I started this post last week, but it was getting too long for me to keep writing. So I made a short one with my favorite shots from my annual winter getaway.

Where did I go? I wanted a fun winter adventure. Oat and I had always wanted to go to Yellowstone in winter and play in the snow, and I miss snow. That’s how I decided on Yellowstone. Three of my friends joined me, and we added Arches NP to round off our winter romp.

We arrived in Bozeman, MT, at the beginning of February on a beautiful, very warm day. On our drive to the Yellowstone North Gate, there was very little snow on the ground. I was a little nervous. No snow for a snow vacation.

Our first night would be at the Mammoth Hotel. After that, we did a little exploring around Mammoth Hot Springs, then went off to see if we could find some wildlife.

During the winter season, the roads in Yellowstone are closed except for the road from the north entrance to the northeast entrance. Everyone who stays at the snow lodge goes by the snowcat. The ride takes about 4 hours with stops. We had an early start on a wildlife tour, plus getting our luggage ready for travel to the snow lodge.

We spent 3 nights and 2 days at the Snow Lodge. We spent a day hiking and exploring the area around the Snow Lodge, took the Stars & Winter Soundscapes tour, and went snowshoeing on the Grand Canyon Snowshoe Tour.

My favorite thing about Yellowstone in the winter was the lack of people. Yes, around the lodge, there are loads of people, but nothing like summer in Yellowstone. If you venture a little deeper onto the trail, you’ll find yourself on your own amongst the trees.

It snowed as we left the snow lodge and headed to West Yellowstone. We did stop on our way out because a pack of wolves was very close by.

Our main event was Dog Sledding with Yellowstone Dog Sled Adventures. What a great time we had. The dogs were great, so happy to run. I was a bit terrified at first and held on for dear life, only to eventually start enjoying the ride. (My palms were red cause I held on so tightly.)

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I wanted to mention that our stay and dinners in West Yellowstone were great. We stayed at Starlite Yellowstone, Tapestry Collection by Hilton. The hotel just went through a renovation, so it was very nice and clean. Sorry, no pictures. On the staff’s recommendation, we ate at Hank’s Chop Shop and Madison Crossing Lounge. Both were great meals. I can’t tell you exactly what I had, since it was five months ago, but I remember it was delicious.

After a long day’s drive, we arrive at Moab for the second part of our national park vacation. The great thing about visiting national parks during the winter or off-season is the lack of people. There were more people at Arches than Yellowstone, but finding parking wasn’t a problem, nor was feeling overwhelmed with the crowds.

We visited the Canyonlands, and some of us got up in the wee hours of the morning to see the sunrise at Mesa Arch. We got lost looking for petroglyphs near our hotel. And we saw many arches and rock formations at Arches. The same “some of us” went into the park at night to see the stars. Many of the hikes (or walks) to view the arches were short and paved. There were a few of them you could climb up in.

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Bring in lunch with you so you don’t have to leave the park. There are several spots to have lunch. We stop at Sweet Craving Bakery + Bistro for our lunch and sweet snack. I had the Roast Beef Sammy, and it was delicious.

Our last hike at Arches was to Delicate Arch to see the sunset. This was the most crowded hike. Take a flashlight because you will be walking back in the dark. It’s a moderate hike with elevation and no shade. But once the sun sets, it starts getting cold. Parking was tight; we had to go around the lot twice before we found a spot.