Taking the Kids: How to visit Yellowstone (and other national parks) in winter

But you need to be prepared, especially in these pandemic times. Book activities in advance and double check the latest protocols. (Be prepared for masking indoors.) Be prepared that weather may derail your plans.

At Yellowstone, roads are open to primarily commercially guided snow coach and snowmobile travel only (except the road between the North and Northeast entrances). Cellphone service and Wi-Fi are poor. You will likely not receive calls or texts . Download the free National Park Service app (and offline content) before you arrive.

It’s very cold with temperatures often in single digits and sub-zero temperatures common, especially in the evening. (Check the current weather conditions, pack proper clothing and equipment, and review winter safety tips from the National Park Service. Remember you are at high altitude and the cold, dry winter air can make you dehydrated. Make sure to carry — and drink — plenty of water in insulated bottles so it won’t freeze and consider traction aids for your boots as paths can be very slippery, especially near the thermal areas. Stay on the boardwalks at all times!

Only the historic Old Faithful Snow Lodge and Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, about 50 miles apart — remain open to accommodate winter guests. There are many multi-day Lodging and Learning Programs operated with naturalist guides from the nonprofit Yellowstone Forever Institute whether you want to focus on Yellowstone’s elusive gray wolves, geysers and hot springs, snow coach tours, photography, cross country skiing or more.

There are also many day tours, including from Spring Creek Ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, or from Big Sky, Montana, for those who want to spend some time on downhill slopes or exploring the western towns.

A little history: For thousands of years before Yellowstone became a national park in 1972, it was a place where Native Americans seasonally hunted, fished, gathered plants, quarried obsidian, and used the hydrothermal waters for religious and medicinal purposes.

Yellowstone’s geographical wonders were completely unknown to Americans until the 19th century. The site’s first non-Indigenous visitor was most likely John Colter, a former member of Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery expedition, in the winter of 1807 or 1808. He is considered the first known mountain man, but few believed his stories of geysers, bubbling mud pots and steaming water pools.

It was more than 60 years before there was a formal expedition, but it was the 1872 Hayden Expedition —scientists, botanists, zoologists, mineralogists, and artists — that convinced the public that Yellowstone was a rare prize to be protected as America’s first national park.

Work by artist Thomas Moran and photographer William H. Jackson not only offered Americans their first glimpse of Yellowstone but convinced Congress to protect it by designating it public land. Just days after they passed the legislation, President Grant signed into law the creation of Yellowstone National Park “for the benefit and enjoyment of the people.”

It still is, of course, especially in winter. Right, Miguel?

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(For more Taking the Kids, visit www.takingthekids.com and also follow TakingTheKids on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram where Eileen Ogintz welcomes your questions and comments. The Kid’s Guide to Philadelphia, the 13th in the kid’s guide series, was published in 2020, with The Kid’s Guide to Camping coming in 2021.)