Latest / This Week in Yellowstone National Park / This Week in Yellowstone: March 13th to March 19th, 2025

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This Week in Yellowstone: March 13th to March 19th, 2025 · This Week in Yellowstone National Park

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From just outside the National Park where over
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4 million people found beauty and awe in nature,
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but solitude and isolation can still be easily
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found, this is that Scott guy you know and love
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with a new episode of This Week in Yellowstone.
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What's up everybody? This week in Yellowstone
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National Park, March 13th to March 19th, 2025,
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I give some grizzly bear updates, talk about
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park visitation, and rejoice over the return
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of the bluebirds. I also share a cool lunar experience
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you can have in the park this week, maybe, as
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well as give you all the wildlife, weather, and
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trail tips you'll need to have an amazing time
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in Yellowstone National Park. My standard disclaimer,
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I might miss a few things, so if there's anything
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you'd like to know, reach out. I also mention
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park locations extremely casually, so a quick
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search might help you if you're unfamiliar with
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an area I'm talking about. If you can't find
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it, just reach out to me. Also, this report only
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covers the drivable areas of the park. So before
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we dive in, I want to share that this podcast
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is truly a labor of love. I do not get paid to
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do it, nor do I have sponsors for it. If you're
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enjoying this, I'd love to hear from you, whether
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it's through a quick... email message through
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social media or even a review on whatever podcast
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player you have. If you'd like to show your appreciation
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in other ways, I do have guidebooks for sale
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covering hiking and wildlife watching in the
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park and I also give hiking tours in Yellowstone
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that go beyond the boardwalks and give those
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who tour with me a deeper, more immersive experience
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of Yellowstone. If you're interested in the books
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or a tour, please contact me directly or check
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out my website outdoor -society .com. Okay, on
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to the news. According to a press release that
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for some reason I didn't get, but NBCMontana
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.com got, Yellowstone National Park staff observed
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grizzly bear tracks in the northern part of the
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park on March 9th. That means that grizzly bears
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are now active and are coming out of torpor Not
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hibernation. Torpor is different than hibernation.
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Bears don't hibernate. I've explained it before.
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I'll do it again. Really what you need to know
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is continue to be bear aware when you're out
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in the backcountry. Carry bear spray. Stay alert.
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make noise and when you can hike in groups and
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stay away from the bear management areas. Now
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I'm going to give you a few details about when
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the first grizzly sightings have happened in
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previous years. I had recorded something earlier
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that was like bears are active but no one's had
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confirmation but now confirmation has occurred
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so I'm re -recording this very quickly right
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before this goes to press. or whatever we say
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before podcasts go live. So here are the previous
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year's first bear sightings and first bear tracks.
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The first grizzly sighting in 2024 happened on
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March 3rd in 2023 and on 2022. It was March 7th
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in 2021. It was March 13th and in 2020 it was
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on March 7th. 2019 was in March 8th. 2018 was
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March 6th 2017 was March 15th and 2016 was February
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23rd Now the earliest one in the last little
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over a decade was 2015 where the first grizzly
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sighting was on February 9th Of course, if you
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remember 2015 was one of the worst snowpacks
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in Park history and There was no snow when I
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came and visited in March of that year. So I
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would expect an early grizzly sighting on low
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snow years. Other than that, we should have that
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happening any second now. All right, Yellowstone's
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February visitation. Yellowstone National Park
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experienced a 10 % decrease in visitation for
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February 2025 compared to February of 2024. February
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of 2025 saw 44 ,133 visitors 28 ,253 of which
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came in through the North Gate of Gardiner, which
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is the only gate you can drive your own vehicle
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through. February 2025 was the least visited
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February since 2021. And I'll be releasing a
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visitation statistics recap episode this weekend
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or early next week. You know, maybe sooner if
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I feel up for it, but we shall see. Oversnow
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travel is ending and or has ended. All interior
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roads will close to over snow travel on Saturday,
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March 15th. After that date, there will be no
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access to the park's interior. As always, the
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road between Gardiner and Cook City, through
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Mammoth, Tower Roosevelt, and Lamar Valley, is
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open to personal vehicles throughout the year.
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The interior road should be opening to bicycle
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travel in early April, as long as the weather
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works out and park staff can get everything plowed.
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Otherwise, select roads are scheduled to reopen
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to vehicle travel on April 18th. And I'll give
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you a lot more information on that in the coming
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weeks, but for now just know, over snow travel
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is ending on Saturday, March 15th. The experience
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of the week! Don't know why I said it that way,
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you know, just have to have some fun recording
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by myself. So the experience of the week is a
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blood moon and a full moonrise. So my experience
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of the week for those in and out of the park
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is to check out the moon on Friday night. That's
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when the full moon rises, but the real trick
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is going to be early Friday morning, very late
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Thursday night. That's when a total lunar eclipse
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will occur on the night of the 13th and early
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morning hours of the 14th of 2025, where it will
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turn the moon red. The total lunar eclipse or
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blood moon will be visible in Gardner, starting
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around 1255 AM mountain time on March 14th, 2025,
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with peak viewing around 226 AM. A lunar eclipse
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occurs when a moon moves into the Earth's shadow,
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causing the moon to be darkened. The current
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weather forecast is going to make seeing the
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moon extremely difficult, but for those of you
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not in the cloud -covered region around Yellowstone,
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maybe stay up late and check it out. While it's
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not the same level of amazingness as a solar
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eclipse, There was a time when lunar eclipses
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were things that brought awe to all. That's a
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fun thing to say, awe to all. I read it in my
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mind before I read it out loud, and I probably
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should have written that better. But if you're
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interested in lunar events, solar events, why
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not make 2025 the year you return to some of
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the simple joys the universe shares with us?
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I mean, sure, you'll wake up at like 2 a .m.,
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but it's a lunar eclipse. Like, that's cool.
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And while most will not be up when the moon turns
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red, you also have a chance to see the full moonrise
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the following evening. The moon, no longer red
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from the eclipse, will start to rise throughout
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the park a little after 8 p .m. Hopefully the
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weather will be clear enough to see it, as moonrises
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in the park are truly special moments. In a related
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note, I'm going to be announcing moonrise tours
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on next week's episode, so stay tuned for that.
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I've done a few of them, I've absolutely loved
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them. I've taken some people out and they've
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cried at the beauty of the moon rising, which
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is, you know, something that when I get to share
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moments like that is truly special because it's
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a memorable time and to take the time to see
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the moon rise over Yellowstone, you know, it's
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not a common experience. The tip of the week.
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The return of the bluebirds. That's the clever
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title that I wrote. So the bluebirds are back
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in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem. I know
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not everyone cares about birds, but most of us
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who live here rejoice when we see that first
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flash of blue flying nearby. The bluebirds return
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means that spring is actually coming, even if
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snow flurries are falling. While Bluebird sightings
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will probably be slow in the park for another
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week or so, those hoping to catch a glimpse of
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them should head north of the park along Old
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Yellowstone Road kind of by the Yellowstone Hot
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Springs and Devil's Slide. You can also see them
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around the Tom Miner area at the south end of
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Paradise Valley and out by Daly Lake in Paradise
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Valley. I know these are very specific locations,
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so if you need more about like where those are
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and how to get there, just contact me and ask.
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I'm happy to help you out. It's it's a cool thing
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to see. So I was just going to say that, but
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then I decided let's dive into a little more
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about Rocky Mountain Bluebirds because I didn't
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know much about them until I did this. So here's
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some fun facts. Fun being an objective word.
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Here's some fun facts about Rocky Mountain Bluebirds.
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Mountain Bluebirds have no blue pigments in their
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feathers instead. Each feather barb has a thin
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layer of cells that absorb all wavelengths of
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color except blue. Only the blue wavelength is
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reflected and scattered, resulting in their blue
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appearance to our eyes. Adult males are small
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and stocky, with a round head and thin bill.
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The coloration of the adult males is iridescent
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sky blue overall, darker on their backside than
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on their underside. Bluebird females of all species
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have duller plumage than males. This may reduce
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their visibility to predators. Females and immature
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mountain bluebirds are mostly gray -brown with
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tinges of pale blue on their wings and tails.
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Their bellies are mostly rusty grayish. So mountain
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bluebirds seek open areas and higher elevations
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with a variety of short grasses, shrubs, and
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trees during breeding seasons to elevations up
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to 12 ,500 feet above sea level. And finally,
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if you're looking for them, they like prairie
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and tundra edges, meadows, sagebrush flats, alpine
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hillsides, pastures, and recently burned or clear
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-cut areas. I wish I could legally cue that old
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NBC doon doon doon more you know rainbow thing
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but i can't but now you know some things about
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bluebirds so the weather for this coming week
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before i get to the forecast i just want to let
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everyone know that the weather out here is very
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hard to predict it gets less accurate the farther
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out we are from the day so this is the best forecast
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i have right now always check at the visitor
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center for an updated weather forecast zillimar
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valley After a warm high of 43 on Thursday, Lamar
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Valley will be slightly snowy and cold. Between
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Thursday and Tuesday, Lamar could get 8 inches
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of snow. Highs will be around 30 and lows will
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be in the teens and 20s. Cook City will feel
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more like winter to anyone not from the area
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this coming week. It could snow up to 17 inches.
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The snowiest days will be Sunday and Monday,
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which could see 5 inches of snow each day. Highs
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will be in the 30s and 20s all week, with lows
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possibly dipping down to the teens and single
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digits. In Gardner, Thursday will see clouds
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and late snow, with highs in the 40s and lows
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in the 20s. Friday should be partly sunny with
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highs in the 30s and lows in the 20s. Then once
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the weekend starts, expect rain or snow every
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day through Tuesday, with highs in the 30s and
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40s, and lows in the 30s, 20s, and teens. Wednesday
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should be partly sunny with highs near 40 and
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lows in the 20s. Again, that's what the forecast
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says today, Wednesday, March 12th. Check it before
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you go. Just trying to give you a bit of an outline,
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but that could change somewhat in the next few
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days. We'll see. All right, the snowpack update.
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The snowpack for the park is still in pretty
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good shape. The western side of the park is hovering
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around 100 percent of normal, while the eastern
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side of the park is around 89 percent of normal.
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At this time last year, the western side of the
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park was around 80 % of normal and the eastern
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side was 83 % of normal. I don't see the snowpack
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building too much this coming week despite some
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snow showers. It's typically a time when it snows
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out here and it's pretty wet heavy snow, so we
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should stay at least around the same percentage
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point. We're looking pretty good for the winter
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though and there's currently no need to worry
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about anything. We've had a really good snow
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year. Alright road conditions speaking of snow
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the roads this week won't be ideal as part of
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the road parts of the road between Mammoth and
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Cook City are expected to get eight or so inches
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of snow between Thursday and Monday the park
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will do their best to plow the roads if needed
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But expect some snow slush or ice while driving.
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I don't anticipate any road closures due to snow
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but you know with that five inches a day out
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by Cook City there might be a slight delay. So
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for up -to -date information you can call 307
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-344 -2117 for recorded road conditions or you
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can sign up to receive Yellowstone Road Alerts
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on your mobile phone by texting 82190 to the
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number 888 -777. So you will text the number
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82190 to 888 777 Anticipate possible road closures
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due to inclement weather and dangerous driving
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conditions. I say that every week. It's just
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kind of in that blurb so Expect roads to be you
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know slightly winter roads so camping information
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Mammoth Hot Springs continues to be the only
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campground open in the park and that remains
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true for this coming week If you do camp here
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don't expect a lot of other people in the campground
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The weather and lack of visitation during this
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time of year will potentially give you a campground
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all to yourself Last month in February. There
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were 41 people that camped the whole month in
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mammoth So I think there are 78 people that did
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backcountry camping in February last month So
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that's wild but you know, that's that's just
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what it is Alright, probably what everyone wants
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to listen to is the wildlife watching update
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So wildlife in the park right now bison are on
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the move There's a bison herd that left the park
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yesterday at Gardner and we're headed Toward
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like down Yellowstone Road so you could check
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them out. There's also pronghorn moving back
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there have been some foxes hanging out by floating
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Island Lake and Wolves have been spotted Near
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like the black tail ponds area a little further
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than that and also out over hell roaring and
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in Lamar So just kind of drive back and forth
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for the wolves people have been seen otter tracks
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in the Lamar River Canyon So definitely check
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that out and moose have been spotted off and
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on out near round prairie Other than that, it's
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just kind of one of these influx wildlife times
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where you kind of have to drive back and forth
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to see what's out there. If you are really looking
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to see wildlife, the best thing to do is get
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up kind of early and put in the miles. If you
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see people pulled off at the side of the road
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at pullouts and they have binoculars out and
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spotting scopes set up, stop and look. If you
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see people looking through their spotting scopes,
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like actually actively on their spotting scopes,
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do not pass them. Pull off where you can legally
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and definitely check it out. That's one of those
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little tricks that you can kind of drive by and
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see if people are watching things or waiting
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for things. If spotting scopes are set up and
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no one's looking through them, they know that
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there's wildlife out there, but they're just
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not visible at the moment. If they're all standing
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behind their spotting scopes looking through
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it, they are looking at something. It seems like
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common knowledge, but it's one of those things
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that Until you're in the park a lot You don't
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really notice how to read these wildlife watching
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scenes as well And that's one of those things
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that I love to share again I have a wildlife
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watching guidebook if you want to check that
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out Please consider buying it directly from me
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as when they get sold on Amazon I don't really
16:32
make any money and Amazon makes more money so
16:35
you can get your copy at outdoor -society .com
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Also with wildlife watching this week, like I
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said, the bluebirds are out and you may want
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to start keeping an eye out for osprey returning.
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We will have some eagles both golden and bald
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eagles out in the area and it's kind of just
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the start of this active season. A lot of people
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don't like this as a wildlife watching time,
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but I've had some of my best wolf sightings when
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all the interior roads close and everyone else
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kind of goes away. So if you're headed in the
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park, this week could be very memorable for wildlife
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watching. Oh, and the one thing that I did forget
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to mention, and I had to stop and re -record
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this, was that there are some bighorn sheep hanging
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out. by the hitching post area of Lamar Valley.
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So that's you drive all the way through Lamar
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Valley and there's like the pit toilets and there's
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a whole bunch of parking areas. It's called the
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hitching post. If you're there and you're looking
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back toward the mountains looking north, you
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should be able to see some bighorn sheep. They've
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been hanging out there quite a bit. If they're
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not there. I did see a lot of bighorn sheep out
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by in Paradise Valley by point of rocks and you
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can drive there and. toward Lower Tom Miner Basin
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and there's usually bighorn sheep out there.
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Hiking news and updates! Expect wintry conditions
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when hiking in Yellowstone this week. You'll
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need snowshoes or cross -country skis for pretty
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much every trail and I strongly advise traction
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devices for boardwalks at Mammoth, especially
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early in the morning. After this week things
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might start changing on the trails. I might talk
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about mud season next week, but for right now
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still expect winter conditions. So with wintery
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conditions still here, what trail should you
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hike? So my Trek of the Week is the Yellowstone
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River Overlook Trail at the Yellowstone River
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Picnic Area. Located just across from the soon
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-to -be -replaced bridge over the Yellowstone
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River as you're headed toward Lamar Valley from
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Tower, you'll find the Yellowstone River Picnic
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Area. It's minimally signed, but this picnic
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area is home to one of the most underrated hikes
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in Yellowstone National Park, in my opinion.
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This is also one of my most frequented trails
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in the park, and no matter what the season, it's
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always worth visiting. I'm recommending it this
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week for two reasons. One is that the trail is
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decently trafficked, and the snow should be beaten
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down pretty well. The other reason I'm recommending
18:58
this is that It is a short and relatively easy
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hike and it's a trail that you won't be able
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to do once the construction on the bridge starts
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up again in real spring. There's only a few more
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weeks where you can hike this from the Yellowstone
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River picnic area. So best known for showcasing
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the unique geology and sweeping views of the
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canyon, river, and mountains of the northern
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range, this hike makes for the perfect half -day
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jaunt. Not only will you See, eagles, bison,
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bighorn sheep, and migratory birds, the views
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should leave you absolutely dazzled. The only
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real difficulty of this trail is the start, which
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quickly climbs from the picnic area. One of my
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secret, I'm putting that in quotation marks because
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it's not a secret, but one of the tips I have
19:44
for this hike is to ignore the trailhead to the
19:47
left of the pit toilet and instead go to the
19:50
right, following the boot path up the meadow
19:52
to the top of the hill. can hike up the rail
19:57
trail, you're actually going to be missing some
19:59
seriously good views by taking that standard
20:01
route. The boot path leads to a fantastic lesser
20:04
-known view of the canyon and the Yellowstone
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River, and it's only 0 .2 miles away. So keep
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this in mind for a quick leg stretch if you don't
20:13
feel like a real hike. Follow the trail to the
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top of the ridge as best you can. When covered
20:19
in snow, it can be slightly difficult to find.
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Luckily, the path route isn't complicated. Stay
20:26
on the canyon rim if you had too far over the
20:28
canyon rim You're gonna fall off if you had too
20:30
far left, then you're not on the canyon rim.
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So stay on the canyon rim after about a half
20:36
mile from the parking area you get to one of
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my favorite views and Here you'll get to that
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bend of the river at the base of Bumpus Butte
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Bumpus Butte is a fun name that I know a lot
20:47
about but not anybody else really knows what
20:49
it is But you'll know it's Bumpus Butte by the
20:52
steam coming off the base where it meets the
20:54
river While you could turn around here, going
20:57
another half mile or so will take you to a spot
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directly across from the popular Calcite Springs
21:02
overlook. To the northeast, which is behind you
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if you're looking at the river, you get majestic
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mountain views. Expect to gain about 400 feet
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in elevation along this hike. And with that,
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that is the end of this week's episode. Next
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week, I'll talk about the wolf release that happened
21:20
30 years ago, give tips on how to be prepared
21:23
for the park's elevation, Share a trail just
21:26
outside of the park that is perfect for this
21:29
time of the year and continue to let you know
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everything else you'll need to have a good trip
21:33
in Yellowstone. Until next week, bye! This week
21:48
in Yellowstone is brought to you by The Outdoor
21:50
Society because that's my company and that's
21:52
where this is hosted. There are no sponsors.
21:55
This is a labor of love, so thank you all for
21:57
listening. Copyright 2025, baby!