Forget The Night Before Christmas, Santa Hits Yellowstone Four Months Before

’Twas the 25th of August in Yellowstone Park when Xanterra employees stepped into the dark, laden with ornaments, cards and intent to spread some late-summer holiday merriment.

Sometime after sunset, they were on the clock to get everything ready at Christmas Tree Rock.

Up the road, to the bend, to the rock in the river — it's the spot that Xanterra will always prefer.

For decades, it's been the best place in the park for this silly, well-spirited holiday lark.

The tradition continues, as many have known: ’Twas Christmas in August in old Yellowstone.

Christmas In August?

Yellowstone isn’t much fun in the snow. The roads are all closed, and there’s nowhere to go.

But in August, the park’s as busy as can be. Over 800,000 visitors come to see the geysers, the bison, the bears, and the pools. It’s a jolly good time if you follow the rules.

Yellowstone’s “Christmas in August” is old. It’s been done for decades when it’s hot and not cold.

Since 1960, it's been done every year, but its roots go back over a century, we hear.

The Old Faithful Inn, with its towering height, is only open in summer for a stay overnight.

With its layers of lodgepole and a towering spire of rhyolite rock, all locally acquired, tourists can sit by a fire with care. but in winter, it's too cold for folks to stay there.

That’s why Christmas in August is such a big deal. The historic inn’s lobby has a Christmastime feel.

The railings are wrapped in garland with glee, surrounding a gold and silver ornamented tree.

For tourists, Christmas adds to the “oos” and the “ahhs.” For Xanterra employees, it’s a final hurrah. One big celebration of a season of fun before the inn closes up and the summer is done.

It’s a thing in the Rockies: Christmas in July. In Yellowstone, it’s August — no one knows how or why.

No one else does Christmas during that final week, which makes Old Faithful Inn’s celebration unique.

There’s no snow at the inn, but that’s not the point. No one needs an excuse to spruce up the joint with trappings of Christmas and a spirit of cheer during Yellowstone’s busiest time of the year.

Rocking Around The Christmas Tree

The key to tradition, as the story is told, is Christmas Tree Rock along the Grand Loop Road.

It's not very popular for most of the year, except when adorned with unseasonal cheer.

At dark, Xanterra's staff forded the river with armfuls of festive adornments to deliver, to the two thriving lodgepoles that grew in the lee of two enormous rocks like two Christmas trees.

They waited ’til dark for their Christmas surprise — it will be there, like magic, at the morning sunrise. 

And there it was at morning's first light — Christmas Tree Rock was a marvelous sight.

A massive red bulb was placed at the top of the tallest lodgepole that grew in that spot.

The smaller tree was festooned as well with pieces of paper for the August noel. The trees' decorations hang there all day, awaiting the rangers who take them away. 

The tree on the rock looked like Charlie Brown’s until Yellowstone rangers took it all down.

Christmas Tree Rock is a natural wonder, and Yellowstone’s rangers don’t need to ponder if it’s better with Xanterra's papers and balls — it's fun for one day, but one day, and that’s all.

But it’s all good fun. Rangers smiled as they went; to undecorate and collect their special present. How better to indulge in holiday cheer than by imbibing a case of delectable beer?

Round The Chimney With Care

Post geyser eruption, people jumped to their feet and stepped into the inn to escape August’s heat.

When greeted by Christmas in that immense space, there were looks of befuddled surprise on each face.

Children eagerly rushed toward the glimmering tree. Parents chuckled and joined them — Yellowstone selfie!

There were cookies and snacks to munch on and savor, right next to the crafts that for the kids to belabor, covering grizzlies and bison with glitter and cotton for a take-home ornament that won’t be forgotten.

While their children crafted, adults couldn’t wait to sip something more aligned with their taste. They sipped vodka with lemon and huckleberry from Bozeman Spirits Distillery.

But the best souvenir was a Yellowstone hat with an attached jingle bell — what’s better than that?

The Old Faithful boardwalk was covered in heads wearing jingling hats of green, gold and red while they waited for the most famous geyser to blow. It’s the spirit of Christmas, with steam and no snow.

Santa’s Bus

In the heat of the day, precisely at 5, the crowd stood and waited for Santa to arrive. When Kris Kringle appeared, there arose such a fuss as he cruised in a historic Yellowstone bus. With no snow, Santa’s reindeer can’t pull a sleigh — and elk and bison won’t do it, OK?

With many a “ho, ho, ho,” for the crowd, the jubilant welcome for Santa was loud. The legend sat down in the inn’s lobby to quietly tell a Christmas story.

He didn’t have toys, but the kids had a blast, even getting free books (while those supplies last).

The unseasonable Christmas at the Old Faithful Inn was festive and warm until 7 p.m. With so much noise and tourists uptight, the festivities changed to a silent night.

There may be no snow, and the timing’s not right, but Old Faithful Inn’s a spectacular sight for that one day in August, when everyone's there to see Yellowstone's wonders — so, why not share the spirit of Christmas with cookies, fun, and great decorations at the peak of summer?

With everyone eager and spirits robust, it's good tidings for all at Yellowstone’s Christmas in August.

Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.