It’s no secret that Yellowstone National Park can be jampacked in the summer, when up to 1 million people jockey for space each July. But February typically draws fewer than 50,000 visitors. That makes winter the best time to beat the crowds, as well as to experience a captivating and seldom-seen world revealed only when the park is covered in snow.

In winter, wildlife shows up in stark relief against an undulating sea of white. The roar of bus engines and clatter of motorcycles are replaced by the hiss and gurgle of flaring fumaroles and bubbling mud pots, and the quiet crunch of snow underfoot.

Winter weather varies from blue-sky days in the 30s to whiteout blizzards at 20 below zero, with conditions that are often comparable to those at any Rocky Mountain ski hill. Traveling with a group is important for safety, along with dressing warmly in layers and wearing insulated, waterproof boots and gloves.

Yellowstone’s winter season runs from mid-December to early March, with activities — which are all about the snow — ranging from mild to wild. Bring a separate camera with a telephoto lens, and always give animals plenty of space. Then brag to everyone about why your winter adventure was so much better than their summer visit to the world’s first national park.

Explore the park in a cozy snow coach

Snow coaches — high-clearance passenger vans with oversize, low-pressure tires — are the coziest, most comfortable way to see Yellowstone in winter. You can opt for a tour run by Xanterra Travel Collection, and stay overnight at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge ($457 a night), which the company manages. From there, choose from six different round-trip tours (from $84), including a stargazing jaunt and a photo safari. Snow Lodge guests must book separate travel to and from the hotel (from $174 one-way). Round-trip tours also depart from Mammoth Hot Springs (from $134).

The only hotel in the park’s interior open during winter, the Snow Lodge sits in Yellowstone’s Upper Geyser Basin, surrounded by walking paths and cross-country ski trails that wind among more than 150 geysers within 1 square mile.

The lodge, which has 100 rooms and 34 cabins, is accessible only by snow coach or snowmobile, but guests need not arrive via Xanterra’s transportation.

The lodge is “one of Yellowstone’s hidden secrets,” said Paul Brown, 50, a winter trip leader for Wilderness Travel (seven-day small-group tours from $8,695 per person). “It’s a truly special experience actually being there for those quiet times when you can just hang out in the geyser basin and no one else is around.”

While you’re at the lodge, take a late-night walk under the Milky Way with a hot chocolate, or one at sunrise with a cappuccino, to watch the Old Faithful Geyser, about 800 feet away, erupt approximately every 90 minutes.

Ski out of a solar-powered yurt camp

Cross-country skiing is a popular way to see Yellowstone’s backcountry, and a stay with guides at the Yellowstone Expeditions Yurt Camp offers a rare opportunity to explore the park from a prime location (three nights from $2,200, including meals and transportation).

Guests travel 40 miles by snow coach from West Yellowstone, Montana, and once there, they can ski on their own or in small groups with guides, taking daily snow coach shuttles to and from more distant trailheads.

Skiers sleep in one of eight heated private “yurtlets” (single or double occupancy) and dine family-style in a larger, communal yurt, all situated a mile from the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River. The rustic camp has solar power for lights and to charge devices, and features a sauna, a shower and a heated shared outhouse. Plan your trip to coincide with a full moon for the best night views.

Catch up on the wolf gossip

The 50-mile Northeast Entrance Road through Yellowstone’s northern range is the only plowed route in the park.

This vast grassland, often called the American Serengeti for its abundant wildlife, is critical winter habitat for gray wolves hunting elk, bison and other prey.

Some locals follow the intricate social dynamics of Yellowstone’s wolf packs like a mountain melodrama. On the roadside, you will see groups of wolf lovers who can give you updates on wolves’ latest haunts, hunts, clashes and couplings.

Bring binoculars or a spotting scope to see wildlife congregating along the wide-open Lamar Valley river bottom.

Leave early to catch animals active at first light, driving your own vehicle or going with a tour. Sage Lodge, a luxury resort in Montana’s Paradise Valley, offers private Lamar Valley day tours from $995 (rooms from $364).

Turn around at the end of the plowed road in Cooke City, Montana, population 140, where you can grab coffee or lunch.

Get your thrills on a snowmobile

A snowmobile tour along the park’s Lower Loop, a series of roads encircling the central heart of Yellowstone, offers a thrilling and dramatic overview of the park. A trip with Gary Fales Outfitting over Sylvan Pass, at 8,524 feet, serves up sweeping views of the vast, frozen expanse of Yellowstone Lake.

Gary Fales Outfitting also offers small-group day tours to Old Faithful or the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone ($400 per snowmobile, carrying one or two guests), which include all specialized gear, while two- and three-day options (from $1,875 per snowmobile) offer a choice of overnight hotel stays inside or outside the park.

Yellowstone is “a whole different world when it’s solid white and dead calm and quiet,” said Brian McDaniel, 54, a Cody, Wyoming, resident. “You can go for miles and not see another person,” he said, listing river otters, wolves and “foxes diving into 4-foot snowdrifts to hunt” among his favorite wildlife sightings.

If you’re an experienced rider, you can rent snowmobiles and gear for a self-guided tour, but you will need planning and a little luck to secure dates: The National Park Service holds a lottery every August for the following winter. You will also need to pass an online snowmobile operation and winter weather safety course.

Whether you go with a group or on your own, watch out for the savvy ravens in Yellowstone; they can open zippers, buckles and other fasteners on backpacks.

Soak in the splendor on a snowshoe hike

For exploration at a slower pace, try a guided snowshoe hike. Among the most informative is one offered by Yellowstone Forever, the park’s nonprofit philanthropic and educational partner.

The group’s private snowshoe day tours in the northern range (from $760, including breakfast, lunch, binoculars, snowshoes and poles) are “about stepping into a place where time seems to slow down and the quiet beauty of the park surrounds you,” said Amanda Hagerty, the group’s director of education. The eight-hour tours are suitable for beginners and can be geared to any fitness level, although walks are at elevations of 6,000 feet and above, so plan accordingly.

Expert field educators lead hikers and share details about Yellowstone’s winter ecology, evolving landscapes and connections to Indigenous people. Wildlife sightings often include bison, elk, raptors and wolves. If you would rather go it alone, you can rent snowshoes and cross-country skis ($21 and $13 per day) from Bear Den ski shops at Mammoth Hot Springs and Old Faithful. Beginners should try the Upper Terrace Loop at Mammoth, which is mostly flat and meanders among dozens of otherworldly travertine formations and burbling hot springs.