In the summer of 2021, following the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, my family and I decided that after being cooped up inside for over a year, it was time to get back out into the world and reconnect with nature by visiting some of our country’s most beloved sights.
After a multiday drive from our home in Eastern Iowa and stops at Mount Rushmore and The World’s Only Corn Palace, we finally arrived at Yellowstone National Park. There, we experienced powerful geysers and steaming hot springs, countless stunning waterfalls (our family’s favorite vista) and a local waitress decrying “tourons” who provoke the park’s hulking bison. That trip taught me about how breathtaking an experience visiting a national park can be, and visiting the country’s remaining 62 is a goal on my proverbial bucket list.
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It seems many of my compatriots agree, as the U.S. National Park Service reported a record number of visitors in 2024, with over 330 million visits across national parks, monuments and recreation areas. Even as national parks face funding and staffing shortages, it’s clear that many tourists around the country (and around the world) can’t get enough of the natural beauty offered by these lands.
So, it’s no wonder that adding a national park experience to your next meeting or incentive can potentially boost registration numbers and generate real excitement. Here’s how business and incentive groups can experience the majesty of some of the West’s best national parks, and how planners can take advantage of the parks’ nearby infrastructure to create meaningful meetings and lifelong memories for attendees.
Glacier National Park
Western Montana’s Glacier Country is the regional DMO that represents eight counties in Western Montana, including the 1,583 square miles of Glacier National Park. Lucy Guthrie Beighle is director of communications for the organization and recommends to meeting planners a variety of teambuilding activities and accommodations.
One of the best ways to experience everything Glacier National Park has to offer is by booking a seat on one of the park’s iconic red buses that provide guided tours from seasoned park veterans. These “Red Bus Tours” are one of the oldest touring vehicle fleets in the world, first introduced in the 1930s and each able to seat up to 16 passengers.
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Another option for groups looking to explore the park is Sun Tours, a local Blackfeet tribal operation that provides tours of the park from a Native American perspective. The company offers half- or full-day tour options that include information on the Blackfeet tribe’s culture, local flora and fauna as well as stops at popular photo opportunities including Rising Sun, Wild Goose Island, Jackson Glacier Overlook, Big Bend, the Weeping Wall, Logan Pass and more.
Both of these tours offer trips to Sun Road, a scenic 50-mile stretch within Glacier National Park that Beighle considers to be an essential viewing experience while visiting the area.
“Going over the Sun Road is an unforgettable experience,” she said. “You really feel like you are on top of the world and you’re just in the most spectacular scenery. There’s nothing else like it.”
For planners looking for outdoor teambuilding activities for their attendees, Glacier Guides and Montana Raft have a variety of offerings including whitewater rafting, scenic raft floats, day hikes, backpacking trips, fly fishing and guided bike tours. For groups wanting a true mountainous activity, a company called Swan Mountain Outfitters offers horseback riding tours of the park, including stops at Lake McDonald and Many Glacier.
Glacier National Park has a number of historic lodges and other accommodations for groups looking to host their meeting in the area. First built in 1913 to house Great Northern Railway workers, the Glacier Park Lodge offers 162 guest rooms, onsite dining and 3,520 square feet of event space able to accommodate up to 100 attendees.
There are also a number of hotels in the areas surrounding the park that are able to accommodate larger meetings and events, such as the Grouse Mountain Lodge in Whitefish that offers 145 guest rooms, a driving range, outdoor hot tub, indoor pool, a fitness center and 11,000 square feet of event space that can accommodate up to 200 attendees. The Lodge at Whitefish Lake is another option for groups, with the four-star hotel offering 120 guest rooms and 8,000 square feet of meeting space.
“I’m a firm believer in taking inspiration from your environment,” Beighle added. “And to me, there’s nothing more inspirational than the spectacular scenery that we offer at Glacier National Park. I think it’s one of the most spectacular parks in the U.S. You will not be disappointed.”
Yosemite National Park
Located within California’s Sierra Nevada mountains and known for its giant sequoia trees, towering waterfalls and granite cliffs, Yosemite National Park offers groups the opportunity to both explore and experience the iconic national park while also providing access to some of the area’s best accommodations for meetings and events.
Yosemite is located within Tuolomne County, California, which encompasses Yosemite along with Gold Country and High Sierra, serving as the most direct route to the park from the San Francisco Bay and Northern California area. Tulomne County offers a variety of venues and accommodations for groups, including the newly opened Chicken Ranch Casino Resort, which offers 197 guest rooms and suites, nine restaurants and bars, a resort-style pool and over 12,000 square feet of meeting space. The resort’s largest space is the Brahma Ballroom, able to accommodate up to 1,253 attendees in its 8,670 square feet of space.
Another notable property in the Yosemite area is the Firefall Ranch at Yosemite, which offers one- and two-bedroom cottages along with group catering options and a 2,800-square-foot event center. The property also has a variety of teambuilding and recreation activities including miniature golf, horseback riding and guided excursions.
Tuolomne also features two historic state parks, the Columbia State Historic Park and Railtown 1897, each of which allows groups to step back in to experience California’s gold rush era. Columbia State Historic Park offers a variety of activities such as candle dipping, stagecoach rides and performances at the historic Fallon Theatre. Railtown 1897 also offers activities such as steam train rides and guided tours of the town’s roundhouse. Railtown has also been the site of more than 200 films, television productions and commercials, including the western classic High Noon, Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven and Back to the Future Part III.
And no trip to Yosemite is complete without a visit to the national park’s Hetch Hetchy valley, where groups can see incredible waterfalls and learn about the history of the reservoir and water system. Groups can also venture to the Tuolumne Grove of Giant Sequoias, which houses about two dozen mature giant sequoias.
Yellowstone National Park
First established in 1872 and recognized as the world’s first national park, Yellowstone National Park offers 2.2 million acres for meeting groups to explore along with a wide array of activity and accommodation options.
Todd Walton is the director of marketing and sales for Yellowstone National Park Lodges, a company that operates nine lodges within the park along with services such as guided land, water and horseback tours. He says groups should consider holding their meeting within a national park like Yellowstone due to the ability to decompress and experience some of the park’s immersive offerings.
“National parks can offer such a unique break from typical meetings,” Walton explained. “We’re invested in creating that platform for people to come and have that unique experience and get outside the typical conference room.”
One of the properties Walton’s group operates is the Old Faithful Snow Lodge, a 134-room property that features a full-service restaurant and dining room along with a 1,190-square-foot event space able to accommodate up to 80 attendees. The lodge is also located just under half a mile away from the iconic Old Faithful geyser, which treats guests to an eruption approximately every 44 minutes to two hours.
Another property meeting planners can take advantage of is the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, which offers 198 guest rooms along with two bars, a quick-service restaurant, dining room and 9,700 square feet of space. The hotel’s largest venue is the combined Canary & Minerva Conference Rooms able to accommodate up to 150 attendees in its 2,146 square feet of total space.
During the months of January, February, September, October and November, planners can also utilize the Mammoth Hot Springs Recreation Center, which is located directly behind the hotel, offers 7,138 square feet of space and can accommodate up to 400 attendees.
But the real stars of Yellowstone are the native wildlife that roam the park, with Walton noting there are multiple ways groups can experience some of the animal inhabitants. Yellowstone National Park Lodges offers a variety of general park tours and wildlife-specific tours, with the two most popular being the Wake Up to Wildlife Tour and the Evening Wildlife Encounters tour.
In the Wake Up to Wildlife tour, groups will depart from the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel and head to Yellowstone’s Lamar Valley in search of megafauna grazing or hunting on the open hillsides. According to Walton, the early hour maximizes the likelihood of encountering wildlife and allows groups to plan business meetings or other teambuilding activities for the rest of the day. The Evening Wildlife Exploration tour is a four-hour expedition that takes attendees to Yellowstone’s Northern Range in search of animals and also allows for other activities or meetings to take place in the hours leading up to the tour’s departure.
Yellowstone National Park Lodges also offers a “Yellowstone In A Day” guided tour that allows visitors to experience some of the major highlights of the park in only one day. Stops on the tour are limited but include fan-favorites such as Old Faithful, Lake Yellowstone Hotel, the Upper and Lower Falls of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Canyon Village, Mammoth Hot Springs, Fountain Paint Pots and other spots as time permits.
