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Montana

Yellowstone: A Great Outdoor Adventure With Your Family

Program No. 20977RJ
Explore the wonders of Yellowstone National Park with your family as you horseback ride, hike, raft the Yellowstone River and learn about geysers, hot springs and fumaroles!

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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 family 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
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

This is a Family program for participants, their adult children and grandchildren ages 9 and up. For a comparable intergenerational adventure for just grandparents and grandchildren, check out "Yellowstone’s Great Outdoors With Your Grandchild" (#17306). For a Yellowstone program with younger grandchildren (ages 8-11) see "Wildlife & Geysers: Yellowstone With Your Younger Grandchild" (#14910).
Featured Expert
All trip experts
Profile Image
Zack Baker
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.

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

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 Shoup
Virginia Shoup View biography
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.
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.
Meals
14 Meals
5 Breakfasts
4 Lunches
5 Dinners
The following choices may be available when requested in advance: Vegetarian, Gluten Free
Lodging
Lodgings may differ by date. Select a date to see the lodgings specific to that date.
Display
Jul 22, 2024 - Jul 27, 2024
  • Jul 22, 2024 - Jul 27, 2024
  • Jun 17, 2024 - Jun 22, 2024
  • Jul 01, 2024 - Jul 06, 2024
  • Jul 22, 2024 - Jul 27, 2024
4 nights
Gardiner
Absaroka Inn is centrally located in Yellowstone's northwest gateway of Gardiner, MT, situated along the bank, high above the Yellowstone River. Balconies and comfortable seating on the well kept lawn overlook the river and offer viewing of the mighty Gallatin Mountains to the west and Yellowstone National Park to the west and south.
1 night
Gardiner
The site is a bed and breakfast located on the banks of the Yellowstone River where the river forms the north boundary of Yellowstone National Park. with the stunning Electric Peak as it back drop. This site offers our groups wall tents with some wooden cots and some sleeping on the ground with mats. Pillows, sleeping mats, sleeping bags with clean liners are all supplied. There are outside bathrooms with running water and flush toilets.
4 nights
Gardiner
Absaroka Inn is centrally located in Yellowstone's northwest gateway of Gardiner, MT, situated along the bank, high above the Yellowstone River. Balconies and comfortable seating on the well kept lawn overlook the river and offer viewing of the mighty Gallatin Mountains to the west and Yellowstone National Park to the west and south.
1 night
Gardiner
The site is a bed and breakfast located on the banks of the Yellowstone River where the river forms the north boundary of Yellowstone National Park. with the stunning Electric Peak as it back drop. This site offers our groups wall tents with some wooden cots and some sleeping on the ground with mats. Pillows, sleeping mats, sleeping bags with clean liners are all supplied. There are outside bathrooms with running water and flush toilets.
4 nights
Gardiner
Absaroka Inn is centrally located in Yellowstone's northwest gateway of Gardiner, MT, situated along the bank, high above the Yellowstone River. Balconies and comfortable seating on the well kept lawn overlook the river and offer viewing of the mighty Gallatin Mountains to the west and Yellowstone National Park to the west and south.
1 night
Gardiner
The site is a bed and breakfast located on the banks of the Yellowstone River where the river forms the north boundary of Yellowstone National Park. with the stunning Electric Peak as it back drop. This site offers our groups wall tents with some wooden cots and some sleeping on the ground with mats. Pillows, sleeping mats, sleeping bags with clean liners are all supplied. There are outside bathrooms with running water and flush toilets.





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