All products featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
The second-most visited national park in the country has always drawn a crowd, but Yellowstone National Park recently set new records with its busiest summer on record, including the most recreational visitors ever at the park in one month—over one million in July—and more than 920,000 recreational visits in August. It’s a call for a change and more responsible visits to this massive, all-seasons park, where shaking the crowds can be as simple as a few strategic moves.
Read on for everything you need to know to plan an expert trip to Yellowstone National Park—whether it's your first time visiting, or your fiftieth.
Get a lay of the land
One of the world’s most intact temperate ecosystems, Yellowstone spans 2.2 million acres and three states—Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho—and has five entrances, with three in Montana and two in Wyoming. While most of the park is undeveloped forest and mountains, Yellowstone’s main attractions and eight developed regions are almost entirely situated along the 142-mile, Grand Loop Road, also dubbed the “Figure Eight” for its shape. Grand Loop connects to all five entrances, affording access to every park feature no matter which way you enter. The park is open all year round, though access is limited in winter. Fees for entering Yellowstone National Park are $20 per person on foot and $35 a car, and reservations are currently only required for camping.
Which of the five entrances is right for you?
From unique gateway towns to proximity to certain park highlights, the entrance you chose plays a big role in your experience. In Wyoming, the East Entrance gets you close to Yellowstone Lake for boating and fishing, while outside of the park, you can stay in the small frontier town of Cody with its superb Draper Museum of Natural History. From the South Entrance, you can also access Yellowstone Lake as well as backcountry hiking in forests and high meadows, though what’s just beyond this entrance is a big deal; within a half-days drive, you can be at the doorstep of Grand Teton National Park.
From Montana, the West Entrance points to geysers and hot springs, including Old Faithful. Drawing more of the crowds, the popular North Entrance takes you through the famed Roosevelt Arch to Mammoth Hot Springs. Just outside of its gates, Gardiner is a great place for whitewater rafting down the Yellowstone River. The Northeast Entrance winds through Yellowstone’s wildlife wonderland, the Lamar Valley. From here, don’t miss one of the best-kept secrets outside of the park on the Beartooth Scenic Byway (U.S. 212), a mountainous, dazzling drive that summits at nearly 11,000 feet.
What to do in Yellowstone
With so many popular sites just off Grand Loop Road, including Grand Prismatic Spring and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, most visitors tend to stay close to the road in an effort to pack the main sights into one or two days. This is criminal given the park is home to more than 1,100 miles of trails and roughly 500 geysers. A better way to visit: target a region, see its iconic sites, then get off the road for a crowd-free hike.
Do walk the boulevards over Mammoth Hot Springs and its steamy travertine terraces, but then try a moderate hike at the nearby Bunson Peak Trailhead, ascending through meadows to an 8,564-foot peak with views over Swan Lake Flats. For a family friendly option, see the Old Faithful geyser and nearby Biscuit Basin with its crystal-clear pools, then hop on the Mystic Falls Trailhead for a three-mile roundtrip hike to a 70-foot waterfall. Want something more intrepid? Try AllTrails new “Trails Less Traveled” filter, which lets you search for popular trails light on traffic, including the challenging 11.2-mile Sepulcher Mountain Trail.
The best time to visit
Yes, summer has the best weather, longer days, baby animals, and wildflowers, but also the most people. If you must come in summer, avoid the crush of traffic by visiting outside the park’s busiest hours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., arriving strategically late or as early as 6 a.m., when wildlife is out, and roads and boardwalks are clear. For still-comfortable weather and lighter crowds, aim for June, when baby animals—like bear cubs, wolf puppies, and adorable bighorn fawns—are abundant and waterfalls are at their fullest, or September to mid-October, when aspens turn to gold and elk are bugling.
Mid-October through April is winter in these parts, definitely the least crowded and actually quite spectacular. Expect brisk temps that range from single digits to the low 20s, but also a truly peaceful experience with multicolored hot pools against white snow, bison herds crusted with icicles, and Old Faithful seemingly all to yourself. Most roads are closed in winter, though you can visit parts of the park via snowmobiling or guided snowcoach (small bus) tours. For an extra cool nighttime visit in winter, check out the “Steam, Stars and Winter Soundscapes Tour” snowcoach experience. You can also rent skis from the shops at Mammoth Hot Springs or enjoy privately guided snowshoeing adventures as part of a stay at Lone Mountain Ranch in the Big Sky area.
Where to stay
Yellowstone’s bonkers visitation numbers mean accommodations are often snatched up fast, anywhere from six months to a year in advance, with the latter becoming the norm. We’ve called out our favorite accommodations in this complete guide on where to stay in Yellowstone, which includes glamping sites, cabins, and mountain-view condos in and near the park.
If you’ve got your eye on camping, nearly all of Yellowstone’s 12 campgrounds require reservations from May 1 to mid-October. Pebble Creek and Mammoth also have first-come first-served sites. For the rest of the year, from roughly late October through April—essentially winter in Yellowstone—the few campgrounds that remain open also shift to first-come first-served. It’s important to note that all dates and deadlines are subject to change. Park insiders recommend booking campsites exactly six months in advance, when reservations become available, and checking back often for cancellations if you aren’t able to snag a spot.
A number of first-come, first-served camping sites can also be found outside of Yellowstone, such as in the Shoshone National Forest near the East Entrance and at Hegben Lake near the West Entrance, which also has easy RV camping at Yellowstone Holiday.
Tack-on adventures in Bozeman and Jackson Hole
Bozeman and Jackson Hole are Yellowstone’s two biggest gateway towns, each with plenty of dining, lodging, and unique adventure options. Outside of Montana’s West Entrance, Bozeman has a lively main street and excellent dinosaur exhibits at the Museum of the Rockies. Also nearby, there’s skiing at Big Sky Mountain Resort, with a new Montage Big Sky opening this December.
Within 60 miles of Wyoming’s South Entrance, upscale Jackson Hole shines with locally owned options, like Gavin Fine’s new Bistro, luxury Hotel Jackson and Stio for splurge-worthy outerwear. There’s also guided flyfishing on the Snake River with Jackson Hole Fly Fishing School and Jackson Hole Mountain Resort for skiing, paragliding and a thrilling via ferrata climb.
Before you go
Check the weather as well as the park’s social media channels or website for the latest on park hours, conditions, and road closures, which change by season and sometimes at a moment’s notice. It’s best to plan for delays on the road, whether from car traffic in busy warmer months or snow in winter. If you plan to hike, make sure you pack plenty of water, food, and bear spray, the latter of which you can rent near the park and at Canyon Village.
Go guided for peace of mind
Overwhelmed by planning yourself? Take a guided trip with an experienced outfitter, like Montana-based Austin Adventures, who know the park inside and out, and can handle your lodging, logistics, meals, and more, with the best tricks for getting you safely off the beaten path. REI Adventures and Wildland Trekking also arrange Yellowstone trips.
