← All destinations · North America
United States · North America · northern hemisphere
Yellowstone is at its best for wildlife in May to June and September. Good but not prime in April and October. Crowds peak in July and bottom out in November.
| J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wildlife | 42 | 42 | 15 | 67 | 90 | 90 | 15 | 15 | 90 | 67 | 15 | 15 |
| Hiking | 14 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 41 | 67 | 90 | 90 | 67 | 43 | 13 | 14 |
| Crowds |
Swipe the table sideways for the rest of the year.
Most of the park closes to cars from early November to late April — only the road from Gardiner through to Cooke City stays open all year. In winter the interior is reachable only by snowcoach or snowmobile, mid-December to mid-March, which is why the Lamar Valley wolf-watching happens where it does
Day walks from the road, boardwalks to real trails. No guide needed, but carry bear spray.
Mid-March to late April, and all of November into mid-December — the shoulders when the roads are neither plowed nor open to oversnow travel. Very little is accessible and most services are shut.
July and August, when the park takes close to half its annual visitors
Distances inside the park are enormous and the loop roads are slow with wildlife jams. Thermal areas are genuinely dangerous off the boardwalk, which needs watching with small children.
Inside-park lodges open bookings thirteen months out, on the 5th of each month. For Lamar you do not need one: the Gardiner-to-Cooke City road is the only park road open to cars year-round. Gardiner is the year-round gateway; West Yellowstone keeps road access in winter.
Most park roads close to cars from early November to late April. Winter access is by snowcoach or snowmobile only.Jan · Feb · Mar · Apr · Nov · Dec
Kept out of the score on purpose. Averaging a rare catastrophe into a monthly number would tell you something false; the warning is the honest form.
The high trails hold snow into July. Bear spray is recommended, not required — the park’s own survey found only 13% of day hikers carrying it. Buy or hire it before you arrive.
0 is this destination’s own quietest month and 100 its busiest. The scale never compares one destination to another. Source: NPS YELL
These are affiliate links: we earn a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you. Nothing on this page is chosen by who pays — not a score, not a month, not a warning.