On this vacation by horseback, we will explore a remote and often forgotten part of Yellowstone National Park. Come join us in our exploration of the Lamar River Canyon. The canyon is home to wolves, bear, and buffalo. Our destination will be the base of Parker Peak where we’ll explore the Hoodoo Basin with its wonderful wind weathered formations and haunting solitude. This is a progressive trip that will take us to Yellowstone’s eastern boundary deep in the Absaroka Range.

The Hoodoo Basin lies at the head of the Lamar River within the farthest reaches of the Upper Lamar region below Parker Peak. A Hoodoo is an eerie looking wind eroded geological feature cut into erodible rock.

Our journey will begin at the Soda Butte trailhead. From here we will head into the Lamar River Canyon. We will cross Cache Creek and the Calfee Creek before turning up Miller Creek to its head waters. From here we will head up the switchback trail toward Parker Peak before dropping down into the Upper Lamar region below Hoodoo Peak where the wildlife is abundant. Elk, deer, moose and buffalo all roam within the canyon. There are abundant predators as well: wolves, grizzly bear, and black bear.

This region’s history is rich with Native American tales. We will travel portions of Chief Joseph’s trail as he fled from the U.S. Army in 1877 trying to save his people. There are places high within the mountains where local tribes went to knap flint into knives, spear points, and arrowheads. You can still see evidence of these places today. Gathered around the evening campfire, we’ll discuss tales of the Sheep Eater Indians and Chief Joseph’s flight. We will also discuss how the army tried to protect the fledgling Yellowstone National park, poachers and their part in the wild life management, as well as fire ecology, and the Folsom, Peterson, Cook Expedition of 1869.

Join us and become mesmerized by the solitude of Yellowstone’s Hoodoo Basin. Check out this guide from National Geographic's Adventure magazine.