Meet the Wild at First Light
Stillhour Wildlife Tours
Small-group wildlife photo tours in Grand Teton and Yellowstone. Four guests to a guide, parked in the right place before the light comes up.
4.9 from 412 reviews. Guiding since 2012.
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4.9 from 412 reviews
Guiding the valley since 2012
Move to turn
Field notes, since 2012
Wildlife photography is less about taking pictures and more about learning when not to move. We park in the right place before the light comes up, and we wait with you.
Signe Okerlund, founder and lead guide
Signe grew up in Kelly, spent six winters counting elk and moose for a wildlife survey crew, and started taking guests out in 2012 in a borrowed van with two loaner lenses. Jory Tallman, our winter lead, has guided the valley for nine seasons and knows every willow patch on the Gros Ventre.
Four guests to a guide, never more
Every guide Wilderness First Responder certified
Permitted to guide in Grand Teton and Yellowstone
Five ways into the valley.
Every tour comes with a guide who knows the valley, a loaner 150–600mm lens at your seat, and park entrance fees covered. Four guests to a guide, never more.
Most booked
Sunrise wildlife photo tour
Grand Teton, about 5 hours, daily year-round
Pickup an hour before sunrise, back by late morning. Moose, elk, bison and pronghorn most mornings, with hot coffee and breakfast burritos in the van.
$295
a person
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Grand Teton and the Gros Ventre, about 9 hours
Full-day photo safari
Sunrise to early afternoon with lunch in the field, then the evening light on the way home in summer. Daily, May through October.
$545
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Lamar Valley, two days and one night
Yellowstone wolf trip
Lamar Valley at dawn both days, a night in Gardiner and every meal. Departs Mondays and Thursdays, May through October.
$1,650
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The refuge and Miller Butte, about 4 hours
Winter wildlife tour
Bighorn sheep on the butte, elk on the refuge and moose bedded in the snow. Hand warmers on us. December through March.
$265
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Private tours and what comes with every seat
The vehicle and the guide to yourselves, for up to four people. Bring any camera, even a phone. We lend the long glass.
Private half day, up to 4 people
$1,050
Private full day, up to 4 people
$1,850
Loaner 150–600mm lens, beanbag and spotting scope
Included
Park entrance fees
Included
From the first text to the field note.
Sunrise moves every day, so the plan does too. Kids 10 and up are welcome on every tour.
01
Book your seat
Online or by call or text. Pick the tour, the day and how many are coming.
02
We text your pickup
The evening before, because sunrise moves. Pickup at your hotel in Jackson or Teton Village.
03
Into the field
Your guide parks where the animals will be. We keep 100 yards from bears and wolves, 25 from everything else.
04
Your field note
That evening: every animal you saw, where, and a few tips on your best frames.
What the valley is doing.
Tours run every day of the year. What you will see depends on the month, so here is the valley as we know it.
If a sunrise tour sees no moose, elk, bison or pronghorn at all, your next sunrise tour is half price.
Jan – Mar
Bighorn sheep and the elk refuge
Rams on Miller Butte, thousands of elk on the refuge, moose bedded in the snow.
Apr – May
Bears and the first calves
Bears out of their dens, the first bison calves, and the inner park road opens.
Jun – Aug
Moose calves in the willows
Pronghorn fawns in the sage and sunrise before 6am. Our busiest months.
Sep – Oct
The elk rut
Bulls bugle at dawn and the aspens turn gold. Book early.
Nov – Dec
Moose along the Gros Ventre
The first big storms and the quietest month in the park.
Where we park before sunrise
Oxbow Bend
Mormon Row
Antelope Flats
Schwabacher Landing
the Gros Ventre
Moose-Wilson Road
Blacktail Ponds
Kelly Warm Spring
Lamar Valley
Hayden Valley
Fifteen seasons of early mornings.
15
seasons guiding the valley
7,400
guests out at first light
4
guests to a guide, never more
4.9
stars from 412 reviews
Heard on the drive home.
4.9 from 412 reviews
“Signe had us parked in the dark twenty minutes before anything happened. Then a bull moose walked out of the willows into the pink light. That frame is on my wall.”
Wendell, visiting from Omaha
“I came with a phone and left saving up for a lens. Jory taught my twelve-year-old more about light in five hours than I ever have.”
Colette, Minneapolis
“We saw a wolf at 400 yards and our guide spent ten minutes making sure all four of us had it in the scope. Patient, funny, never in a hurry.”
Mara and Jun, Sacramento
Tomorrow morning
The good light lasts about twenty minutes.
We plan the whole morning around it: pickup an hour before sunrise, coffee in the van, and parked and waiting when it comes.
Book a sunrise tour
Call or text
Before the alarm goes off.
Anything else? Call or text the office at (307) 555-0163. A guide answers, not a call center.
Call or text us
Do I need a big camera?
No. Bring any camera, even a phone. Every seat comes with a loaner 150–600mm lens, a beanbag for the window and a spotting scope, and your guide will set it up with you.
How close will we get to the animals?
As close as the park allows and no closer: 100 yards from bears and wolves, 25 yards from everything else. The long lens does the rest, and the animals stay relaxed, which is when the pictures happen.
What if we don't see anything?
Nobody honest can promise a grizzly. If a sunrise tour sees no moose, elk, bison or pronghorn at all, your next sunrise tour is half price.
What should I wear?
Layers, a warm hat and gloves, even in July: mornings in the valley start cold. In winter we lend insulated boots and hand warmers. The vehicles have heated seats and roof hatches.
Can I bring my kids?
Kids 10 and up are welcome on every tour. Plenty of our best spotters are twelve.
What if I need to cancel?
Full refund up to 72 hours before. If the roads close for weather, we move your tour or refund it, your choice.
Reservations
Save your seat in the van.
Pick a tour, a day and how many are coming. We text you to confirm within the hour while the office is open, and again the evening before with your pickup time.
Call or text (307) 555-0163
hello@stillhourwildlife.com
185 W Deloney Ave, Suite 3, Jackson, WY 83001
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