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Our national parks: Go for the cold

Visit in winter, when tourists are few and wildlife is abundant.

By WALTER ROESSING
Published October 16, 2005

[Yellowstone National Park]

An amazing sight for snowmobilers: bison grazing in Yellowstone National Park, in Wyoming.

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. - Like a scene from a National Geographic documentary, a coyote stops about 6 feet from my snowmobile, studies me, then slowly walks away. My companion and I are stunned by the encounter because coyotes, Yellowstone's most common predator, usually avoid human contact.

Just 30 minutes later, we came almost face-to-face with a pair of large bison walking on the park's snow-covered main road. The lead bison kept an eye on us as I snapped photos while kneeling cautiously behind the snowmobile. Though these animals appear tame and slow, park rangers warn they are unpredictable and dangerous.

Our excitement soared again when we saw a magnificent bull elk standing knee deep in the frigid waters of Firehole River. Then, as if on cue, a stunning pair of trumpeter swans flew just over our heads, to land in a nearby meadow.

These wildlife experiences are typical of a winter visit to Yellowstone, an incomparable treasure that's surrounded by several ranges of the Rocky Mountains.

Winter often is the best season - rather than the off-season - for a vacation or visit to a national park. Gone are the summer crowds, meaning the lodges, roads and visitor centers are no longer congested. Far different, too, are the outdoor activities in the snow-coated national parks: Visitors can go ice skating, snowmobiling, snowboarding, cross country and downhill skiing, sledding, wilderness camping, ice fishing and guided snowshoe touring. Some activities are free, others are lower-priced than at privately owned resorts.

In addition to snowmobiling, Yellowstone has two Nordic centers for cross country skiing and snowshoeing, with rentals, instruction and guides. The park also offers sleigh rides, discovery hikes and powder telemarking tours.

A special thrill at this icon of national parks is a heated snowcoach ride to the base of Old Faithful, where in subzero temperatures the water spewing from the geyser becomes frozen vapor.

In Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park, experienced Nordic skiers can follow marked but ungroomed trails that straddle the Continental Divide from 8,500 to 11,500 feet. Good starting points are Bear Lake and Glacier Gorge Junction, easily accessible from the park's Estes Park gateway.

Sightings of elk, mule deer, coyotes and bighorn sheep are most likely in the Moraine Park Meadow area. There's also sledding and snowshoeing at Hidden Valley, a former downhill ski area.

"Snowshoeing is the most fun in Rocky Mountain National Park," says Denver tourism official Rich Grant. "There's a variety of wide, groomed, marked trails that are safe and popular with entire families."

The spectacular outdoor escape is only about 90 minutes by car from Denver.

In remote southwestern Colorado near Four Corners - where Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico come together - is Mesa Verde National Park. It is a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site because of its well-preserved ruins of an ancient civilization.

Most dramatic, at elevations ranging from 6,000 to 8,750 feet, are an estimated 600 cliff dwellings abandoned two centuries before Columbus.

During the winter months, skiers and snowshoers can take a 6-mile loop that overlooks Cliff Palace, the largest cliff dwelling in North America. Inside is a 325-foot-long cave in which the Anasazi built an entire town. Other loop trails, 1.5 miles to 7.5 miles long, take off from the Morefield Campground.

Wildlife is more visible in the winter because most trees are bare and almost all park facilities are closed. Mesa Verde will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2006.

Offering a plethora of diversified winter activities is Washington's Olympic National Park, with wilderness camping and all the snow activities. At Hurricane Ridge, near a visitor center and rentals shop, there are four ski lifts and a peak elevation of 5,242 feet.

A more rugged brand of outdoor fun tempts in Minnesota's Voyageurs National Park, which embraces heavily forested lake country inhabited by timber wolves, east of International Falls.

Ice fishing for walleye and panfish such as crappies and sunfish is excellent on Kabetogama and Rainy lakes. Exceptional snowmobiling takes place along the Kabetogama Chain of Lakes Trail, while Kab-Ash, a 32-mile groomed cross-country trail, is prime for all skill levels.

Tops for versatility among eastern parks is Ohio's Cuyahoga Valley National Park, just 10 miles from Cleveland's airport.

It features moderate downhill skiing at two areas, each with four lifts; toboggan and sledding hills; snowshoeing and cross country trails; and guided tours. The park offerschildren's snowshoe classes, as well as cross country instruction for all levels.

With a good snowfall, Virginia's Shenandoah National Park's 500 miles of trails are open to Nordic skiers and snowshoers. Wildlife in the park includes black bears, "because they aren't true hibernators here," says an information officer.

Other free cross country skiing and snowshoeing options in national parks in the East are available in the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee and North Carolina. History, however, is the big lure for the national parks at Valley Forge, Pa., and Saratoga, N.Y.

- Freelance writer Walter Roessing lives in La Mesa, Calif.

To learn more about the national parks mentioned in this story:

- Cuyahoga Ohio: (216) 524-1497; www.nps.gov/cuva

- Great Smoky Mountains Tennessee and North Carolina: (865) 436-1200; www.nps.gov/grsm

- Mesa Verde Colorado: (970) 529-4465; www.nps.gov/meve

- Olympic Washington: (360) 565-3130; www.nps.gov/olym

- Rocky Mountain Colorado: (970) 586-1206; www.nps.gov/romo

- Shenandoah Virginia: (540) 999-3500; www.nps.gov/shen

- Voyageurs Minnesota: (218) 283-9821; www.nps.gov/voya

- Yellowstone Wyoming: (307) 344-7381; www.nps.gov/yell

[Last modified October 14, 2005, 08:46:05]