Yellowstone in Winter: Snowmobiling, Snowshoeing and What Is Open
From early November to late April the only Yellowstone road open to regular cars is Gardiner to Cooke City across the north. Everything else, including Old Faithful, is reached only by snowcoach, guided snowmobile or skis. West Yellowstone is the snowmobile capital, with roughly 400 miles of groomed trail on the national forest outside the park. Inside the park, snowmobiles must be guided, or you must win the non-commercially guided access lottery. Interior roads reopen to oversnow travel around mid December.
What is actually open
- The north road, all year. Gardiner to Mammoth to Tower to Lamar Valley to Cooke City. Plowed, open to cars, and it holds the best winter wildlife watching in the park.
- Interior roads, mid December to mid March, oversnow only. Snowcoach and guided snowmobile from West Yellowstone, Mammoth and the South Entrance.
- Shoulder gaps. Roads close to cars in early November and do not open to oversnow travel until mid December. Late March to late April is the reverse. In those windows much of the park is simply shut.
West Yellowstone snowmobile trails
West Yellowstone bills itself as the snowmobile capital of the world and the claim is defensible. Outside the park, the Gallatin and Caribou-Targhee national forests hold roughly 400 miles of groomed trail, free to ride without a guide. The three that matter:
- Two Top National Recreation Trail. The signature ride. Climbs to about 8,700 feet on the Continental Divide, and the wind sculpted ghost trees at the top are the reason people come.
- Big Sky Trail. Runs north up the Gallatin toward Big Sky, long and fast.
- South Plateau Trail. South toward Island Park and the Idaho trail network, which connects into hundreds more miles.
Inside the park is a different rule set. Commercially guided tours run to Old Faithful and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. The alternative is the Non-commercially Guided Snowmobile Access Program, a lottery run through recreation.gov in the autumn that lets a small number of private groups ride without a commercial guide. Machines must meet the park’s best available technology standard either way.
Snowshoeing in Yellowstone
Snowshoeing is free, needs no lottery and is the cheapest way into a winter park. Good ground:
- Upper Terrace at Mammoth. Reached by car all winter, which makes it the most accessible snowshoe in the park.
- Tower Fall. The road is plowed to Tower, and the short trail to the overlook is straightforward in snow.
- Lone Star Geyser. Five miles round trip from the Old Faithful area on an old service road, flat the whole way. Requires a snowcoach to reach the trailhead.
- Blacktail Plateau. The summer one way dirt drive becomes a quiet ski and snowshoe route.
Rentals are easy in Gardiner, Mammoth and West Yellowstone. Dress for genuine cold: nights in the interior regularly reach 20 below zero Fahrenheit.
Winter photography tours
Winter is the park at its best for photography and the reason the tours exist. Steam from the geyser basins freezes onto the trees into what people call ghost trees, bison walk the roads with frost on their faces, and the low sun lasts all day. Multi day tours run out of West Yellowstone, Gardiner and Bozeman, usually with snowcoach transport included because you cannot drive yourself to the subjects. Two practical notes: batteries die fast in the cold, so carry spares against your body, and a lens brought from a warm coach into the open will fog for several minutes.
Build a winter trip
Winter Yellowstone takes more planning than summer because access is the constraint rather than crowds. Tell us your dates and we will sort the oversnow bookings, the lodging and the order. See also our month by month guide. Planning is free, and we earn only if you book through us.
Yellowstone in Winter: Snowmobiling, Snowshoeing and What Is Open FAQs
Only across the north. The Gardiner to Cooke City road is plowed and open to cars all year. Every other road in the park closes to regular vehicles from early November to late April, and reopens to snowcoach and guided snowmobile around mid December.
Roughly 400 miles of groomed trail on the Gallatin and Caribou-Targhee national forests outside the park, ridden without a guide. The signature route is the Two Top National Recreation Trail, which climbs to about 8,700 feet on the Continental Divide.
Inside the park, yes, unless you win a place in the Non-commercially Guided Snowmobile Access Program lottery run through recreation.gov. On the national forest trails outside the park no guide is required.
The Upper Terrace at Mammoth and the trail at Tower Fall are both reachable by car all winter. Lone Star Geyser, five miles round trip and flat, is the best interior option but needs a snowcoach to reach the trailhead.
