33 WINTER 2020 ISSUE 02 / VOL . 01

SNOWGOER . COM

FOR A CURIOUS SOUL , YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK is one of the most captivating destinations on the planet . American history , wildlife , archeology and aweinspiring geology all converge within this ancient and sacred land ’ s 3,472 square miles . As the world ’ s first national park and home to two-thirds of the planet ’ s geysers , it ’ s an understandably popular destination .

According to the National Park Service ( NPS ), approximately 3 million people visit Yellowstone every year , creating traffic jams near various tourist hot spots that starkly contrast the park ’ s natural scenes of beauty and wild animals . It ’ s not unheard of for more than 30,000 people to enter in one day during summertime ’ s tourism peak .

Big changes sweep through the park each November , when the climate cools , visitors taper off and , eventually , nearly all of Yellowstone ’ s roads are closed to wheeled motorists . That leaves track-equipped snowcoaches and guided snowmobile tours as virtually the only means of entering the majority of the park .

Snowmobiling in Yellowstone is also popular , but has been very controversial over the years . One recent winter , we decided to cut through the quarreling and see for ourselves what exploring the world ’ s greatest national park is like behind the bars of a snowmobile . We can attest that it ’ s as beautiful today as it was then .

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