Montana/Wyoming

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

Program No. 18556RSBLOG
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
Grant, Yellowstone National Park, WY
3
Old Faithful, Geyser Hill
Grant, Yellowstone National Park, WY
4
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Yellowstone Lake
Canyon Village, 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
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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 Gene Ball
Gene Ball View biography
Raised along the rural Louisiana-Texas border, Gene's early outdoor experiences began a lifelong interest in wildlife, western heritage and preservation. After teaching and serving as director for the Hill Country Arts Foundation and Cowboy Artists Museum in Texas, he migrated to Wyoming to work at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. He then became director of the Yellowstone Association and Yellowstone Institute in Yellowstone National Park, and now freelances as a writer and naturalist.
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 Catherine Cain
Catherine Cain View biography
Catherine is a professional naturalist. She attended UCSD and UCSB where she studied biology, cultural anthropology and immunology and received a Fulbright Scholarship to do reef research in Jamaica. Catherine has taught classes for UCLA, the Oceanic Society, and UCSB and worked for the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden. She was also the owner of High Country Discovery, an ecotour business in southwest Montana. She currently spends winter and autumn teaching Road Scholar classes and dedicates summer to her Native Plant Nursery and Saturday Farmers Markets.
Profile Image of Fred Haas
Fred Haas View biography
Born in southern Idaho, but raised in Texas, Fred Haas has always enjoyed the outdoors. With a degree in forestry from Texas A&M, Fred headed out west to work with the U.S. Forest Service. Fred's 33 years of public land management included roles in reforestation, timber sale administration, grazing management, road and trail maintenance, special use permit administration, landownership adjustments, recreation and wilderness management. In retirement Fred enjoys hiking, camping, volunteering, and woodworking.
Profile Image of Patty Bates
Patty Bates View biography
With a background in recreation, wildlife and fire management, Patty has enjoyed a 35-year career with the U.S. Forest Service. She's served as resource specialist, program manager, staff officer and District Ranger, with details as Deputy Forest Supervisor. She's been a District Ranger in four different states, including four years managing the Teton Basin Ranger District. Patty enjoys travel, camping, exploring, pets, genealogy, cooking, reading, crafting and getting used to retirement with her husband, Rick.
Profile Image of Rick Bush
Rick Bush View biography
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.
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 Shauna Baron
Shauna Baron View biography
Shauna Baron holds a B.S. in Biology and a M.S. in Science Education. She has more than 25 years of experience as an outdoor educator, studying large and small carnivores throughout the U.S., including wolves, bears, fishers, and bobcats. Shauna saw her first wild wolf while volunteering for the Yellowstone Wolf Project in 1996 and has since worked as a naturalist in Yellowstone National Park, developing outdoor educational classes for the Yellowstone Institute. She specializes in programs for disabled veterans, inner-city youth, and autistic groups.
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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