Montana
Yellowstone’s Great Outdoors With Your Grandchild
Program No. 17306RJ
Explore the wonders of Yellowstone National Park with your grandchild as you horseback ride, hike, raft the Yellowstone River and learn about geysers, hot springs and fumaroles!
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Protecting the Environment
We offset a portion of the emissions created by your travel. Learn more
Prefer to enroll or inquire by phone?
800-454-5768
Age 9 - 12
ROOMING OPTION PRICING
The figures below indicate the rooming options available.
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DATES | ||||
Jun 10 - Jun 15, 2024
3,249 2,199 | ||||
Jun 10 - Jun 15, 2024
| 3,249 / Adult
2,199 / Child
| 3,249 / Adult
2,199 / Child
| 3,899 / Adult
2,199 / Child
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Jun 24 - Jun 29, 2024
3,249 2,199 | ||||
Jun 24 - Jun 29, 2024
| 3,249 / Adult
2,199 / Child
| 3,249 / Adult
2,199 / Child
| 3,899 / Adult
2,199 / Child
| |
Jul 8 - Jul 13, 2024
3,249 2,199 | ||||
Jul 8 - Jul 13, 2024
| 3,249 / Adult
2,199 / Child
| 3,249 / Adult
2,199 / Child
| 3,899 / Adult
2,199 / Child
| |
Jul 29 - Aug 3, 2024
3,249 2,199 | ||||
Jul 29 - Aug 3, 2024
| 3,249 / Adult
2,199 / Child
| 3,249 / Adult
2,199 / Child
| 3,899 / Adult
2,199 / Child
| |
Filling Fast! Aug 5 - Aug 10, 20243,249 2,199 | ||||
Aug 5 - Aug 10, 2024
| 3,249 / Adult
2,199 / Child
| 3,249 / Adult
2,199 / Child
| 3,899 / Adult
2,199 / Child
| |
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6 days
5 nights
14 meals
5B 4L 5D
At a Glance
Tie up your hiking boots, hop on horseback and climb into a whitewater raft to explore America’s first national park on foot, horse and water. With your grandchild by your side, take part in hands-on explorations of Yellowstone National Park in streamside habitats and forested mountains. Find out how the plants, animals, bugs, fish, water and weather patterns all work together to create this fascinating ecosystem. Plus, visit Old Faithful — the world’s most famous geyser — to investigate hissing fumaroles, steaming geysers, sulfurous mudpots and bubbling hot springs.
Activity Level
Outdoor: Spirited
Walking up to three miles on moderate terrain. Horseback riding one hour. Whitewater rafting seven miles on Class II/III waters. Long distances travelled by large motorcoach. Elevations of 5,200-7,700 feet.
Small Group
Love to learn and explore in a small-group setting? These adventures offer small, personal experiences with groups of 13 to 24 participants.
What You'll Learn
- Experience the exciting Class II and Class III rapids of the Yellowstone River on a rafting excursion, and enjoy a picnic lunch along the river.
- Make trailside discoveries in the high country as you ride horses together, and end the ride with a cowboy cookout.
- Set up camp along the river as you take in a Montana sunset and sleep under a star-filled night sky.
General Notes
Program is for grandchildren ages 9-12. For a comparable family adventure for all generations, check out "Yellowstone: A Great Outdoor Adventure With Your Family" (#20977). For a Yellowstone program with younger grandchildren (ages 8-11) see "Wildlife & Geysers: Yellowstone With Your Younger Grandchild" (#14910).
Featured Expert
All trip experts
Charlie Pyle
Charlie Pyle grew up on a family farm in Oklahoma, and he became enthralled with the Rocky Mountains and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem on family trips to Montana in the 1950’s. In Charlie’s long and distinguished career, he’s led trips to Alaska and Yellowstone National Park as a Girl Scout leader and served as a program assistant at the Lamar Buffalo Ranch and in Gardiner for the Yellowstone Association Institute, a volunteer park host at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge, and a Wilderness First Responder.
Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.
Charlie Pyle
View biography
Charlie Pyle grew up on a family farm in Oklahoma, and he became enthralled with the Rocky Mountains and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem on family trips to Montana in the 1950’s. In Charlie’s long and distinguished career, he’s led trips to Alaska and Yellowstone National Park as a Girl Scout leader and served as a program assistant at the Lamar Buffalo Ranch and in Gardiner for the Yellowstone Association Institute, a volunteer park host at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge, and a Wilderness First Responder.
Andrea Saari
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Andrea completed her bachelor’s in Ecology and went on to work as a bird field biologist in the summers and a ski-bum in the winters. She has been in Big Sky since 2003 working as a ski and snowboard instructor, as well as a naturalist guide in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. These days she can be found on the trails within the Gallatin National Forest and Yellowstone National Park, interpreting how everything in the ecosystem works together and the important role humans play as stewards.
Rick Bush
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Rick was raised in Wyoming and moved to Montana after college to work for the Bozeman Chronicle. His career includes working as a newspaper reporter, magazine editor, web developer and IT Manager. He has a degree in Journalism from the University of Wyoming and a Master’s degree in photography. He lives in Helena with his wife and is an avid bicycle rider and enjoys hiking, cross-country skiing, camping, and travel. When he is not Group Leading, Rick enjoys adventuring with Road Scholar as a participant.
Zack Baker
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Zack Baker attended high school in Livingston, Montana, 52 miles north of Yellowstone. His love for the park started while snowshoeing and observing wildlife. At Montana State University in Bozeman, he earned a B.S. in plant science, but it was Yellowstone’s mammals that grabbed his interest. He led private wildlife watching, hiking, and photography trips, and drove snowcoaches in the winter. He joined up with Road Scholar in 2017 and is now the Program Director for Road Scholar at the University of Montana Western.
Virginia Shoup
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Virginia Shoup comes to Yellowstone with a long history in outdoor education and the Girl Scouts. She first worked in the park in 2012, thinking it would be a fun summer job. After falling in love with the animals, thermals, and even the lodgepole pines, she never left. Over her years as a Yellowstone naturalist, Virginia has worked with families, teachers, school groups, and everyone in between. She uses her degree in theater to make the natural world come alive for students of all ages.
Heidi Schwandt
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Heidi Schwandt's upbringing on cattle ranches in Southwestern Montana gave her the freedom to explore the woods and mountains. A short stint with the Forest Service on a trail maintenance crew solidified her love of hiking. Heidi has been instructing Alpine skiing for more than a decade, including a women-only skiing program she piloted at her local mountain. Two decades as a 4-H volunteer have showcased her passion for connecting with people and inspiring them to learn by doing.
Ilene Cohen
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Ilene Cohen grew up on the east coast but knew from a young age that she wanted to live in the western mountains. Ilene and her husband settled in Dillon, Montana over two decades ago to raise their son and enjoy all the beauty and opportunities of Montana. Ilene worked for the University of Montana Western for 17 years in student success services. One of her retirement goals was to work for Road Scholar in order to spend more time in Yellowstone and the Beartooths.
Suggested Reading List
(13 books)
Visit the Road Scholar Bookshop
You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.
Yellowstone’s Great Outdoors With Your Grandchild
Program Number: 17306
Mountain Spirit: The Sheep Eater Indians of Yellowstone
Drawing on the results of ongoing archaeological excavations and extensive ethnographic work among descendant native peoples, the authors discuss the many Indian groups, in particular the Tukudika Shoshone, who visited or lived in the Yellowstone area in prehistoric and historic times. The Tukudika or Sheep Eaters made skillful use of their environment and maintained an abundant way of life closely related to their primary source of protein, the mountain sheep of high-altitude Yellowstone.
To Save the Wild Bison: Life on the Edge in Yellowstone
The author brings clarity and revelation to one of Yellowstone's most complex struggles by tracing the history of bison and humans into the 19th century and further into the national parks era. Here's discussion of bison management and park policy - the battle over brucellosis, snowmobiles and groomed winter roads, desires of Native Americans, bison and predators.
Roadside Geology of Yellowstone Country
Updated, classic roadside geology book for the Yellowstone Region explains current geological theories.
Decade of the Wolf, revised and updated edition: Returning the Wild to Yellowstone
Research and storytelling meld to document wolf recovery in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Wolf biologist, Smith, and nature writer, Ferguson, provide an inside look at the Yellowstone Wolf Recovery Project ten years after the controversial decision was made by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services to reintroduce wolves into the park. Smith, wolf project leader who has worked with the Yellowstone Wolf Project since its inception, has studied wolves for 25 years. Ferguson, whose writing largely arises from intimate experiences, followed through the seasons, the first 14 wolves released into Yellowstone National Park. Their collaboration offers hard facts and 'impressionistic portraits of individual wolves that reveal their epic lives full of struggle and conquest.' Here is the history of the return of the top predator to Yellowstone.
Hey Ranger? Kids Ask Questions About Yellowstone National Park
Here are real questions - some smart and some silly - that kids ask rangers every day. This well researched, educational guide is fun to read and filled with fascinating facts and amusing anecdotes.
Yellowstone Place Names, 2nd edition
Yellowstone National Park Historian's well-researched and entertaining reference source for information on many of Yellowstone's place names and their origins.
Scats and Tracks of the Rocky Mountains
Scats and tracks have a story to tell and the author, a nationally renowned tracker, teaches the reader how to read signs to figure out who passed by. Includes written descriptions, track and gait pattern illustrations, glossary and more.
National Geographic special issue - Yellowstone
Divided into three parts and an epilogue, this issue spotlights Yellowstone National Park and includes, of course, marvelous photography. Part one - The Paradox of the Park explores the concept of why "What wilderness means to people has steadily changed since Yellowstone National Park was founded." Part two - Into the Backcountry considers how "Yellowstone has become a natural laboratory for tracing the delicate web of relationships that keep an ecosystem alive and healthy." Part three - Living With the Wild shows how "Yellowstone's wildlife is adapting to its changing realities" and why "Now people must adapt as well if the park is to remain untamed - and intact."
Who Pooped in the Park? Yellowstone National Park: Scat and Tracks for Kids
Accurate information that is fun to read. Kids will learn how to identify critter scat and tracks in a straight forward manner. Lots of extra detail is included such as how to tell the difference between similar looking tracks, why wolf scat has hair in it and much more.
Watching Yellowstone and Teton Wildlife: The Best Places to Look From Roads and Trails
Pack this guidebook, along with your binoculars and enthusiasm, when visiting both Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. The authors identify numerous viewing areas for optimum wildlife watching and have included maps, color photographs, samples of animal tracks, driving tours, hikes and animal descriptions including behavioral information.
After the Fires: The Ecology of Change in Yellowstone National Park
The ravaging fires of 1988 caused many scientists to predict long-term devastation which did not come to pass. This scientific summary by wildlife biologists, ecosystem and forest scientists and landscape ecologists discusses the many things that changed and did not change in the Yellowstone area. Realize the role of fire in the ecosystem and the resiliency of nature.
It Happened in Yellowstone: Remarkable Events That Shaped History
Discover true tales from Yellowstone's past that shaped its history including geologic events like the volcanic eruption that formed Yellowstone over 600,000 years ago and the massive 1959 earthquake that created Quake Lake. Read about wildlife, the historic Nez Perce flight and early tourists, Truman Everts-lost in Yellowstone and a great stagecoach robbery.
Lost in Yellowstone, Truman Everts' Thirty-seven Days of Peril
Read this true life adventure of the fifty-four year-old, nearsighted Truman Everts who visited the Yellowstone area with an exploration party in 1870. Although he was an inexperienced woodsman, he was determined to map and investigate the grand and mysterious Yellowstone country. After becoming separated from his party and abandoned by his horse, he wandered Yellowstone for thirty-seven days, injured, alone and with little food and shelter. Lee Whittlesey, Yellowstone National Park's historian, edited Everts' story which records one of the American frontier's most grueling survival adventures. Appreciate many early day photographs of Yellowstone National Park which illustrate the book.