DISCOVERING
YELLOWSTONE


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PRESENTED BY
Chapter 1
Wildlife Immersion
Chapter 2
A Life in Yellowstone
Chapter 3
Living Colors
Chapter 4
Saving Native Trout
Chapter 5
Eat Like A Grizzly
As the world’s first national park, Yellowstone is both well-known and a place we’re still learning from—a place of discovery for both first-time visitors and longtime fans alike. With its sky-raking peaks, rippling prairies, abundant wildlife, and brilliant geothermal springs, Yellowstone inspires scientists, creators, adventurers, and artisans to explore the park and become part of its conservation story. That includes the folks behind the Yellowstone Bourbon brand, who explored the park in 1872 and felt so inspired that they named their best-selling bourbon after it. Now, 150 years later, Yellowstone Bourbon is still giving back to its namesake. Learn about efforts to protect the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem below, and no doubt you’ll want to become part of the story as well.

1.
Wildlife
Immersion

A photographer learns why Yellowstone is called the American Serengeti.

The Big Picture

Adventure photographer Nate Dodge stepped foot in Yellowstone for the first time last fall and was amazed by its sheer size. “I had no concept of the scale of the national park,” he says. “As we were driving to a trailhead, going over these mountain passes and vast landscapes, I kept asking, ‘Are you sure we’re still in the national park?’ The answer was always yes.”
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But size is just the start. “The whole thing is alive,” he says, noting the game trails criss-crossing meadows and forests. It’s also ground zero for some of the country’s most successful efforts to protect endangered species. 
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That’s something that Dodge loves to discover—and share. “This career has given me the opportunity to visit a lot of places that have fragile ecosystems,” he says. “I can only hope that the imagery I capture encourages people to get out there for themselves.”

the wild bunch

Pronghorn: These American ungulates can sprint up to 60 mph, likely because they evolved to outrun the American cheetah. The American cheetah is now extinct, but the pronghorn's turbocharged genetics remain.

‍Grizzlies: Grizzly bears can lift 700 pounds and run 40 mph, but one of their most unique talents is their aptitude for napping. Each winter, Yellowstone’s grizzlies sleep for five months straight, losing up to 30 percent of their body weight.

‍Bison: Yellowstone's prairies have evolved a symbiotic relationship with its bison. While cattle move slowly across a landscape and graze more intensively, bison spread out their impact, giving native grasses time to regrow and boosting biodiversity.

where to see them

Grizzly Bears: Pebble Creek
Keep a sharp lookout for grizzlies on this ramble through wildflower-studded meadows. Shuttle a car to do the full 11.8-mile point-to-point from Pebble Creek trailhead to Warm Creek trailhead, or choose any length out-and-back.

Bison: Specimen Ridge
The Lamar Valley is one of the best places to glimpse the park’s massive bison herds. Start at the Specimen Ridge trailhead and take the namesake trail as far southwest as you like, scanning the grassy slopes below for the massive animals. 
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Wolves: Slough Creek
Stroll along Slough Creek for your best chance at spotting one of Yellowstone’s elusive wolf packs. Pro tip: Wolf viewing tends to be better in winter, when packs are more active and their dark coats are easy to spot against the snow. 
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Bighorn Sheep: Gardner Canyon
Drive along the North Entrance Road to spot bighorn sheep tiptoeing along Gardner Canyon’s rocky ledges. Prefer to stretch your legs? Hop out at the Lava Creek trailhead and stroll 5.4 miles south to Undine Falls, glassing for sheep all the while.
 
Pronghorn Antelope: Lamar Valley
Head for the Soda Butte Creek trailhead. Antelope favor lower elevations during fall and winter, but you can still spot them on higher slopes in summer. Follow the Lamar River Trail for an out-and-back customized to your time and ambition.

Raise a toast

Spirit of the plains

Glassware: Coupe
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‍Ingredients
‍2 oz Yellowstone Bourbon Toasted
3/4 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice
3/4 oz cinnamon simple syrup (1 cup water, 1 cup sugar, 4 cinnamon sticks, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg white
Sage leaf for garnish

‍Directions
‍Add ingredients to a shaker and dry shake.
Add ice and shake again until well chilled.
Strain the mixture into a coupe glass.

2.
a life in yellowstone

Raising livestock in grizzly and wolf country isn’t easy. Here’s how to do it with respect and grace.

Coming Home

When Malou Anderson-Ramirez left her family ranch in Wyoming for an East Coast boarding school at age 15, she felt like she’d landed on another planet. Suddenly, she was surrounded by kids who spent their nights and weekends practicing piano or playing team sports. Meanwhile, she was used to spending her spare time feeding animals or birthing lambs.

“My parents taught us that you can’t sit down to dinner or breakfast if there are hungry animals outside,” Anderson-Ramirez says. “We were raised with the notion that they’re kin, and kin take care of each other.” That sense of connection drove her to pursue a career in animal-assisted therapy, then, eventually, back to her family’s ranch on the border of Yellowstone.

In 2009, Anderson-Ramirez and her husband dedicated themselves to transforming the ranch into a center for education and regenerative agriculture. Her connection to the landscape—and the animals that call it home—has never been stronger. “I try to be a voice for the wildlife who need someone to speak for them,” she says.

Nature’s Web

Yellowstone’s apex predators have triggered a cascade of benefits. When wolves were reintroduced to the park in 1995, Yellowstone’s ungulate herds adjusted their behavior. Instead of mowing down shoreline vegetation, elk and deer moved into deeper woodlands, which offered more camouflage. As a result, riverside plants rebounded, streams stopped eroding, and river channels straightened and deepened. Willow groves grew lush, and native beavers returned. It’s yet more proof of the intricate interconnectedness of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem—and all of nature.

Boots on the Ground

Trout Lake Loop (1.2 miles)
‍For a short-but-sweet loop hike just off the main road, target Trout Lake, an alpine tarn north of Soda Butte Canyon. Go early in the morning, when the water’s glassy surface reflects the peaks of the Absaroka Range.

‍Avalanche Peak (4.6 miles)
‍This 10,568-foot summit offers sweeping vistas of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, including a bird’s-eye view of Yellowstone Lake. Start at the peak’s eponymous trailhead and switchback straight up to the iconic summit.

‍Fairy Falls (5.6 miles)Experience all the park’s greatest hits in a single afternoon on this half-day romp. A gently rolling trail will carry you past the neon marvel of Grand Prismatic Spring, 200-foot Fairy Falls, and two geysers, Spray and Imperial.

‍Mount Washburn (6.4 miles)Tackle the climb to Mount Washburn’s 10,243-foot summit, and you’ll be rewarded with panoramic views of the craggy Washburn and Absaroka Ranges. Pro tip: Aim to summit at sunrise, and climb the historic fire lookout tower for an even better vantage point.

‍Continental Divide Trail to Shoshone Geyser Basin (20 miles)This one’s an all-day affair, but it’s well worth the sunrise starting gun. Head out from the Lone Star Trailhead and trace the Firehole River for 20 miles, winding past spouting geysers, boiling springs, and other thermal features.

Raise a toast

Horsefeather

Glassware: Collins
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‍Ingredients
2 oz Yellowstone Select Bourbon
4 oz ginger beer
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Lime wheel or wedge for garnish

‍Directions
‍Fill Collins glass with ice.
Combine all ingredients into the glass and top with ginger beer.
Add two dashes of Angostura bitters and gently stir..

3.
Living Colors

Yellowstone’s colorful and diverse landscape has inspired artists for more than 150 years

Painting a New Perspective

For Bryn Merrell, art began as a necessity. When she first started painting, she was working as a guide for a bike touring company. “As guides, we didn’t have much time to ourselves because we were always making breakfast, fixing flat tires, figuring out logistics, and answering questions,” she says. It was rare that she got a moment to breathe, let alone soak in the beauty of the vast western landscapes she was lucky enough to call her office. “I started painting on those trips because it forced me to slow down and soak it all up a little bit while I could,” Merrell says. “It would help calm this feeling of burnout.” 

Painting also gave her a new perspective on outdoor recreation. This was a way of getting to know the natural world on a more intimate level—its textures, colors, and intricacies—and to enjoy it without having to worry about achieving or conquering. Art has since become a vocation for Merrell, but it still feels meditative, even after all these years. And it’s still a way for her to reconnect with herself and what matters. Painting in Yellowstone, she said, left her with a feeling of overwhelming gratitude. “We’re so lucky that we protected these places,” she said. “I want to bring my daughter back to enjoy them some day.” 

The Art That Made Yellowstone Famous

1871: William Henry Jackson, Tower Falls
‍1872: Thomas Moran, The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
‍1895: John Henry Twachtman, Yellowstone Park
‍1905: Abby Williams Hill, Yellowstone Falls
‍1933: Ansel Adams, Old Faithful Geyser, Yellowstone National Park
‍1938: Various artists, the now-classic WPA posters

The Prismatic Springs Color Wheel

Every concentric ring of Grand Prismatic correlates to a different temperature, and therefore a different pigment. Here’s where the colors come from.
Blue: Clean water at the spring’s heated center is too hot to host bacteria.

‍Green: Chlorophyll forms in a blue-green algae (Synechococcus) that loves warm water.

‍Yellow: Carotenoids (the same things that make carrots orange) are found in a bacteria that likes lukewarm temperatures.

‍Orange: Green, yellow, and red colors blend in a bacteria (Chloroflexi) that has both carotenoids and chlorophyll. 

‍Red: A mix of different bacteria that thrive in cooler temperatures makes this striking color.

Raise a toast

Prismatic Cooler

Glassware: Collins
‍
‍Ingredients
1.5 oz Yellowstone Bourbon Rum Cask
4 oz lemonade
3/4 oz butterfly pea simple syrup
1–2 oz seltzer water
Mint or lemon for garnish

‍Directions
‍Fill Collins glass with ice.
Combine all ingredients into the glass and top with ginger beer.
Add two dashes of Angostura bitters and gently stir.

4.
saving native trout

For anglers, there’s nothing better than catching—and protecting—Yellowstone cutthroat trout

Refuge on the Water

Austin Campbell grew up fly-fishing with his family, but when he moved east to run track and attend college at Penn State, angling took on a whole new meaning. Whenever the stresses of track or classes began to build, Pennsylvania’s cold-water trout streams provided refuge.

“That was huge for me,” Campbell says. After he graduated, Campbell realized he wasn’t the only one who could benefit from such an escape, so he became a fly-fishing guide. And in 2020, he and his brother started running free community events to teach other folks how to fish. So far, he says that’s been the most rewarding aspect of his whole fishing journey. “Instructing people and watching them succeed—it’s just as good as if I’d caught the fish myself,” Campbell says. “Fishing allows you to really slow down and be present. That time is so important, and I think that’s something everyone should have access to.”

Yellowstone’s First Anglers

For more than 11,000 years, Native tribes have called the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem home. If you hike, you’ll follow their footsteps—some of the park’s trails still follow ancient trade routes. And if you fish, you’ll likely cast in their shadow. While many plains tribes relied heavily on bison and other large game for food, some groups, like the Shoshone-Bannock, supplemented their diets with fish. They prioritized salmon, harvested just beyond the park’s borders, though some Indigenous anglers also would have snagged the odd lake trout or cutthroat trout using spears, weirs, or hand nets.

Drop a Line

Find Yellowstone cutthroat on these four mighty waterways.
Slough Creek: Cast a dry fly on the meandering bends of Slough Creek, one of Yellowstone’s most productive cutthroat fisheries. Target the upper meadows for better odds; the farther upstream you hike, the less pressured the fisheries tend to be.

‍Yellowstone River: The lifeblood of the park, the Yellowstone River offers more than 200 miles of high-quality trout fishing—and some of the wildest water in Montana. For the easiest access, fish the stretch between Yellowstone Lake and Yellowstone Falls. Lake trout are abundant here, but patient anglers can still bag a decent-size cutthroat

‍Lamar River: Welcome to one of the park’s most scenic fisheries. Along the Lamar River, the meadows teem with bison and the wide-open skies yield uninterrupted views of the surrounding peaks. Target the seven-mile reach between Soda Butte Creek and Lamar Canyon for the easiest access (and biggest fish).

‍Snake River: Accessible from Yellowstone’s South Entrance, the Snake River starts within the national park before flowing south toward the Tetons. Head to the upper zone for solitude and quiet waters and the lower reaches for bigger cutthroats (and even some browns). Do it right: Pack a small flask of Yellowstone Select to toast to the day’s catch.

Raise a toast

Streamside Sipper

Glassware: Rocks glass
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‍Ingredients
2 oz Yellowstone Bourbon Toasted
4 oz chilled black tea 
1/2 oz maple syrup Cinnamon stick for garnish

‍Directions
‍Fill a cocktail shaker with ice.
Combine all ingredients and shake until chilled.
Strain the mixture into a rocks glass filled with ice.

5.
Eat Like a Grizzly

Savor the landscape with all your senses on this wild culinary journey

Living Off the Land

Kevin O’Connor knew he wanted to be a chef by the time he was nine years old. “There are a lot of factors that set me on that path,” he says. “Growing up on a vineyard in the Sierra foothills was one of them. Being able to forage and hunt was another.”

Early on, he realized that good food came from a healthy landscape and that using the land’s abundance to feed people was a love language. For two decades, O’Connor worked in Michelin-starred restaurants and even opened a hot new eatery right on the edge of Yellowstone National Park.

“That’s where I learned what burnout was,” he says. Overworked and depressed, O’Connor quit his job and fled to a ranch in Montana to recoup—and got back into foraging. “I had the inspiration and sheer humbling power of the national park and surrounding wilderness,” he says. “It was a six-month-long vision quest that changed my life forever. Getting your hands dirty and your feet wet—that’s all the medicine you need.”

An Edible Landscape

Here’s what to forage in Yellowstone, plus how to prepare each one (foraging permit required).
Caraway 
‍Find it: Year-round, in wet, low-lying pastures.
‍Use it: The seeds are good for seasoning, or chop the roots into soups or stews. 

‍Rosehips
Find it: September–October, in sunny patches and along streams.
‍Use it: Make a syrup. Drizzle it over yogurt, or mix it with single-malt bourbon and mint leaves. 

‍Black Morel Mushrooms
Find it: June–July, in burn zones one year after a fire.
‍Use it: Sauté with garlic and herbs and stir into a creamy pasta. 

‍Golden Chanterelle Mushrooms
Find it: August–September, on the forest floor among pines.
‍Use it: Cook in butter and serve alongside grilled steak. Pair with Yellowstone Toasted Bourbon.

‍Oyster Mushrooms
Find it: May–June, on cottonwood trunks and standing snags. 
‍Use it: Lightly sauté and throw them on a pizza. 

‍Wild Strawberries
Find it: July–August, on the ground along partially shaded trail.
‍Use it: Put them in your morning oatmeal or a cup of yogurt. 

‍Huckleberries
Find it: July–August, on bushes along trails and in open forest.
‍Use it: Bake them into a buttery pie or cobbler. Pair with Yellowstone Select to bring out the bourbon’s cherry notes. 

‍Raspberries
Find it: August–September; look for big bushes along trails or in partial shade. 
‍Use it: Scatter with almonds over homemade ice cream.

Plentiful Whitebark Pines

Yellowstone’s trees provide grizzlies with critical calories.
• Whitebark pines can live up to 1,000 years.
• The local trees only grow up to 60 feet tall due to Yellowstone’s harsh winter weather. 
• A single Clark’s nutcracker can bury 90,000 seeds in a single season. 
• A single cup of pine seeds can provide more than 800 calories. 
• Whitebark pine seeds can make up to80% of a grizzly’s diet during peak season.

Raise a toast

Huckleberry and Honey Sour

Glassware: Rocks
‍
‍Ingredients
2 oz Yellowstone Select Bourbon
1 oz fresh lemon juice
3/4 oz honey syrup (1 part honey, 1 part hot water, mixed and cooled)
1/2 oz huckleberry puree or huckleberry syrup
Fresh huckleberries or lemon wheel for garnish

‍Directions
‍Fill a cocktail shaker with ice.
Combine all ingredients and shake until chilled.
Strain the mixture into a rocks glass filled with ice.

Yellowstone
Bourbon

Founded in 1872 to honor its namesake park, Yellowstone Bourbon has a 150-year legacy of conservation and craftsmanship.  
Building a Legacy
The Perfect Pairing
Giving Back