I know I have sung the praises of Yellowstone in the summer, but it can be just as glorious in the winter. First of all, you'll have the park virtually to yourself. During winter, only the short road from the Montana gateway town of Gardiner to the Mammoth Hot Springs lodge is cleared for cars, but the park itself remains wide open -- and practically empty. A handful of cross-country skiers and snowshoers share this vast national treasure with just a few small groups touring by snowmobile or snowcoach (sort of a 1960s version of a public minibus crossed with a snowcat).

Secondly, with thick blankets of white snow as a backdrop, the wildlife is far easier to spot. Here a brace of elk with magnificent racks of antlers snuggle into snowy beds, there a red fox slinks through the woods by the side of the road. Trumpeter swans glide on the river, pronghorn antelope pause on their migratory routes to rest, large hares jackrabbit across the landscape, giant bison root through the snow for food, and bighorn sheep skitter up seemingly impossible cliff sides.

Yellowstone in winter does take a bit of planning. Between December 19 and March 9, only two hotels remain open in the park: the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, accessible by car, where winter rates start at $78 for a room with a shared bathroom, $105 for a room with private bath; and the Old Faithful Snow Lodge, accessible only by snowcoach or snowmobile, which starts at $180 for a lodge room, from $87 for a cabin.

Xanterra, the lodging company that operates both lodges (tel. 866/439-7375; www.travelyellowstone.com), offers a series of "Winter Getaways" packages. You can get two nights lodging at either the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel (from $109 per person) or the Old Faithful Snow Lodge (from $269 per person -- it includes the snowcoach ride in) in packages that also include breakfast, unlimited ice-skating (with free skates), various discounts, and a one-hour hot tub rental.

More active guests might consider a "Nordic Heaven" version that throws in a full day's ski rental starting from $159 per person (at Mammoth). If your conscience can square the use of snowmobiles in the park (which only allows operation of a limited number of the cleaner, 4-stroke snowmobiles each day) you can get a similar deal substituting for the skiing a guided snowmobile tour to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone or Old Faithful starting at $205 at Mammoth.

For longer or more in-depth educational vacations, contact the Yellowstone Association Institute (tel. 307/344-2293; www.yellowstoneassociation.org).

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