Upper Loop Tour and Lamar Valley from West Yellowstone with Lunch
Description
This Wildlife Viewing Van Tour is a great way to see the unique animals of Yellowstone National Park. We begin in the fun gateway town of West Yellowstone. The early morning part of the tour explores wildlife haunts in the famous Shadow Canyon of the Madison River. This area is home to bear and elk. Later we scope for wildlife on the shoulders of one of Yellowstone's tallest peaks, Mount Washburn. Next we explore the Lamar Valley, known as the Serengeti of North America. We will use spotting scopes to look for wolves, bears and other wildlife. Enjoy a hot drink and morning snack while watching wolves. Next we visit the Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces for a short walk. If you don't feel like walking we find a safe, scenic spot for you to wait for the group near the van. Finally, we head back toward West Yellowstone stopping for additional wildlife sightings along the way. The day concludes back at West Yellowstone.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Scope for wildlife along the Madison River in the early morning light. Bears and elk frequent this valley.
Scope for wildlife on driving up Mount Washburn. This area is home to grizzly bears and elk herds.
Lamar Valley is home to more than 60 species of mammal. Known as the Serengeti of North America, we will use spotting scopes to look for bears, wolves, bison and more! This is the richest wildlife valley in Yellowstone with the largest bison herd in North America. Wolves abound throughout the valley where they were reintroduced in 1995. This valley is also home to mountain goats, moose, big horn sheep, and other rare wildlife.
We will take a short stroll on the boardwalks near the Liberty Cap thermal feature at Mammoth Hot Springs.
Scope for wildlife along the Gibbon River where elk and bison roam.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
We will meet at the lobby of any hotel in West Yellowstone of any or any vacation rental within the boundaries of West Yellowstone. Pick ups begin at 6AM.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(177)
Maddie was fabulous with her driving skills in the rain and her park knowledge.
We took the whole family on the North Loop/Lamar Valley trip. It was a great day! Our guide, Gillian, was wonderful. Her understanding of the park, its history and the wildlife made the trip even better! Her love of the environment was clear and shared among the group. Highly recommend!
As the driver for the trip, it was nice to be able to see the sights. This was primarily a wildlife searching tour. We did stop at Mammoth Hot Springs and walk up the boardwalk. Having a guide showing us what to look for was key. Alison was very enthusiastic and truly wanted us to get the most out of the tour.
Early start but really worth it. Maddie was a great guide and very helpful. Saw lots of wildlife, including numerous bears, but highlight was osprey feeding chicks in nest. Lamar valley was excellent and was a great day out to end our 3 days in the park. Highly recommended
Gillian was a wonderful guide. She was organized and spoke very well about the sights, wildlife and park history. She even had coffee and snacks available!
Excellent tour with incredible wildlife sightings and beautiful scenery. Very well organized and unforgettable experience.
We had such an amazing day! Maddie & Rory were our guides and were so much fun! They made sure we were well taken care of and stayed on top of the wildlife sightings, even turning around to go back for a mama bear and her two cubs. ❤️ We saw SEVEN bears, plus fox, coyote, bison, ravens, elk, and more! Lunch was a very generous sandwich with chips, soda, and water, plus we had a bag of tasty snacks along the way. We were also offered coffee, hot tea, and hot chocolate throughout the day. I highly recommend this trip!
Excellent tour with Alison as our guide. Saw many animals including black bear, bison, osprey, pronghorn, mountain goats. Plenty of stops. Alison traveled as a leisurely pace which made for great sightseeing. Very highly recommend
This is a fantastic way for travelers to Yellowstone to experience the native wildlife, and at the same time, take in the park's natural beauty. Our guide Bri was awesome and helped make it an awesome day.
This was a great tour. They picked us up from our hotel. Felt very safe. We saw bears, bison, mountain goats, a coyote, ground squirrels, ospreys, cranes and more in the Lamar valley and mammoth regions. This was a great tour to do for our 2nd day in Yellowstone as on the 1st day we did all the touristy attractions. Lunch was provided and great and also included a nice bag of snacks. Bri, our guide, was very kind, attentive and helpful. We would recommend this tour to our friends. Thanks for a great day Bri!
