What's one of the most beautiful winter landscapes in the United States that few people know is open to the public? The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind. Specifically, we are talking about the winds coursing through Yellowstone National Park, and the reason the public tends to overlook this pristine, snow-covered landscape is that in winter the roads aren't open.

An open park with closed roads sounds like a conundrum, but the answer is simple. While the roads across Yellowstone's 2.2 million acres are closed to normal vehicular traffic, they are open to specific winter transports such as snowmobiles for individuals and snow coaches for groups.

Let's say that after a few days of skiing at Jackson Hole, Wyo., winter visitors feel like doing something different. They can drive their rental cars north about two hours to a place called Flagg Ranch, where they park their car and board a snow coach.

The snow coach is a fascinating vehicle with wide flat skis where the front wheels should be and an extensive tread system like a tank on the back. This is not a small vehicle as it seats one driver and up to 10 passengers. Xanterra, the private company that runs Yellowstone's food and lodging services, owns a bunch of these things, with the most modern vehicle in the fleet made in Canada back in 1978.

The snow coach is relatively comfortable and eats up the snow-packed byways like a NASCAR racer at Daytona. It just doesn't motor as quickly — fast for a snow coach is downhill at 38 mph. It's possible to travel for miles through this serene environment without seeing anything else on the roadways but other snow coaches or snowmobiles.

When my wife and I arrived at Old Faithful Snow Lodge and Cabins at the site of the Old Faithful geyser, we were surprised to find the place buzzing with other visitors who had learned the secret of coming to Yellowstone during the winter. Indeed, most of them were on tours, just like in the summer.

Bjorn, our snow coach driver and tour guide from Flagstaff, Ariz., put the winter phenomenon in perspective as we were standing on a trail, serious snow falling about us, looking at a picture-postcard beautiful waterfall.

"There are seven of us here (driver, my wife and I and the four other tourists from our snow coach) and no one else," he drawled. "In July last year, 900,000 visitors came to Yellowstone."

And just because it's winter doesn't mean one sits around counting snowflakes. The lodge offers a wide range of outdoor activity programs that include snowmobiling tours, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and full range of tour programs. And that doesn't even count watching Old Faithful erupt, ranger lectures at night and, for the hungry and thirsty, a grill, restaurant and bar.

On our first night my wife and I had an early dinner, then walked across the grounds to a yurt where a park ranger was giving a lecture about identifying wild animal tracks in the snow. Old Faithful was scheduled to gush about 8:15 p.m., the same time the lecture ended, but the lecture ran long. My wife and I intended to walk straight back to our cabin, but at the last minute we decided to have a look at the geyser, just in case. Good luck was with us. With a clear, ebony sky behind, Old Faithful launched a curtain of silver steam high in to the air — a tremendous show seen by just four people, my wife and I and two other visitors who had had the same idea. It turned out to be a fortuitous moment for us because we didn't get a chance to see the geyser erupt again.

The next day we opted for the all-day Yellowstone tour, which left at 8:30 a.m. and didn't return until 6 p.m. Seven of us climbed into the back of our snow coach for a tour that circumnavigated the heart of the park. In the summer, hordes of tourists in automobiles do the same thing, creating massive traffic jams and making every site and overlook in the park a jamboree of picture-takers. In the winter, the only other folks on the road are a few other snow coaches carrying tourists and strings of snowmobiles carrying more adventurous souls.

My wife and I hadn't been to Yellowstone in decades, so the tour was a real treat for us, but we were told that even for those who might have visited the park in the summer, it was a far different world in the winter. As we looked down at Yellowstone's great waterfalls, such as the Upper Falls and Lower Falls on the Yellowstone River, what we saw was a small section of the torrent as the surrounding environment had been frozen. At the base of the Upper Falls, the landscape seems to disappear under a vast sheet of whiteness. The river stands still, frozen close to the falls, and the strong currents at the lower depths still run mightily but are hidden by the ice above.

Every overlook, geyser, mud pot, hot spring, lake beach, waterfall and river anyone would want to visit is also open in the winter. All the famed animals (other than the hibernating bears) still roam the park, and they are much easier to spot against at a stunningly white winter backdrop. We spotted a coyote, a half-dozen trumpeter swans and bison that appeared everywhere, even in a small herd that partially blocked our road.

A winter day in Yellowstone is like a winter day nowhere else. Anthony from Oregon, our guide for the Yellowstone tour, shared Bjorn's feelings when it came to summing up the experience: "Winter in Yellowstone is a magical time of peace and solitude," he said.

IF YOU GO

Old Faithful Snow Lodge and Cabins near the Old Faithful Geyser: www.yellowstonenationalparklodges.com

Winter tours: Arrange this in advance because a snow coach has to pick you up at the perimeter of the park: www.yellowstonewinterguide.com

All photos courtesy of Steve Bergsman.

Steve Bergsman is a freelance travel writer. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.