When is the best time to visit Yellowstone? This is a very popular question asked by guests that visit the park, but in my opinion the best time to come out depends on what you want to get out of your time here. Yellowstone is a very diverse environment with many different things to offer, so I outlined below what to expect from different months to determine your best time to visit.

If you are coming to Yellowstone in hopes to see a diverse range of wildlife and are not a fan of the peak summer crowds, then this is the time for you to come. Bears are just getting out of hibernation and are seeking areas with less snow in order to find food. This often brings them closer out to the road and lower elevations, where it is more melted out. This is also spring time, which means most animals have had their offspring. So you may have a chance to see red-dogs (bison), bear cubs, wolf pups, etc. Now while I can never guarantee any animal sightings, in my opinion this time of year is your best chance. 

There are some downsides to this time of year, however. Not all of the roads or entrances are open in April and May. Another thing to consider is that Yellowstone is high up in the mountains, which means we can get snow as late as June. If enough snow falls, they sometimes close roads until they are able to fully plow them. If you are coming during this time, be sure to check the NPS website for road conditions. This is also not prime time for hiking. Some trails are closed for bear maintenance, such as the popular Fairy Falls trail, while other trails just have too much snow for it to be a fun hike.

This is peak season for Yellowstone. Which means a lot of people are coming into the park everyday. If large crowds prohibit you from enjoying this place, then this is not the time to come. However, if your main reason for visiting Yellowstone is to see the beautiful, colorful pools and thermal features then this is the best time to come. If you have done any research about visiting Yellowstone, you have probably read about the Grand Prismatic, a very large bright colorful hot spring. The big thing about features such as the Grand Prismatic is that they are extremely hot, so if the temperature outside is cold, then there is going to be a lot of steam coming off the feature, this makes it harder to actually see it. The more sunlight there is during the day, the more colorful these pools are as well. So, if you really want to experience the full beauty of these thermal features, warm sunny days are the best time.

This, in my opinion, is prime hiking season. Unfortunately, the daylight hours are shorter than in peaks season, but the temperatures in the middle of the day are a lot more bearable. Most of the snow has been melted off, for those who like to climb mountain peaks and fire season is typically over (so no hiking during very smokey days). Not too mention fall hiking can be extremely beautiful with the changing leaves. There are also less people visiting the park, so you may have less crowds at popular features. On some warmer days the thermal features can also be seen with the same colors and minimal steam that you can see in peak season.

Similar to April/May there might be road closures due to early snow fall. Snow can happen during pretty much any month in Yellowstone and it is possible to get snow as early as the first week of September (all though this is getting rarer each year). If it does snow, it is not normally a lot and it will be melted by mid-day. I remember my first season my friend and I were planning on hiking the Tetons in September, but had to postpone our hike until the afternoon while we waited for them to open the roads because it had snowed over night.

The road from the North entrance to the Northeast entrance is open year round to car traffic, but everything else can only be accessed by snowcoach or snowmobile during these months. Winter is an excellent time to visit Yellowstone. Due to the limited amount of people that can enter the park, it is a very quiet time to visit. Instead of hiking, it is snowshoeing or cross country skiing around the trails. The Snowlodge has a rental place where you can rent snowshoes/skiis, or even take a lesson if you are new to nordic sports. If you come in winter, you have the ability to experience this park very differently than in summer. We truly do live in a winter wonderland. Travel to Yellowstone in winter is a completely different experience than the summer season, so I have a whole page dedicated to the winter season.