When to Go to Yellowstone
Most of the three million people who visit Yellowstone each year come during summer. Although, more people are discovering the joy of exploring Yellowstone in the "off seasons"--spring, fall and winter. Yellowstone is a year round park, but travel should be planned with consideration of the conditions you will likely encounter.
Summer
Daytime temperatures are often in the 70s (25C) and occasionally in the 80s (30C) in lower elevations. Nights are usually cool and temperatures may drop below freezing at higher elevations. Thunderstorms are common in the afternoons.
Winter
Temperatures often range from zero to 20F (-20 to -5C) throughout the day. Sub-zero temperatures over-night are common. The record low temperature is -66F (-54C). Snowfall is highly variable. While the average is 150 inches per year, it is not uncommon for higher elevations to get twice that amount.
Spring & Fall
Daytime temperatures range from the 30s to the 60s (0 to 20C) with overnight lows in the teens to single digits (-5 to -20C). Snow is common in the spring and fall with regular accumulations of 12" in a 24 hour period.
The best time to see the animals in Yellowstone are early morning and the evening. Just be careful these animals are still wild the early morning and evening hours is the best time to see a moose at a watering hole or an elk peeking through the tall grasses. Here are suggestions for seeing the animals in Yellowstone Moose and Bison seem to be found through out the park.
For the most part, grizzly bears avoid the roads and heavy use areas that are occupied by people. The average grizzly bear in the Yellowstone area will avoid an active road up to 2.4 miles. During spring and mid summer, a few visitors do get lucky and have the opportunity to see a grizzly bear.
In early spring (May and June) bears can be viewed just about anywhere in the park. In late summer (Aug.) visitors report seeing grizzly bears at Canyon and Mount Washburn.
Winter is the best time for viewing wolves, and can be viewed from the northern boundary of Yellowstone park to as far south as Jackson, Wy. The most popular area to view wolves is in the northern range of Yellowstone between Mammoth and Cooke City, Mt. Bald eagles migrate down from Canada and Alaska during the early winter and feed on animals that have died here in the park. They are also commonly found feeding on wolf kills during the winter months up in the northern range of the park. They then migrate back home in early spring where they feed on the spawning salmon.
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