Most people have heard about Yellowstone National Park and that the park is considered a summer destination. Nevertheless, Yellowstone offers a truly unique winter experience that is completely different from what visitors see during the summer months. In winter, the park is covered with sparkling, fluffy snow, and the fresh mountain air is cold and clean. The cold air provides perfect contrast with the hot steam that rises from the countless geysers of the park, mud pots and vapors. Yellowstone's winter scenes provide legendary opportunities for artists, photographers and outdoor enthusiasts who are looking for a truly unique experience.
Without a doubt, Yellowstone National Park offers visitors a one-of-a-kind wintertime vacation. Nowhere on Earth will you find the landscape as unique, spectacular and mysterious as Yellowstone in winter. Winter visitors will certainly want to visit the Old Faithful Village, where they will be able to watch and photograph the world famous Old Faithful Geyser, as boiling hot waters are forced to flow into the cold mountain air. In addition, numerous other geysers and hot springs inhabit the Old Faithful area, and the landscape is like nothing else with the contrast of a rising steam in the cold air.
The most popular attractions for winter visitors include the Old Vera area, the Norris Geyser basin and the Grand Canyon Yellowstone in the village of Canyon. Winter transportation in most parts of the park is limited to ultra-snow vehicles such as snowmobiles and snowmobiles. However, visitors can drive through the northern part of the park from the Mammoth Hot Springs (north entrance) to Cook City (northeast entrance). This item of information is significant because Cook City is one of the best secrets of the region. If you do not have your own snowmobile, there is only one way to access the city of Cook in the winter season.
Those visitors who do not bring their snowmobiles (most of them) should get access to the city of Cook by sending Yellowstone National Park through the northern entrance to Mammoth Hot Springs. To do this, visitors should go to Interstate 90 in Montana, leave the states in Livingston, Montana and drive south on Highway 89 to the north entrance to the park. As soon as visitors enter the park, they drive to Mammoth Hot Springs, the main attraction, and then turn east to a parking lot only for cars in winter. They then follow the road to the northeast entrance, where they leave the park and drive about four miles to the end of the road to Cook City, Montana.
As mentioned earlier, Cook City is one of the best secrets around Yellowstone National Park. Every year, countless visitors miss this exciting place simply because they do not know that it exists. Although Cook City is absolutely beautiful in both summer and winter, it is known as an incredible winter destination. There are three main things that attract visitors to Cook City in the winter: watching the wolf, cross-country skiing and snowmobiles.
Some of the best wolf viewing opportunities in Yellowstone National Park are available in the Lamar Valley in the winter season. Lamar Valley is located just a few minutes drive from the city of Cook; and, in fact, it is closer to Cook City than to any other community inside the park. Every winter, photographers, wildlife viewers, and outdoor enthusiasts go to the Lamar Valley to watch the wolves when they hunt and interact with each other. Lamar Valley is a vast and open country, and wolves are usually easier to spot in winter because their bodies contrast with pure white snow. Wolves come in different colors from white to brown to black, but in most cases they are easy to see in the winter landscape. Cook City offers a close, convenient and beautiful place from which to spend a wolf's winter vacation.
Another popular attraction in Cook City in the winter season is the countless miles of ideal backcountry cross-country skiing. In fact, all the land south of Highway 212 is exclusively for cross-country skiers, and a snowmobile is not allowed in this area. In addition, the park is just a few kilometers from the ski slopes just a few miles from the city of Cook, and skiers can explore millions or acres of the ancient Yellowstone desert.
Finally, the first place in Cook City in winter is the backcountry snowmobile. While off-road snowmobiles are illegal in Yellowstone National Park, the city of Cook is located four miles from the park, surrounded by millions and millions of acres of desert. Located at an altitude of about 8,000 feet above sea level, the city of Cook is known as a Mecca for backcountry snowmobiles with countless acres of off-road to explore. Winter visitors can literally snowmobile out of the hotel or go to the parking lot and go to a solid backcountry. For those less experienced snowmobiles, there are miles and miles of well-groomed and well-signed paths that sweep through forest mountains and open meadows. Beginners can follow well-groomed paths, explore scenic backcountry and venture off-road on any of the many open meadows along the way.
For a more experienced snowmobile, Cooke City offers one of the best places in the world for complex, backcountry snowmobiles. In this area there are steep trays, slopes, open meadows, winding ravines, snow cornices, the bottom of a stream and lakes. For experienced riders, the city of Cook is known as steep and deep, with its rugged mountain landscape and gunpowder "cold smoke." On average, 500 centimeters of snow per year, Cook City has a lot of “cold smoke”. Whether a visitor is willing to be interested in a walk along the trail or challenging experiences, such as high markings or tree riding, Cook City has it.
One of the most popular snowmobile trails is the Daisy Pass, which is accessible from Highway 212 (you can ride a snowmobile on the road east of the city of Cook). The Daisy Pass track exfoliates from Highway 212 to the north, just a few minutes east of the city. Riders can snowmobile fully pass on a well-groomed two-lane trail to the top of Pass Daisy. This majestic pass offers a panoramic view of the Beartut mountains, and this marks the beginning of more advanced terrain. From the top of the Daisy Pass, experienced riders can travel north along the back of the pass to a wide open area, which consists of any type of riding that one can imagine. There are open meadows, forest areas, ravines, the bottom of a stream and steep slopes. The area is known as Obita Valley, and it includes many miles of different terrain. If you want to appreciate it (climb as high as you can on the mountainside), ride through the trees, or just cut a few tracks in the fresh deep snow with powder, you can do it on the back of the Daisy Pass.
Another primary trop system, the Cook City, is the Lulu-Pass circuit. Located near the Daisy Pass system, the Lulu Pass Trail took off from Highway 212 to the north. Lulu Pass offers access to a completely different backcountry snowmobile area, although experienced snowmobiles can travel back and forth between the Daisy Pass and Lulu Pass crossings in the mountains and difficult backcountry terrain. However, for beginners it is best to get access to each area, traveling on well-groomed paths.
Lulu Pass provides access for both experienced and beginner riding places. Beginners and intermediate riders can get an incredible experience by turning to the Circle Lake Trail, which breaks away from the Lulu Pass. Follow the northern circle of the lake lake until it reaches the ice and snow-covered reservoir called the Round Lake. There is also a forest service cabin where the trail meets the lake. From the cab, riders can travel across the lake (it is safe to ride in the winter months) to the forest from the other side. On the other side of the lake there are several pathless paths that lead through the forest and return together at the foot of a steep slope. The hill is curved just like "L". In most cases, there will be snowmobile tracks on the snow that show the way, but even if you first fall on fresh snow, just walk along the northern slope (this will be another one on the right), This is a short climb to the top, and you should stop, not just start from the back. At the top of the ridge, turn right and follow the knife. When the slopes are level, just turn left and go through the patches of the trees in a wide open meadow. The meadow is huge and you know that you are in the right place. From this large meadow, riders can access the mountain slopes for high markings, explore hills, climb short trays filled with fresh powder, or simply make donuts in an open meadow.
From the meadows, you can also go further north and get to Star Lake, which offers access to some of the “secret” places where several riders ever leave. One of my favorite “secret” spots includes a tray that rises over Star Lake to the west. The flap can be difficult to climb without getting stuck if there is fresh powder, but you can just keep trying until you finally reach the top. The typical process is to rise to full power until the snowmobile slows down, then turns back and returns to the bottom. Then follow your original tracks back up the tray and climb higher until you slow down, then turn around and go back down. Rinse and repeat this process until you reach the top of the gutter. A pending reward will be worth the effort. Plus, climbing this gutter is also part of the fun. At the top of the gutter you will find yourself in a network of half-pipe gorges, which diverge in different directions. In most cases, there are no tracks, and you will find yourself breaking the fresh, undisturbed snow powder, which is so deep that it flies over the windshield of your snowmobile. I enjoyed countless days of tedious snowmobiles in this special place above Star Lake. Even on days when most of the districts were tracked by previous riders, the region over Star Lake is usually unfazed simply because most people do not even know about it.
Cooke City is special because it allows Yellowstone visitors to experience the park’s natural wonders and amazing landscapes in winter, but also gives visitors a unique opportunity to enjoy the thrill and adventure of backcountry snowmobiles and other activities such as water sports and cross-country skiing. Remember that it is illegal to snowmobile off-road in Yellowstone Park; and inevitably, visitors to the park will not know the true joy of the snowmobile experience unless they make up their vacation to include some trips to the community of locks right outside the park. Many consider Cook City the "backcountry-snowmobile capital of the world." This is a place where visitors can ride their snowmobiles throughout the city, where they can easily reach unspeakable acres of wild mountainous areas in its pure state and where they can create memories that last a lifetime. In fact, most visitors who make an effort to visit Cook City in the winter have clung to it, and they return again and again.
There are several excellent accommodation options that include hotels, motels, cabins and cabins in Cook City. For snowmobile rentals, guests are advised to contact Cooke City Exxon. In addition to renting snowmobiles, they can provide you with terrain maps, clothing rental, helmets, groceries, fuel and mechanical services. For lunch, visitors can choose from the Prospector restaurant at Soda Butte Lodge, the Miner lounge (pizza, hamburgers, etc.), as well as Bun & Beds (sandwiches and hot soup). Nightlife, including live music and poker, is often available at the Miner & Soda Butte Lodge.
