If I cruise in Alaska in September will I see a lot of snow?

[Annge]

Yeah it looks like cruise is out. I'm looking at Yellowstone, Telluride, and Niagara Falls right now. Probably February 2020 time frame. Boston is a great city, but I want something more in nature.

Well, one June I walked along Yellowstone Canyon to either the Upper or Lower Falls and walked through snow deep enough to make a small snow figure. It was a very shaded trail.

 

[Pens Fan]

Unless you really want to go skiing, while Yellowstone and Telluride will be lovely they will also be very, very cold in February. You can easily see lots of snow in May / June in the higher elevations and you will be much warmer. I remember one year we drove from Red Lodge, MT down to Yellowstone (one of the most incredible drives in the US in my humble opinion) in June. They had just opened the road a week or so earlier and and at times we were driving through a tunnel of snow. It was so cool!

As far as Telluride, we love Ouray, CO and have taken several jeep tours between Ouray and Telluride. That's where we were when I mentioned seeing snow in my earlier post - and that was in July.

Have fun whatever you do. You're talking my favorite kind of vacations!! (and yet here I am on a cruise board ).

One other thing, if you're thinking Colorado, check out Rocky Mt. National Park (Estes Park is great little town to stay in) and also consider Crested Butte a little further south (probably my favorite CO mountain town).

 

[Dug720]

One other thing, if you're thinking Colorado, check out Rocky Mt. National Park (Estes Park is great little town to stay in) and also consider Crested Butte a little further south (probably my favorite CO mountain town).

I LOVE Estes Park!! I worked at the YMCA of the Rockies for 2 summers during college.

And even at the end of May/beginning of June we had some nights where it snowed. Not really enough to play in, but it snowed!

 

[southerngirl528]

I'm looking at Yellowstone, Telluride, and Niagara Falls right now

I vote for either Yellowstone or Telluride, but Yellowstone in February could be mighty iffy. At least Telluride is all set up for snow. Much of Yellowstone closes down in winter I think. It's been a number of years since I've been there, but that's my recollection.

 

[cruiser21]

I don't know too many paces that have snow in September. Maybe you need to go on an Antarctic cruise.

 

[Geomom]

If you're thinking Yellowstone in Winter, be sure to check what is open. Most park roads are closed from November to early May. You can drive into the Mammoth hot springs area in Winter (from the Northeast Entrance in Gardiner, MT), and then need to go by guided snowmobile/snowcoach to see Old Faithful and the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. I agree that it will be COLD in February there!

I've been to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon in early January when I was in college. We hiked through a foot of snow at the top of the canyon. Due to the high elevations (6,000-8,000 ft) in Northern Arizona/northern New Mexico--you can see plenty of snow there in winter! The North Rim of the Grand Canyon is closed in the winter.

That is great that you want to take your friend to see snow! We live in Massachusetts and just want to get away from the snow every winter! (I'll admit the first real snow is pretty...and then after shoveling it over the next 3 storms, I've had enough!)

 

[bumbershoot]

Took the second to last cruise of the season and had days of drizzle and days of 80 degrees. I’m sure there were mountaintops with snow, but that’s not helpful.

The inside passage of Alaska isn't really that far north. You are basically just off of the coast of British Columbia.

Yep.

The picnic tables are frequently still buried in snow on the 4th of July.

Hmm. I’ve mainly been to Rainier in July and it’s usually very hot.

 

[MillauFr]

Hmm. I’ve mainly been to Rainier in July and it’s usually very hot.

It can be 80+ degrees up on those glaciers in the Summer. That is why the climbers have to start for the summit at midnight. The snow fields in the afternoon are a sloppy mess.

 

[ivanp91]

Took the second to last cruise of the season and had days of drizzle and days of 80 degrees. I’m sure there were mountaintops with snow, but that’s not helpful.

I was on the last cruise of the season last year and, as would be expected, the weather was practically the same.

There WAS snow on the peaks heading into Endicott Arm, but otherwise it was just wet and at times cold.

 

[matthew517]

Not in southern Alaska only on the high mountains and glaciers