Ash Scattering in Yellowstone National Park · Personally Conducted · Beautifully Documented
Everything you need to know about this ceremony — the places, the season, and what your family will receive.
Timing: We scatter ashes at Yellowstone June through September, when the park is most alive. Bison with calves crossing the Lamar Valley at dawn. Wolves visible at dusk. Wildflowers running up every open slope. If your timeline falls outside this window, we will work hard to find a park and season that fits.
Where the earth still breathes — and the wolves still howl at dusk.
"What we love: Standing at Calcite Springs at sunset, watching light break into the gorge below in a thousand sheets of gold, knowing the wolves are moving in the valley. There is nowhere else on earth quite like this moment." — The Bonaventure Team
"Our team has lived and worked inside this park, hiking hundreds of its trails across every season. We know where the light falls at the right hour. We know the bend in the valley where the silence is complete."
The earth breathes here. Steam rises from thermal pools painted in impossible blues and sulfur oranges. The Yellowstone River carves a gorge so golden it looks lit from within. Bison cross the Lamar Valley at dawn in herds that stretch to the horizon, and at dusk, in the wide bend where the land opens up to a lingering sunset, wolves move through the tall grass.
A Yellowstone ash scattering ceremony through Bonaventure carries your loved one into the precise landscape they belonged to: the valley they described to their grandchildren, the river they fished at the edge of the world, the meadow they drove past at sunrise once and never quite got over.
Your family designates Bonaventure as your personal representative. We carry your loved one to a place that was waiting for exactly them, and we document every moment so that the ceremony comes home to you.
— This is the kind of ceremony Bonaventure performs. Not in bulk. Not on a schedule. For one family, for one person, with full reverence, every time.
Every ceremony begins with a conversation. Tell us about the person you love: their stories, their places, what made their heart race. We'll find the exact right spot.
Tell Us Their StoryOr call us at (515) 206-4845 — we answer.
Where We Carry Them in Yellowstone
Your loved one's ceremony should belong to them, not to our itinerary. If they had a specific place in mind: a trail, a geyser, a meadow from an old photograph, tell us. We will do everything within our NPS-authorized access to carry them there. The most meaningful ceremonies are the ones that begin with your story.
Where did they feel most alive in Yellowstone? The wide valley where the wolves move at dusk? The canyon where the river carves through golden stone? A waterfall hidden behind the geysers? A lakeshore so still the mountains appear twice? Tell us their story, and we will find the place that was waiting for exactly them.
Tell Us the Place →What Every Ceremony Includes
One price. Everything handled. Nothing left for your family to figure out, from the authorization to the photograph to the memorial trees.
Four Steps. We Handle Everything.
We designed this service so families carry nothing but the memory. We carry everything else: authorization, logistics, the ceremony itself, and the documentation that brings it home to you.
Most families tell us the hardest part was deciding this was what they wanted. Once that's done, we take care of everything else. There's nothing complicated here. We've done this hundreds of times.
Begin This JourneyAll-inclusive · $1,500 · No hidden fees
"Sarah-Marie and Joe Sherbon of Bonaventure could not have made this daunting task easier for my family. They provided excellent communication, answering every email and voicemail, keeping me apprised as Marie's ashes shipped from the east coast crematorium, securing the necessary authorization from the National Parks Service, and upon scattering Marie's ashes in the Lamar Valley, providing beautiful memorial photographs. I am so grateful for their service and their kindness and support during a very difficult time."
"I could not be more pleased with how beautifully and respectfully you undertake this important service. The photos alone brought tears to my eyes. Marie's spirit must be soaring to be so honored in a place of such importance to the natural world."
"My husband and I were looking for an alternative to the traditional memorial. We were extremely impressed with the outstanding service they offer. They professionally take care of every detail providing peace of mind at a very difficult time."
"It is so comforting to know that my final resting place will be in a protected National Park instead of a cemetery. Thank you so much for all you do to make that dream a reality."
Ash Scattering in Yellowstone — Your Questions Answered
Honest answers to every question, including the ones people are sometimes afraid to ask.
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Yes. Yellowstone authorizes ash scattering with proper NPS documentation and compliance. Thermal areas (hot springs, geysers, fumaroles) are strictly prohibited. All Bonaventure ceremonies take place in authorized, non-thermal terrain. Your family is the requesting party, and Bonaventure acts as your designated personal representative, managing all required documentation on your behalf.
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Yes. NPS requires a scattering request from the family or their designated representative before any ceremony occurs. Your family submits the request as the permittee, and Bonaventure acts as your designated personal representative, handling every step of the process on your behalf. Your family never touches paperwork.
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No. Thermal features are strictly protected ecological zones and are off-limits under NPS regulations. All our ceremony sites are in natural, non-thermal terrain, chosen for their beauty, privacy, and capacity to hold something sacred.
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No. Bonaventure specializes in unaccompanied scattering. Our team conducts the full ceremony on your behalf as your designated personal representative. You receive photographs, GPS coordinates, and a written tribute that bring the experience home to you. This is exactly what we were built for.
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It depends on your loved one. Every ceremony is matched to the person being honored. Wildlife lovers belong in the wide valleys where wolves and bison move. Canyon lovers belong at the overlooks where the river carves through golden stone. Water lovers belong at the lakeshore or beside a hidden waterfall. We ask about your loved one first and recommend accordingly. If your family has a specific location in mind, we do everything within our authorized access to carry them there.
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We conduct ceremonies June through September, when Yellowstone is fully accessible and at its most alive. The roads to our ceremony locations are closed by snow from October through late May. We are always transparent about timing and will never schedule a ceremony in conditions that compromise the beauty or dignity of the experience.
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Each season within our window holds something extraordinary. Early summer delivers wildflowers and newborn wildlife: bison calves in the valley, bears with cubs along the treeline. Late summer brings the golden hour light that makes Yellowstone look like a painting. September is exceptional: aspen beginning to turn, elk in rut, wolves most active. We honor each season fully and will guide you toward the timing that fits your loved one best.
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USPS is the only federally authorized carrier for cremated remains within the United States. You can request a free USPS Cremains Kit from your local post office. Place the ashes in a sealed, durable container and ship to us, or have your funeral home ship directly. Ashes are logged with a unique identifying code the moment they arrive.
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Professional ceremony photographs, GPS coordinates of the exact scattering site, a written storytelling tribute of the ceremony, and confirmation of native memorial trees planted in your loved one's name through the USDA Forest Service Plant-A-Tree Program. Everything documented and returned to your family.
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Yes, and we encourage it. We will read anything your family chooses: a poem, a scripture, a personal letter, a favorite passage. Include it with your shipment or email it to us in advance. The ceremony is shaped around your loved one, not around our routine.
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Yes, and this is something we think about with every ceremony. Yellowstone is a public National Park, open to everyone. The GPS coordinates we provide are precise. Families can hike in, stand at the exact location, and be with their loved one. Some families have told us this becomes an annual trip. The land holds them. That is the whole point.
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Our team includes former National Park Rangers, wilderness guides, credentialed soil scientists and fisheries biologists, and an 18-year editorial professional. We have lived and worked inside these parks. We know them from the trails up, not from photographs. Every ceremony is matched to the individual being honored, conducted with reverence, documented professionally, and returned to your family in full. This is not a logistics company. This is our life's work.
$1,500 — All-Inclusive. No hidden fees. No add-ons.
Tell us about your loved one: where they felt most alive, what Yellowstone meant to them. Every ceremony begins with a conversation. We'll find the exact right place, and we'll carry them there with full reverence.
Or call us directly: (515) 206-4845 — we answer.
