Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
park starting at $119 per day and guided tours into the park from $189. They have licensed
guides, Yellowstone-mandated four-stroke engines, and rental equipment. Another full-ser-
vice rental outfit in West is
Rendezvous Snowmobile Rentals
(415 Yellowstone Ave., 406/
646-9564 or 800/426-7669,
www.yellowstonevacations.com
), renting snowmobiles from
$119-188 per day with a guide fee of $40 per snowmobile. For deep-powder backcoun-
try touring options outside the park,
Hi Country Snowmobile Rentals
(229 Hayden St.,
406/646-7541 or 800/624-5291,
www.hicountrysnowmobile.com
)
is an excellent bet, with
snowmobile rentals from their entirely new fleet each year from $139-199 per day, guided
trail rides from $200 per day for 1-3 people plus the cost of machine rental, and guided
backcountry tours from $225 per day plus machine rental.
For those who want to explore the backcountry outside Yellowstone National Park in
a slightly quieter way, dogsledding might be the perfect choice.
Klondike Dreams
(Yel-
lowstone Rental and Sports, U.S. 20, 8 miles west of West Yellowstone, 406/646-4988,
www.klondikedreams.com
,
$100 over 80 pounds, $50 under 80 pounds) offers two-hour
rides and kennel tours featuring their Alaskan huskies with Iditarod bloodlines.
SPRING BIKING THROUGH THE PARK
For a few magical weeks between the end of the snowmobile season and the onset
of the summer car traffic, Yellowstone's roads are open exclusively to nonmotorized
users. This means that bicyclists, walkers, runners, Rollerbladers, and roller skiers
can cruise through the park in near silence with eyes focused on bison traffic as op-
posed to wide Winnebagos. Depending on the seasonal snow, the road between the
west entrance and Mammoth Hot Springs typically opens the last Friday in March
and stays open to nonmotorized users until the third Thursday in April. Opening can
be delayed in heavy snow years due to the need for plowing.
Sometime in May there is normally a brief period of bicycle-only traffic permitted
from the east entrance to the east end of Sylvan Pass, and from the south entrance to
West Thumb Junction. The roads between Madison Junction and Old Faithful, and
Norris Junction to Canyon, remain closed to all traffic during this spring season for
human safety and bear management.
There is something truly spellbinding about being on the open road in the park,
the wind whistling through your helmet. The relative silence allows some unrivaled
wildlife viewing and necessitates great care. As nerve-racking as it can be to be en-
