What's on in Yellowstone National Park (Yellowstone), United States through the year

Busy — Winter / Christmas break in United States, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Oversnow winter season (15 Dec – 15 Mar (usually)), Winter wolves in the Lamar (20 Dec – 10 Mar (usually))

Quiet — one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Oversnow winter season (15 Dec – 15 Mar (usually)), Winter wolves in the Lamar (20 Dec – 10 Mar (usually))

Busy — Spring break in United States

• Rule

  Bear management area closures

  10 Mar – 10 Nov · usuallyClosures

  Parts of the backcountry shut on fixed spring and autumn dates to keep people off carcass sites and berry slopes. The dates are published and do not move for the weather, so check before planning a route. Source ↗

Still on: Oversnow winter season (15 Dec – 15 Mar (usually)), Winter wolves in the Lamar (20 Dec – 10 Mar (usually))

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

• Opening

  Roads reopen to cars

  15 Apr – 30 May · usuallyTrail season

  The road system is ploughed open in phases from the third week of April, with the high passes last in late May. Late April gives you geyser basins with snow on them and almost no traffic. Source ↗

• Nature

  Spring wildlife on the northern range

  15 Apr – 15 Jun · usuallyWildlife season

  Bison calves in the Lamar Valley from late April, bears out of the den on the lower slopes, and wolves visible against the last snow. The best wildlife weeks of the year, before the crowds.

Still on: Bear management area closures (10 Mar – 10 Nov (usually))

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

• Opening

  Beartooth Highway open

  22 May – 12 Oct · usuallyTrail seasonClosures

  The road over the 3,300-metre pass to the northeast gate opens around the end of May and closes in mid-October, earlier if it snows. It is the best drive in the region and the first thing shut. Source ↗

Still on: Bear management area closures (10 Mar – 10 Nov (usually)), Roads reopen to cars (15 Apr – 30 May (usually)), Spring wildlife on the northern range (15 Apr – 15 Jun (usually))

Busy — Summer break in United States, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Nature

  Meadow wildflowers

  15 Jun – 31 Jul · usuallyWildflowers & blooms

  Lupine, balsamroot and paintbrush through the Hayden and Lamar valleys from mid-June, later the higher the meadow. It runs about six weeks and ends when the grass browns off. Source ↗

Still on: Bear management area closures (10 Mar – 10 Nov (usually)), Spring wildlife on the northern range (15 Apr – 15 Jun (usually)), Beartooth Highway open (22 May – 12 Oct (usually))

Peak crowds — Summer peak, Summer break in United States

• Season

  Summer peak

  1 Jul – 20 AugSchool holidaysCrowdedBook early

  July and August carry more than half the park's annual visits. Old Faithful's car park fills by mid-morning, in-park lodging books a year out, and a bison on the road costs you an hour. Source ↗

• Hazard

  Wildfire smoke

  15 Jul – 20 Sep · usuallySmoke season

  The park burns most summers and so does everything upwind of it. Smoke can flatten the light and the views for a week without a fire being anywhere in the park. Source ↗

• Nature

  Bison rut

  20 Jul – 25 Aug · usuallyRutting seasonRisk

  Bulls bellow, wallow and fight through the Hayden and Lamar valleys in high summer, and they stand in the road while they do it. It is also the season most people are gored for standing too close.

Still on: Bear management area closures (10 Mar – 10 Nov (usually)), Beartooth Highway open (22 May – 12 Oct (usually)), Meadow wildflowers (15 Jun – 31 Jul (usually))

Peak crowds — Summer peak, Summer break in United States

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Bear management area closures (10 Mar – 10 Nov (usually)), Beartooth Highway open (22 May – 12 Oct (usually)), Summer peak (1 Jul – 20 Aug), Wildfire smoke (15 Jul – 20 Sep (usually)), Bison rut (20 Jul – 25 Aug (usually))

Busy — Summer break in United States

• Nature

  Elk rut at Mammoth

  5 Sep – 15 Oct · usuallyRutting seasonRisk

  Bulls bugle on the lawns at Mammoth through September and rangers cone off the ones that will not move. The crowds have gone by then and the light is better than it is all summer.

Still on: Bear management area closures (10 Mar – 10 Nov (usually)), Beartooth Highway open (22 May – 12 Oct (usually)), Wildfire smoke (15 Jul – 20 Sep (usually))

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

• Closure

  Roads close for the season

  12 Oct – 5 Nov · usually

  Dunraven Pass and the Beartooth go first in mid-October, the rest of the interior at the beginning of November, and the park then sits empty until the oversnow season starts in December. Source ↗

Still on: Bear management area closures (10 Mar – 10 Nov (usually)), Beartooth Highway open (22 May – 12 Oct (usually)), Elk rut at Mammoth (5 Sep – 15 Oct (usually))

Busy — Thanksgiving break in United States

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Bear management area closures (10 Mar – 10 Nov (usually)), Roads close for the season (12 Oct – 5 Nov (usually))

Busy — Winter / Christmas break in United States, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Oversnow winter season

  15 Dec – 15 Mar · usuallyIce seasonBook early

  Between mid-December and mid-March the interior is reachable only by guided snowcoach or snowmobile, booked months ahead. Only the road from Gardiner to Cooke City stays open to cars all winter. Source ↗

• Nature

  Winter wolves in the Lamar

  20 Dec – 10 Mar · usuallyWildlife season

  The road from Gardiner through to Cooke City is the only one ploughed all winter, and the Lamar Valley in the snow is where the wolf watchers set their scopes at first light. Bison and bighorn come down with them.