Yellowstone Closes Its Roads in Winter, So Take the Snowcoach

Drive to Yellowstone in January and most of the park is closed to your car. From mid-December, the roads to Old Faithful, the canyon and the geyser basins are groomed snow, open only to snowcoaches and guided snowmobiles.

That is the whole appeal. The route that carries summer traffic jams now carries a few heated vans on giant tires, and bison use it too because it is the easiest path through the snow. Here is how to choose your gate, what a snowcoach day costs, and how to sleep inside the park when almost nobody else is there.

Three gates, three very different trips

Your starting town decides what you can reach. Most first-timers should begin in West Yellowstone or Gardiner, and the best trips use both.

West Yellowstone is the simple choice

The town sits right at the West Entrance, so a snowcoach is out of the car park and into the park at once. Yellowstone Vacations runs daily trips from the Yellowstone Park Hotel at around 8am, returning around 5pm: one to Old Faithful through March 15, and one to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone through March 9. Prices are not published, so call +1 406 646 9564 and ask what is included.

Gardiner is the only gate your car can use

The North Entrance stays open, and you can drive on through Mammoth Hot Springs and across the Lamar Valley. Then Xanterra, the park's lodging company, runs snowcoaches from Mammoth to Old Faithful at $179.45 one way for adults and $89.72 for children aged 3 to 11. Coming back costs $182.90. They leave twice daily and take a little over four hours. Note the catch below if you are flying in.

Jackson works if you are already there

Coaches from Jackson go up through Grand Teton to Flagg Ranch, then over snow to Old Faithful. It makes for a 12-hour day, with listings at about $375 from Teton Science Schools and about $450 from Scenic Safaris, with park fees extra on the latter. Choose it if you are already skiing Jackson Hole, and not otherwise.

What a snowcoach day is really like

A snowcoach is an enclosed, heated van or small bus on oversized tires or tracks, driven by a guide who narrates as you go. It is not fast. Expect a long day of slow travel broken up by short stops at thermal areas and for whatever wildlife is on the road, and when bison walk down the middle of the route, you wait.

Dress as if the heating will not reach you. Guides often crack the windows to stop them fogging, and the stops are outdoors on boardwalks or packed snow. Bring water, snacks, sunglasses and a phone battery that is warm, since cold drains it fast and most of the park has no signal anyway.

Snowmobiles are the other way in, and they are faster and far colder. Every sled must be on a guided tour or hold a permit, so you cannot simply rent one and ride in. If you want the fresh air and the speed, West Yellowstone is the place to book. For a first visit, the coach lets you watch the landscape rather than the sled in front.

Old Faithful with almost nobody around

This is the reason to stay overnight. Old Faithful Snow Lodge opens December 16 and closes March 7, and it is the only hotel deep inside the park in winter. When the day coaches leave, the basin goes quiet, and you can walk the boardwalks at dusk with the geyser, the steam and very few other people.

The lodge is also a base for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, with rentals and guided tours run from the same building, and the Geyser Grill feeds the day visitors. Rooms are limited, so this is the one booking to make before anything else. It is not sold on Booking.com, so reserve directly through Yellowstone National Park Lodges.

The frozen Lower Falls are worth a second day

Everyone goes to Old Faithful, which is why the canyon is the better second trip. The drop of the Lower Falls, with ice banked up around it, is a sight you only get in these few months, and the route from West Yellowstone runs through snow-covered forest. The trip is a long day, so do not try to pair it with Old Faithful. Book two separate days, or skip it if you only have one.

Wolves and bison from the one road you can drive

The road from Gardiner through Mammoth and the Lamar Valley to Cooke City stays open to ordinary cars, weather permitting, and plows clear it in daylight. Winter is often called the best season for wolves, because the animals stand out against the snow. Cooke City is a dead end in winter, so it is an out-and-back drive of about 2 hours each way.

Be honest with yourself about that last caption. Seeing wolves here takes an early start, patience and optics, and a guide who knows where the packs were yesterday makes a big difference. A private winter safari from Gardiner is the strongest option, or if you are based further out, this winter wildlife tour from Big Sky and Bozeman covers the same valley. Xanterra also runs its own Lamar Valley trip from Mammoth.

Where to sleep, from Old Faithful to the gateway towns

Inside the park you have two choices: Old Faithful Snow Lodge, and Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel and Cabins, open through March 8. Both book through the park's lodging company. Outside it, these places were all showing January availability in late October. Prices are for two weeknights, January 19 to 21, 2027, before tax.

West Yellowstone, for snowcoach days

Sleep at the Yellowstone Park Hotel at about $380 and you can walk to the morning coach. Gray Wolf Inn & Suites at about $220 is the budget pick, and Explorer Cabins at about $380 suits a family that wants its own front door. The town is built around snowmobile trade, so expect engine noise in the morning rather than wilderness calm.

Gardiner, for Lamar Valley and Mammoth

Yellowstone Gateway Inn at about $240 and Absaroka Lodge at about $280 are simple bases a few minutes from the North Entrance. Gardiner is small and many places shut for the season, so check that your dinner plan is open.

Cooke City, for the dawn wolf watch

Sleeping at the far end of the road puts you in the Lamar Valley before anyone driving in from Gardiner. Alpine Motel at about $260 is as basic as the town, which has few services in winter. Bring supplies and accept the trade.

Jackson, for a bigger trip

If you are combining Yellowstone with the Tetons, Anvil Hotel at about $280 is a stylish base near the town square, and much cheaper than the big names there. Just remember how long the coach day from here is.

What it costs, and the fee overseas visitors miss

• Park entrance: $35 per private vehicle or $20 per person, valid for seven days.
• Non-US residents: an extra $100 per person aged 16 and over, unless you hold an annual pass. The $250 nonresident annual pass avoids the surcharge, which starts to make sense with three or more adults in one car.
• Tour fares: Xanterra's snowcoach fares include taxes but not guide tips, and its airport shuttle does not include the entrance fee. Ask any operator exactly what its price covers.
• Luggage on the coach: two bags each, then $25 for each extra or overweight bag. Bags travel in a separate vehicle, so keep your layers with you.

Flights, cold and the right month

Bozeman is the main airport for this trip. Xanterra's winter shuttle leaves there at 1:30pm for Mammoth, arriving at 4pm, for $110.81 one way, and you need a Xanterra stay or tour to ride it. To drive, compare rental cars at Bozeman airport and ask for winter-ready tires. Jackson Hole airport is the other gateway, and it fits the southern route.

The park's own figures put daytime temperatures at zero to 20°F (-18 to -7°C), with sub-zero nights common. Wear a base layer, a fleece, a windproof outer shell, insulated boots, a hat and two pairs of gloves, with no cotton next to your skin. Snow depth builds through the season, and the first days after December 15 depend on it. Late January and February are the safer bet, and they also avoid the Christmas rush at the lodges.

For another winter trip that runs on animals and cold, compare Fairbanks or Yellowknife for the northern lights. If you would rather combine this with skiing, see Vail, Breckenridge or Aspen, or head north to Banff and Lake Louise. There is more on the North America page.