Tired? Hitch a Ride

If zipping through Yellowstone on a snowmobile or gliding around on cross-country skis doesn’t sound appealing, that doesn’t mean you can’t experience all of the mystical, snow-covered treasures the nation’s first national park holds in the winter months. Randy Roberson of Yellowstone Vacations has been guiding in Yellowstone for 13 years and is one of several excellent snowcoach tour operators in the West Yellowstone community. Snowcoaches are vans or small buses equipped with tracks (similar to a snowmobile), which enable the vehicle to carry people, warm and comfortable inside the coach, through Yellowstone’s frozen, snow-encrusted landscape safely and easily.

Roberson has stepped up his tours this year, introducing a large, group-friendly snowcoach affectionately called the “snow yacht.” With a capacity of 33 people, Roberson is hoping to tap into the tour-bus market the Park sees so much of in the summer months. “We all [the West Yellowstone community] need to do more to increase tourism in the winter, to give people an alternative way to see the park other than by snowmobile,” says Roberson.

In addition to the new, larger snowcoaches, Roberson also equipped a new “mini coach” this year to be wheelchair friendly. He will be able to carry two or three wheelchair-bound patrons in the newly retrofitted coach. For more information or to book a Yellowstone snow coach tour, call 800-426-7669 or visit yellowstonevacations.com.