When to go to Yellowstone?
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Best time: June to September
At a glance
Why go to Yellowstone?
Yellowstone is the first national park in history, created on 1 March 1872 by the US Congress, and it sits on one of the largest active volcanoes on the planet: a caldera measuring 55 km by 72, formed by an eruption 640,000 years ago, whose magma chamber still heats half the world's geysers. You walk along boardwalks between blue springs at 90°C, mud pots that pop and slap and cones that spout on schedule, with a whiff of sulphur that follows you throughout your stay.
It is also the last great intact ecosystem in the United States outside Alaska, 9,000 km² for the park and 90,000 including the forests around it. Its bison form the only wild herd to have lived here continuously since prehistoric times, nearly 5,000 head, the wolves reintroduced in 1995 have rebuilt to 100 animals spread across several packs, and around a thousand grizzlies live in and around the park. All of this can be seen from the road and the pull-outs, with no organised safari, given a little patience at dawn in Lamar or Hayden.
Finally, Yellowstone pairs with Grand Teton, its neighbour to the south, less than an hour away, for a week-long road trip through the American West, between historic lodgepole-pine lodges, lakeside campgrounds and gateway towns that have lived off the park for a century. The park's figure-of-eight roads, 230 km in all, link every site by car, and around a hundred trails let you leave the tarmac whenever you make the effort, with bear spray on your belt.
Map of Yellowstone: what is where?
The map shows the 6 places covered in this guide, to picture the distances and plan your route.
- Old Faithful
- Grand Prismatic Spring
- Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
- Lamar Valley
- Mammoth Hot Springs
- West Thumb
How much does a trip to Yellowstone cost?
Yellowstone is expensive to get to: the flight, the hire car and the park lodges, booked a year ahead, weigh heavily. The entrance ticket covers every site, but since 2026 non-resident visitors pay an extra $100 per person. Camping and cooking halve the bill.
| Style | Per day | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Backpacker | €80-120/day | Campground in the park or national forest, groceries in West Yellowstone, shared car, hikes and wildlife from the road |
| Comfort | €180-260/day | Motel in West Yellowstone or a lodge cabin, car, one or two lodge dinners, a guided wolf tour or a raft trip in Grand Teton |
| Premium | €450+/day | Old Faithful Inn in the historic wing or a Paradise Valley ranch, private naturalist guide, helicopter or scenic flight, Jackson to finish |
Dollars are paid by card everywhere in the park, including at petrol stations and campgrounds. Cash machines are found in the main lodges and gateway towns. Prices are shown before tax, so add 4 to 6% in Wyoming and Montana, among the lowest rates in the country. Tips of 18 to 20% are expected in the lodge restaurants, and the America the Beautiful pass, $250 for a foreign visitor, covers the surcharge for four people and pays off from two of the eleven major parks concerned.
Is Yellowstone safe?
Yellowstone's dangers are natural and well documented. The hot springs have killed some twenty people since 1870: never leave the boardwalks, as the ground around the basins is a crust that gives way. Bison injure visitors every year who get too close for a photo; stay 25 metres away, 100 metres from bears and wolves, and back away slowly if an animal heads towards you. On hikes, carry bear spray on your belt, talk loudly in areas with poor visibility and never run from a grizzly. The altitude, 2,000 to 2,700 metres, is tiring for the first few days and the sun burns fast. The weather changes within an hour and snow falls even in July, so pack warm layers and a windproof jacket. There is no phone signal across most of the park; the clinics at Mammoth and Old Faithful provide first aid, and the nearest hospital is in Bozeman or Jackson. Insurance covering medical care in the United States is essential.
What to see and do in Yellowstone
- Old Faithful
- Grand Prismatic Spring
- Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
- Lamar Valley
- Mammoth Hot Springs
- Hayden Valley
- Yellowstone Lake
- Norris Geyser Basin
Old Faithful and the Upper Geyser Basin
The park's thermal heart, in the south-west, where a third of the world's geysers are packed into 3 km². Old Faithful shoots up 30 to 55 metres roughly every 90 to 100 minutes, but Grand, Riverside and Castle are just as worth the wait, with predicted times posted at the visitor centre. The boardwalks run 8 km there and back to Morning Glory Pool, a blue-green spring damaged by decades of coins thrown into it. The Old Faithful Inn of 1904, with its 25-metre stone chimney and its log lobby, is free to wander around and serves dinner at the bar without a booking.
Grand Prismatic and Midway Geyser Basin
10 km north of Old Faithful, the most photographed spring in the park, 110 metres across, with a gradient of blue, green, yellow and orange that only really reveals itself from the overlook on the Fairy Falls hillside, 1.2 km from the car park. The basin boardwalk, at the edge of the spring, shows the bacteria up close along with the crater of Excelsior, a former geyser turned into a 90-metre cauldron. Allow two hours for both viewpoints. Further north, Fountain Paint Pot lines up all four types of thermal feature found in the park along an 800-metre loop.
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
In the centre of the park, 32 km of yellow and pink gorge carved by the river, with the 94-metre Lower Falls as the grand finale. Artist Point, on the south rim, gives the classic view after a five-minute walk, Brink of the Lower Falls descends to the very lip of the falls in 1.2 km and 180 metres of descent, and Uncle Tom's Trail, with its 300 metal steps, reopens intermittently. Canyon Village, the park's largest hub, groups together lodges, a campground, a petrol station and a visitor centre with an exhibition on the supervolcano. Storms often break in the afternoon.
Lamar Valley and the north-east 2 522 m
The valley of wolves and bison, 47 km of road between Tower Junction and the north-east entrance, open all year round. The packs are followed through spotting scopes from the pull-outs, with help from the enthusiasts set up from dawn, and the bison wander along the road in no hurry. The Tower Fall area, a 40-metre waterfall between basalt spires, and Dunraven Pass, at 2,700 metres, link Lamar to the canyon. Slough Creek campground, on the riverbank, is the wildlife watchers' favourite. Cooke City, at the north-east exit, serves as a remote base with two or three motels.
Mammoth Hot Springs and Gardiner
The north entrance, the only one open to cars all year round, with white limestone terraces that grow by two tonnes a day and the village of Mammoth set within Fort Yellowstone of 1891, where the army ran the park until 1918. Elk graze on the village lawns. Gardiner, 8 km away, is a gateway town of 900 people with motels, restaurants and the Roosevelt Arch of 1903 at the entrance. The road to Bozeman runs up Paradise Valley and its Chico hot springs, where you can swim in a pool dating from 1900.
Yellowstone Lake and West Thumb
The 350 km² lake fills the south-east of the park at 2,357 metres. West Thumb, on its western shore, mixes hot springs and lakeshore, with submerged geyser cones. The yellow Lake Yellowstone Hotel of 1891 keeps its sunroom with bay windows where a string quartet plays in the evening. Bridge Bay rents out boats and Fishing Bridge has the RV campground. The Storm Point trail, 3.7 km, follows the shore among the marmots and sometimes a bison. To the south, the road leads to Grand Teton in 45 minutes via the John D. Rockefeller Parkway, with entry to both parks included in the ticket.
How many days, and which itinerary?
Three full days cover the geyser basins, the canyon and one wildlife valley. Four or five let you add Lamar at dawn, Mammoth, a hike and a day in Grand Teton. A week across both parks can be done without rushing, changing base twice.
🗺️ Day-by-day itinerary · 📓 Free printable Yellowstone guide (PDF) · 🌍 All of the American West
The essentials (3 days)
Day 1: west entrance from West Yellowstone, Norris in the morning, Grand Prismatic and its overlook, Old Faithful and the Upper Geyser Basin until evening. Day 2: Hayden Valley at dawn, Mud Volcano, the canyon from both rims, West Thumb at sunset. Day 3: Lamar Valley at dawn after a night in Canyon or Gardiner, Tower Fall, Mammoth Hot Springs, exit via the north entrance. Nights are spent in the park or in West Yellowstone and then Gardiner.
Yellowstone and Grand Teton (1 week)
Two nights in West Yellowstone or at Old Faithful for the geyser basins, two nights in Canyon or Gardiner for the canyon, Hayden and Lamar at dawn, then down to the lake and out through the south entrance to Grand Teton: two nights in Jackson or in a park lodge for Jenny Lake, the Signal Mountain road, a raft trip down the Snake River and the elk rut in September. This format needs a car from Bozeman or Salt Lake City and lodge reservations made six months ahead.
Yellowstone in winter (4 days)
From mid-December to early March, the park is open by road only at Mammoth, and the rest only by snowmobile or snowcoach with a licensed guide from West Yellowstone or Mammoth. A day by snowcoach to Old Faithful among frost-covered bison and geysers steaming in temperatures of minus 20°C, a day of cross-country skiing or snowshoeing on the Mammoth terraces, a day in Lamar Valley for the wolves, easier to spot against the snow. The Old Faithful Snow Lodge, the only accommodation open in the heart of the park, must be booked a year ahead.
Getting there and getting around
From Europe, expect two flights, connecting in Denver, Salt Lake City or Chicago, to Bozeman, 145 km from the north or west entrance, Jackson for the south entrance, or Cody for the east. Salt Lake City, 500 km away, offers lower car hire rates.
There is no public transport in the park, so a car is essential. Hire one at your arrival airport, €50-90 a day in summer; an SUV is unnecessary except in winter. The 230 km of figure-of-eight roads are paved but slow, 45 km/h, with bison jams.
The interior roads close to cars from early November to late April, except between the north entrance and Cooke City. The east entrance via Sylvan Pass, 2,600 m, and the Beartooth Highway, 3,337 m, open only at the end of May and can close for snow in September.
Fuel is available at Old Faithful, Canyon, Grant, Fishing Bridge and Mammoth, at higher prices than outside. Stations close early out of season, and there is phone signal only around the villages, so download your maps before you go in.
Where to stay in Yellowstone?
Nine historic lodges in the park, run by a single concessionaire, from €150 to €400 a night depending on comfort, with no TV or wifi: Old Faithful Inn, Lake Yellowstone Hotel, the cabins at Roosevelt or Canyon. Reservations open 13 months ahead and summers fill up within a few weeks.
Twelve campgrounds in the park, €25-40 a night, most of them bookable online, five months ahead in summer. Pitches in the national forest, outside the park, cost half as much and can often be taken without a booking. Backcountry camping requires a permit.
West Yellowstone, at the west entrance, has the widest choice of motels and hotels, €120-250 a night in summer, a third of that in May and October. Gardiner, to the north, and Cooke City, to the north-east, are smaller and quieter.
Jackson, south of Grand Teton, offers boutique hotels and luxury ranches at €300-800 a night, with the ski resort and the elk rut in autumn. Paradise Valley, between Gardiner and Bozeman, is home to lodges with hot springs at €250-500.
Our places to stay, stop by stop, at three budgets →
What to eat in Yellowstone?
The lodge restaurants serve trout, bison and elk as burgers or steaks for $20-45, with menus that are identical from one lodge to the next. The cafeterias and village general stores provide a quick meal for $12-15 or picnic supplies.
West Yellowstone, Gardiner and Jackson have more varied restaurants, from barbecue to sushi, and craft breweries. Bison chilli, baked trout and wild huckleberry pie appear on every menu in the region.
Stock up on water and groceries before you go in, as the park's stores are expensive and limited. A cool box in the boot and sandwiches at a picnic area in Hayden Valley are often worth more than a lodge lunch.
Food must stay in the car or in the campgrounds' bear-proof lockers, never in the tent or on the table: grizzlies and black bears can smell a cool box from kilometres away, and a bear that gets used to rubbish ends up being shot by the rangers.
Entry requirements
UK, Australian and most EU passports need an ESTA, applied for online before departure, for stays of up to 90 days; a few EU countries sit outside the Visa Waiver Program and need a full visa. Canadians need neither, only a passport. Anyone who has been to Cuba since January 2021 cannot use an ESTA and must apply for a visa.
Rules change: check your own government's travel advice before you go.
Frequently asked questions about Yellowstone
When is the best time for Yellowstone?
From June to September, when all the roads are open. July and August are hot and very busy, with 900,000 visitors a month. September combines open roads, thinner crowds, the elk rut and autumn colours, but snow can close the passes. May and October offer wildlife and calm, with some roads closed.
How much does park entry cost?
$35 per vehicle, or about €32, valid for seven days for all occupants, paid by card at the entrance. Since January 2026, each non-resident visitor aged 16 and over pays an extra $100, or about €86. Grand Teton charges the same rates separately. For a foreign visitor, the annual America the Beautiful pass costs $250 and covers the surcharge for its holder and three other non-residents: it pays for itself from two of the parks concerned, which is common on a road trip through the West.
How many days should I plan there?
Three full days for the geysers, the canyon and one wildlife valley, four or five to add Lamar at dawn, Mammoth and a hike. The park covers 9,000 km² and the roads are slow, so changing base once or twice saves you a two-hour drive across it every morning. A week including Grand Teton is the most common format.
Can you see bears and wolves?
Yes, though there is no guarantee. Wolves are spotted through scopes almost every morning in Lamar Valley, with help from the regular watchers. Grizzlies are seen mainly in May-June in Lamar, Hayden and around Dunraven, black bears near Tower. A naturalist guide for the day, $150-250 per person, greatly improves your chances.
Do I need to book accommodation far in advance?
Yes. The park lodges open reservations 13 months ahead and summer nights go within a few weeks, while campgrounds are booked five months ahead. Motels in West Yellowstone and Gardiner stay available later, at prices that rise as the date approaches. Out of season, in May or October, you can find everything at the last minute.
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