Enchanting frozen paradise

The scenery in Yellowstone National Park is pretty in the summer. But the pine tree covered hills and mountains are hardly noticed because of the animals, the canyon and the geothermal features found in the park. However, in the winter, the scenery changes to spectacular. Snow Lodge, which is within walking distance of the Old Faithful geyser, provides a warm, comfortable location to base a snow season adventure into our nation’s first national park.

Often the first reaction to a destination that consistently has subzero temperatures and waist-deep powder snow is, “You must be crazy!” But thousands of people are entering the park in the winter and enjoying the experience.

For those who have visited the park in the summer, the transformation to a winter landscape is stunning. The air seems clearer and purified in the frigid air. The snow-covered mountains with clouds hugging their tops seem higher and more prominent. There is steam rising in large billowing clouds over the hot springs, geyser basins and mud pots. The waterfalls, with the water frozen in place, look like a stop-action scenic photograph. Animal tracks are in the snow, documenting the many animals that exist seen, or are unseen, in this protected wildlife sanctuary. The bison, elk, wolves, red foxes and coyotes are absolutely beautiful in their thick, long, rich and colorful winter coats of fur. The unmistakable haunting sounds of howling wolves and coyotes carrying over many miles on the frigid air are an unforgettable experience.

Ordinary pine trees become works of art as hoarfrost builds up on their branches and needles. On a sunny day, tiny ice crystals slowly float down, sparkling like millions of tiny stars or fairy dust. Yellowstone becomes an enchanted frozen paradise.

In the winter there are limited ways to travel into the interior of the park and see the sights. Using your car is not one of them. Except in the most northern part of Yellowstone, around Mammoth Hot Springs, driving a car is illegal and ill-advised, unless you want to get it stuck in the deep powder snow. A snow coach is the main means of touring the park. There are two kinds of commercial coaches used. The older, more historic ones are called Bombardiers and look like a van with tank tracks and a set of skis where the two front tires should be. It seats 8 to 12 people (depending on their girths) in a semicircle. The more modern coaches have smaller tanklike tracks under each of the four wheel wells, with four bench seats behind the front seats, like a modern van.

A snowmobile is the other means of transportation into the interior of the park. New park rules require that the snowmobile be equipped with a four-stroke engine, which is less polluting and quieter than the older two-stroke engines. A guide is required to escort each group.

Snow Lodge can be accessed in the winter only by snow coach or by snowmobile. In 1999, the $20 million Snow Lodge was completed. It is the first full-service lodge that has been built in Yellowstone since the Canyon Hotel was constructed in 1911.

Lodge designers used the classic rustic log look of the Old Faithful Inn in the new building. They developed an elegant, woodsy lodge appearance, using massive recycled timbers with unique and distinctive hand-crafted items like wooden animal motifs on chairs and desks. Throughout the lobby and main floor there are cut metal images of Yellowstone wildlife and trees. Inlaid wooden bison heads are embedded in staircase posts and lampposts. Probably the most distinctive and obvious crafted items are the free-standing lamps and chandeliers shaped like trees with green oxidized cut copper images of people skiing and animals back-lit by the lights inside.

An interesting concept borrowed from the Old Faithful Inn is an attempt to bring visitors out of their rooms and into the lobby to relax. By using large fireplaces, comfortable chairs and desks, guests are encourage to leave their rooms at night to read, play cards or simply people-watch. It’s an old idea borrowed from an inn built in 1903 that still works. This is a place to stay the night that will make you wish you could stay longer.

So drive to the town of West Yellowstone and book a snow coach shuttle into Yellowstone Park. On the way through spectacular winter scenery there will be almost guaranteed sightings of elk and bison herds. Eagles, coyotes, foxes and trumpeter swans may be seen along the Madison River. Hot springs, geysers and boiling water can be seen and walked to along the way. A warming hut will be a stop. There is all that to see, and the final destination, Snow Lodge with Old Faithful geyser, is still on the snowy horizon. This trip is an unforgettable experience.