Yellowstone- "Somewhat" Avoiding The Crowds?

genesis273

genesis273

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My wife and I are thinking about visiting Yellowstone this spring/summer. We both have extremely flexible vacation time to go, but we're not sure of an ideal time to go. Would early May be decent with avoiding alot of the crowds? If not, any suggestions would be welcome.
 
I was there in late August 2017 and I didn't think the crowds were too bad. We tried to get out early each morning to beat the crowds and for the most part that worked.

I believe June and July are the busiest.

As for early May, there might be some roads that are still closed. Maybe others can shed some light on that.
 
I have only been there in from late June to early August. Truthfully, I have never found it that bad unless we are doing the old faithful and grand prysmatic stuff. Going earlier means poor or no fishing from runoff. Some of the trails won't be in very good shape either. Going later would be better but we can't because of sports practice and school. The only hitch on a normal day for us is an occasional buffalo jam but that's possible any time of year. Just stay in the northern half of the park and it's really not that bad. I assume you've been to smokey or Shenandoah national parks, and Yellowstone is not as bad as they are.
 
The busiest time periods are July through mid-August. And in my opinion yes, the crowds are terrible. My opinion if you are flexible. Is wait to see in March when the last roads will be opening and get there in mid-May with the intent to stay through the last roads opening.

If fishing is important to you, streams shouldn’t be blown out yet, but they will be high.
 
September is our preferred time to visit Yellowstone, early to mid to be more specific. Elk are rutting & all wildlife becomes much more visible. Crowds are basically nonexistent after Labor Day.
 
We went in May a couple years ago. We were able to find parking spots without too much trouble, so I’d say it wasn’t too bad.
 
I have been to Jackson in early June and August. There were crowds in June but they weren't too bad. August, on the other hand, was insanely busy and I will never go back at that time again.
 
Have you considered a winter visit to Yellowstone?

I went about 10 years ago during the winter and it was much more enjoyable that the summer visits I have done.
 
My wife and I did a winter trip for our anniversary one year. It was kind of expensive but we thought it was worth every penny. Stayed in Mammoth two nights then took the snow coach down to Old Faithful for two more. We watched Old Faithful erupt one morning at 0600 and there were only 3 other people there!!!

When we go on our own trips we always try to make it before Labor Day or after Memorial Day. I prefer fall when the elk are starting the rut.
 
Keep in mind too that if you're looking to watch the animals, May is a terrible month for that. Most are still coming out of their winter phase, coats look bad and a lot of them are skinny due to the stresses of winter. Compared to what they look like later, mid-June through the end of the season, even with crowds, the animals are much better to look at by then.

If your focus is just on scenery, then it doesn't matter really. Go earlier in the season to avoid the crowds but, some trails and roads may still be closed. Remember, Yellowstone is pretty high in elevation so winter leaves much later than most other places.

I personally enjoy the fishing most. July is really the start of the best dry fly fishing in the park. Salmon flies hatch in the the streams in the park later in June, depending on various factors. Lower-down, toward Bozeman, they will sometimes hatch as early as Memorial Day but usually, early June is good timing for that hatch around Bozeman. Working their way upstream to the park from there.
 
Mid September. The aspens are turning, rivers aren't blown out, the elk are bugling, and the kids are back in school with their families at home.

Drove for 10 minutes without seeing another car or person this fall.
 
R.K. said:
Mid September. The aspens are turning, rivers aren't blown out, the elk are bugling, and the kids are back in school with their families at home.

Drove for 10 minutes without seeing another car or person this fall.
Click to expand...

I will fourth this opinion. Summer vacation for school age kids is the busiest I would say. Its worth taking the loop roads to the main attractions at least once, but that is where the majority of the people are going. Anywhere else isn't nearly as bad. You can even drive by those, and if you see a couple buses, skip that geyser basin for an hour or so and come back or something like that. Then it doesn't seem too bad. That SW corner of the park doesn't seem to get as much traffic and has some good hiking. The NE corner is still my favorite, though. May and even early-mid June will still probably have quite a bit of snow in some places I think if that wasn't already mentioned.
 
Spring plus: young of the year to watch. Wildflowers are in bloom. water levels are low (pre runoff of course). Cool to cold weather.
Fall: elk rut, cooling temps, animals grouping up, good fishing.

If you plan on spending anytime in the park (over a few days) then the "touristy" stuff can be done in couple of days and you can get off the road and start hiking. The levels of people drop preciptously then. My favorite time to go is Late July for the bison rut and peak fishing. I avoid the hotspots like upper geyser, grand canyon and mammoth and usually it isn't horrible. If you told us what you were looking to do while there, we could advise better.
 
I've only been once and that was early Oct this year. No crowds but there was potential for bad weather/snow. I think the mid-Sept recommendation some have made sounds perfect if planning specifically for Yellowstone.
 
I suppose what's busy to one may not be to others, but in my experience September is still pretty crowded relative to what it's like the first few days of October. But I've also never been during the summer madness either. If you've never been to Yellowstone, it's certainly worth a visit to see everything, but these days my family likes spending the bulk of our time in Grand Teton.
 
Thanks everyone for the feedback! That has been very helpful!!
Mid September is out because of my annual elk hunt, which lasts 2-3 weeks. So it'll need to be between May and late July, assuming before May is out because of weather and road closures.
 
In order to dodge the bulk of the crowds, September is hard to beat because the weather is still great and the elk are rutting which makes for a neat visit. If September’s out, I’d do May. Most likely, the weather will not be nearly as good as you’d expect for May. It can still be cold in the Park in May with wet weather mixed in (rain/snow). So, bring a jacket. And the positive about May is that it is a fantastic time to find bears. Good chance to see black bears around Tower/Roosevelt in May and griz in a bunch of places: Dunraven Pass, Hayden Valley, Lamar Valley, Lake area, etc
 
Cav1 said:
My wife and I did a winter trip for our anniversary one year. It was kind of expensive but we thought it was worth every penny. Stayed in Mammoth two nights then took the snow coach down to Old Faithful for two more. We watched Old Faithful erupt one morning at 0600 and there were only 3 other people there!!!

When we go on our own trips we always try to make it before Labor Day or after Memorial Day. I prefer fall when the elk are starting the rut.
Click to expand...

I am going to have to give that a try with my wife. I suspect she would really like the snow coach experience. The drivers are always interesting as well.

I was fortunate enough to experience Old Faithful with just my dad and brother on my winter visit about 10 years ago. We had a few beers watching the only TV in the place at the bar one evening. Decided to wander out about 2 AM when it was a bit below zero. Made the loop and got to watch with nobody else in attendance.

Now there is probably TV's in every room and wifi but not having that stuff made it that much more memorable IMO.
 
Go before memorial day, and get out early in the mornings. Also, the counter girls/guys at the park gas stations have the best and latest intel on where the critters are.
 
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