Settle in for two nights at the historic Lake Hotel and enjoy a welcome dinner. After breakfast, set out early to search for elk and bison with this spring's calves, moose, mule deer, and possibly coyote and black or grizzly bears. Take a three-hour hike up Pelican Valley to look for wildlife and enjoy a picnic lunch. Explore Yellowstone's amazing geothermal features of bubbling, churning caldrons and gushing geysers found only in few places on Earth. Your guides will explain the geology of this awesome area where the Earth's magma is as close as one mile below the surface, compared to the average elsewhere of 10 miles.
Birds are numerous, and large mammals occasionally frequent the geyser basins.
Enjoy an early dinner before venturing out into Hayden Valley at the prime time for wildlife viewing. Look for elk, bison, and perhaps grizzly and black bears. Today's four-mile hike is steep, with an elevation gain of 2,100, but the views from the top are well worth it. From the 10,566-foot summit see much of the eastern part of Yellowstone and the rugged peaks of the North Absaroka Wilderness Area. Lush conifer forests line the trail for the first mile or so, and then you emerge above the tree line for amazing views all the way to the summit.