Should i visit yellowstone in october

Your best chances of seeing them are at dawn and dusk. Speaking of animals, summer is the bison rut — the mating season. So the bulls are more active as they try to assert their dominance. Normally they are very docile, but if you see them rolling in the dirt actually, in their urine , you know they are in the rut. Often they just stand in the road. Speaking of traffic, the parking lots for many of the popular attractions fill up early, and you might be stuck waiting in a long car line just to park so you can see a site, such as the Grand Prismatic Spring.

This is another reason why having a game plan will help you get the most out of your trip. Summer is also fire season. Yellowstone averages about 26 fires every year. Most of these are extinguished early and are away from the Grand Loop Road.

However, sometimes a fire will shut down certain sections of the park, as the Lone Star Fire did in The Fires of are the most famous of the Yellowstone fires; that year was by far the worst on record. This is our favorite season because the travel season is winding down and the crowds begin to drop off and the weather is typically very nice. It is cold in the evenings and mornings, but daytime temps range around 70 degrees.

Fall is in the air, and it is soooo nice! The animals are a little more active with the cooler temps. There is a caveat here, however: September is increasing in visitor numbers, just as the other months are.

Overall visitorship is increasing in Yellowstone, so while September remains lower than the summer months, it might not be as pleasant as it once was. In , during the pandemic, the numbers in September skyrocketed from the previous year. This certainly could have been due to the fact that many people who would have visited in May or June probably postponed their trips to September, or that everyone had so much cabin fever from quarantine that they just had to get out and go somewhere.

So Coronavirus certainly had an impact, but I believe there is another aspect at play here: the Baby Boomers. We are in the middle of the retirement boom of the Baby Boomers. We know the total number of visitors are rising, but the question is: is September seeing a greater increase due to the Baby Boomers travelling offseason?

Using the stats from the Yellowstone website, I put together a chart showing the percentage of visitor each month composes. This allows us to see if September is increasing its share of the visitors.

However, autumn is also very short in Yellowstone and before you know it, winter arrives. The weather is very unpredictable too, and so if you travel to Yellowstone in the fall, be prepared for everything. Many Yellowstone facilities start to close in September already and gradually close down by the end of October. Most campgrounds close by the third week of September and many Yellowstone lodges close soon after that.

If you are visiting Yellowstone in October, check hotels in the towns near Yellowstone. Some roads close as early as mid October. By the first week of November, most Yellowstone roads close for the winter season. The weather in Yellowstone during autumn months is very unpredictable and can vary a lot from one day to another.

Also, as the days get shorter, it gets colder even quicker when the sun goes down. As the weather cools down, many animals return to the valleys in the fall. Autumn is, therefore, a good time to see wildlife in Yellowstone. This is also the season of elk rutting. You can expect to hear loud bugling a sound alternately deep and high-pitched and see some duels as male elk try to impress females before the mating season.

Autumn is a great season for sightseeing. As long as the roads remain open, you can explore all the most beautiful places of Yellowstone, just like in summer. Autumn is also a great season for hiking and bicycling in Yellowstone.

Pretty much all the multi-day and day tours to Yellowstone that run in summer also go in September and the first week of October. Some tours continue till mid October and this day tour from Jackson is possible till the 1st of November. Here you can find the best tours and check availability for your travel dates. The months between November and March are the coldest months in Yellowstone. Winter in Yellowstone can be really harsh. TIP: If you are visiting Yellowstone in winter, make sure that you are well-prepared.

Good winter boots are a must, just as a warm winter parka , wool and fleece sweaters, thermal underwear , insulated winter pants or ski pants , wool socks, waterproof winter gloves , and a warm winter hat. Because of snow, only small parts of Yellowstone are accessible in winter. The North and the Northeast entrances of Yellowstone are the only entrance open to regular cars in the winter season. Most roads inside the park close around mid-October or at the beginning of November and remain closed during the entire winter.

The Northern part of Yellowstone Mammoth Hot Springs area is the best place to visit in winter if you are traveling on your own. The park headquarters at Mammoth Springs also remain open during the entire year.

Most Yellowstone accommodations are closed in winter. Alternatively, stay in the hotels in one of the towns near Yellowstone — there are lots of great winter activities in the area, and you can visit Yellowstone for a day on a tour.

During this period, many park roads are open for over-snow travel by snowmobile or snowcoach. You can find more specific information and practical info about Yellowstone roads in winter here. Winter is a great time to see wildlife in Yellowstone. Most animals migrate to lower elevations in order to find food. They can often be seen near warm geysers or hot springs. You can expect to see lots of bison and winter is also the best time to see wolves. Bighorn sheep rut occurs during the early winter months.

Elk migrate north in winter and can often be seen in big numbers in the northern part of Yellowstone and around Gardiner. Winter Recreation Season is the best time for snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, or ice-climbing.

If you decide to visit Yellowstone in winter, you should really consider going with one of the organized tours that have experience with visiting the park this time of the year. There are multi-day tours available that, in winter, mostly concentrate on visiting the Old Faithful and the Mammoth Springs areas and focus on bison and wolf-viewing.

There are also winter day trips from Jackson Hole and you can choose to either visit with a snowcoach or with a snowmobile. However, you can usually only book these tours closer to the winter season, so check back a few weeks before your trip.

If you want to experience everything that the park has to offer, then the second half of June, July, August, and the beginning of September are the best months to visit Yellowstone. However, this is also the busiest and the most expensive time to travel. The end of May and the end of September — beginning of October are quieter periods that have most of the advantages of summer travel, but a somewhat lower number of visitors.

This very short period could probably be described as the best time to visit Yellowstone. The weather is good enough and pretty much everything in the park is accessible, accommodation prices are lower, and there are fewer people. Mid-December — the end of February is the best time to visit Yellowstone for those who want to experience the park in winter.

The best time to visit Yellowstone without the crowds is, of course, the low season — fall and spring. TIP: If you want to avoid the biggest crowds and still see the best of Yellowstone, go at the end of May or end of September — beginning of October.

Thank you for the support and happy travels! Yellowstone National Park hosts a little over 4 million visits every year. If you divide 4 million by 12 months you get , people per month or roughly 11, per day. Well, more than 2 million visitors to Yellowstone arrive in June, July and August alone.

October and May are the 2 best months to visit Yellowstone if your top priority is avoiding huge crowds of tourists, while still benefiting from reasonable temperatures and the park being completely open.

In October , Yellowstone only saw , visits for the entire month. A daily total of 5, people is pretty sparse for a park the size of Yellowstone. Visit Yellowstone in April to enjoy the freedom of the park right before it opens for the season. Just be aware there are a number of important things to consider before arriving, such as weather, roads access and lodging.

Shoulder seasons are far more relaxing than Summer. However, Yellowstone is in Northwest Wyoming and in October the weather can be extreme and entirely unpredictable. Weather in other popular places like Yosemite National Park and Acadia National Park is more predictable at this time of year. This is both good and bad. On one hand it keeps the hordes of tourists at bay but on the other hand it can impact your plans, like road closures, hiking trails closing and even safety.

If you visit Yellowstone in Summer, the likelihood is warm sunny days and occasional cloud or rain showers. But in October, anything can happen. You could get lucky with clear blue skies during the day with chilly mornings and nights.

Alternatively, you could end up having to scramble and adapt your itinerary last minute as we did. We had just finished an amazing 4 days road trip in South Dakota and drove West to Cody, Wyoming to spend a night before entering Yellowstone via East entrance on October 9th. However, an almighty snow dumping overnight put the brakes on our visit.

All roads in, out and around the park closed, with the exception of North entrance Mammoth. Instead of entering via East entrance, we had to drive North and then West over WY which turned out to be incredibly scenic to enter the park via Northeast entrance Cooke City a day later than planned. Lamar is the best place to see wildlife in Yellowstone and midday is the worst time for animal activity! Note — this road is closed until May With all that said, Yellowstone covered in snow is a magical place.

October is a phenomenal time to visit Yellowstone National Park. The summer crowds have all but disappeared, and you have a real chance for solitude. There are many benefits to visiting in October, as well as some drawbacks. If you are able to make it to Yellowstone in October, you are sure to have a fantastic trip!

Browse the categories below to determine if October is the best time for you to visit the park. Top Rated Yellowstone Hiking Tours. The biggest benefit to visiting in October is the lack of crowds. With so many less people, your chances for solitude grow exponentially. Another benefit is that all the roads in the park remain open through October, with the exception of Dunraven Pass—the road from Tower Fall to Canyon Village, which closes in the middle of October.

You can read the fall road closure information for year-to-year details. Additionally, the fall colors are abundant in the beginning of October.