Why winter in Yellowstone beats the summer crowds

Yellowstone National Park is beautiful year-round, but winter means smaller crowds to let you appreciate the views.

Way off in the distance, I could see a wolf. 

That’s pretty much the best animal sighting you can get at Yellowstone National Park. Even the guides were excited, saying it was the first time a wolf had been spotted in the park in about a month. 

And although the wolf was more than a mile away (the best I could do in terms of capturing the moment was extremely grainy cell phone video), it really underscored for me how special Yellowstone and the entire National Park System is. There I was in the middle of the great American wilderness, watching a wolf trot across the snow as steam rose around me from natural vents below the ground. 

Yellowstone is so much more than its wildlife. The first national park in the United States was actually established to protect the natural landscape. 

Yellowstone National Park was established in 1872 to preserve access to its unique geologic and hydrothermal features, like the geyser Old Faithful. Animal conservation efforts only came later.