yellowstone

Before schools are out or after school starts.
Sep can be very nice. Have to watch or check the parks construction schedule as there is times that a section of the park roads are closed. Normally they are closed at night, but some sections will close for the winter.
May/June has many flowers in bloom and baby animals.
Both times that you listed have their benefits.

mpfireman wrote:
We were in Yellowstone a few years back in late Sept, No large crowd, as the park is getting ready for the winter months. Some of the campgrounds might be closed, or have limited availability of camping sites. You can Expect freezing temps some nights. So pack accordingly. But you will have a good time. Remember Fishing Bridge is the only campground with utilities.

We prefer the first two weeks of June for Grand Teton and Yellowstone. All of the mpfireman's comments for late September apply to the early June time period as well. We prefer June because the mountains are beautiful with the winter snow still on them, compared with bare rock in the early Fall. In June the mountain streams and small waterfalls are cascading down the mountains from the snow melt, whereas in the Fall these streams are mostly dry. Lots of green grass and flowers in the Spring, compared to dry brown grass and few flowers later in the year. Lots of baby animals in the Spring and Moose and Elk bulls are in velvet.

First two weeks of June, we go without advance reservations with no difficulties. For campsites in Yellowstone, we do call ahead a day or two in advance or get to the non-reservable campgrounds in the morning.


We went to Yellowstone once in September and enjoyed seeing the bull Moose and Elk with full racks. That year there were forest fires west of the parks that resulted the mountains in our photos being obscured by haze.

Same here for late August, early September. One year we went the end of September and it was still nice during the day. Definitely less crowds and more wildlife activity.

September. Wildlife more active. Weather USUALLY good. No crowds!

we have always preferred late August to mid Sept for the Yellowstone/Grand Teton area, but part of the reason is that we're from south Texas so we're seeking high mountain country with less heat. Both parks are very popular so there will still be lots of people, but not quite as many as in July. But reservations are totally necessary if you want to stay inside Yellowstone, and it's best if you can do that because the park is so big. We like Bridge Bay because it's sort of Centrally located, and we enjoy dining out over at the Lake Lodge cafeteria. Fishing Bridge is also well located and has full hookups (but more expensive).
Make reservations as far ahead as you possibly can.

We were in Yellowstone a few years back in late Sept, No large crowd, as the park is getting ready for the winter months. Some of the campgrounds might be closed, or have limited availability of camping sites. You can Expect freezing temps some nights. So pack accordingly. But you will have a good time. Remember Fishing Bridge is the only campground with utilities.