Seven Heavenly National Parks to Visit in Winter By Dave G. Houser
Although access to certain areas within the parks will be limited and you may have to plan more carefully in the face of challenging winter conditions, wintertime in snowbound parks offers a completely different and more tranquil experience. Keep in mind that some parks may require tire chains, so bring them along just in case. Congested paths and roadways give way to cross-country ski and snowshoe trails, mountain slopes become a backcountry skier’s paradise, and a frosty blanket of snow lends a fresh and photogenic face to an already beautiful landscape. There will always be a certain number of folks who seek the opposite in a winter getaway, looking to escape the cold for someplace warm and sunny. And, to be sure, there are plenty of national parks that fill that bill.
Map by William Tipton
It is often said that the best thing about America is her national parks. The story behind the creation of today’s wildly popular and highly esteemed network of 63 national parks began back in 1872 when President Ulysses S. Grant designated a steaming, bubbling, geyser-spewing landscape in the wilderness of present-day Wyoming as the world’s first national park. That would be Yellowstone, of course, a wonderland year-round but especially so during the frigid winter months. Blessed to have been born and raised in Cody, Wyoming — just 52 miles east of the park — your author knows and loves Yellowstone and has visited it dozens of times, summer and winter. As a teen back in 1955, he was among the first visitors to join a newly offered snowcoach tour of the park. Over including snowcoaches and snowmobiles, continue to serve as the only vehicles permitted on most Yellowstone Park roads from mid-December to mid-March. But we’ll get to more details about a winter visit to Yellowstone in a moment. Snow Vehicles (OSVs), While summertime will always be the most popular time to visit our national parks, winter visitation is picking up as more and more of us seek to avoid summer crowds in favor of some degree of solitude, open spaces and a more intimate interlude with wildlife and the natural world.
Cross-country skiing at Yellowstone National Park is the best way to see the park.
NATIONAL PARKS TO VISIT IN WINTER
COAST TO COAST MAGAZINE FALL 2023 | 10
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