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Montana/Wyoming

The Best of Yellowstone: From Colter's Hell to America's Hot Spot

Program No. 18556RJ
Gain an insider’s perspective on Yellowstone National Park as you join local experts to explore regional geology, natural monuments and the issues facing Yellowstone today.

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7 days
6 nights
17 meals
6B 5L 6D
2
Yellowstone Geology, Gallatin Canyon, Old Faithful
Old Faithful, Yellowstone National Park, WY
3
Geyser Country, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
Old Faithful, Yellowstone National Park, WY
4
Yellowstone Lake
Grant, Yellowstone National Park, WY
7
Program Concludes
Bozeman, Montana
View Full Itinerary

At a Glance

Yellowstone National Park’s past and present volcanic and tectonic activity is the foundation of its unique ecosystem and the ecological connections that make it so alluring. Join a park naturalist for a field study showcasing this UNESCO Heritage Site where landforms, together with climate, elevation and time, have resulted in a grand diversity of flora and fauna. Interpretive walks and field trips reveal wildlife, geology, forest, wildflowers and thermal features, as well as the park’s human history and current issues.
Activity Level
Keep the Pace
Walking up to three miles; varied terrain. Getting on and off coach. Some stairs. Elevations up to 8,000 feet.
Small Group
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

  • Discover the geological reasons why Quake Lake was formed in less than a minute and why Yellowstone Lake is tilting.
  • Investigate effects of the volcanic and chemical phenomena which created the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.
  • Explore hot springs, geysers, mudpots, fumaroles and their surrounding hydrothermal life zone within the geyser basins.

General Notes

Please note that accommodations vary by date. Accommodations in Yellowstone National Park are typically assigned by the park concessionaire in July for the next calendar year. Please check the Dates and Prices, Itinerary and Meals and Lodging Tabs to determine which accommodations have been assigned for your departure.
Featured Expert
All trip experts
Profile Image
Leslie Stoltz
Raised and educated in the Finger Lakes region of New York, Leslie Stoltz now lives in Big Sky, Montana, surrounded by the wild places that she loves. Her decade of work for the National Park Service in Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks in the areas of research and education provided a wonderful foundation for her career as a teacher and park expert. Since the early 1990s, Leslie has worked for a variety of companies and non-profit organizations, teaching classes and leading trips in national parks and wild areas throughout the American West. Farther afield, she has led educational trips to Nepal, Bhutan, Tanzania, Botswana, Ecuador, and Mexico. Leslie also runs a non-profit with a mission to keep kids connected to the outdoors though scholarship opportunities for outdoor learning experiences.

Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.

Profile Image of Leslie Stoltz
Leslie Stoltz View biography
Raised and educated in the Finger Lakes region of New York, Leslie Stoltz now lives in Big Sky, Montana, surrounded by the wild places that she loves. Her decade of work for the National Park Service in Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks in the areas of research and education provided a wonderful foundation for her career as a teacher and park expert. Since the early 1990s, Leslie has worked for a variety of companies and non-profit organizations, teaching classes and leading trips in national parks and wild areas throughout the American West. Farther afield, she has led educational trips to Nepal, Bhutan, Tanzania, Botswana, Ecuador, and Mexico. Leslie also runs a non-profit with a mission to keep kids connected to the outdoors though scholarship opportunities for outdoor learning experiences.
Profile Image of Cathy Raven
Cathy Raven View biography
Catherine Raven, a Road Scholar instructor since 1999, has a botany/zoology degree from The University of Montana and a PhD in biology from Montana State University. She is the author of “Fox and I: An Uncommon Friendship” that was a New York Times bestseller, winner of the PEN/EO Wilson Award for Literary Science Writing and the Nautilus Gold Award for animals/nature writing. A former park ranger at Glacier, Yellowstone, Mount Rainier, Voyageurs, and North Cascades National Parks, Cathy currently teaches undergraduates at South University.
Profile Image of Ellen Bush
Ellen Bush View biography
Ellen Bush has enjoyed traveling through Montana and around the world during her career as a reporter, journalism professor, and non-profit director. She graduated from Northwestern University with a master’s degree in journalism and a minor in history, then worked as a reporter in Helena, Montana, and Syracuse, New York, before teaching journalism at the University of Florida. She served as Executive Director of CASA of Montana and retired as Executive Director of WorldMontana in 2016. She has also planned Montana explorations for international visitors.
Profile Image of Zack Baker
Zack Baker View biography
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.
Profile Image of Virginia Kelly
Virginia Kelly View biography
Virginia Kelly, a native Montanan, worked in Yellowstone, Yosemite, Sequoia, Lassen Volcanic, the Great Smoky Mountains, the Delaware Water Gap, and even the Washington Monument on a National Park Service travelling survey crew. With the Forest Service, Virginia was a land management planner in California, Oregon, Washington, and Montana. She served as executive coordinator for the federal Greater Yellowstone Coordinating Committee, and finalized her career with the Custer Gallatin National Forest in Bozeman, Montana. Virginia enjoys travel, hiking, camping, rafting, and cross-country skiing.
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You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.





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