Dream Lake Sunrise on Rocky Mountain National Park Tour

About Yellow Wood Guiding | Private Tours

Yellow Wood Guiding offers private Estes Park Guided Tours of Rocky Mountain National Park in Estes Park, Colorado.


Yellow Wood Guiding is my living dream, Owner and Your Guide: Jared Gricoskie, Colorado Resident since 2005, Estes Park Resident since 2009. I was inspired at a young age by great wildlife programs like Marty Stouffer's Wild America, and a large backyard to explore in central Pennsylvania. I bought my first SLR camera at 16 and started learning photography shooting slide film. I have been a professional naturalist and photographer since graduating from Penn State University with a degree in Environmental Interpretation in 2002. 

After working as a naturalist across the country I settled in the Colorado Front Range to place my guiding business in a location that I love, Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park. I started offering tours in 2007, building the business part time, and on July 7th, 2009 Yellow Wood Guiding became my full time career leading year round tours in the Estes Park region.

In 2024, Yellow Wood Guiding is in its 18th year offering guided tours in the park year round.

I strive to run Yellow Wood Guiding in tune with my ideals so the business is entirely paperless to reduce waste. I'm proud that Yellow Wood Guiding is the first guide in Rocky to use an Electric Plug In Hybrid SUV and plan to go fully Electric in the future, my home office uses LED lights and is partially solar heated. During a tour protecting the park, trails, nature, and wildlife is our goal, and to share this amazing National Park with everyone possible.

The business name is derived from Robert Frost's The Road Less Traveled in honor of all those that go out to explore the world, and bring it to the people. What better way to explore than to take the road less traveled? Or in my case sometimes taking the road very often traveled but showing folks the things they would otherwise miss along the way.

All photos (except for the Client Photo Gallery) on this website are my own, I also designed this website, and logo. I also recorded more than half of the songs played in the car while on tour, playing covers and original tracks with the sounds of Rocky Mountain National Park in the background.

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Estes Park Wildlife Tour Bull Elk Shadow



Yellow Wood Guiding is Authorized by the National Park Service, Department of Interior to conduct services in Rocky Mountain National Park. Fees for service are strictly for educational nature experiences and photography instruction, not transportation.


YWGuiding.com Est. 2007