Before You GoYellowstone National Park
Best Time to Visit Yellowstone (Month by Month)
Late May, June and September give open roads and fewer people than July. Month table, 2026 road dates, wildlife timing, winter and lodge dates.
Yellowstone National Park
A huge park with no public transit inside. In winter most roads close to cars, and snowcoach and snowmobile tours take visitors in.
The National Park Service lists nine places to sleep inside Yellowstone. One company, Yellowstone National Park Lodges, runs all of them, and the Park Service says rooms fill quickly. The phone number is 307-344-7311. Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel is open from 24 April 2026 to 8 March 2027, and it is the one park hotel you can drive to in winter. Outside the park, the Park Service names Gardiner and West Yellowstone in Montana.
Most park roads are open to cars from 8 May to 31 October in 2026. Late May, June and September have open roads and fewer people than July, the busiest month. Bison calves are born in late April and May, and bull elk fight for cows in September and October. Stay at least 25 yards from bison and elk.
In winter you can drive only one road, from Gardiner through the park to Cooke City. The 2026-27 over-snow season runs from 15 December 2026 to about 15 March 2027. The lodges' snowcoach from Mammoth to Old Faithful costs $179.45 one way for an adult. Their shuttle from Bozeman airport to Mammoth costs $110.81, and you need a lodge or tour booking with them. You cannot ride the shuttle and the snowcoach on the same day, so you stay one night at Mammoth first.
