Yellowstone in winter.

The one road you can drive.

From early November until the plowed roads reopen in mid-April, the only road in Yellowstone open to wheeled vehicles runs from Gardiner, Montana through the North Entrance to Mammoth, then east through Lamar Valley to Cooke City. It is 50 road miles between the two entrance stations, plowed all winter. It crosses the northern range, which NPS calls critical winter habitat for elk, bison, deer, and pronghorn, and which in turn feeds several wolf packs. That is why the corridor is the winter wildlife drive.

The Gardiner-Mammoth-Cooke City corridor is plowed, but expect ice in shaded stretches. NPS does not publish a four-wheel-drive requirement for this road. What it does ask winter drivers to carry is snow tires, a shovel, booster cables, a blanket, a flashlight, and a first aid kit, and to stop only in plowed pullouts. Animals have the right of way, and bison use the plowed road in winter: slow down or pull over until they move off it. Calls and texts usually will not go through, so download offline maps before you leave Gardiner. The Beartooth Highway closes for winter, and the nine miles of US-212 from Cooke City to Pilot Creek close to wheeled vehicles from early November to mid-May, so Cooke City is a dead end for cars all winter.

Check the Montana and Wyoming road reports for chain or tire rules on US-89 and US-212 outside the park.

Reaching the interior: snowcoach and snowmobile.

Old Faithful, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Norris, and Lake are reachable in winter only by snowcoach (a motorized tracked-vehicle bus built for snow-covered roads), by guided snowmobile tour, or through the NPS Non-commercially Guided Snowmobile Access Program, which issues a small number of daily permits by lottery. Oversnow trips enter from the West, South, East, and North entrances, per NPS. Prices vary by operator and tour length, so check current rates before booking.

NPS opens the groomed routes on December 15, 2026 and closes them in stages: Mammoth to Norris on March 7, 2027, the Norris to Madison and Norris to Canyon links on March 9, Canyon to Fishing Bridge on March 14, and the West, South, and East entrance routes on March 15. All dates can change with weather. Between the early-November road closures and December 15 the interior is closed to the public while enough snow builds up to groom. Winter capacity is limited, so book oversnow travel early; the NPS snowmobiling page lists the permit program and links the authorized operators.

The concessioner runs snowcoaches twice a day between Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel and Old Faithful Snow Lodge, and caps what you can bring at two bags, a small carry-on, and one pair of skis or snowshoes, per its winter transportation page. To ride your own snowmobile you need the NPS non-commercially guided permit: applications open August 1 and close August 31 for the following winter, permits are awarded in mid-September, and only four groups enter the park a day, one per oversnow entrance, at up to five snowmobiles each. If you are reading this in autumn, that lottery has closed. Warming huts and the Canyon and Old Faithful visitor centers have no published dates for winter 2026-27 yet, per the NPS operating dates.

Things to do in winter.

All unplowed roads and trails in Yellowstone are open to skis and snowshoes, and from the North Entrance at Gardiner you can reach the Mammoth, Tower, and Northeast trails without booking anything, per the NPS skiing and snowshoeing page. That is the cheapest way off the plowed corridor. The park concessioner rents skis and snowshoes and runs lessons at its Bear Den shops, but does not take advance reservations for gear.

The geyser basins stay open on foot. Boardwalks ice over near thermal features, so NPS tells winter visitors to wear traction aids over their boots and stay on the boardwalk: people have been killed breaking through thin ground. Soaking and swimming in the park's hot springs is prohibited. Both winter lodges put an outdoor rink outside the lobby and lend skates to guests.

Where to sleep.

Two in-park lodges run a winter season: Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, which you can drive to, and Old Faithful Snow Lodge, which you reach by snowcoach or snowmobile. The operator's dates page says Mammoth is open year-round except early March to late April (closing March 8, 2027) and lists December 16, 2026 to March 7, 2027 for the Snow Lodge. Mammoth Campground is the only campground open all year; it takes reservations April 15 to October 15, is first-come, first-served the rest of the year, and holds RV plus vehicle length to 30 feet from mid-October through April. The Albright Visitor Center at Mammoth is open year-round.

Winter bases: Gardiner, MT (at the North Entrance, about five miles from Mammoth by road) or Cooke City, MT (a small mountain town at the east end of the plowed corridor, with the Lamar Valley on your daily drive). West Yellowstone is open too, but you cannot drive into the park from there in winter; it is a snowcoach and snowmobile departure town.

Most other park facilities are closed for the winter, so check the NPS operating dates before you count on anything. Rooms release 13 months out: the operator opens a full month of the following year on the 5th of each month. Dinner reservations at both lodges are required and open 60 days before arrival. You can do the whole trip without a car. The operator runs a daily winter shuttle between Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport and Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, though it cannot be booked on the same day as the snowcoach to Old Faithful Snow Lodge, so plan a night at Mammoth in between (operator winter FAQ).

How quiet winter really is.

November averages about 24,000 recreation visits against 923,000 in July. December through March run 4% to 5% of July. Expect far fewer people at Old Faithful and on the boardwalks than in any summer month.

The tradeoff is reach. You see what the northern corridor and your oversnow route allow, not the whole loop. Winter is worth it if you came for wildlife, steam against snow, and empty boardwalks, and if you are willing to book transport instead of driving where you like. It is the wrong season for a first visit that wants the Grand Loop, the Canyon overlooks by car, and a flexible itinerary. Read the best time to visit Yellowstone page for how winter compares with the shoulders.

Daylight and cold.

At Mammoth the sun sets at 4:44 p.m. on December 21 and rises at 7:58 a.m. (Mountain Standard Time, per the U.S. Naval Observatory), so a winter day is under nine hours of light. NOAA 1991-2020 normals at the Mammoth station (USC00489905, 6,194 ft) put January's average high at 31°F and the low at 12°F. Old Faithful and Canyon sit higher and run colder still. Dress for standing still in wind while you watch wolves, not for hiking.

Those normals are the Mammoth station, the warmest and lowest developed place in the winter park. NPS gives the park-wide range as zero to 20°F through the day, with sub-zero nights and colder air at elevation (NPS Explore in Winter), on about 150 inches of snow a year and twice that high up (NPS weather page). Dress in layers you can add to while standing still, with a waterproof shell and boots that take traction spikes.

Common questions.

Can you drive to Old Faithful in winter?

No. The roads to Old Faithful close to cars in early November. From December 15, 2026 to March 15, 2027 you reach it by snowcoach or guided snowmobile, and Old Faithful Snow Lodge is open December 16 to March 7.

What is open in Yellowstone in winter?

The Gardiner to Cooke City road, the Albright Visitor Center, Mammoth Campground, Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel (open through March 8), and, by oversnow travel, Old Faithful Snow Lodge (December 16 to March 7). Interior roads are oversnow only from December 15.

Is winter the quietest time in Yellowstone?

Yes. November is the low point at about 3% of July's visits, and December through March run 4% to 5%.

Do I need a 4WD for Yellowstone in winter?

NPS does not require one on the northern corridor, which is plowed. Our advice is a vehicle with winter tires and the traction to handle ice, and to check the Montana road report and the Wyoming road report for the highways outside the park.

Where do snowcoach tours leave from?

Oversnow trips enter from the West, South, East, and North entrances, per NPS; the NPS snowmobiling page lists the authorized operators. Capacity is limited, so book early.

Where these facts come from

Road and oversnow dates come from the NPS park roads page; the permit program and lottery window from the NPS snowmobiling page; the northern range wildlife from the NPS Tower-Roosevelt page; winter driving gear, the pullout rule, and the right-of-way rule from the NPS winter safety and Explore in Winter pages; skiing access from the NPS skiing and snowshoeing page; snowcoach schedule, luggage limit, airport shuttle, booking window, dinner reservations, rentals, and skating from the operator's winter transportation page and winter FAQ; the corridor's road miles are computed on OpenStreetMap data (© OpenStreetMap contributors, routed by OSRM) between the Roosevelt Arch at Gardiner and the Northeast Entrance station, as a no-stop estimate. Winter lodge dates come from the operator's opening and closing dates page. Mammoth Campground and Albright Visitor Center year-round status comes from the NPS operating dates and campgrounds pages; lodge and visitor-center locations from OpenStreetMap. Sunrise and sunset come from the U.S. Naval Observatory for 2026 in local clock time; temperatures are NOAA 1991-2020 normals at the Mammoth station (USC00489905). Crowd numbers are five-year monthly means (2021 to 2025) of recreation visits from the NPS Visitor Use Statistics Data Package on NPS IRMA Stats. Independent site, not affiliated with the National Park Service.