As 2024 approaches, we celebrate the remarkable career of longtime Off the Beaten Path guide Kurt Westenbarger. From the rugged Northern Rockies to the mystical Desert Southwest, Kurt has emerged as a traveler’s favorite, bringing to life the landscapes with his in-depth knowledge and captivating narrative style. His journey, beginning in Montana and extending to collaborations with National Geographic and Smithsonian, reflects a life dedicated to changing lives through wonderful encounters with wild places. Renowned for his unique blend of naturalist insights, a trained photographer’s eye, and charismatic charm, Kurt turns every trip into a meaningful, one-of-a-kind experience.
As he prepares for a well-deserved retirement, we’re looking forward to one last year chock-full of unforgettable shared adventures. Our recent conversation with Kurt – full of his genuine passion, wise anecdotes, and engaging stories – is sure to ignite your sense of adventure!
I share a sense of adventure with my clients. If a traveler asks me a question I’m unsure about, my favorite response is, “Let’s see if we can find out.” No matter how much time I spend in a place, there’s always something new to see. The natural world changes dramatically from season to season, let alone year to year. There may be ermine tracks in the snow on Mammoth Hot Springs that we decide to follow. Or we go around a corner on a trail and see something new – a lodgepole pine that’s fallen over, roots up in the air, and we get to explore the intricacies of its root structure, how it takes in nutrients, how it prevents erosion in the watershed. I always keep a sense of wonder about the world, a sense of awe, and my clients pick up on that.
Kurt in Yellowstone National Park
I began guiding in my twenties while studying as an older student at Montana State University in Bozeman. I had a work-study job in the Recreation Department, renting out gear to fellow students and occasionally leading them on day trips. The first trip I ever got paid for was whitewater rafting on Yankee Jim Canyon, on the upper Yellowstone River near Gardiner. And get this – it was also my first time in a raft.
It was a scorcher of a day, and we were lugging these heavy rafts and gear down a beast of a hill to the put-in. After we pumped the boats up, it took a good half-hour to get everything and everyone ready – lifejackets on, helmets secured, paddles in hand. When we finally hit the water, the rafts had lost quite a bit of air, and the cold river water decreased the internal pressure even more. There’s whitewater right away on that stretch of river – not ideal for a soft boat. We smacked into a reverse wave, and our raft just folded up like a taco, dumping every one of us out. It was wild and fun, and yeah, I’ve learned a lot since then!
Kurt and his wife Eve
I graduated from school in ’86 with a degree in photography. My wife at the time had gotten a job as a high school math teacher in West Yellowstone, so we moved down there and lived there for 17 years. I really dove into guiding at that point. I was a fly fishing guide and taught Elder Hostels for Western Montana College. I worked for Lone Mountain Ranch as a guide in the summertime, and as a ski instructor in the winter. And then, in 1992, I first began guiding with Off the Beaten Path in Yellowstone Park. It was perfect for honing my skills. I did a lot of step-on guiding, you know, meeting folks in the morning and planning the day’s adventures on the fly. You have to read people fast, figure out what ticks for them to make the day amazing and one-of-a-kind. And Yellowstone is huge – you’ve got endless choices but can’t do it all.
Kurt explores Bryce Canyon National Park
I’m like a guide-voyeur. I bring people to these places I’ve loved since I was a kid, places I know inside out. And I watch them fall in love, too. The best trips are the ones where my clients take a piece of the park back home in their hearts. It’s deeper than just having a fun time with good snacks and stories. It’s about leaving the park and feeling a bit of a tug, a bit of ‘I don’t want to leave here.’ That’s the perfect trip for me. And people might not expect it from a guy my size – I’m 6’5″ – but I get emotional, seeing my clients fall in love with these places.
At the age of six, I visited Yellowstone for the first time and decided I wanted to be a national park ranger. But as I got older, the politics turned me off. I went to college thinking I’d join the conservation movement directly, but when I eventually stumbled into guiding through the outdoor recreation department at MSU, it led me to appreciate the impact I could have on individuals directly. My approach shifted to influencing people one-on-one, sharing my passion for conservation and the natural world.
Guiding introduced me to ecotourism – educating people and helping them connect with nature. Ecotourism has somewhat given way to adventure tourism, but I always find ways to incorporate environmental education into my tours. These places matter – and appreciating them on an individual level gives way to larger shifts. So intellectually, I know it’s important. But it’s personal for me, too. Sometimes, it’s their first time really connecting with the natural world, and it can be quite emotional. At the end of a trip, I know I may never see these folks again, but knowing that the experience had an impact on them, that it’s something they’ll carry with them – I mean, I see people tear up at the airport, and let me tell you, it really shows just how deep and powerful these encounters with nature can be.
Let me share a special story. I was guiding an Off the Beaten Path trip in Utah, and we went rafting on the Yampa River with OARS. Four days of whitewater and backcountry camping. About two days in, one evening, I was relaxing in a lounge chair, feet in the water. Suddenly, one of the young OARS raft guides, who was in charge of rowing the gear boat, came over, pulled up a chair next to me, and handed me a beer. He opened one for himself too and said, ‘You probably don’t remember me, but you were my family’s guide in Yellowstone Park when I was a teenager. I was pretty difficult back then, didn’t really want to do anything my parents did. Honestly, I was a bit of an a**hole.”
After a bit of thought, I recalled his family and remembered struggling to engage him in the activities. I told him, “I kept trying to get you interested, but it seemed like I couldn’t reach you.” To which he replied, “Well, you did. It worked. You got through to me, and I’m here now, working as a raft guide on this river, thanks to you.”
Hearing that was incredible. Moments like that are golden – they highlight the impact of guiding. Changing lives, one trip at a time. Now, he’s continuing that legacy in his own way. He gets to carry it forward.
Old Faithful; both the Geyser and the Guide!
Yeah, you know, I’m a believer that our shared interactions leave a mark – whether it’s something about ourselves, the place we’re in, or something else entirely. We’re the sum of our experiences and interactions. So, you’re bound to make an impact on someone, even if they don’t vividly recall you or the exact details of the moment. That’s why I’ve always tried to be the best person and guide I can be, hoping to make a positive change in the world. But being a guide isn’t just about making profound impacts. A big part of it for me is simply finding joy in what I do. It’s mutual, too – sometimes, it’s important for all of us to just let go a little and enjoy the journey.
Kurt smiles his way around Bryce Canyon
Here’s another fun one, a success story that also shows how being adaptable can lead to great experiences. I was guiding a family in Yellowstone – two parents and their teenage kids, a brother and sister. At first, I had a tough time figuring out what they were interested in. We were driving around the park after a picnic lunch, and it felt like the itinerary wasn’t quite connecting with them. Then, we passed a dead elk near the Madison River by the road with a bunch of ravens around it. The teenage girl asked what it was, and her brother wondered what might have been feeding on it besides the ravens. I saw an opportunity and turned the car around. We went back, and I got out my nitrile gloves to examine the elk carcass. Despite the smell, the kids were intrigued. I showed them how to tell which animals had been feeding on it. And then the adults start piping up, “Look at where the rib was broken and then healed.”
Turns out they were orthopedists. The whole family became so excited about this that we ended up touring different animal remains around Yellowstone – I took them to every pile of bones I knew of. We were jokingly calling it the ‘Yellowstone Corpse Tour.’ We looked at bison bones, discussing their dorsal anatomy and how it creates the big hump shape on their spine. Everyone – myself included – was having a great time on this impromptu itinerary, so much so that the family opted to miss their dinner reservation that night. A few days later, I got a call from a colleague asking about this ‘Yellowstone Corpse Tour’ the family had raved about in their feedback to OBP. It was a unique experience and a testament to how tuning into what people find interesting can make for an unforgettable trip.
Kurt and Eve in the Desert Southwest
I’m really excited about reconnecting with past clients. A lot of them have signed up for my final trips, like Exploring Olympic National Park, which is already sold out for my departure. It’s the same with the Big Secret, Big Bend trip – familiar faces coming back for one last adventure with me. It’s going to be a year of goodbyes – I’ve been guiding for forty years – but also a celebration of all the great times we’ve had. Can’t wait to see those folks again and share a few more trails together.
Thank you, Kurt, for your years of service! Best of luck on your many adventures to come!
About the Author: Lauren Burgess
Lauren weaves poetry into marketing to help good people and businesses connect with their communities and elevate their impact. From Ecuadorian volcanoes to Alaskan rivers, entrepreneurship to art, she believes in taking the leap, falling in love, and embracing life’s wild, animate magic – an ethos she lives out alongside her partner of 12 years and their adopted barncat.
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