Yellowstone Wildlife Safari Guide: Lamar Valley ('America's Serengeti') & Hayden Valley

Yellowstone is the crown jewel of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the largest remaining nearly intact temperate ecosystem in the Northern Hemisphere. While you can encounter elk and bison anywhere along the road, two wide, glacier-carved river valleys are the wildlife capitals of North America: Lamar Valley in the northeast (nicknamed 'America's Serengeti') and Hayden Valley in the centre of the park.

1. Lamar Valley (Northeast Entrance Road between Tower Junction & Cooke City, Open 365 Days)

Stretching for 45 kilometres along the Lamar River and Soda Butte Creek in the northeastern corner of the park, Lamar Valley is the only place where the road stays open to regular passenger cars all 12 months of the year. Arrive at dawn or dusk and stop along these four hotspots from west to east:

1. Little America & Junction Butte: home territory of the Junction Butte Wolf Pack and roaming black bears just east of the Yellowstone River Bridge.
2. Slough Creek Road (3 km Dirt Spur, Prime Wolf Den & Grizzly Area): look for wildlife photographers with high-powered spotting scopes scanning the northern ridges for grey and black wolves.
3. The Lamar Canyon & Wide Valley Floor (Bison Herd Capital): thousands of free-roaming American Plains Bison (with bright orange newborn calves, called 'Red Dogs', in May and June) and Pronghorn cover the sagebrush flats, while Grizzly Bears dig for roots on the open slopes.
4. Hitchcock, Soda Butte & Round Prairie: willow-lined marshes near Silver Gate and Cooke City are the top spot in Yellowstone to see Shiras Moose and Mountain Goats on the cliffs of Barronette Peak.

2. Hayden Valley (On the Lower Loop Between Canyon Village & Yellowstone Lake)

Right in the middle of the Lower Loop between the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and Yellowstone Lake lies Hayden Valley, an ancient glacial lakebed. Its winding river marshes attract massive August bison rutting herds when 900 kg bulls bellow and clash horns, grizzly bears near Alum Creek, and flocks of American White Pelicans, Trumpeter Swans, Sandhill Cranes and Bald Eagles.