Aaron Turpen: Yellowstone From the Back of a Snowmobile Is the Best Way To Go

Ski-Doo invited me to go to Yellowstone National Park and experience it from the back of their snowmobiles. I learned that not only is this the best way to see the park, it’s also a very different place in the winter compared to how it is during the usual tourist season.

Going to Yellowstone in the winter is a bucket list item. And anyone can do it. It’s not as expensive as you’d think. A day in the park from a rented snowmobile is about $500, including park fees. It’s an experience that beats a lot of so-called “once in a lifetime” things like jumping out of airplanes and nude beaches.

Seeing Yellowstone from a snowmobile is akin to catching salmon from the river and cooking them over a campfire. But instead of tastes and smells, you’ll remember sights and feelings.

Snowmobiling, Day 1

Currently, Ski-Doo is the only snowmobile manufacturer with sleds that meet park rules for emissions and noise. Ski-Doo’s four-stroke models meet both requirements. Most snowmobiles use two-stroke engines, which are simpler, but louder and less clean. Ski-Doo currently has two electric models as well, but neither has the range to really experience Yellowstone.

Our tour of Yellowstone started with a day of riding outside of the park, out in the wilderness reserves around West Yellowstone, Montana. There’s a mecca-like gathering of snowmobile enthusiasts every year at the little airport just outside of town. The trails around it are abundant and fun.

Riding out there in the woods, I tried out four models of Ski-Doo options, from the all-around good Renegade 800 model, to a cushy and well-done Grand Touring, to the specialized Summit and Freeride deep snow models.

The Renegade 800 is powerful, but easy to get used to and control. Its tracks are set to a good width for balance and in most turns, the skis and a little butt shifting are all that’s needed. The only heavy body leaning required is for deep or quick turns.

The Grand Touring is basically like a Harley Electra Glide, but in snowmobile format. But with the Ski-Doo, you don’t have to cosplay as Marlon Brando. The Grand Touring has heated seats, heated handles, a heated thumb throttle, and gel-filled seat cushions. There’s even a plug for your optional heated vest/coat, gloves, or helmet.

Ski-Doo’s Summit and Freeride models are longer and thinner, made for carving deep snow. This kind of snowmobiling requires a lot more physicality. Leaning back to ride wheelies up the hill, hard body throws and leans for deep turns, etc. are the rules. These machines require the use of body weight to do most everything, shifting side-to-side and back and forth to steer and control. It’s exhausting fun. I ate a lot of Motrin that night.

Snowmobiling, Day 2

The second day was a lot less taxing on the body, but a whole lot more stimulating for the soul. A leisurely ride from the West Yellowstone entrance to Old Faithful included a detour to see Firehole Falls. Stops along the way to view wildlife were a regular thing as well.

Yellowstone Park is full of active wildlife in the winter. The bears are sleeping, of course, but it’s coyote mating season early in the year, so seeing pairs is not uncommon. Bison are everywhere and are less moody than usual.

Probably because there are hardly any tourists to harass them into making a meme for the "Tourons of Yellowstone" Instagram page.

The scenery of Yellowstone is beautiful in the winter. Breath-taking vistas, the roar of the river, steam from the caldera. And the best part is that it’s not shared with thousands of people at a turn. Nearly everywhere we went was empty. It was just our little group.

The geysers, normally surrounded by hundreds of tourists and the occasional Pierce Brosnan moron walking off the boardwalk for a photo op, were bereft of all sound except that of their own making. No whining kids, no excited talking, no fourth explanation of what you’re looking at in as many minutes. Just nature.

Did you know that the bison often walk into the warm waters around those hot springs to melt the ice off their hooves? You can see their tracks in the winter.

Did you know that coyotes submerge themselves under the river with only their noses sticking out while stalking swans and geese? And that they often hang out near the hot springs or even in them? Did you know that there are swans in Yellowstone?

I sure didn’t. But I saw some. Full on Disney-ready, "kiss them and they’re a princess" kind of swan. Just lazing about in the river.

Back To Old Faithful

That’s the sort of thing I was seeing throughout our slow-paced tour. The mid-point of which was at about lunch time when we arrived at the Old Faithful complex. We ate there. The restaurant was empty but for us. So was the lodge next door. And the visitor’s center and gift shop. I counted about a dozen people outside of our group during the entire visit to Old Faithful. Most of them cross-country skiers and bus tour riders.

And Old Faithful itself. Which is something most people definitely want to see. So it’s normally extremely packed around the viewing area. But not in the winter. There were less than 30 people in all when we watched the lunchtime eruption. If you don’t know what Old Faithful is, you should Google it.

There’s a whole science behind why it erupts, how the timing works, and how the Forest Rangers predict that. They’re about as accurate as our own Don Day. Maybe a little better, since there are fewer variables involved.

And the best part? I’ve been to Yellowstone and seen Old Faithful a few times. Always during tourism season. This was the first time I heard Old Faithful when it erupted. Without the throngs of tourists, there’s no constant chatter, reactive gasps, or.. Well, just noise.

I had my phone out to record it and forgot all about pushing the button. My screen went blank because I was so entranced by the spectacle of the jet of water, rush of sound, and splashing against rocks.

I did a lot of forgetting to take photos during that day. Yellowstone is an experience and when I’m in those moments, I don’t think to pull out my electronics and start snapping away.

Luckily, Ski-Doo brought Ben Dann, a professional photographer. Some readers might know Ben from his longtime residence in Jackson. Before the place became affordable only to billionaires, anyway. Every photo you’re seeing here was taken by Dan.

After Old Faithful, we returned the way we came, heading back toward West Yellowstone. The ride was leisurely, the Ski-Doo touring models are comfortable and the trails are graded daily.

We made a few extra stops to see the world around us and attempt to spot more wildlife. I learned that ravens like bison poop, a nice tidbit for your grade school kids to spout randomly in class.

The trip to Yellowstone was awesome. I plan to return in the next couple of winters to tour the park with my family. On Ski-Doo snowmobiles. Because the monster truck bus tours just aren’t the same.

Aaron Turpen can be reached at: TurpenAaron@gmail.com