Each year more than three million people from all over the world travel to Yellowstone National Park. The park is situated in the north west of Wyoming and borders with the Montana and Idaho states. What makes Yellowstone a great vacation destination is its geothermal features, that no other place on earth has in such a cohesive piece of land. Old Faithful and Mammoth hot springs have long become visitors’ favorites and the gushing geysers, crystal clear lakes and rivers, cascading waterfalls, amazing mud-pots, wonderful meadows and lush forests make Yellowstone National Park a genuine gem full of scenic wonders.
Most people visit the park in the summer, when the days are long, the air is warm, and the roads are clear from snow or mud. But there is around 100,000 travelers that prefer to travel in the winter months. Yellowstone National Park has something to offer its visitors at any season.
The area near and around Yellowstone offers perfect travel opportunities around each corner. You can go into wildlife watching, follow hiking trails, take whitewater raft trips, ride horseback and more. With so many fun adventures, you will always have what to do.
Yellowstone Wildlife Watching
Besides its amazing natural beauty and near its every major attraction, Yellowstone has lots to offer, including bird watching (you can wath bald eagle, cranes, ducks, and more) and animal watching (just amagine your encounter with grizzly bears, elk, bison, mountain lion, wolves, bighorn sheep, etc.)
Winter Trips in Yellowstone
During the winter months, some of the parts in Yellowstone National Park are closed for visiting, but the park is still available for adventurous travelers wishing to have an unforgetable winter vacation experience. Over the last few years, snowmobile trips became increasingly popular and provide a unique opportunity to see the park’s wildlife in winter splendor.
Any month is good for snowmobile trips, though the largest number of visitors come in February. If you are keen in wolf viewing, come to visit Yellowstone in October through early May. This is the time when these animals are most active.
Yellowstone in Summer
Yellowstone offers multiple opportunities for those visiting the park in the summer months. You can choose from fishing, boating, rafting, hiking, bicycling, or horseback riding. At night, watch starry skies on your Yellowstone camping adventure.
Outside Yellowstone: The Grand Tetons
Once your Yellowstone exploration is over, visit Grand Teton National Park. With its breathtaking mountains, wilderness areas, amazing meadows and forests, visitors can find perfect access to camping, scenic views of the Teton Mountain Range, and experience a remarkable and unforgetable adventure. Here, you can float the Snake River, take an adventurous white water rafting trip, or travel through Targhee Pass to see what Idaho has to offer.
Best Time to travel in and around Yellowstone
Yellowstone National Park and its whereabouts are accessible all year round, but there are three months during the year that are more or less popular – May, June, and October.
May is the time when you can view newborn bison calves (elk have calves later in June), sandhill cranes, bald eagles, trumpeter swans and other birds. In May wolves and bears can be more frequently seen and there is little traffic in this month, which makes May one of the best months to visit the park. What you should notice is that most visitor services such as gas, food, lodging near Yellowstone National Park are still closed in May and it can be cold and wet at times.
The last week of June is the most crowded period, but the traffic has not been very bad, though such major attractions as Old Faithful, Yellowstone Canyon, etc. has experienced lots of tourists traffic for the past few years.
Go to visit the Yellowstone’s Grand Canyon in October, when photographing is best and shading is perfect. The traffic is unloaded and this is the time when the elk mating season comes to an end, but you can still hear bull elk bugling. When you visit hot springs in October, the combination of extra steam and hot air makes for some great photo opportunities. Forests are all great with the fall colors on the leaves. The only drawback of visiting Yellowstone in October is that services are closing, and it can snow.
Anyway, no matter what season you are visiting Yellowstone National Park and its surroundings, this is an untimate travel destination that has so many options for any month of the year. So be prepared for an unforgettable adventure!