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.

Enroll with Confidence

We want your Road Scholar learning adventure to be something to look forward to—not worry about. Learn more

Protecting the Environment

We offset a portion of the emissions created by your travel. Learn more

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
Profile Image
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 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 Andrea Saari
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.
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 Kathy Lichtendahl
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.





Recommended For You

loading spinner