Yellowstone National Park Map

The Yellowstone National Park is located mostly in Wyoming, with part of it in Montana and Idaho. It was established on March 1, 1872 and was the first national park in the world. It covers a total of 3,468.4 square miles (8,983 square kilometers) and is mostly situated inside an ancient volcanic caldera (the exploded crater of a volcano). The caldera is still considered to be active and results in Yellowstone’s thermal features such as geysers and hot springs. 

We followed the route marked in pink on the map.

Snowcoaches

We traveled via snowcoach from West Yellowstone, Montana, to the park, crossing the Wyoming state line soon after entering the park.

Entering Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone is very crowded in the summer and other snow–less months but is almost empty during the winter. We practically had the whole park to ourselves, just sharing it with some other snowcoaches and a few snowboarders.

Winter Scenery

The winter scenery was very beautiful––quite a winter wonderland. The temperature was in the 30s, so not too cold, and there was no wind and the sun  was often shining. Perfect winter weather.

Elk

There were three elks grazing on a snow–covered hill. I was able to take a photo of this one with my zoom lens. There are also moose and deer at Yellowstone but we didn’t see either of them.

Bison

Yellowstone has the oldest and largest bison herd in the U.S. and we saw many of them.

Swans

We also saw some trumpeter swans swimming in the rivers, which did not freeze over in the winter as their water source is warm.

Geyser Field–MOVIE

There are many geyser fields in Yellowstone. A geyser is a spring with an intermittent discharge of hot water and steam though a vent in the earth’s surface. Two–thirds of the world’s geysers are located in Yellowstone.

Old Faithful Geyser

At the Old Faithful Geyser––in the left rear of the photo––probably the most famous geyser in the world. The time Old Faithful will next erupt is calculated from the length of time of its last eruption.

Old Faithful Erupting–MOVIE

Old Faithful erupting.

Waterfalls

We also saw many waterfalls.

Yellowstone Lake

Also, Yellowstone Lake, the largest lake in Yellowstone National Park. Those are geysers in front of the lake.

West Thumb Geyser Field

There is a walkway here so you can view the geysers up close but you need to be careful to stay on the trail. These geysers are spewing very hot water.

Winter Scene

One of many very pretty winter scenes in the park.

The Tetons

After leaving Yellowstone, we drove by bus to view the 40–mile–long Teton Range in the Grand Teton National Park, established in 1929. The range to the left of where I stood.

The mountain in the middle with three peaks is called the Grand Teton, which gives the park its name. It is believed that it got its name from 19th–century, French–speaking trappers. They called it “les trois tetons,” which translates to “the three teats.”

The Tetons

The Tetons to the right from where I stood.

The Tetons–MOVIE

A movie of the Teton Range.

The Tetons

The sun starting to set over the Tetons.

The Tetons

The sun setting over the Tetons.

Hotel in Jackson

We spent two nights in Jackson, a town in the Jackson Hole valley of Teton County in Wyoming, often referred to as Jackson Hole. Its parking lot looks like it was still decorated for Christmas. But there was much ice to walk on to get to our rooms and to the breakfast room separated from our rooms. You had to make a judgement as to which icy path to take to where you wanted to go––which one looked more icy and to avoid.