Have you ever heard of the ‘eternal hunting grounds’ in a western movie? Did you know these exist in real life? You can find those – virtually intact – in Yellowstone National Park, a real gem and a success story of nature conservation. Take pictures of the American Bison in the snow, capture the power of nature and enjoy a whole range of wildlife and spectacular landscapes during this photography tour!
With more than 9000 km² Yellowstone National Park is not only the largest nature reserve of the USA, it was the very first reserve in the world to be created, in 1872. The area consists of a series of woods, swamps and rivers and is located above a volcanic hotspot, explaining the many geysers and hot thermal springs. Especially during winter, it provides us with spectacular images, when the steam spurts out in the middle of the snowy plains.
The wildlife at Yellowstone National Park is unique. Numerous American Bison roam the pastures, together with Wolves, Elks, White-tailed Deer, Coyotes and many more. In the winter, animals gather to conquer the cold together, which does not only offer many photographic opportunities, but also means they are easy to find. During this trip, we focus on the American Bison and try to capture it in its natural habitat. A unique opportunity!
The timing of the trip has been chosen in order to make use of the best opportunities wintery Yellowstone has to offer. We will stay in the middle of Yellowstone, in cabins nearby Old Faithful. We will get there by snow taxi. From Yellowstone West we will explore vast snow landscapes by snowcoach, a type of bus on tracks. This will allow us to travel all over the snowy landscape, not only to have the best opportunities for photographs but also to be mobile in case new opportunities present themselves. We charter a bus for 14 people, so that everyone has ample room for movement.
We start our trip in the northeast of the National Park, in the Lamar Valley. A valley that is also known as ‘the Serengeti of America’ because of the numbers of wildlife that it holds. After this we’ll go to Mammoth Hot Springs for a few days to the heart of Yellowstone, to photograph the surroundings of the legendary geyser Old Faithful. We drive there with a private snow coach. The combination of hot springs and winter atmospheres makes Old Faithful a very photogenic and authentic place. On the last leg of the trip we explore the National Park from the town of Yellowstone West. The vast snow landscapes and the Grand Canyon are on the program, just like the Madison or Hayden Valley. Here too our means of transport is a snow coach.
Today you will depart from Brussels/Schiphol to the United States.
We fly to Bozeman and depart from there to our hotel in Gardiner.
We make the transfer to Lamar Valley.
We shoot a whole day in this beautiful valley, where we hope to find a loads of winter wildlife.
After an impression of the Mammoth Hot Springs, we take the snow taxi to Old Faithful, the most famous and largest geyser of Yellowstone.
Today the photographers stay close to Old Faithful all day long.
Via the Mammoth Hot Springs we drive to West Yellowstone.
Our own snow coach takes us to the most beautiful places in this part of the National Park for two days.
Our own snow coach brings us to the Grand Canyon, where we take the most beautiful photos.
We take a private snow coach charter to Madison or Hayden Valley.
Our last morning photographing in the area, after which we fly home via Bozeman (Brussels/Amsterdam).
We land back with both feet in Brussels/Amsterdam (flights not included) and return home with a series of fantastic photos and unforgettable travel memories.