Yellowstone National Park Archives - The Vegetarian Tourist

Having finally visited one of my dream destinations, Yellowstone National Park, I won’t claim to be any sort of expert. But, I will say that I have a better grasp of the geography and the sheer vastness of this remarkable gift from Mother Nature.

Visiting Yellowstone National Park

If I can give you just one piece of advice, it would be to hire a private tour guide for at least the first day of your trip through the park. We were so incredibly lucky to have the absolutely brilliant and knowledgeable MacNeil from Yellowstone Insight as our guide. I can’t even begin to describe what a difference it made to have an expert drive us through the park, educate us on the wildlife and geothermal features all while showing us firsthand things I would have NEVER seen or found on my own.

MacNeil of Yellowstone Insight

It seems pointless to say, but Yellowstone is a very large park and as a newbie, there’s just too much to navigate on your own. MacNeil asked us pretty much first thing after he picked us up from Elk River Art Lodge at 6am, what our individual goals and interests were for our one day tour together. Can you guess what my answer was? “I want to see everything…ALL the animals and ALL the geothermal features.” #typical…ha ha. I mean, not so helpful to MacNeil, but he did a fantastic job showing us both the wildlife and some amazing landscapes and geology among many other things.

MacNeil will tailor each tour as the patrons want, which is great if you really want to just go on a wildlife safari for the day and learn about the migration patterns of the wolves. Or, if you’d rather learn about how geysers form and what temperature the mud pots are at, he can do that too. That’s what is so great about MacNeil; he’s so incredibly linked in to what seems like everything about the park, he will make your time and money beyond worth it.

Touring With MacNeil From Yellowstone Insight

Here are just a few of the many, many pictures I took on our tour with Yellowstone Insight. I promise that these pictures do no justice to the absolutely stunning scenery that is forever etched in my mind. You really must go visit Yellowstone for yourself.

Out By 6am For Our Tour With Yellowstone Insight

Stunning Sunrise Over Yellowstone National Park

Our First Sighting, An Elk!!!

One Hour Later, Snow In The Mountains

Then Sun And A Bison Sighting

A Pitstop With Snacks Provided By MacNeil

Beautiful Views Of The Yellowstone River

Mud Volcano At Yellowstone National Park

Beautiful Hot Springs

More From Yellowstone

More Elk Sightings!

I can’t still can’t stress enough how beneficial it is have an expert take you through Yellowstone National Park. Also, you are just missing out if you don’t go on MacNeil’s tour with Yellowstone Insight. Just do it already! Oh, and make sure you book well in advance, because just like everything else in Yellowstone, things book up quickly. Enjoy 🙂

Please Note: This post is in collaboration with Yellowstone Country. All opinions are my own.

Yeah, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect either. I mean, when I think of Montana and Wyoming, fresh vegetables aren’t the first thing that pop to my mind. So, as a vegetarian, what could there possibly be for me to eat when I finally head to Yellowstone Country? The answer is A LOT!!!

Honestly, I was blown away by not only all the options available, but the blossoming culinary scene in places like Bozeman. I had so much great food on my entire trip and if you are considering traveling to this area and have a dietary restriction, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. With full disclosure, it is definitely easier to find more options in bigger cities like Bozeman, but it’s not to say that you won’t be able to find anything in smaller towns. Hopefully I can help steer you in the right direction if you happen to stop in the same places I visited. Here’s just a highlight of some of the awesome things I ate and drank while visiting Yellowstone Country: