Yellowstone boasts 1,100 miles of hiking trails throughout the most spectacular and diverse scenery one can imagine. For those looking for some adventure, travelling out beyond Yellowstone’s roads often provides for a more intimate park experience. Come join us this summer and let our expert instructors guide you through this impressive and awe-inspiring wilderness. You’ll come out invigorated and with newfound knowledge about the park’s magnificent landscape, flora, and fauna.
A Walk Through Time: Gardner Canyon Geology
When: June 10
The north entrance of Yellowstone is a complex geologic area. Glaciers from the Gallatin range, the Yellowstone ice cap, and the Beartooth plateau interacted in this area during the last Ice Age creating glacial landforms and periodic glacial outburst floods. In addition to the glacial story, this area has been subject to folding and faulting, landslides and earthflows, and most recently the 2022 floods. In this course, we will travel off trail along the edge of the Gardner River Canyon starting near Mammoth and past Slide Lake observing landforms and geologic units exposed in the canyon and hiking over landforms created by landslides and earthflows. We will make a loop returning to Mammoth via trail.
Instructor: Karen Williams, Ph.D.
Summer Day Hiking
When: August 1-4
Join us for three days hiking in the wilds of Yellowstone! Along the trail, we will provide in-depth knowledge and experience about all aspects of the park, from wildlife to geology to history. The goal of this course is to introduce you to the diversity of the Yellowstone landscape and the complex issues confronting the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Please bring Yellowstone-related questions, thoughts, and comments for opening discussions, and remember—Yellowstone is one of thousands of wild places in our country alone. Start thinking about what from your backyard wilderness applies here…and vice versa. The natural world is endlessly interconnected, and we’ll share insights on that too!
NOTE: This course is an activity level 5. Be prepared for brisk aerobic, destination-oriented hiking up to 12 miles a day. You should be physically conditioned to do these hikes comfortably.
Instructor: Sam Archibald, M.E.M.
Late Summer Day Hiking
When: August 28-31
This course has the same itinerary as the “Summer Day Hiking” course above. Lead Yellowstone Forever Institute Instructor, Sam Archibald, will guide you through Yellowstone’s magnificent landscape. Participants will have the opportunity to explore and learn about the park’s fascinating geology, abundant wildlife, and the complexity of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem as a whole.
NOTE: This course is an activity level 5. Be prepared for brisk aerobic, destination-oriented hiking up to 12 miles a day. You should be physically conditioned to do these hikes comfortably.
Instructor: Sam Archibald, M.E.M.
Running Wild: Trail Running in Yellowstone
When: July 20-23
BONUS! Though not all hiking, we will be offering a trail running course for the first time this summer! While cruising scenic ridgelines and dropping into remote canyons, you’ll see rarely visited areas of the park and leave only footprints on the landscape. Enjoy wildlife watching, searching for tracks and signs, and learning more about the natural history of the region while moving at a steady pace down some of Yellowstone’s most iconic trails. Evenings will be spent at the historic Lamar Buffalo Ranch surrounded by new and existing friends, conversing about that day’s activities, enjoying guided stretching, and diving deep into discussion about the locations and encounters you’ve had during the day.
Instructor: Anthony Pavkovich, M.A.
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