Story and photos by Teresa Otto
The Other Three Seasons to Visit Yellowstone National Park
Our nation’s first national park, Yellowstone National Park, has been captivating visitors since 1872, and with good reason. Geothermal features, spectacular landscape, and abundant wildlife make this 3468 square mile park in Wyoming (with slivers in Montana and Idaho) a popular destination – perhaps too popular.
Despite the park being closed for part of last year, 3.8 million visitors still passed through its gates. A typical summer sees about a million visitors in both July and August. An atypical 2020 meant September broke all previous records with 837,000 visitors as people started venturing out for road trips. Now the word’s out – autumn is a particularly beautiful time to visit the park. I’ll let you in on a secret – winter and spring are equally special times to visit.
Getting There
Yellowstone National Park has five entrances. Three of them are in Montana – West Yellowstone, Gardiner, and Cooke City. The other two are in Wyoming – Cody and a gate from Grand Teton National Park. Miles of highway lay between each of them.
All gates are closed to private vehicles during winter months, except for the North Entrance in Gardiner. Winter outings from West Yellowstone and Cody take place on cross country skis, snowmobiles, or in snow coaches.
If you’re flying, Cody, Wyoming, and Bozeman and West Yellowstone, Montana, have the nearest commercial airports. If you’re road tripping, only the North Gate in Gardiner stays open year-round. For other gates and roads within the park, check the park’s schedule (weather-dependent and subject to change, of course).
Beauty and Beasts of Autumn
Fall is magical in Yellowstone. Valleys are awash with red-leafed shrubs and golden leaves on aspens and cottonwood trees. Add in the sound of bugling elk that congregate and vie for territory and companionship, and you have a true Yellowstone experience.
Elk herds spend time near Mammoth Hot Springs, close to the Gardiner entrance year-round. In the quiet of the early morning hours, you’ll more easily hear the bull elk call, before the human sounds interfere.
After park roads close in the fall and before they become impassible because of snow, bicyclists can ride in through all gates, except the Northeast Entrance. Please visit the park’s website for the map, suggested gear, and rules. E-bikes are allowed and will help tremendously with the fatigue that comes with the park’s high elevation.
Taking a drive to Tom Miner Basin to view grizzlies foraging for caraway roots is the closest you’ll have to a guarantee for seeing grizzlies before hibernation. You may see grizzly bears in Yellowstone, as well, but this favorite food draws them to Tom Miner Basin to bulk up before winter. To get there, turn west (left) on to the Tom Miner Basin Creek Road at mile marker 17, off U.S. Highway 89 heading north from Gardiner toward Livingston. After crossing the Yellowstone River on Carbella Bridge, take a left at the T. You’re likely to see other cars heading the same way on the bumpy, 8-mile drive at dawn and dusk when the bears are particularly active. Don’t forget to bring binoculars.
If you want to stay a night or two in Tom Miner Basin, B Bar Ranch welcomes guests to their lodge and cabins.
A Winter Wonderland
Although the North Gate is open for driving from Gardiner to Cooke City, Montana, a true Yellowstone adventure calls for some time playing in the snow. From West Yellowstone, Gardiner, or Cody, vetted tour operators take visitors into the park on snowmobiles and in toasty snow coaches. I’ve used West Yellowstone as a home base for winter excursions, staying at the Stagecoach Inn. Yellowstone Vacations operates snowmobile tours to Old Faithful and the Canyon area of the park. Guides give you a driving lesson before you leave their parking lot. It’s fun and the snowmobiles are easy to maneuver. I recommend renting the clothing package.
Yellowstone Vacations’ snow coach tours are equally enjoyable with plenty of stops to check out the geothermal areas like Grand Prismatic Spring and the Norris Geyser Basin – home to Steamboat Geyser, the tallest, but woefully unpredictable geyser in Yellowstone. Tour guides stop for wildlife viewing – bison, deer, elk, fox, coyotes, and bald eagles – along the way.
For a more immersive Yellowstone experience, book a stay at Old Faithful Snow Lodge and Cabins. A snow coach drops you and your luggage off. To explore the area, hop on a snow coach headed to Canyon or explore the area on cross-country skis.
Spring’s Rebirth
Winter lasts a long time in Yellowstone. Eventually, the snow stops falling, road crews plow heaps of snow off the park’s roads, bicyclists can enjoy the roads before gates open to private vehicles, and Yellowstone’s newest members make an appearance. Expect to readily see fawns, bison and elk calves. Bear cubs and wolf pups will be harder to spot.
Since the reintroduction of wolves in 1995, they’ve gained quite a following. Wolf-watching tours keep an eye on the different packs. If seeing a wolf in the wild is a dream come true, book a tour. They have spotting scopes and up-to-date information on the packs’ whereabouts. If you’re traveling independently and you notice a group with spotting scopes or cameras with lenses that cost more than your kid’s college tuition for a year, pull over. I have found wolf-watchers to be eager to share their view. Their pure joy of seeing this apex predator in the wild is infectious.
Lamar Valley, in the northern part of Yellowstone, is accessible from Gardiner’s entrance all year. Your best chance of seeing Yellowstone’s animals and their offspring is here. Hayden Valley in the park’s interior is next best.
Blacktail Plateau, reached by a lightly traveled one-way gravel road between Mammoth Hot Springs and Lamar Valley, is a great spot to see wildlife, but is often closed due to bear activity. The high alpine valley is loaded with wildflowers each spring.
A note about young wildlife – if you happen to find a young animal, even if it looks abandoned, leave it be. It’s the law of the land, according to the National Park Service, and with good reason. There is a very good chance the mom has parked her youngster there while she forages for food, with every intention of returning. And if that baby is a bear cub, you’ll soon understand why very protective human moms are called mama bears.
Plan Your Visit to Yellowstone National Park
Summer is a wonderful time to visit Yellowstone National Park. However, the other seasons of the year are also fantastic times to explore this spectacular National Park. Find out for yourself what made Yellowstone so special that Americans named it the world’s first national park.
