Want Yellowstone to yourself? Head out in springtime

Some argue the best time to visit Yellowstone National Park isn’t the height of summer when the weather is gorgeous and the crowds descend on the Park’s hot spots, but rather now: the early days of the season when visitors are scarce and the wildlife is out.

You can tell we’re a little itchy to head out to Yellowstone, but that won’t happen for a while; unofficial staff headquarters outside Cooke City is still covered with six feet of snow, and it may be before the end of the month before the cabin is accessible.

Until then we’ll need to be happy hearing of visits from others, like this group from Cody. They had the Park to themselves. There still are no hotels open and services are minimal — a few stores in Canyon and Mammoth are open, but that’s about it — but that didn’t stop them from entering the Park and viewing the wildlife throughout.

And that wildlife is abundant. The bears are already out, searching for sustenance after a typical winter. Sandhill cranes forage for food as well. And, of course, the wolves and coyotes are on the prowl.

The relative quiet of the Park will continue for the next few days; Mammoth and the Old Faithful Snow Lodge are indeed open, while Old Faithful Inn opens May 8.

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