Airports near Yellowstone.

Which airport for Yellowstone?

NPS lists six airports. Pick by entrance first, then by month. An airport that is closest on the map can still be the wrong one if its entrance is closed when you land. The table pairs each airport with the entrance it serves and that entrance's 2026 road season.

Every airport-to-entrance drive.

Every airport-to-entrance pair, with the entrance road's 2026 season. Check the dates before you book a winter or spring flight.

Two airports are worth a second look. Billings is far from the North Entrance by the year-round road through Livingston (175 miles, 3 h 17 min) but only 133 miles from the Northeast Entrance over the Beartooth Highway (3 h 44 min, about half an hour longer for 42 fewer miles). That approach is open May 22 to October 12, 2026, and in our judgment the mountain drive is worth the extra time in summer. West Yellowstone's airport is 5 miles from the West Entrance, the shortest drive of all, but it runs in season only and every flight is a connection, through Salt Lake City or Denver.

From each entrance to the big three.

Once you are through the gate, the drive times are NPS averages for summer roads, with no stops and no bison jams. The Northeast Entrance to Canyon time uses Dunraven Pass, open May 22 to October 12; the East and South rows use roads closed to cars from November 1 to early May. The West Entrance is the fastest way to Old Faithful, and the North Entrance is the quickest way to Mammoth. Our Yellowstone itinerary page turns these segments into one- to five-day plans.

Match the airport to your month.

November through mid-April: Bozeman or Billings, since Gardiner is the only entrance you can drive in from. Read Yellowstone in winter before booking.

April 17 onward: the West Entrance road opens April 17, 2026, so Bozeman and Idaho Falls now reach the West Entrance as well. The East Entrance opens May 1 and the South Entrance May 8. West Yellowstone's airport starts its Salt Lake City service in early May, per NPS.

May 8 to October 12: every entrance road is open, and from May 22 the Beartooth approach to the Northeast Entrance is too. Choose by fares and by which side of the park you want to sleep on. The where to stay page compares seven bases by drive time. The Beartooth closes after October 12, and from November 1 the West, South, and East entrance roads close to cars.

Full dates for every road are on Yellowstone road closures. If you have not picked a month yet, start with the best time to visit Yellowstone page and let the month choose the entrance.

Winter: the routes that work.

From early November to mid-April the only way into the park by car is the North Entrance at Gardiner, so the winter map has two lines: Bozeman through Livingston, and Billings through Livingston. Every other approach on the summer map reaches a road that is closed to cars for the winter. Our Yellowstone in winter page covers the trip from there.

Cheapest, biggest, and flying internationally.

We do not publish fares. What we can publish is the thing that sets them: how many nonstop routes an airport has, and whether your trip forces a connection. Bozeman lists 9 airline brands and nonstops to 24 U.S. markets, 12 of them year-round. Idaho Falls lists 5 airlines and 12 nonstop destinations. Cody has one route, United Express to Denver. West Yellowstone has none of its own. If your home city has a nonstop to Bozeman, that is usually the cheapest way in as well as the easiest.

Bozeman is the biggest of the six. Its own site calls it Montana's busiest airport and puts it at over 2 million travelers a year, with the only year-round service to two Yellowstone entrances.

Salt Lake City is the biggest airport within a drive, with more than 330 flights a day to 100 nonstop destinations. It is also the Delta connecting point for West Yellowstone, Idaho Falls and Jackson Hole, as Denver is the United one. Arriving from abroad, or from a city with no nonstop to Bozeman, flying to Salt Lake City and driving is one long day on the road instead of a second regional flight. Check the entrance road dates first: the drive lands at the West Entrance, which is closed to cars from November 1.

You do not have to fly in and out of the same airport. Bozeman in and Jackson Hole out covers the park north to south with no backtracking, at 88 miles from the gate on one end and 50 on the other. A one-way rental costs more. It can still be the cheaper trip.

Rental cars, shuttles, and bear spray.

NPS states that public transportation is not available in Yellowstone and that many companies run shuttle services and tours. In practice that means a rental car, or your own vehicle, for an independent trip. Book it with the flight. Bozeman lists eight major rental agencies next to baggage claim, and local buses, charters and shuttles running regular routes to the airport. Jackson Hole lists Avis and Budget, Enterprise, Hertz and National in the terminal, with Dollar, Thrifty and Hertz nine miles south in the town of Jackson.

We do not carry live flight status, schedules or fares. Those change daily. Check them on the airport's own site before you book.

One packing note from the NPS safety page: bear spray cannot go on airplanes. Buy it when you arrive (it is sold at stores inside the park and in the gateway towns) or rent it from the Bear Aware kiosks at the Canyon Visitor Education Center and the Old Faithful area.

Common questions.

What is the closest airport to Yellowstone?

West Yellowstone's seasonal airport, 5 miles from the West Entrance. Among year-round airports, Jackson Hole is 50 road miles from the South Entrance and Cody 54 from the East Entrance, but both of those entrance roads close for winter. Bozeman is about 88 to 91 miles from the North and West entrances.

Is it better to fly into Bozeman or Jackson Hole?

Bozeman, for most trips. It lists 9 airline brands and 24 nonstop markets against Jackson Hole's four year-round airlines, and its road to the North Entrance is open all year. Jackson Hole is closer, 50 miles to the South Entrance, but that road runs May 8 to October 31 in 2026, the drive crosses Grand Teton and NPS charges a separate entrance fee for it, and the airport closes from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m., so a late connection cannot land. Fly into Jackson Hole if Grand Teton is part of the trip.

Can I fly into Yellowstone in winter?

Yes. Five of the six airports run year-round. Gardiner is the only entrance you can drive in from, so Bozeman or Billings; see the winter map above.

How far is Bozeman airport from Yellowstone?

About 88 to 91 road miles, under two hours without stops. Add time for fuel, food, and summer traffic in the gateway towns.

Do I need a car in Yellowstone?

For an independent trip, you need a vehicle: your own, or a rental from the airport. NPS says there is no public transportation in the park. Tour companies run shuttles and day trips from the gateway towns if you would rather not drive.

Where these facts come from

The airport list, the seasonal note on West Yellowstone, and the statement that public transportation is not available come from the NPS directions page. Airport-to-entrance distances and drive times are computed by the OSRM routing engine on OpenStreetMap roads (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with airport coordinates from OurAirports and entrance coordinates from OpenStreetMap entrance-station nodes; last computed 2026-09-10. They are road distances and no-stop times, not live traffic. In-park segment drive times are NPS averages from the directions page, summed along the shortest route. Road dates come from the NPS park roads page. Airline, route-count, rental, and hours notes come from the airports' own sites: Bozeman, Jackson Hole, Cody, Idaho Falls, West Yellowstone, and Salt Lake City. The separate Grand Teton entrance fee on the Jackson Hole drive comes from the NPS Grand Teton fees page. Bear spray rules come from the NPS safety page. Independent site, not affiliated with the National Park Service.