Best Time to Visit Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone seasons at a glance

Yellowstone sits mostly above 6,000 feet, so its seasons do not follow the calendar. Snow can fall in any month, and most park roads are closed to regular cars for about five months a year.

The park is open 24 hours a day, all year, but what you can reach changes a lot by season. Use this table to match your dates to what you want to do.

Yellowstone month by month

Temperatures below are the park-wide monthly averages NPS publishes on its weather page. Old Faithful, Canyon and Yellowstone Lake sit higher than the northern valleys and often run colder, especially at night.

Crowd notes use NPS visitation counts for 2026: about 570,000 recreation visits in May, 903,000 in June, 959,000 in July and 856,000 in August. The park logged about 4.76 million visits in all of 2025.

Summer (June to August)

Summer is the easiest time to see Yellowstone. Every road, visitor center, lodge and campground is open, and daytime highs average about 70°F to 80°F. NPS calls July and August the peak months, and July 2026 drew close to a million visits.

Expect lines at entrance stations, full parking lots at Old Faithful, Grand Prismatic Spring and the Canyon overlooks by late morning, and slow traffic behind wildlife jams. Afternoon thunderstorms are common, and nights can drop near freezing at higher elevations.

July and August are the bison rut, when large herds gather in Hayden and Lamar Valleys. Wildlife is most active early and late in the day, so plan drives for dawn and dusk and visit geyser basins in the middle of the day.

Fall (September to early November)

September is the best month for many visitors. All roads stay open, summer crowds thin once school starts, and highs average in the upper 60s°F with frosty mornings. The elk rut begins in September, and bull elk bugle around Mammoth Hot Springs, where NPS warns they become especially dangerous. Stay at least 25 yards away.

October is quieter still, but it is a gamble. Snow can close roads temporarily, many in-park lodges, restaurants and campgrounds close between late September and mid-October, and the Beartooth Highway outside the Northeast Entrance closes for the season around mid-October.

Most park roads close to regular vehicles in early November so crews can prepare for winter. NPS posts the projected closing dates on its Park Roads page, so check there before booking a late-season trip.

Spring (mid-April to May)

NPS calls spring the quietest time to visit. Roads reopen in stages: in 2026 the first roads (West Entrance to Old Faithful and Canyon, and Mammoth to Norris) opened April 17, the South Entrance opened May 8, and Dunraven Pass between Canyon and Tower opened May 22, which put every park road in service before Memorial Day.

Spring is the best season for newborn animals. Red-coated bison calves appear first, followed by elk calves and then bears with cubs. Bears are often seen along roadsides as they feed after hibernation.

The tradeoff is weather and services. April and early May still feel like winter, with highs around 50°F and snowstorms common; the 2026 opening was delayed several hours by a storm that dropped up to a foot of wet snow. Services are limited until mid-May, and many campgrounds do not open until late May or June.

Winter (mid-December to mid-March)

Winter is a different trip, not a smaller version of summer. Once enough snow builds up, usually by mid-December, most park roads open only to oversnow travel until mid-March. You can enter on a commercially guided snowmobile or snowcoach tour, or through the Non-Commercially Guided Snowmobile Access Program. The 2026-2027 lottery for that program ran August 1 to 31, 2026, and leftover permits go on sale first come, first served on Recreation.gov starting October 1.

The one road open to cars all year runs from the North Entrance at Gardiner through Mammoth Hot Springs and Tower Junction to Cooke City, outside the Northeast Entrance. It passes through Lamar Valley, one of the best places in the park to look for wolves in winter. Daytime temperatures typically run from zero to 20°F, and subzero nights are common.

Only two in-park lodges operate in winter: Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel and Old Faithful Snow Lodge, which is reached by snowcoach or snowmobile. For winter 2026-2027 the park lists Old Faithful Snow Lodge as open December 16 to March 5. Mammoth Campground stays open all year.

Avoid the two shoulder gaps: early November to mid-December, and mid-March to mid-April. During these weeks most roads are closed to both cars and snowmobiles while crews plow or wait for snow.

Wildlife timing through the year

Keep at least 100 yards from bears and wolves and 25 yards from all other animals, including bison, in every season.

• April to June: bison calves, then elk calves; bears active near roads after leaving their dens.
• June to August: early mornings in Hayden and Lamar Valleys for bears and wolves.
• July and August: bison rut, with bellowing bulls and big herds in Hayden and Lamar Valleys.
• September and October: elk rut around Mammoth Hot Springs; bears become more visible as they feed before winter.
• December to March: wolves and bison in Lamar Valley along the year-round road.

Planning notes for 2026 and 2027

Yellowstone does not require a timed-entry or vehicle reservation. You need an entrance pass: $35 per private vehicle for 7 days, $30 per motorcycle or snowmobile, $20 per person on foot or bike, or $70 for a Yellowstone annual pass. Non-U.S. residents age 16 and older pay an extra $100 per person unless they hold an annual or America the Beautiful pass.

In-park lodging and campgrounds do need advance planning. Campground reservations open on a rolling basis six months before your stay, and summer dates fill early. Bridge and paving projects can cause traffic delays, so check the Park Roads page before you drive.

Biscuit Basin, between Old Faithful and Midway Geyser Basin, remains closed after its 2024 hydrothermal explosion. NPS has not announced 2027 road opening dates yet; the park typically posts projected dates on its Park Roads page ahead of spring.

More Yellowstone guides

• How Many Days Do You Need in Yellowstone?How many days to spend in Yellowstone, with 1-, 2-, 3- and 4-day itineraries by area, NPS drive times around the Grand Loop and where to base yourself.