You can stay inside Yellowstone at nine lodges, all run by Yellowstone National Park Lodges, or at campgrounds, or in gateway towns such as Gardiner and West Yellowstone in Montana. Only three lodges are open from late October to spring. We read the National Park Service and the lodge operator on 16 October 2026 and checked no room price.
The nine lodges inside the park
Note: The Park Service lists nine in-park lodging options. All are "operated by Yellowstone National Park Lodges, an authorized official concessionaire," which handles all reservations. The page says lodging "fills quickly, so reservations should be made as early as possible." You can book online or call 307-344-7311. It also says dates and rates "may change without prior notice" (NPS lodging page, updated 26 Feb 2026, read 16 Oct 2026)
| Lodge | Where | 2026 season (operator) | 2027 season (operator) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel & Cabins | Mammoth, near the North Entrance | 24 Apr 2026 to 8 Mar 2027 | 23 Apr 2027 to 6 Mar 2028 |
| Old Faithful Snow Lodge & Cabins | Old Faithful | 24 Apr to 25 Oct, then 16 Dec to 7 Mar 2027 | 23 Apr to 31 Oct, then 16 Dec to 5 Mar 2028 |
| Old Faithful Inn | Old Faithful | 1 May to 12 Oct | 30 Apr to 11 Oct |
| Old Faithful Lodge Cabins | Old Faithful | 8 May to 4 Oct | 7 May to 3 Oct |
| Lake Yellowstone Hotel & Cabins | Lake Village | 15 May to 11 Oct | 14 May to 10 Oct |
| Lake Lodge Cabins | Lake Village | 10 Jun to 4 Oct | 10 Jun to 3 Oct |
| Canyon Lodge & Cabins | Canyon Village | 15 May to 25 Oct | 14 May to 31 Oct |
| Grant Village | Grant Village, near West Thumb | 29 May to 11 Oct | 28 May to 10 Oct |
| Roosevelt Lodge Cabins | Tower-Roosevelt, northeast | 5 Jun to 7 Sep | 4 Jun to 6 Sep |
Hours: 2026 dates are from the operator's Summer Lodges page and 2027 dates from its opening and closing dates page, both read 16 Oct 2026. The dates are "subject to change." The Park Service gives only typical seasons, for example Grant Village "late May through early October" and Roosevelt "early June through early September." Lodges open and close at 11 a.m. (operator, opening and closing dates page)
Two notes on the table. The operator's Summer Lodges page gives the Grant Village 2026 season as 29 May to 11 Oct, and its dates table shows no 2026 row for Grant Village, so use the first. Mammoth's page says the hotel "is open year round except between early March and late April." Cabins without hot tubs are not available from December to March, and Hot Tub Cabins can be booked in all seasons (operator, opening and closing dates page).
We checked no room type, room count or price. The operator's pages say "over 2,000 rooms" in total. Grant Village is described as "modern motel-type accommodations," Roosevelt as a "rustic log lodge and cabin facility," and Lake Lodge cabins have "private bathrooms." The pages we read list nothing on TVs, air conditioning or Wi-Fi, so we say nothing about them.
Which lodge for which plan
This is our read of the Park Service drive times, not a ranking. The times are averages, and the Park Service warns they can be much longer from wildlife, weather or construction (NPS directions page, updated 11 Aug 2025, read 16 Oct 2026).
| If you want | Look at | Drive times from the Park Service |
|---|---|---|
| Old Faithful and the geyser basins | The three Old Faithful lodges | Madison Junction to Old Faithful 35 to 45 minutes. Old Faithful to Grant Village 40 minutes |
| A central base | Canyon Lodge | Lake Village 35 minutes. Norris Junction 30 minutes. Tower Junction 50 to 60 minutes |
| The lake | Lake Hotel or Lake Lodge Cabins | Grant Village to Lake Village 45 minutes. East Entrance to Lake Village 60 minutes |
| The north end and winter access | Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel | North Entrance to Mammoth 15 minutes. Mammoth to Norris Junction 45 minutes |
| The northeast and Lamar side | Roosevelt Lodge Cabins | Tower Junction to Mammoth 40 minutes. Northeast Entrance to Tower Junction 60 minutes |
| The south and Grand Teton side | Grant Village | South Entrance to Grant Village 50 minutes |
The operator describes Old Faithful Inn as steps from the Old Faithful geyser, Snow Lodge as a short walk from the geyser basin, and Canyon as "centrally located in the park." We did not check how far any lodge is from a trailhead or a restaurant.
What is open in late October and in winter
By the operator's dates, on 16 October 2026 these lodges are open: Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, Old Faithful Snow Lodge and Canyon Lodge. Snow Lodge and Canyon close on 25 October. The page says "Snow Lodge closes between summer and winter seasons," so it is shut from 26 October until 16 December. Dunraven Pass, which links Canyon Village and Tower Fall, is listed as open 22 May to 12 October 2026. The NPS page says it could stay open past 12 October if conditions allow, so check locally. Most park roads close to regular cars on 31 October (NPS park roads page, updated 13 Oct 2026, read 16 Oct 2026).
Hours: Winter 2026-27: Old Faithful Snow Lodge is open 16 December 2026 to 7 March 2027, and "commercial over-snow transportation is required to the Old Faithful Snow Lodge." Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel is the one hotel "accessible by personal vehicle during the winter months." The operator lists winter transportation, activities and tours from 15 December 2026. The Park Service lists over-snow travel from Mammoth to Norris from 15 December 2026 to 7 March 2027, and the West, South and East entrance routes to 15 March 2027. All dates depend on weather (operator winter lodges page and NPS park roads page, read 16 Oct 2026)
For the over-snow season and the snowcoach to Old Faithful, see Yellowstone in winter. For month by month weather and crowds, see Best time to visit Yellowstone.
Campgrounds
The Park Service says all campsites must be reserved in advance, except Mammoth Campground. Mammoth has first-come, first-served sites from 15 October to 1 April (NPS campgrounds page, updated 25 Feb 2026, read 16 Oct 2026).
| Campground | 2026 dates | Nightly fee (NPS) | Booked through |
|---|---|---|---|
| Madison | 1 May to 17 Oct | $38 plus taxes | The lodge operator |
| Fishing Bridge RV Park | 8 May to 17 Oct | $94 plus taxes | The lodge operator |
| Bridge Bay | 15 May to 13 Sep | $38 plus taxes | The lodge operator |
| Canyon | 29 May to 19 Sep | $45 plus taxes | The lodge operator |
| Grant Village | 26 Jun to 26 Sep | $45 plus taxes | The lodge operator |
| Mammoth | Open all year | $25 | Recreation.gov |
| Tower Fall | 22 May to 27 Sep | $20 | Recreation.gov |
| Slough Creek | 15 Jun to 12 Oct | $20 | Recreation.gov |
| Lewis Lake | 15 Jun to 11 Oct | $20 | Recreation.gov |
| Indian Creek | 12 Jun to 14 Sep | $20 | Recreation.gov |
Pebble Creek is closed for flood recovery, says the Park Service. The operator's page lists the campgrounds as summer-only and gives the 2026 closing day for Madison and Fishing Bridge as 18 October at 11 a.m., which matches the Park Service's 17 October last night.
Gateway towns and entrances
Note: The Park Service names Gardiner, Montana as the town at the North Entrance and "in close proximity" to Mammoth. The park has five entrance stations. The North Entrance road to the Northeast Entrance stays open year-round, and our winter guide says it continues to Cooke City, Montana. West Yellowstone, Montana is served by flights from Salt Lake City from early May to mid-October. Bozeman to West Yellowstone buses run year-round on Highway 191, Bozeman to Gardiner buses run in winter and summer, and buses from Cody and Jackson run in summer. Year-round commercial flights serve Cody and Jackson in Wyoming, Bozeman and Billings in Montana, and Idaho Falls in Idaho (NPS lodging, park roads and directions pages, read 16 Oct 2026)
Hours: 2026 regular-vehicle dates by entrance. North to Northeast: open year-round. West: 17 April to 31 October. East: 1 May to 31 October. South: 8 May to 31 October. All dates are projected and depend on weather (NPS park roads page, updated 13 Oct 2026, read 16 Oct 2026)
The Park Service does not give distances from each town to its entrance, and we did not check hotels, prices or open seasons in any gateway town. If you sleep outside the park, the entrance you use sets your drive time to the sights, so match the town to the entrance in the table above.
What we checked and what can change
Read on 16 October 2026: the National Park Service's Yellowstone lodging page (updated 26 February 2026), campgrounds page (updated 25 February 2026), park roads page (updated 13 October 2026) and directions page (updated 11 August 2025), and Yellowstone National Park Lodges' Summer Lodges page, winter lodges page and opening and closing dates page.
Not confirmed: every room price and room count, amenities such as air conditioning and Wi-Fi, the distance from each gateway town to its entrance, any hotel in Gardiner, West Yellowstone, Cooke City, Cody or Jackson, the operator's cancellation policy, and 2027 road dates. The operator's pages disagree in small ways, as noted above. Dates change with weather and construction, so check the operator and the Park Service before you book. We did not visit Yellowstone for this page.
