Yellowstone in Winter 2026–27 from Montana: Roads, Snowcoaches, Wolves and Fees

On November 1, 2026, Yellowstone closed most of its roads to cars, as it does every year. What stays open is the park's quietest and, for wildlife, best season: bison and elk on the snowy northern range, wolves hunting in the open, and Old Faithful without the summer crowds. For winter visitors, Yellowstone is reached from Montana: by car from Gardiner, or by snowcoach and snowmobile from West Yellowstone.

This guide covers the 2026–27 season: which road you can drive, when the oversnow season runs, what snowcoaches cost, how the self-guided snowmobile permits work, the wolves of the Lamar Valley, and the 2026 fee change that costs foreign visitors an extra $100 each.

The Roosevelt Arch at Yellowstone's North Entrance in Gardiner, the one park entrance open to cars all winter. Image: Yellowstone National Park, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

The one road you can drive

From November 1 until spring, one road in Yellowstone is open to private cars: from the North Entrance at Gardiner, past the Mammoth Hot Springs terraces, Tower Junction and the Lamar Valley, to the Northeast Entrance at Silver Gate and Cooke City. It is plowed all winter, weather permitting, and isn't gated at night.

Three things to know about it:

• It starts on a temporary road. The June 2022 flood washed out the North Entrance road along the Gardner River. Since October 30, 2022, traffic between Gardiner and Mammoth has used the widened Old Gardiner Road, the park's original 1879 entrance. In January 2026 the Park Service said it was still choosing a permanent replacement.
• Cooke City is a dead end. The Beartooth Highway to Red Lodge is closed all winter, and 9 miles of the road towards Cody are open only to snowmobiles. You return the way you came, through Gardiner.
• There are roadworks into late November. The Gardner River High Bridge near Mammoth has single-lane traffic and delays of up to 15 minutes until November 24, 2026.

For recorded road conditions, call (307) 344-2117, or text 82190 to 888-777 for alerts.

The log Northeast Entrance station near Silver Gate in February, the far end of the winter road. Image: Yellowstone National Park from Yellowstone NP, USA, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Wolves in the Lamar Valley

The winter road runs through the Lamar Valley, the best place in the park to see wolves. About 90% of their winter diet is elk, which winter on the northern range. At the end of 2025 the park counted 84 wolves in seven packs, down from 108 a year earlier, mainly because few pups survived. Biologists call that a natural fluctuation. 53 of them were on the northern range: the 8 Mile and Rescue Creek packs (16 each), Junction Butte (15) and Bliss Pass (6).

Wolves are most active at dawn and dusk, and they mate in February. Watch from the pullouts with binoculars or a spotting scope, and follow the rules:

• Stay at least 100 yards from wolves and bears, and 25 yards from bison and elk.
• Park only in pullouts, and don't stop, stand or walk on the road.
• No spotlighting, howling or electronic tracking.
• "If you cause an animal to move, you're too close."

The plowed road through the Lamar Valley on a snowy winter day. Image: YellowstoneNPS, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Old Faithful by snowcoach or snowmobile

The rest of the park opens to oversnow vehicles only. The 2026–27 oversnow season starts on December 15, 2026. The roads close in stages from March 7, 2027 (Mammoth to Norris) to March 15 (the West, South and East entrances). The Park Service calls these dates projected, and low snow can delay the start: in December 2025, some trips from West Yellowstone to Old Faithful were cancelled for lack of snow.

From Mammoth, Xanterra runs snowcoaches to Old Faithful twice a day, leaving at 7:45 a.m. and 1:45 p.m. and arriving about four hours later. The 2026–27 fare is $179.45 for adults and $89.72 for children 3–11, one way, tax included but not tips. The return costs $182.90.

From West Yellowstone, Yellowstone Expeditions' day trips to Old Faithful or the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone cost $190 for adults and $160 for children, leaving at 9 a.m. and back about 5 p.m. A one-way shuttle to the Snow Lodge costs $125, and a private 10-seat coach $1,800. Add the 4% West Yellowstone city tax, plus the $20 park entrance fee for anyone aged 16 to 61 without a pass.

A Yellowstone snowcoach on the snow road through the Hoodoos near Mammoth. Image: Yellowstone National Park, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Guided snowmobile tours leave from West Yellowstone with several operators. Every machine in the park must meet the Park Service's "best available technology" standard, and tracked side-by-sides aren't allowed. Prices vary by operator; ask for the 2026–27 rate including park fees.

Riding without a guide: the N-CGSAP permit

The Non-Commercially Guided Snowmobile Access Program lets up to four self-guided groups a day into the park, one at each oversnow entrance. The 2026–27 lottery closed on August 31, but cancelled and unclaimed permits have been sold first-come, first-served on Recreation.gov since October 1, with no waiting list.

• Cost: $40 per day per permit, plus a $6 application fee.
• Group: up to five snowmobiles, for trips of up to three days.
• The leader must be 18 or over, may lead at most two trips a season, and may not charge anyone. Every rider needs a driving licence and the free online Yellowstone snowmobile certificate.
• No refunds for bad weather or road closures.

A snowmobiler showing an N-CGSAP permit at the West Entrance station. Image: Yellowstone National Park, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Where to stay

• Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel is the only hotel in the park you can drive to in winter. Its $30 million renovation finished in 2019. Winter activities start on December 15, 2026, and it closes on March 8, 2027.
• Old Faithful Snow Lodge is open from December 16, 2026 to March 7, 2027, and is reached only by snowcoach or snowmobile.
• Mammoth Campground is the only campground open all year: 85 first-come sites.
• Gardiner and West Yellowstone both stay open all winter, though some businesses close or cut their hours. Cooke City is open but small.

Book the park hotels as early as you can; the Park Service advises the same.

Gardiner's main street in winter, with Electric Peak behind. Image: Jim Peaco, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Skiing and snowshoeing

From the winter road you can reach trails at Mammoth, Tower and the Northeast Entrance. The Upper Terrace Loop at Mammoth is a groomed loop of about 1.5 miles, with one steep downhill; the Snow Pass Trail (4.2 miles) and Sheepeater Trail (5 miles one way) are tracked by skiers. Rent skis at the Bear Den shop in the Mammoth Hotel. Don't walk in ski tracks, and keep off thermal ground: its crust can be thin, and people have died breaking through.

Entrance fees in 2026

• Car: $35 for seven days. Snowmobile: $30. On foot, ski or snowcoach: $20 per person aged 16 and over.
• New in 2026: non-US residents aged 16 and over pay an extra $100 each at Yellowstone, Glacier and nine other busy parks, including on commercial tours such as snowcoaches.
• America the Beautiful pass: $80 for US residents, $250 for non-residents since January 1, 2026. The non-resident pass waives the $100 surcharge, so a foreign couple visiting two parks saves money by buying it.
• Fee-free days now apply only to US citizens and residents.

Practical notes

• Cold: daytime temperatures are 0–20°F, and Mammoth's January average is 9°F. Lows of −30°F happen, and the park record is −66°F (1933, near the West Entrance).
• Fuel: Mammoth's gas station is unstaffed in winter but its pumps take cards. Fill up in Gardiner, and don't count on Cooke City.
• Phones: the Park Service warns you will "likely not receive calls or texts" in most of the park.
• Getting there: US-89 from Livingston to Gardiner is plowed all year. Our two-day Yellowstone itinerary from Gardiner works in winter as far as Lamar.
• Nearby: after a cold morning in Lamar, Yellowstone Hot Springs (8 miles north of Gardiner) and Chico (Paradise Valley) are the nearest soaks; see our hot springs guide.

Prices and dates as published in October 2026.