The visitor center has lots of animal furs to check out! We also had our group dinner this night.Fifth day: Another long snow coach day. We were able to sit in the front, so that was nice. Danielle helps the time pass quickly with stories and we tried to keep our eyes out for wildlife! The views were amazing over waterfalls, canyons and valleys! It was a long ride back and a 10 hour day, but we got to see a ton of the park!The luggage moves separately during transfer days, but it is nice to just leave the hotel room with luggage inside and arrive in your new hotel room with luggage present. No shlepping luggage! Yay! Lunches: They were all cold, bagged lunches. Not the favorite part of the trip, but they kept our bellies full and happy. You have a variety of choices: club croissant, roast beef, Italian, gluten free and vegetarian. The food comes with a raisins, chips, sandwich, mustard/mayo, sometimes a cookie, Oreos, fruit and a granola bar. You must bring your own water and hot beverages. We typically ate our lunches in warming huts, which was nice. We did eat lunch outside during our ski days. It was cold and we had to keep our gloves on. Brr!Bathrooms: I was happy to find out there are bathrooms all along the drive. There were bathrooms at all the major stops and warm bathrooms at the warming huts. Most bathrooms were cold with a typical outdoor outhouse. When skiing, you will have to use the bathroom outside. It was doable, but not the favorite part of the trip. ;)So... Take this trip if you enjoy being in the great outdoors, you can manage cold winters, you have a love for learning and you have a positive nature. Tips: book early. We booked in September and had trouble finding a tour to accommodate us.Fill your thermos' in the morning during breakfast. The hot chocolate is delicious!Bring lots of warm clothes and toe warmers! We had multiple layers on and used all the outerwear.Ask lots of questions! Feel free to message me with any questions that I didn't answer! I love to help future travelers.
We hired a private tour (lakes and canyon). This tour was a great value. Our guide was EXTREMELY knowledgable, friendly and passionate about what he was doing. Since he drove and knew where everything was, we saw much more in a day than we could have seen on our own. We learned about geology, biology, ecology and park history. I highly recommend taking a tour with these folks!