Austin Adventures is your Ticket to a Stress-Free Yellowstone Adventure
This article originally appeared on My Yellowstone Park
When it comes to planning a Yellowstone vacation, there's no doubt it can be time consuming. From figuring out what you want to do and see to arranging transportation, lodging and meals, there's a lot of details to figure out. When you factor in reservations at national park lodges filling up months, if not a year in advance, it can be downright daunting. That's where family-operated Austin Adventures comes in. When you book a Yellowstone tour package with this great company, they'll take all the headache out of planning and let you simply take your bucket-list trip, no stress involved.
Austin Adventures' all-inclusive tours will bring you deep into Yellowstone and the surrounding area to explore all of the incredible wildlife, geothermal features, culture and other wonders this part of the country has to offer. All tours include at least one night of lodging inside the park whether it's at the iconic Old Faithful Inn or the newly renovated Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel. Booking with Austin means you'll be able to sign up for a tour a few months out and still get to stay inside the park, where trying to do that on your own would be almost impossible. Combined with lodging nights in the park's gateway towns, it's a great way to get a taste for both the history of Yellowstone and the vibrancy of the surrounding communities.
Transportation and meals are also included in all the trips offered so you won't have to worry about finding a parking space or getting a reservation at the park restaurants. Whether you're dining in the historic Old Faithful Inn Dining Room or enjoying an incredible picnic made by your guide, you'll definitely be eating well on your trip.
Trips range from Yellowstone-focused adult-only adventures where you'll go horseback riding and soak in a nearby hot springs, to family-friendly trips with ziplining and whitewater rafting. You can also opt for a trip that visits more than just Yellowstone and explore Grand Teton National Park or Big Sky and Paradise Valley in Montana.
While Austin Adventures leads tours all over the country, the Yellowstone trips are some of president Kasey Morrissey's favorites. The most magical parts, according to Morrissey? The first day of the trip.
One of your guides will drop you at a trailhead at the far end of Upper Geyser Basin and the group hikes all the way to Old Faithful, where lunch is waiting.
"You hike past hot springs and these bright blue pools and there's no crowds there, it's incredible," says Morrissey.
She also loves the point-to-point hike on Wapiti Trail where the path meanders through wildflower-dotted meadows and pine forests where, if you look closely, you might see bison fur stuck to the trees. There's clear lakes and backcountry fumaroles to see where there aren't any boardwalks. It's an off-the-grid feeling. The hike ends at the rim of Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone where, even though there's other people around, you feel like you've had a truly wild experience because you hiked there. It's a surprising delight when the guide who shuttled your vehicles meets you with a silver platter full of parfaits as a snack.
Trips typically accommodate an average of 10-12 guests (no more than 18) with a 6:1 guest-to-guide ratio so one guide can share the area's incredible flora and fauna with you while another is preparing a delicious taco bar lunch. This ratio also allows for point-to-point hikes, meaning you'll be dropped off at a trailhead and get to hike farther than you would on your own since one of your guides will shuttle the vehicles to your end point to pick you up when you're done hiking.
Austin Adventures makes it easy to keep growing with the company. Start out on national park vacations with your kids and then graduate to international trips with their sister company Active Adventures when your kids are older to see the world.
Learn more and check out all of Austin Adventures' Yellowstone trips at www.austinadventures.com
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