Wildlife & Nature Tour

Tour duration is 12 hours, 6am to 6pm Includes breakfast and lunch

All tours are guided by Dale Robert Franz, owner and operator of Experience Yellowstone Tours. With 2023 being his 33rd year of guiding photography, ecology and geology tours in the park he offers a wealth of knowledge and experience that no other tours offer.

This tour is designed to maximize wildlife & nature observation, photography and park ecology. Leaving Cody Wyoming, we drive along the “Buffalo Bill Scenic Byway” to reach the east gate of Yellowstone. This will allow you to observe grizzly and black bears, moose, mule and whitetail deer, elk, bighorn sheep, bald eagles, ospreys and more before entering the park. As we enter Yellowstone, we’ll drive over Sylvan Pass, a great location for bighorn sheep and grizzly bears. In the Hayden Valleys, you will see large bison herds, elk and a great chance to see wolves and grizzly bears. We then visit the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone before heading north to Mammoth Hot Springs. On the way driving through some of the best black bear habitat in the park.

Locations We May Visit During The Tour

Sylvan Pass

After entering the East Gate of Yellowstone National Park we’ll travel over the stunning beauty of Sylvan Pass at an elevation of 8530'. This is a rocky alpine environment surrounded by rugged ten thousand foot peaks peaks of the Absaroka Mountains

Sylvan Lake

This beautiful alpine Lake often makes for a dramatic early morning image with rugged Notch Peak reflected in the lakes mirror smooth surface.

Lake Butte Overlook

A fabulous view of Lake Yellowstone from an elevation of 8248′ nearly 700′ above the lake. We often find dusky grouse and occasionally grizzly bears, mule deer and elk at this inspirational location.

Pelican Creek

A serene valley where Pelican Creek flows into Lake Yellowstone.  This area is known for it’s wildlife. We’ll often see elk, grizzly bears, abundant waterfowl sandhill cranes and of course white pelicans.

Fishing Bridge

Here the Yellowstone River exits Yellowstone Lake and free flows 674 miles before emptying into the Missouri River in North Dakota. It's a great place to watch the cutthroat trout in the clear waters of the Yellowstone River from the bridge.  We often see white pelicans, osprey, waterfowl, river otters and other wildlife at this location.

Mud Volcano

We shall take a short hike through the Mud Volcano area and have a chance to see hot springs, mud pots, and steam vents. Learn about the unique properties of the Mud Volcano and the Sulpher Cauldron

Hayden Valley

We’ll drive through the beautiful Hayden Valley with wildlife stops when necessary.  This is prime viewing area for grizzly bears, wolves, bison, elk and other wildlife.

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

There are numerous viewing areas of both the Upper and Lower Falls from both the North and South Rim. This 24mile long canyon is up to 1200' deep. We shall stop at 2 or 3 viewpoints and perhaps see a stunning rainbow that forms at the base of the Lower Falls.

Dunraven Pass

We proceed over the highest mountain pass in the parking getting up to an elevation of 9000' We'll check out the wonderful vista from Washburn Hot Springs Overlook.

Tower Falls

We take the short hike to the overlook of this dramatic 132' high waterfall

Calcite Springs 

From here we see the northern end of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Dramatic rock formations and unique hot springs that flow with molten sulpher and oil will be viewed. In late spring and early summer bighorn sheep give birth on the rugged cliffs in the canyon.

Undine Falls

A beautifull step waterfalls plunges 60 feet over a basalt lava flow

Mammoth Hot Springs

We'll visit Mammoth which is the park headquarters and where Fort Yellowstone was established in 1886. Hopefully we'll be able so see some of the local town elk in Mammoth. A short rewarding hike to visit Pallatte Springs and a drive throught the Upper Terrace with a stop at the amazing Orange Mound will highlight our visit.

Norris Geyser Basin

The hottest geyser basin in the park and is the location of the world’s tallest geyser Steamboat Geyser and the beautiful Porcelain Basin.