Yellowstone National Park is one of my absolute favorite destinations on Earth. There’s something truly magical about this place that I simply can’t resist. I live in Bozeman, Montana just an hour and a half drive away from both the North and West entrances of the park and visit Yellowstone frequently. I easily spent 40-50 days in the park in 2023 alone, driving back and forth in search of wildlife.

You’d think that having visited America’s first national park so many times I would simply get bored and want to go somewhere else. In reality, that is far from my experience. As it turns out, the more I visit this place the more I fall in love with it and the stronger my desire to return becomes.

Wildlife photography is an art form that has completely enveloped me as a photographer and Yellowstone is one of the absolute best places on earth to photograph many of the iconic and rugged animals of North America and the wild west. I particularly enjoy visiting the park throughout the winter when one can experience fewer crowds, frigid temperatures, snowcapped peaks, frozen valleys and plateaus, and of course hardy wildlife living on the edge.

I recently had the privilege and pleasure of leading the first two ‘Yellowstone’s Lamar Valley in Winter’ photography workshops for Backcountry Journeys. This is a brand-new wildlife-focused trip that is based out of the quaint, isolated, and wonderful town of Cooke City, Montana. This tiny little mountain community that’s nestled in the Southwestern edge of the Beartooth Mountains is the perfect home base if you’re searching for wildlife. It’s located just outside of the Northeast entrance to the park and you’re a short drive away from many reliable and beautiful wildlife hotspots.

At Backcountry Journeys, we offer many trips in Yellowstone throughout the year and all of them are slightly different in terms of where you go and what you might see. Each and every one of these trips is exceptional but the Lamar Valley Trip stands out to me in a few ways. If your goal is to see a great diversity of winter wildlife, then this trip just might be the best bang for your buck. Perhaps our other trips like Yellowstone in Winter are a bit longer and cover more ground but I view the Lamar Valley trip as a tactical strike mission where you’re likely to see tons of wildlife over just a handful of days.

This trip is based entirely in the Northern parts of Yellowstone where the roads are still open to passenger vehicles throughout the winter season. Over the course of 4 days, we drive back and forth between Gardiner (the North entrance) and Cooke City (the Northeast entrance) exploring a massive range in elevation, habitats, environmental conditions, and plant and animal species. In my opinion, these northern sections of Yellowstone have the highest concentrations of wildlife and when combined with wide open spaces and fewer crowds this creates the opportunity for top-notch encounters and photo opportunities.

This trip really is exceptional, but merely talking about it from an outside perspective will only go so far. Let’s take a look at my first-hand account of what these first two departures were actually like. Here is my trip report from Yellowstone’s Lamar Valley in Winter.

This trip starts out in Bozeman, MT. Guests arrive and settle into their rooms at the Hilton Garden Inn excited for the adventure to come. At 5:00 pm we all gather for orientation and get to know one another. This will be our team for the next several days as we explore the wilderness. I begin to introduce the guests to one of my favorite places on earth with eager excitement. It’s always a pleasure to share something so special with others and many have never been here before. I show maps, share images from past adventures, answer questions, and address any concerns guests may have. Trip orientation is incredibly important, and I enjoy it but deep down I’m eager to get out of the hustle-bustle of the city and into the park. That evening we head out for a delicious dinner in town and then hit the hay early in preparation for our adventure.

We wake up early the next morning before the sun and enjoy a hearty breakfast at the hotel. I load up all the luggage and camera gear into Huckleberry, our trusted van, and we’re on the road. As we drive towards our destination the first rays of light from the early morning sun begin to illuminate the landscape around us. We drive along the Yellowstone River through the iconic and stunning Paradise Valley with towering snow-capped peaks all around. We see bald eagles, red-tailed hawks, whitetail deer, and elk on our drive and we haven’t even reached the park yet.

Before we reach the town of Gardiner and the North entrance I exit the highway, cross the river, and we begin to drive towards the park on a lesser-traveled dirt road. This road is called the Old Yellowstone Trail and wildlife is often abundant here this time of year.

We immediately encounter a large herd of bighorn sheep just off the road and everyone hops out of the van with excitement. The sheep are still at the end of their rut, or mating season, so they are quite active. Mature males compete with one another for mating rights and aggressively chase females around.

Every now and then we hear a loud, sharp, and intense noise resembling a gunshot. This is created by two males headbutting one another and smashing their horns together with immense force. This is a truly unique and incredible display of strength, and the entire group is in awe of this behavior. We stay with this herd for almost an hour as these magnificent animals put on a show. I hear shutters clicking left and right and we all have massive grins on our faces. Not a bad way to start out the trip.

We continue driving along the Old Yellowstone Trail and encounter great numbers of pronghorn and elk. We pull over several times to photograph them and are gifted with superb morning light. We’ve been at it for a couple of hours already, have seen tons of animals, and we still haven’t officially entered the park. The encounters on this first morning are just a glimpse of what’s to come over the next couple of days in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

Before we know it, we’re officially in Yellowstone and we slowly start to make our way towards our home base for the rest of the trip: Cooke City, Montana.

First, we drive through Mammoth Hot Springs and witness the huge plumes of steam rise into the cold winter air. After that, we cross the Gardner River and begin to head east. As we drive up in elevation, we start to see more snow and different animals. The bighorn sheep, pronghorn, and elk that we saw down low in the valleys are replaced with frost-covered bison and coyotes trotting through the snow.

We continue to drive west over the Yellowstone River and then across the Lamar River. Eventually, after a scenic drive we arrive in the wide-open expanse that this trip is focused around: The Lamar Valley. We make our way through the valley until we hit the confluence of Soda Butte Creek and the Lamar River and then head north. We follow Soda Butte Creek up even higher into the towering and jagged snow-capped peaks of the Bear Tooth range. As we continue our journey north, we pass from Wyoming back into Montana and eventually find ourselves in the quaint mountain town of Cooke City.

This will be our home for the next few days. It’s the shoulder season so not much is open, and we seem to have the place to ourselves. We head into Cooke City Coffee to grab some snacks and warm beverages before checking into our hotel, the High Country Inn. Everyone gets settled into their cozy log cabin-like rooms and we decide to head out for more!

We drive back into the park for an afternoon/evening shoot and begin the search for wildlife. As we drive along Soda Butte Creek, we spot a bald eagle perched in a tree conveniently right next to a large pull-off. We park the van and begin slowly approaching the eagle. As a group we snap a few images and then inch closer, repeating this process until we are relatively close to this raptor. We all capture some nice shots and before long our feathered friend takes to the sky and flies down-valley.

As we continue our journey into Lamar Valley, we are greeted by a coyote that I’ve seen many times before in this same area. This coyote is quite famous in the park and has an injured back leg, so he is widely known as Limpy. Regardless of his injury he seems to be doing quite well and looks healthy. I mention to the group that I’ve seen him many times before and we decide to rename him Old Faithful. We observe and photograph this beautiful coyote for quite a while until he climbs up a hillside and disappears over a ridge.

We continue to drive around the valley for the remainder of the evening and then head back to Cooke City for dinner. We arrive in town as the light begins to fade and everyone settles in for the evening. After some R&R we walk just down the street to the Miners Saloon and grab some dinner. We discuss the amazing sightings we’ve seen after just the first day and the excitement continues to build. We’re getting to know each other better and our shared passion for wildlife and nature photography creates a stronger group bond. We head in for the night and just like that, the trip has officially begun.

The next three days are spent driving all over the northern parts of the park in search of wildlife. We’re continuously blown away by how much we're seeing, and after a while our species list has become quite extensive. Because we’ve seen so much, our goals are no longer to simply photograph a specific animal but to find them again and capture even better images. Yellowstone is delivering superb wildlife encounters as it frequently does, and the crowds are non-existent this time of year.

Let’s take a look at all the incredible animals and sights we were able to photograph:

Bison are some of the most iconic animals in all of North America. We see tons of them throughout our journey, especially in Lamar Valley, and the guests are ecstatic. What’s really special, however, is when you can get a bit closer. As we continue on our journey we encounter more and more bison-jams, where traffic is stopped as herds cross the roadways. We find lone males as well as herds of females and juveniles just off the road with stunning backdrops and capture many images of these incredible animals.

As the weather gets colder and more snow falls throughout the two trips, we get the opportunity to photograph these rugged beasts covered in frost and powdery snow. In my opinion, this is one of the most classic and iconic Yellowstone shots that many of us have seen before. Bison are plentiful in the park year-round and I’ve captured thousands of images of them throughout the years, but this trip presented some of the better encounters I’ve had.

Another animal we encounter on many occasions, especially early in the mornings near the Northeast entrance, is the elusive and clever red fox. These intelligent animals are abundant around here, but they can be quite difficult to photograph. We frequently encounter them while driving but they quickly dart away into the foliage. Luckily on both departures, we manage to find them in just the right place at the right time and capture some nice images. We’ve added another species to our shot list.

As we continue our adventure, we start to see more and more coyotes as well. These animals maintain a very healthy population in the park, and it becomes the norm to see them multiple times every day. On one occasion we stop to use the restroom and a lone coyote happens to cross our path. We all start to capture images and then hear a distant howl from far away quickly followed by another. The coyote we’re photographing joins in the chorus and communicates with its distant companions. We all stand in silence, cameras in hand, and listen to this beautiful and dynamic dialogue. After a while, the communication stops and our coyote friend trots away to join his comrades.

On another occasion, as we’re driving west towards Mammoth Hot Springs, we see yet another coyote trotting down the road as if it were its own personal sidewalk. We begin to follow it at a safe distance. After a while, it quickly darts off the road and catches a mouse. We drive past and pull over in hopes that it will continue our way. The group gets out of the van and prepares for the shot.

Like clockwork, as soon as we’re all ready, this coyote starts walking directly toward us. We all begin snapping away and can clearly see the mouse hanging from this coyote’s jaws. It appears to have a wide belly and we decide that this is likely a pregnant female. She continues to trot towards us, mouse in mouth, illuminated by the golden sunlight of the late afternoon sun. We all capture many images and before we know it this coyote has disappeared into the wilderness. The Journey continues.

As we make our way back towards the North entrance, we begin to shift our focus back to the animals we saw on the drive in. We’re now searching for elk, pronghorn, and bighorn sheep. We’re all excited to improve on the images we captured the first time around.

As we exit the park and start to drive down the Old Yellowstone Trail, we encounter a small herd of elk just off the road consisting of females, juveniles, and young bulls that aren’t sexually mature yet. This herd is in the perfect spot at a safe yet close distance from the road and we all begin to capture images.

The herd continues to slowly roam this area eating grass that hasn’t been covered in snow. It’s so fascinating to watch the social dynamics at play between the young ones and their mothers and to see the young males start to develop their independence. We watch them for quite some time, and everyone manages to capture some nice images.

To our delight, we’ve found the bighorn sheep yet again. They’re in a slightly different spot this time around but just as active as our first encounter. We watch them sprint around the hillsides and boulders. Both juveniles playing with one another and sparring as well as sexually mature males competing with one another contribute to the action. The Bighorn Sheep will come to be the stars of both departures.

We observe and photograph these sheep for quite some time. With a herd this big there is always something to capture. We observe that rams are constantly joining and leaving the group in hopes of mating with females. New males run in from the surrounding hills and are immediately challenged by those defending their territories. This process continues fluidly as we photograph the group. Rams run in, interact with females, fight other males, and either stay with the group or get run off.

We joke that we could easily stay here all day and observe these animals, but I think a few of us are actually serious (myself included). After a while, we decide that we should move on and continue with our Yellowstone journey. We’ve each captured more images than we know what to do with.

Another Animal that we’ve been seeing frequently is the Pronghorn. These exotic-looking mammals are the fastest land animal in North America and the second fastest on earth behind only the cheetah. They appear as if they belong on the African Serengeti but call the valleys, mountains, and plains of the Rockies home. Pronghorn are quite common in the park but are one of my favorite wildlife subjects to photograph.

On the first departure, we’re lucky enough to have an incredible encounter just off the road between Mammoth Hot Springs and Gardiner. As we’re driving to lunch we catch a glimpse of some pronghorn perched perfectly atop a hill with a stunning mountainous backdrop behind them. We quickly pull over, get in position, and begin capturing images.

I love both wildlife and landscape photography but it’s truly special when you can combine the two in a single frame. We continue to photograph these two pronghorns perfectly illuminated on a golden hilltop as the sun breaks through the clouds and dances on the mountains behind them. This is a truly magical moment.

Perhaps this trip is largely focused on wildlife but there are plenty of great landscape opportunities as well. As we travel throughout the park we’re frequently pulling over to snap images of towering peaks and expansive river valleys. One of the highlights of the trip is exploring Mammoth Hot Springs. The snow and ice contrast the hot geothermal features of this massive landmark.

We photograph the springs from many different angles and actually take out our wide-angle lenses for a change. This is a great opportunity to capture a new type of subject and expand our portfolios. We photograph the terraced pools of water that rise up like an organic staircase or garden and capture shots from further away showing the true scale of this unique geothermal feature. The contrasting colors and formations create stunning images.

We even get to witness magpies hopping back and forth in the warm water as they feast on insect larvae. This is something I’ve never witnessed before and it’s quite a unique behavior only found in geothermal areas throughout the park.

Over the course of just 4 short days, we’ve been incredibly fortunate and have photographed a massive diversity of animals and landscapes. The entire group is ecstatic, and we’ve all captured plenty of great images to bring home.

These are the first two departures we’ve ever run of our brand-new ‘Yellowstone’s Lamar Valley in Winter’ photography workshop, and they have both been a resounding success. I can’t wait to lead these trips again next year and I hope to see you out there at some point in the future. If you’re looking for arguably the best bang for your buck in Yellowstone during the winter, then this is just the trip you’re looking for!