About Trail Guides Yellowstone

The guided trips featured on our website represent some of the best of what Yellowstone has to offer! We hope the images, information and descriptions you find here will provide you with the inspiration needed to plan your perfect Yellowstone backcountry vacation. At Trail Guides Yellowstone want our guests to have fun, enjoy the amazing scenery and learn a little, or a lot, about Yellowstone's incredible history, wildlife and geology. Our trips are geared toward every skill level and interest and our knowledgeable guides will take you on a memorable journey through this one-of-a-kind ecosystem. Trail Guides Yellowstone is a small group of dedicated outdoor enthusiasts who are inspired by Yellowstone's incredible beauty, diversity and colorful history.

Yellowstone is a backpackers paradise and its more than 1,000 miles of hiking trails meander through some of the most pristine wilderness in the contiguous United States. Yellowstone National Park is located in the heart of what is referred to as the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), an area that stretches across three states; Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, and covers approximately 22 million acres. It's a complex network of federal, state, public and private lands with Yellowstone at its very core. It's an ongoing story of preservation, recovery, and discovery that is always teaching us something new, and we are excited to have the opportunity to share a small part of Yellowstone with our guests.

Brian was raised in a small town in Upstate New York where he spent much of his free time hiking and backpacking in the Adirondacks and the Catskill mountains of New York, as well as the White Mountains of New Hampshire. He spent many summers exploring these rugged mountains and has summited all forty six peaks (46ers) over 4,000 ft. within the Adirondack Park. The Adirondack Park is a sprawling 6 million acre preserve that is one of the largest in the contiguous United States, and while it's not considered a National Park, it is larger than Yellowstone, Glacier, the Grand Canyon, Yosemite and the Great Smokies combined. During winter months in New York he and his climbing friends would make the long drive into the heart of the Adirondacks, ice climbing and camping in the "high peaks" region. They would endure the frigid weather and deep snows that blanket the mountains, hoping for a chance to summit a remote peak or two during their visits. 

After moving to Bozeman, Montana in the fall of 2002, hiking and backpacking in Yellowstone became one of his favorite activity. With the help of a good friend, he travelled throughout Yellowstone's backcountry, photographing and documenting the many remote locations he now shares with others. It's a personal journey that spans nearly two decades and it's a place where he feels right at home. Brian has always expressed a keen interest in nature and a passion for the outdoors and his sense of adventure and curiosity continues to this day as a backcountry guide in Yellowstone. 

Brian is also an avid photographer and many of the images on the website were taken during his guided trips in Yellowstone. On every trek he carries a 35mm camera and takes hundreds of photos that he readily shares with guests at the end of each adventure. It's a lifelong passion that fits perfectly into his day-to-day life as a guide.

Brian's favorite places to visit in Yellowstone

• Short day hikes: Mount Washburn north of Canyon (it's busy but it has one of the best views in the park), Storm Point along the northern shores of Yellowstone Lake for the dramatic sunsets, and Purple Mountain near Madison Junction for the view south across Yellowstone toward the jagged peaks of the Grand Tetons. 
• Long day hikes: Pelican Cone via the Pelican Valley for its breathtaking views, Fawn Pass along the park's western edge for the solitude, and Pebble Creek in the rugged northeast corner of Yellowstone.
• Backpacking trips: The Thorofare Trail for its incredible grandeur and its remote wilderness experience, and the Slough Creek Trail for its spectacular beauty.