Overview
There are few places on Earth that can boast the diversity of landscape and wildlife as can Yellowstone. For adventurous and willing travelers, a walking safari is arguably the best way to escape the crowds and immerse yourself in the incredible wildness that is the First National Park.
This tour is your opportunity to experience Yellowstone in a way not many ever do. Though in the course of her 150-year history the Park has seen the creation of over 1000 miles of hiking trails, very few people actually embrace the challenge of venturing out onto them. The goal of this safari is to reach beyond the roads and boardwalks and see the beauty of the Rocky Mountains without distraction. Our guides are extremely well-trained and will offer guests their guidance, knowledge, care and various amenities so that they might have the most comfortable outdoor experience possible. This tour offers a pick-up at guest’s accommodation early in the morning and full service throughout the day. Guests can choose from a compilation of short hikes or one long hike in order to fulfill the urge to see the wild. We utilize trails to thundering waterfalls, pristine river valleys, rugged mountain peaks, and secret thermal areas out of reach to the unsuspecting tourist. Each and every option is a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Your exact route and itinerary will be determined by your interests, current wildlife sightings, and current weather and road conditions. Our guides are all highly experienced, with thousands of hours in the field, and will expertly tailor your safari to you and your group.
Yellowstone is a World Biosphere and UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Park’s history is dramatic, inspiring and hopeful, a continual lesson for our relationship with our planet. The ecosystem is completely intact and thriving, a showcase for conservation. There is no better way to experience the complexity of the land than to walk across it at a slow and steady pace, practicing awareness for all the sights, sounds and smells around you. Moments of solitude are plenty. Engaging conversations are likely. Guides will draw attention to the finer details of wilderness experience; a bison’s winter hair caught on sagebrush, the rusty smell of a fox den, the tracks of a deer fawn escaping the pursuit of a coyote, the sound of a Trumpeter Swan as it calls to its mate from the marsh. They will also help paint the greater picture of the West; this contested, wonderful, inexplicable place.
Hiking and walking are essentially the same thing with a slightly different intention. Walking implies the desire to pay attention to your surroundings and your experience. Yellowstone was created as a National Park if not exactly for this purpose, for the benefit and enjoyment of the people. Life was slower at Park’s creation (in 1872), and this walking safari is an opportunity to get back to that pace. Throughout the tour guests will be provided every convenience so that their energy can be devoted to enjoyment. Guides will offer snacks, beverages, optics, and a full picnic lunch on the trail are provided for your enjoyment. Reconnect to a different way of experiencing nature.
What's Included
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Hotel pickup (private tours only)
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Professional naturalist guide
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Private safari
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Breakfast
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Lunch
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Snacks
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Water bottle
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Use of spotting scopes and binoculars
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Guide gratuities
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National Park entrance fees
Open Safari
Private Safari
This is a private safari.
Pickup Information
For all open tours, you will meet your guide at a designated central meeting location in Big Sky or West Yellowstone. When you reserve, we’ll confirm your exact pickup time, based on the season. Please check your confirmation email for the full list of meeting locations for open tours.
Please allow your guide an additional 5-10 minutes before and after the scheduled pickup time in case of weather delays or traffic conditions.
Approximate pickup times include:
- 6:45AM Big Sky
- 7:45AM West Yellowstone
For all private tours, all of our guests are picked up (and dropped off) at their lodging location. We pick up in Bozeman, Paradise Valley, Gardiner, Mammoth, Madison Junction, Canyon Lodge, Old Faithful Inn, Big Sky and West Yellowstone*. At the time of reservation, we’ll confirm your exact pickup time, based on the season, as well as your exact pickup location.
Please allow your guide an additional 5-10 minutes before and after the scheduled pickup time in case of weather delays or traffic conditions.
Approximate pickup times include:
- 6:00AM Bozeman
- 6:45AM Paradise Valley
- 7:30AM Gardiner
- 7:45AM Mammoth
- 6:45AM Big Sky
- 7:45AM West Yellowstone*
- 6:30AM Madison Junction**
- 7:00AM Canyon Lodge**
- 7:00AM Old Faithful Inn**
Guests may request an optional 6:00AM pickup from West Yellowstone. This option includes a $100 charge for early pickup.
*For all West Yellowstone pickups, please meet at the West Yellowstone Chamber of Commerce, 30 Yellowstone Ave., West Yellowstone, MT.
**Specialty pickups within Yellowstone National Park are available for an additional fee of $100.
We had a great day with our guide in northern Yellowstone National Park. We learned a lot from her. She is an extremely pleasant person and can bring you close to animals and nature. The Yellowstone Safari Company is highly recommended.
Safari Tour Gallery
All photography has been shot by our talented tour guides.
FAQs
Will I see any wildlife on a Yellowstone walking tour?
Wildlife is wild! There are a number of factors that can have an impact on a wildlife sighting – things like weather, migratory patterns and seasonality are all things to take into consideration. The choice to go with a professional naturalist guide will provide the best opportunity to spot wildlife in its natural habitat, but even the most experienced guides will never guarantee a wildlife sighting for a certain species. There is so much to see in Yellowstone National Park, and while you won’t cover as much ground on a walking tour as you will on a van tour, there are other benefits to slowing down your pace and exploring the park from a different perspective. There are hundreds of miles of walking trails in the park and few people venture beyond the boardwalk, so one of the highlights of this tour is to find some space away from the crowds and explore the park in a different way.
What do others say about this tour?
5 Stars
My husband and I had a day long safari tour and several hikes with the Yellowstone Safari Company. Our guide was very knowledgeable, experienced in his field and very easy to talk to. We saw so much wildlife including bears, elk, wolves, mountain goats and of course tons of bison. He provided us with so much information about Yellowstone including the history, ecology and current issues in the park. He put us at ease right away and was very informative. He let us use his binoculars and tripod so we could see animals, plants and trees in a distance. This was a great way to explore Yellowstone National Park. It was an adventure that we will always remember. The knowledge that he had of the Park was evident and his enthusiasm for his work made for a great outdoor experience and an overall spectacular day in the park. I would highly recommend this to anyone that wants to get a more in-depth look at Yellowstone.
Lisa H.
Guides and Staff
Our Team
Local, experienced naturalist guides.
