Montana

Choose Your Pace: A Walk on the Wild Side in Yellowstone

Program No. 4874RJ
Hike Yellowstone with a naturalist, exploring hidden trails, stunning landscapes, diverse ecosystems and glacier-carved peaks in the world’s first national park.

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At a Glance

Yellowstone National Park offers 1,200 miles of hiking, walking and backpacking trails that wind through the park’s 2.2 million acres of spectacular and mostly untouched terrain. Led by a naturalist, explore pathways that thread through Yellowstone’s matchless landscape of diverse flora, thermal features, landforms, canyons, cascades and waterways.
Activity Level
Outdoor: Choose Your Pace
Choose Your Pace: Each day, choose from 3 hiking options based on your desired level of challenge and pace, ranging from 3-7 miles (2-6 hours) on primarily dirt/rocky trails with uneven terrain; some walking/hiking on boardwalks with stairs and paved trails. 2-4 hours each day in SUVs traveling to trailheads. Elevations of 5,800-10,243.
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

  • Absorb a spectacular and mostly untouched landscape while hiking a fragment of Yellowstone's 1,200 miles of trails.
  • Enjoy tantalizing glimpses of the Great Caldera’s infinite wonders.
  • Experience an intimate look at the park’s wildlife, habitats and geology during field trips with an expert.

General Notes

Maximum of 12 participants in a hiking group. Participants are generally divided into three groups to hike.
Featured Expert
All trip experts
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Denise Wade
The love of the outdoors and wild places brought Denise Wade to Montana in 1984. For the past 11 years, Denise has worked as a naturalist and Nordic leader for Lone Mountain Ranch. She has an avid interest in ecosystem management and has taken many trips to Alaska, Mexico, Costa Rica, Europe, and within the continental U.S. following species habitat management patterns. Denise can be found regularly hiking or cross-country skiing around Southwest Montana and Yellowstone National Park.

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

Profile Image of Denise Wade
Denise Wade View biography
The love of the outdoors and wild places brought Denise Wade to Montana in 1984. For the past 11 years, Denise has worked as a naturalist and Nordic leader for Lone Mountain Ranch. She has an avid interest in ecosystem management and has taken many trips to Alaska, Mexico, Costa Rica, Europe, and within the continental U.S. following species habitat management patterns. Denise can be found regularly hiking or cross-country skiing around Southwest Montana and Yellowstone National Park.
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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.
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Andrea Saari View biography
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.
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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.
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Kathy Lichtendahl View biography
As a resident of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem for more than 25 years, Kathy Lichtendahl has spent much of that time hiking, backpacking and skiing the area. Kathy was a member of Park County Search and Rescue for a dozen years and now works as a professional conservation photographer covering the wildlife and landscapes of the western United States. Kathy is a certified interpretive group leader through the National Association for Interpretation.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Profile Image of Heidi Schwandt
Heidi Schwandt View biography
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.
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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.
Profile Image of Ilene Cohen
Ilene Cohen View biography
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.
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.
While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date. As a result, some program activities, schedules, accommodations, personnel, and other logistics occasionally change due to local conditions or circumstances. Should a major change occur, we will make every effort to alert you. For less significant changes, we will update you during orientation. Thank you for your understanding.
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6 days
5 nights
14 meals
5 B 4 L 5 D
DAY
1
Check-In, Registration, Welcome Dinner, Orientation
Gardiner, MT
D
Absaroka Lodge

Activity note: Hotel check-in from 3:00 p.m.

Afternoon: Program Registration: 4:00-5:00 p.m. After you have your room assignment, come over to the Road Scholar table to register with the program staff, get any updated information, and confirm the time and location of the Orientation session. If you arrive late, please locate your Group Leader and let them know you have arrived.

Dinner: Catered by a local restaurant.

Evening: Orientation. The Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions. The program is staffed with our Group Leader and an instructor who is an expert naturalist and who will lead the educational portion of the program. Transportation for field trips will be via Vans unless specified otherwise. This allows for small hiking groups and easier access to trail heads. We will have a choice of hikes each day to suit everyone’s abilities and interests. Hikes may vary based on current conditions and will be finalized and described by the instructor the night before. The Greater Yellowstone area is considered high desert, very dry. At high altitudes, you are more susceptible to dehydration and altitude sickness. Bring your own water bottle. Ice water will be available during travel, from which you may fill your water bottle; disposable cups will not be available. Periods in the schedule designated as “Free time” and “At leisure” offer opportunities to do what you like and make your experience even more meaningful and memorable according to your personal preferences. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may change due to local circumstances/conditions. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding. Continue getting to know your fellow Road Scholars, settle in, and get a good night’s rest for the day ahead.

DAY
2
“Wonderland” Learning Session / Mammoth area hike
Gardiner, MT
B,L,D
Absaroka Lodge

Activity note: Getting in/out Vans; driving about 30 miles throughout the day, approximately 1 hour riding time. Choice of 3 hikes: 1) Slower paced 3 mile hike; . 2) Medium paced 4-5 mile hike; 3) Faster paced 6-7 mile hike; All hikes/walks on dirt and rocky trails with uneven terrain. Hikes subject to change based on current conditions.

Breakfast: In our meeting room a short walk from the hotel.

Morning: We will gather for an introductory presentation that will give us an overview of the Greater Yellowstone area. Known for its geothermal activity and diverse ecosystems, Yellowstone spans 2.2 million acres of valleys, canyons, rivers, lakes and mountain ranges. Sometimes called “Wonderland,” the park is home to the highest concentration of wildlife in the lower 48 states. It is at the core of one of the last undisturbed ecosystems in the Earth’s temperate zone. Mid-morning, our instructor will describe today’s three hiking choices. Our daily hikes with expert commentary will involve direct, personal exploration of life zones such as marshland, high desert, forest, hydrothermal, and grasslands. We will divide into small groups according to hike choices and hop into our transportation for our first hiking field trip. We’ll ride into Yellowstone National Park to our first destination. As we enter the Mammoth District, we’ll right away notice the Mammoth Hot Springs that are the main attraction of this area. These features are quite different from thermal areas elsewhere in the park. Travertine formations grow much more rapidly than sinter formations due to the softer nature of limestone. As hot water rises through limestone, large quantities of rock are dissolved by the hot water, and a white chalky mineral is deposited on the surface. Mammoth Hot Springs are a surficial expression of the deep volcanic forces at work in Yellowstone. All three hikes will be in and around this area and will help determine comfort levels as we cover rocky terrain amid high elevations.

Lunch: On the trail, we’ll have sack lunches.

Afternoon: We will continue our hikes immersed in the Yellowstone ecosystem and become more familiar with its various life zones. We’ll learn how their geologic bones — together with elevation and weather — evolved into vibrant habitats populated by the flora and fauna present today. For those up to the challenge, there will be an elective walk down several hundred stairs that lead over the large complex of hot springs on a hill of travertine terraces.

Dinner: At a local restaurant.

Evening: At leisure. Enjoy the camaraderie of fellow Road Scholars and views from the back patio that overlooks the Yellowstone River.

DAY
3
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
Gardiner, MT
B,L,D
Absaroka Lodge

Activity note: Getting in/out of vans; driving about 80 miles, approximately 2 hours riding time. Choice of 3 hikes: 1) Slower paced 2.5 mile hike; 2) The other two groups will undertake more difficult hikes of about 6 miles; . All hikes/walks on dirt and rocky trails with uneven terrain. Hikes subject to change based on current conditions.

Breakfast: At a local restaurant.

Morning: We will again have a choice of different levels of hikes based on abilities and interest. Our instructor will provide descriptions of all three hiking options offered. Today our journey will be to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. We will hike amid the geologic splendor and ambiance of the canyon. All hiking group will stop at the Upper Falls where the mighty river roars and plunges 109 feet, and at the iconic Artist Point to appreciate the classic view of massive 308 foot Lower Falls. Our naturalist’s ongoing interpretation while hiking will provide meaningful insights into the mysteries of Yellowstone and its continuing drama.

Lunch: On the trail, we’ll have sack lunches.

Afternoon: We’ll continue hiking with our instructors leading the way as we learn more about this amazing “wonderland.”

Dinner: At the Canyon Village Eatery

Evening: Returning to Gardiner, take advantage of prime wildlife viewing time. To enhance your appreciation, watch through binoculars and spotting scopes.

DAY
4
Hike in the heart of Yellowstone, Old Faithful
Gardiner, MT
B,L,D
Absaroka Lodge

Activity note: Getting in/out of SUVs or vans; driving about 120 miles, approximately 4 hours riding time. Choice of 3 hikes: 1) Slower paced 3-4 mile 2) Medium paced 4-5 mile hike. 3) Faster paced 6-7 mile hike. Medium paced and faster paced hikes will be on some paved trails and some dirt/rocky trails with uneven terrain that could also include elevation gain of 160 feet. Hikes subject to change based on current conditions.

Breakfast: At a local restaurant.

Morning: We’ll set out early and ride into the heart of Yellowstone National Park, home to the most famous geyser in the world: Old Faithful. We will have a choice of three hikes with different levels of difficulty according to personal interest and ability. Our instructor will describe all three hikes that will be based on current conditions. We will hike in the Upper Geyser Basin, home to the largest numbers of fragile features found in the park. Within one square mile there are at least 150 of these hydrothermal wonders.

Lunch: In the Park, we’ll have sack lunches.

Afternoon: Our hikes will continue with time to see some of the many thermal features in the Upper Geyser Basin and to watch Old Faithful erupt, a Yellowstone tradition. The park’s wildlife and scenery might be as well-known today, but it was the unique thermal features that inspired the establishment of Yellowstone as the world’s first national park in 1872.

Dinner: At the Old Faithful Cafeteria.

Evening: Returning to Gardiner, take advantage of prime wildlife viewing time.

DAY
5
Yellowstone's Northern Range
Gardiner, MT
B,L,D
Absaroka Lodge

Activity note: Getting in/out of vans; driving about 80 miles, approximately 2 hours riding time. Choice of 3 hikes: 1) Slower paced 2.5 mile hike 2) The other two groups will undertake more difficult hikes of about 6 miles; All hikes/walks on dirt and rocky trails with uneven terrain. Hikes subject to change based on current conditions.

Breakfast: At a local restaurant.

Morning: We will set out early for our next hiking field trip into Yellowstone National Park’s Northern Range. It includes the Lamar Valley, often called America’s Serengeti for its large and easy-to-see populations of large animals; and Mount Washburn, a prominent mountain peak in the park, elevation 10,243 feet.< br> We will have a choice of three hikes with different levels of difficulty according to personal interest and ability. Our instructor will describe all three choices — based on current conditions — as we hike along a portion of Yellowstone’s spectacular and mostly untouched 2.2 million acres that offer a lifetime of discovery and 1,200 miles of hiking trails.

Lunch: In the Park, we’ll have sack lunches.

Afternoon: We will continue our hiking adventure as Yellowstone’s grand landscape unfolds at every bend in the road and on the trail.

Dinner: We will walk 1 block to a restaurant. Share favorite experiences with new Road Scholar friends during our farewell dinner.

Evening: We will walk to our meeting room for a final presentation by our instructor with time for Q&A. We’ll review the hiking adventures in our program and all that makes Yellowstone one of the most dramatic environments on the planet. Returning to the hotel, prepare for check-out and departure in the morning. Independent shuttle arrangements.

DAY
6
Program Concludes
Gardiner, MT
B

Activity note: Independent shuttle arrangements. Hotel check-out 11:00 a.m.

Breakfast: At a local restaurant. This concludes our program.

Morning: If you are returning home, safe travels. If you are staying on independently, have a wonderful time. If you are transferring to another Road Scholar program, detailed instructions are included in your Information Packet for that program. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. Don’t forget to join our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram. Best wishes for all your journeys!






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