Latest / This Week in Yellowstone National Park / This Week in Yellowstone: January 30th to February 5th, 2025

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This Week in Yellowstone: January 30th to February 5th, 2025 · This Week in Yellowstone National Park

• 0:00
  From the banks of the Yellowstone River next to the border of the AB Wilderness and under the looming ridge lines of the Absaroka Mountains of Montana,
• 0:08
  get ready for this week in Yellowstone for the week of January 30th to February 5th, 2025.
• 0:36
  What's up everybody, this is the newest episode of the podcast as I said in the intro.
• 0:43
  This is that guy Scott that everybody knows, so welcome to listening.
• 0:48
  On this episode of This Week in Yellowstone, I'm going to take a look at an incoming snowstorm that's going to really wreak some havoc this weekend.
• 0:56
  Then I'm also going to share a few indoor locations to warm up and relax in Mammoth Hot Springs.
• 1:02
  I'm also going to touch on the wolf mating season and then bring up an issue for wolf hunting that the state of Montana is going to be voting on very soon.
• 1:09
  In fact, they might be voting on it as I am speaking right now.
• 1:13
  So the standard disclaimer, I'm probably going to miss a few things and not cover some topics you'd like, but if there's anything you want to know,
• 1:20
  reach out and contact me, I will do my best to include it.
• 1:23
  I will also be referring to locations in the park pretty casually, so if there's any place you need to know,
• 1:29
  jot it down, try to remember it and look it up.
• 1:32
  Also, please note that this is the weekly report for the current drivable regions of the park and doesn't cover any experiences that you'll need a snow coach or a snowmobile tour to experience the interior.
• 1:44
  And yes, I said experience twice. That's how you know I am doing this in one take.
• 1:48
  Anyway, if you have questions about anything, again, reach out to me.
• 1:52
  Alright, as we do every week, we're going to start out with this week in Yellowstone News.
• 1:59
  It was a pretty slow week, still is pretty slow week for news, but there is one thing I'm going to talk about briefly,
• 2:04
  and that is the state of Montana is looking at two bills this week.
• 2:08
  That is, as of today, Wednesday, January 29th.
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  It is 322, as I'm saying this and they haven't voted yet.
• 2:16
  The two bills Montana is looking at HB176, which requires unlimited wolf hunting quotas when the statewide wolf population is at or above 550 wolves.
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  This also prevents the commission from issuing quotas until the population objective is met and opens unlimited hunting and trapping near Yellowstone,
• 2:37
  which are the wildlife management areas number 313 and 316 from early September through mid-March.
• 2:47
  The second bill, HB222, allows open wolf hunting seasons until the population drops to 650 wolves or fewer.
• 2:56
  This leaves the season open all year, except May and June, to avoid hunting pups.
• 3:03
  Notably, the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, the FWP here in Montana, have opposed this bill during committee hearings.
• 3:13
  This vote is scheduled to happen this week, probably before January 31st, and I'll keep you updated on what happens if they do vote on it in next weeks.
• 3:23
  I do have some links that I can send you that I have posted on my social media accounts and will continue to do so.
• 3:31
  If you do need the link from the Park County Environmental Council on how to have your voice heard, if you still can, reach out to me and I'll send that link your way as soon as I possibly can.
• 3:42
  So, wolf populations and wolf hunts are obviously hot button issues, but that doesn't mean that those against wolves should ignore science and ram through legislation, which this appears to be.
• 3:54
  There is a solution that can have healthy wolf populations as well as wolf hunting seasons, and make sure that the wolves who do occasionally prey on livestock are eradicated.
• 4:06
  That is something that currently is happening, and I think there are some good decisions there.
• 4:12
  I do want to say that I'm not against hunting at all. I'm going to say that again. I'm not against hunting, but I am, however, against what I have deemed a baseless slaughter
• 4:23
  without any fact-based reasons other than bloodless and antiquated ideals.
• 4:27
  The reason why I use some more harsh terminology there is that if you look at Idaho and Wyoming and their wolf hunts, they are a bit extreme,
• 4:37
  and Wyoming is probably the most backwood state when it comes to wolf hunts and how they treat both wolves and coyotes.
• 4:46
  You are still allowed to run down coyotes on snowmobiles, and I think you can do that on wolves, too.
• 4:52
  I don't want to say that you 100% can do that to wolves in Wyoming, but I'm pretty sure you can.
• 4:59
  There's also, when we look at wolf hunts, there are some regional strategies with quotas and the units that I mentioned earlier that are already in place.
• 5:10
  These are things that are working, obviously not every year is ideal, but everybody involved is kind of working for the solution.
• 5:19
  When we're talking about these overarching policies that it looks like they're trying to pass, I find it very ironic that the party that wants to keep elected officials out of decision-making
• 5:29
  for locals is letting elected officials make policies that are not what locals want.
• 5:35
  That's a digression. That's basically the news.
• 5:39
  The other news is that there is a small earthquake by Norris Hot Springs, but I think those happen all the time.
• 5:45
  If, again, you're interested in that wolf hunting stuff, let me know.
• 5:52
  I will continue to try not to be too political about things, but there's a better way to manage wildlife and have everybody make sure that their voices are heard,
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  and these bills don't appear to be it.
• 6:07
  So, shaking that off, let's go to the experience of the week.
• 6:12
  So, Wolf mating season is upon us, and the wolf mating season in Yellowstone runs from mid-January through early March,
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  and it's one of the most fascinating times of the year for those who enjoy watching wolves.
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  So, most wildlife struggle through the bitter cold and the deep snow and scarce food, but the wolves are currently thriving.
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  It's kind of their time to shine.
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  They can run on top of the snow, hunt animals, and they're putting on pounds, surviving, getting ready to mate, and that's preserving the longevity of those species.
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  So, in a wolf pack, it's typically the alpha pair, the dominant male and the dominant female that mates,
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  but in Yellowstone, we kind of have a different dichotomy.
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  Food is more abundant than it is in other places, so some subordinate wolves get the chance to breed too.
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  It's not uncommon for adult females to sneak away from the pack, meet up with males from neighboring packs, and then return home to raise their pups.
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  This happens all the time. Sometimes it doesn't go well, sometimes it goes very well.
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  So, that's going on. The adventurous behavior adds genetic diversity, which is crucial for the health of future generations.
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  So, that's the more formal way of saying that, of them making sure that they are all creating new packs.
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  And that's something that's going to be happening right now too, is there is potential for some of the older wolves, or wolves that aren't fitting in,
• 7:37
  to go off on their own, maybe mate, maybe start a new pack. That happened with the Shrimp Lake pack a few years ago.
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  That was one of my favorite wolf packs that I've rarely seen, and that's just kind of how it goes.
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  So, you may be wondering how you can see this wolf mating season, kind of like the coyotes.
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  It's all luck timing. There's no good option to see it. It's not like they make sure they stay by the road or anything like that.
• 8:06
  No, you're probably not going to see any of the actual mating, which, you know, if that's what you want to see, you'll be disappointed.
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  But you will see some of the behavior if you can find packs of wolves. They'll be nipping at each other. They're kind of playing a bit more.
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  And so, if you do want to see wolves during this time, the best thing to do, as always, is to look for wolf researchers and tour companies
• 8:28
  that are usually lined up with spotting scopes at pullouts. If you see this, stop at the pullout and ask what they're looking at.
• 8:35
  They won't and aren't obligated to allow you to look through their spotting scopes, but they should, if they're cool, tell you what they see.
• 8:44
  So, if you're interested in seeing wolves, right now is a good time. I'll talk a little more about that when I get to the Wildlife Watch 2.
• 8:51
  So, the tip of the week. I usually recommend outdoor adventures, but this week I'm telling you to go inside, especially once I get to the weather.
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  You'll understand why. So, when you're in Mammoth, there are two buildings you definitely need to check out.
• 9:09
  But don't do that like first thing in the morning. Wake up early, go wildlife watching, and then during the daytime, head into Mammoth
• 9:17
  and spend the warmer part of the day just hanging out there. So, I typically will go hiking during that time, but I'm also aware that that's not what everyone wants to do when it's cold.
• 9:28
  So, there are two very cool places, and those places are the Albright Visitor Center and the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel.
• 9:36
  The Albright Visitor Center is a rat historic building that was built in 1909 and was the Bachelor Officers' Quarters for the Calvary troops who protected the park before the creation of the National Park Service.
• 9:50
  The building is today a place to learn about the park and where you can chat with a ranger.
• 9:55
  The MPS website describes the Visitor Center as a place where, quote, you can gather park information or ain't yourself to the rest of the park, including road conditions and campground and lodge availability, shop for souvenirs,
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  explore exhibits to learn more about wildlife and history of Yellowstone, join a ranger program, pick up a fishing permit, fees are payable by debit or credit card, or use the restroom.
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  This Visitor Center also has free Wi-Fi, end quote.
• 10:23
  When you are at the Visitor Center, make sure you go downstairs for two reasons.
• 10:27
  One is that the downstairs is where the bathroom is, and it might be the best open bathroom, maybe in the second place I talk about it may have a better one, but if you want a warm bathroom with like hand dryers, go there.
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  The second reason to go downstairs is that there's a great exhibit that talks about the history of the park.
• 10:43
  It is something that if you really want to know more, you do not want to skip this.
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  And once you've finished at the Visitor Center, definitely head over to the Mammoth Hotel.
• 10:54
  The hotel as it stands today was built in 1936, and it retains a wing of guest rooms originally built in 1911.
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  And what I like the best is that it features the map room containing a large wooden map of the United States constructed of 15 different types of wood from nine countries.
• 11:15
  It was made in Seattle, Washington, and this is an underrated quick thing to take a look at.
• 11:22
  The map room is also a really cool place to sit and warm up, and you can get a cup of coffee from the gift shop or a drink from the bar.
• 11:29
  Expresso and coffee are available typically from 6.30 to 10 a.m., but that's not always the case.
• 11:35
  And the bar beverages in Expresso are said to be served between 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.
• 11:40
  I've been there before 4 and they've been served, so that's just what their website says it may be open earlier, may not.
• 11:47
  If the amenities aren't available, you can walk a little south of the hotel to the cantina or to the gift shop that also sells some snacks and drinks,
• 11:55
  and then you can bring it back to the map room.
• 11:58
  So the map room is an underrated spot to sit and relax, as they said, and I think you'll enjoy it,
• 12:03
  but if you really just want to go and hang out there, bring a deck of cards, or you can even play checkers,
• 12:10
  or chess if you have your own pieces with you. I mean, I don't know anybody that does that, but maybe you have chess pieces with you.
• 12:17
  And you can bring those there, and they have stone game tables located around the room that you can play those on.
• 12:22
  So definitely check out those two things. In between, this week's snow.
• 12:27
  Speaking of snow, let's check the weather for the coming week.
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  So we're going to start with Lamar Valley as we always do.
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  The weekend is going to be snowy, and the current forecast is calling for over a foot of snow in Lamar Valley.
• 12:39
  Could be less, could also be a lot more. They've been shifting the numbers off and on every day,
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  so I can't really get a good bearing of exactly how much it's going to be.
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  The snow is going to start on Friday afternoon and last through Wednesday.
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  The good news is that the highs are supposed to be in the upper 20s and low 30s, and the lows in the 20s and high teens through Wednesday.
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  So Sunday looks to be the snowiest day. Be ready for that. That's going to make driving a little more difficult, and I will get to that a little later.
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  But the weather in Cook City is going to be very similar to Lamar, but the snow totals are going to be higher.
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  Cook City, last I looked, is supposed to get 27 inches of snow between Friday and Wednesday.
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  With most of that coming on Sunday.
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  The temperature will also be a few degrees colder than Lamar, so if you're headed out that way, it's going to be colder and snowier.
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  In Gardiner, it's going to be warmer and less snowy. Expect highs in the upper 30s and lows in the 20s for most of the week.
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  Snowfall is going to be less than Lamar in Cook City, but Gardiner could still see around 10 inches of snow.
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  Falling between Friday and Wednesday, with Sunday again being the heavier snow.
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  The forecast I'm using is as of Wednesday, January 29th.
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  As always, it may be colder than the temperature I listed. It may be warmer, may snow more, may snow less.
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  I'm doing my best, and I don't have a degree in meteorology.
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  So with all the snow, let's take a look at the snowpack.
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  The snowpack for Yellowstone is slowly diminishing as we haven't had a good snowfall for about a week or so.
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  As of January 29th, the snowpack is below average. That's not really a big shock.
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  The northwest corner of the park is in the upper 90% of normal, while the western edge of the park is in the low 80%.
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  The north and eastern side of the park is in the low 70%. So us getting some snow this week is definitely going to help make those numbers climb.
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  And hopefully we can get closer to normal, closer in the 90s and 100s for all of the park.
• 14:51
  Alright, it's going to be snowing. What does that mean for the roads?
• 14:56
  On Thursday and most of Friday, roads are going to be great. I wouldn't worry about them at all.
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  You're going to have patches of compact snow and ice here and there, but generally, you know, be aware that when you're entering shady areas,
• 15:07
  slow down, don't slam on your brakes, tap your brakes, you should be fine.
• 15:11
  As you head past Tower and out to Lamar and Cook City, the roads are going to be a little worse.
• 15:19
  They're going to be snowpacked, and then once the snow starts to fall, things are going to deteriorate pretty quickly.
• 15:26
  I expect Friday night to be okay. Saturday will also be okay road-wise, and Sunday I can see being pretty rough for anyone not used to driving in snow.
• 15:35
  Saturday could also lean that way, depending on snow totals.
• 15:39
  The road is going to be pretty covered in snow. It's going to snow very heavy at times, and it will cause numerous cars to go off the road, guaranteed.
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  This will lead to temporary closures of the road if the conditions are bad enough.
• 15:54
  It may not happen that the road closes, but you should be ready for that to happen.
• 15:58
  Often during heavy snows, people will be stuck in Cook City for a few hours or longer until the park can actually plow.
• 16:06
  So the park will be plowing and doing its best, but the snow will potentially be too much for the underfunded park staff to deal with.
• 16:13
  Even if they were fully funded, they wouldn't be able to keep the roads perfect.
• 16:17
  I'm just bringing up the fact that they're underfunded as much as I can, because people need to know.
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  So the takeaway here is to expect the roads to be pretty rough going through the weekend and early next week.
• 16:28
  It may not be the case, but I am leaning towards saying that it will be the case.
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  Have an extra blanket with you, have extra food, have everything if you're driving through the park, you may get stranded.
• 16:39
  Also bring a sleeping bag that will help.
• 16:42
  So for up-to-date information, you can call area code 307-344-2117 for recorded information,
• 16:51
  or you can sign up to receive Yellowstone Road Alerts on your phone by texting 82190 to the number 888-777.
• 17:01
  As always, anticipate possible road closures due to inclement weather and dangerous driving conditions.
• 17:08
  If you're going to be camping this week, you better know how to camp in snow.
• 17:13
  I did chat with somebody who camped in the park last week, and they said they only made it with any level of comfort
• 17:19
  because they had a sleeping bag designed for negative 30 degrees and they were sleeping in a camper.
• 17:24
  If you are camping, it's going to be slightly warmer this weekend, but it's going to be very snowy.
• 17:30
  And if you don't have amazing cold weather gear, don't give it a chance. Stay in a hotel. It will be better that way.
• 17:38
  Alright, wildlife watching. It's been a week of mountain lion sightings, which is a rare thing to say in the park.
• 17:45
  You've also been seen wolves, moose, and the standard animals.
• 17:49
  The mountain lions were visible near Amphitheater Mountain a few days ago, and if they are out there,
• 17:56
  be aware that you'll only be able to see them with a really good pair of binoculars and or a spotting scope
• 18:02
  if people are stopped, stop and look, but they've been at the very top of the mountain kind of posing
• 18:09
  and very small even through a lot of the wildlife watching guides, fantastic spotting scopes.
• 18:15
  So if they're out there, definitely stop and look, but they might be extremely hard to see.
• 18:21
  Wolves have also been spotted quite a bit. They've been more around Lamar this last week,
• 18:26
  visible near the Lamar River trailhead, but they will be more than likely on the move.
• 18:31
  In that same area, moose have also been hanging out, especially between Soda Butte and Pebble Creek.
• 18:36
  There could also be some wolves out by the Nature Trail closer to Mammoth or even out at Hell Roaring.
• 18:43
  Again though, with the incoming snow all weekend, I'm expecting that wildlife sightings are going to be
• 18:51
  few and far between as visibility over any sort of a distance isn't going to be consistent.
• 18:57
  As always, your best bet to see wildlife is to drive the road and go back and forth a few times.
• 19:03
  Stop when you see people pulled over looking at things and generally stop at pullouts and scan quickly.
• 19:10
  If you want to see bison there all over the place right now, same with elk, but there's more elk near Gardner
• 19:17
  and I also saw some pronghorn near Gardner too.
• 19:20
  Big horn sheep have been few and far between as of late, but if you leave the park heading north
• 19:27
  and go toward Tom Minor, I saw quite a few of them there yesterday as I recorded this, so Tuesday.
• 19:34
  Alright, hiking news and updates.
• 19:37
  Last weekend, you didn't need snow shoes or skis to walk up the road to Tower as the snow is really packed down nicely.
• 19:44
  Just walked up in shoes.
• 19:46
  That's going to change.
• 19:48
  This weekend will be very snowy, so you're definitely going to need snow shoes or skis to pretty much do any trek around the park.
• 19:54
  You can walk the boardwalks of Mammoth with good boots and traction devices, but it will be slick.
• 20:00
  Alright, my trek of the week.
• 20:03
  This week, since it's going to be snowy, I'm recommending something close to Mammoth.
• 20:07
  You can probably guess what I'm going to say, but it's a snowshoe and cross country ski adventure
• 20:14
  and where you can do that best at Mammoth will be the Upper Terrace Loop.
• 20:19
  So wandering the Upper Terrace at Mammoth is a nice substitute and is much less expensive than booking a full day's tour down to the Geyser Basins.
• 20:28
  You could do that too, but you can also just rent some snow shoes or cross country skis from Mammoth and take this short jaunt.
• 20:35
  It is occasionally steep.
• 20:37
  It's not ridiculously steep, but it's steeper than you expect, so be aware of that if you do this.
• 20:44
  It will get you up close and personal with a few of the park's memorable features.
• 20:48
  For snowshoes, this trail is a great introduction to the region, as well as a chance to get to see some of the lesser seen winter sites.
• 20:55
  You'll also have a chance to potentially see wildlife, as well as follow one of the original guided routes in the park.
• 21:02
  This, the upper loop, used to be one of the tours you could do back in the 1800s,
• 21:08
  and it's kind of my favorite thing to do when I take tours there is show them what you used to be able to do,
• 21:13
  which you used to be able to crawl into some of the caves.
• 21:18
  You can no longer do that, most of the caves are not visible, but that used to be a tour back in the 1800s, so times have changed.
• 21:26
  If you are interested in doing this upper terrace loop, it's less than 2 miles total, and there's a few hundred feet of elevation,
• 21:34
  gain and loss, and like I said, it's steeper than you expect.
• 21:37
  Would you rather hike the trails with an knowledgeable expert on the park?
• 21:41
  I offer private guided hiking services in Yellowstone, who would be happy to help you have an amazing time out in the wilds of the park.
• 21:48
  Feel free to reach out to me directly, or check out my current guided hiking options at outdoor-society.com.
• 21:55
  At my website, I also have wildlife watching guidebooks and a hiking guidebook to the region at my store,
• 22:02
  and I sell both paperback and ebook copies, so again check that out at outdoor-society.com.
• 22:08
  With that, that is the end of this week in Yellowstone.
• 22:12
  I will be back next week to talk about even more things.
• 22:16
  Again, if there's anything you want to hear, let me know and I'd be happy to include it.
• 22:21
  This week in Yellowstone is brought to you by the Outdoor Society, because that's my company, and that's where this is hosted.
• 22:38
  There are no sponsors, there's no ad breaks, this is a labor of love, so thank you all for listening.
• 22:43
  Copyright 2025, baby!