Reasons to Visit Our National Parks in Winter

When the weather gets rough, the rough get going. For many, winter is the time to hide out in a foxhole, but those who love unadulterated nature and a little adventure know the colder season brings the purest sights and sounds to our favorite national parks. The crowds disappear, majestic animals descend to lower elevation, and the snow-white landscapes create a fresh respite from the frenzy of life. Wild spaces take on a new form when the temps drop, making this the perfect time to get reacquainted with the parks you think you know well. Here are 10 cool winter activities and things to see at the West’s best national parks.

To the uninitiated, it might seem that Rocky Mountain National Park goes dead in the winter. While it’s true that there is no nearby resort (not since Hidden Valley closed in 1992, anyway), backcountry enthusiasts never stopped visiting. The park is a total gem—local skiers from Colorado’s Front Range know they can bank on the off-season hotel rates in Estes Park (Rocky’s gateway town) and the stellar snow and slim crowds in these steep mountains. In the 2018-2019 winter season, Kent Mountain Adventure Center is launching a program in the park geared at beginner backcountry skiers. As the sport grows in popularity, KMAC recognizes the importance of proper safety and technical education for this once-niche activity. In addition to weekend splitboarding lessons hosted in partnership with Weston Snowboards, the outdoor educational outfit also offers custom packages to guide you from the point you rent your gear to the moment you leave the park and try to decide where to eat in Estes. In between, you’ll get the low-down on avalanche safety, rescue techniques, assessing conditions, how to get uphill without a lift (a.k.a. “skinning”), and downhill techniques. The seasoned instructors know where to go for the best powder and promise it’ll be hard to return to the resorts after this experience. Anyone can sign up, but KMAC recommends participants have experience on blue runs.

Anyone who has ever rung in the New Year at a ho-hum party that didn’t quite live up to the hype will appreciate the invitation to get away from it all on Dec. 31. Kick off the year on the right foot with snowshoeing and hikes in Zion and Bryce Canyon national parks, including high-up spots that may be covered in snow (for example, White Cliffs and the plateau above the flurry-dusted hoodoos of Bryce Canyon amphitheater) and temperate oases (such as the waterfall-laden Emerald Pools). Even popular trails tend to be empty this time of year, when the parks see about 20 percent of their summer visitation numbers.

After almost going extinct, gray wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park in the ‘90s. Now, the area ranks as one of the best places in the world to see these once-endangered predators. Winter’s call draws wolves out into the more open Lamar Valley, where they stand out against the snow. Although the park experiences a significant drop in visitation, fans know it’s prime-time for wolf viewing. With so much interest, logistics aren’t always a cinch to coordinate. Enter the brand-new Sage Lodge and its Winter Wolf Discovery Package in partnership with Yellowstone Forever, the park’s education and fundraising non-profit. The team at this rustic-luxe resort takes care of all the nitty-gritty—from booking you a handsome room to packing snacks for the stakeouts to hooking you up with a naturalist for the entirety of the trip. Sage stands near the lower-elevation, northern side of the park, where large animals congregate in the thinner snowpack. Once there, you’ll spend days learning to track big animals and spotting elk, bison, deer, fox, raptors, and with not much luck at all, some Yellowstone wolves.

Alaska’s Denali–with its 6,000 acres and abundance of wildlife—isn’t the type of place you think of as a day-trip destination. Especially not in the winter when the tour buses disappear and most of the park is only accessible by dog sled or skis on a hardcore backcountry adventure. In the past, a snowy visit has required quite a bit of planning and investment of time and money. But, then again, when it comes to soaking in winter’s calm and quiet, it’s hard to beat this wild stretch of Alaska. Fortunately, Alaska Railroad stepped in to offer a route that’s accessible for the rest of us. The Denali in a Day experience starts in Fairbanks. You’ll be picked up for a picturesque drive down to the park, where an interpreter leads a hike and snowshoe tour with plenty of ecological intel. Soak in the blissfully calm surroundings blanketed in snow, without the summer droves. Around dusk, the Aurora Winter Train departs from the visitor’s center area for the trip back to Fairbanks. You’ll be back just in time to keep watch for the northern lights.

While you can’t exactly sled down the iconic peak, coasting down a big hill with the 14,410-foot mountain looming nearby is as good as it gets. Once enough snow accumulates—usually after Christmas—Mount Rainier’s Paradise Snowplay area becomes a sled hound’s haven. Weekends can get crowded, so if it’s a bluebird-sky kind of day, get there as soon as the park opens for first dibs. You won’t encounter resort prices (sledding is free after you pay the park admission), but there also are no rentals or groomed runs. BYO sled equipment, check driving conditions in the park, and get ready to bask in the pure joys of snowy fun in a raw winter wonderland.

In truth, most national parks have pretty amazing night skies; putting distance between yourself and big cities reveals brilliant clusters that are otherwise hidden by pollution. However, Death Valley National Park takes the cake with its 3.4 million acres of Gold Tier-status international dark sky—the largest in the country. The cosmic beauty intensifies in winter when longer nights and lower humidity make everything shine brighter, and temps are actually mild enough (not freezing, nor so hellishly hot as it is during a Mojave Desert summer) to lounge around outside. Check the schedule and arrive early for the Las Vegas Astronomical Society events, when astronomers and astro-enthusiasts unite to track the park’s celestial wonders.

At Olympic National Park, you can hop from beach to rainforest to ski mountain. And in winter, all three ecosystems really come alive. Most of the Hoh Rainforest’s 150 inches of water hit between November to April. That turns the already-lush area into a Fern Gully-like setting with its giant western hemlock and Sitka spruce radiating all shades of green. Yes, you’re going to get wet, but it’ll be worth it. Same goes for the coast, where frequent storms create a permanent mistiness in the air and tall rollers pound the beach. Low-tide days reveal a diverse range of marine relics and driftwood for beachcombers.  Up in Hurricane Ridge, the scenery is more classic winter wonderland with one of the only remaining ski lifts in a national park. Weather permitting, Hurricane Ridge is open on weekends (the name is not just allegory), and while the amenities are lo-fi, the powder and panoramic views are top-notch. Just remember, the park spans nearly a million acres, so you’ll need to build in time to travel between these different worlds.

Lassen Volcanic National Park doesn’t get as much ink as its neighbors, which makes it all the more wondrous to explore in the off-season, when you might not see another soul outside your group. For a place that packs as much heat as Lassen—known for its otherworldly landscape of volcanoes and geysers—winter in these parts sure is cool. With its northern location and high elevation at the confluence of the Sierra Nevada and Cascades Range, year-round temps remain chilly and the beginning of the year brings plenty of snow. It might look like you’re just walking atop a typical mountain, until you come across steam vents and mud pots that hint at the fiery world beneath the surface. The park has a newspaper that publishes snowshoe routes, but if it’s your first time, sign up for the ranger-led snowshoe walks, which include gear rentals for a $1 suggested donation.