Best Time to Visit Yellowstone National Park

Pick a month. Best months are in bold.

The best months to visit Yellowstone National Park are May and June — computed from official NPS visitation (2021–2025 average), NOAA weather normals and daylight. July is the crowd peak (922,896 monthly visits); November is quietest at 3% of peak.

Planning Yellowstone? Pack a guidebook: Moon Best of Yellowstone & Grand Teton on Amazon. · affiliate link, VisitWhen earns from qualifying purchases

Best months for fewer crowds

The quietest months at Yellowstone, leaving out harsh weather and months when main access is typically closed.

Monthly crowd curve

Average monthly recreation visits, 2021–2025 (NPS Visitor Use Statistics). Amber bar = current month.

Yellowstone month by month

Crowds: NPS Visitor Use Statistics, mean of 2021–2025 (2020 excluded as a COVID-19 anomaly). Weather: NOAA 1991–2020 monthly normals, station YELLOWSTONE LAKE, WY US (6 mi from park coordinates). Daylight: computed for the 15th of each month at the park's location. Methodology.

How many people visit Yellowstone each year

Yellowstone National Park had 4,762,988 recreation visits in 2025, about the same as 2024 (NPS Visitor Use Statistics). The busiest year since 2015 was 2021, with 4,860,242. Over 2021–2025 it averaged 4,431,842 visits a year, which makes it the 4th most-visited of the 63 national parks.

Calendar-year recreation visits as published by NPS Visitor Use Statistics. 2020 is shown here but left out of the monthly averages above, because the COVID-19 pandemic makes it unrepresentative. See how every park compares: all 63 parks ranked by visits.

What to pack for Yellowstone in May

Computed from May's weather normals — Yellowstone's best month above. Visiting another month? Each month page has its own weather-computed list.

• Insulated jacket, beanie and gloves — nights average 26°F, below freezing
• Packable rain jacket — 2.4″ of precipitation is normal this month
• Sturdy broken-in footwear, navigation and a basic first-aid kit — every park, every month
• Bear spray — recommended by the park in grizzly country (check current park regulations before you carry)

As an Amazon Associate, VisitWhen earns from qualifying purchases. Gear names above link to Amazon searches or to a specific product — we don't show or set prices; you always see Amazon's current price.

Common questions

Yellowstone month by month: notes from the park service

• January: January is the middle of Yellowstone's oversnow season, which the park service runs from mid-December to mid-March. The only road open to cars all year is the one between the North Entrance at Gardiner and the Northeast Entrance; the rest of the interior is reached by approved commercially guided snowcoaches and snowmobiles, or through the non-commercially guided snowmobile program.
• February: February in Yellowstone is oversnow season: on the park service's projected schedule the Mammoth to Norris road runs for oversnow travel from December 15, 2026 to March 7, 2027, while regular cars can use only the North Entrance to Northeast Entrance road. The western roads reopen to cars in mid-April (April 16 projected for 2027), and the park notes all dates depend on the weather.
• March: March is one of Yellowstone's least busy months, the park says. Winter continues, but longer days bring gradual warming, and Mammoth Hot Springs, at 6,200 feet, averages 42°F in the afternoon while Yellowstone Lake stays near 36°F.
• April: April is when Yellowstone's roads start reopening to cars. The park service projects the western loop (West Entrance to Madison, Madison to Old Faithful and Norris, Mammoth to Norris, Norris to Canyon Village) to open on April 16 in 2027, while the East, South and Dunraven Pass roads stay closed into May.
• May: May is Yellowstone's reopening month. For 2027 the park service projects the East Entrance over Sylvan Pass and Canyon Village to Bridge Bay to open May 7, the South Entrance, Craig Pass and the road to Lake Village and Tower Fall on May 14, and the high Dunraven Pass between Canyon and Tower Fall, together with the Beartooth Highway outside the Northeast Entrance, on May 28.
• June: By June every Yellowstone road should be open to cars: on the park service's projected 2027 schedule the last ones, Dunraven Pass and the Beartooth Highway, open on May 28. Dunraven is a high-elevation pass that the park says generally gets more winter weather, and all dates depend on conditions.
• July: In July every Yellowstone road on the park service's schedule is open to cars, including Dunraven Pass between Canyon Village and Tower Fall. That high pass, and the Beartooth Highway outside the Northeast Entrance, have the shortest season (May 28 to October 11 on the projected 2027 dates), because the park says Dunraven generally gets more winter weather.
• August: August is among Yellowstone's busiest months, with all facilities open and all roads typically open, the park says. It is generally warm and very dry: Mammoth Hot Springs averages around 80°F, though Yellowstone Lake reaches only about 72°F, and afternoon thunderstorms or wildfire haze can roll in.
• September: September is the last full month with every Yellowstone road open. On the projected 2027 schedule, Dunraven Pass and the Beartooth Highway close first, on October 11 (Dunraven may stay open longer if the weather allows), and most of the rest of the park road system closes to cars on October 31.
• October: October is when Yellowstone's season winds down. On the park service's projected schedule, Dunraven Pass and the Beartooth Highway close first, on October 11 in 2027 (Dunraven can stay open longer if the weather allows), and most other park roads close to cars on October 31.
• November: November in Yellowstone falls between seasons: on the 2027 schedule most park roads are open to regular vehicles only until October 31, and the park service says most roads stay closed to them from early November to late April, and the oversnow season, on the projected schedule from December 15 on the Mammoth to Norris road, has not started. The only road open to regular vehicles is the one from the North Entrance at Gardiner to the Northeast Entrance.
• December: December is a quiet month at Yellowstone, with very cold temperatures and heavy snow; Yellowstone Lake averages about 34 inches of snowfall. Only the road between the North and Northeast entrances is open to regular vehicles, and some roads begin opening to commercially guided snowcoach and snowmobile trips in late December, weather permitting.

Each month page carries the full note and the NPS page it comes from.

Dive into a month

Comparing parks for the same trip? See how Yellowstone ranks against all 63 parks in May and June.

Last verified 2026-09-24 · all parks