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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.

Best of all, you’ll…

  • 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.
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 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.
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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.
Showing Lodging For:
Sep 22, 2025 - Sep 27, 2025
  • Sep 22, 2025 - Sep 27, 2025
  • May 19, 2025 - May 24, 2025
  • Jun 02, 2025 - Jun 07, 2025
  • Aug 18, 2025 - Aug 23, 2025
  • Sep 01, 2025 - Sep 06, 2025
  • Sep 15, 2025 - Sep 20, 2025
  • Sep 22, 2025 - Sep 27, 2025
5 nights
Location: 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.
5 nights
Location: 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.
5 nights
Location: 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.
5 nights
Location: 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.
5 nights
Location: 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.
5 nights
Location: 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.





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