Last updated: October 2026
Part of our Yellowstone from Montana guide →
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Three of Yellowstone’s five entrances are in Montana: the North Entrance at Gardiner, the West Entrance at West Yellowstone, and the Northeast Entrance near Cooke City and Silver Gate. Only about 3% of the park is in Montana (NPS). Still, Bozeman’s airport is about an hour and three-quarters from Gardiner, and the road from Gardiner to Cooke City is the one route through the park that stays open to cars all winter (NPS Park Roads). Yellowstone doesn’t require vehicle reservations (NPS). What does require planning is the season. Most park roads close to cars from early November to mid- or late April.
Which entrance fits your trip
| Entrance | Montana gateway | Closest big sights | Open to cars | Getting there |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North | Gardiner | Mammoth Hot Springs (about 15 min) | Year-round | Bozeman, Livingston via US-89 |
| West | West Yellowstone | Madison (30 min), then Old Faithful (35–45 min more) | Mid-April to Oct. 31 in 2026 | Bozeman via US-191; West Yellowstone airport |
| Northeast | Cooke City / Silver Gate | Lamar Valley, Tower (about 60 min to Tower Junction) | Year-round from the park side; Beartooth Highway is seasonal | Red Lodge and Billings via US-212 (summer); Gardiner via the park (winter) |
Sources: NPS Directions & Transportation (drive times); NPS Park Roads (2026 projected dates). Roads typically open at 8 a.m. on the first day.
If you want Old Faithful and the geyser basins, go in through West Yellowstone. If you want wildlife in winter, or a year-round option, use Gardiner. In winter, the only way to reach Old Faithful is on a commercially guided snowcoach or snowmobile tour. If you want Lamar Valley and a dramatic approach in summer, come in over the Beartooth Highway to the Northeast Entrance.
A guided wildlife-watching tour from Gardiner is an option if you’d rather have a guide do the wildlife spotting.
Drive times from Montana airports and towns
| From | To | Distance / time (estimate) |
|---|---|---|
| Bozeman Yellowstone Int’l Airport (BZN) | Gardiner (North Entrance) | 90 mi / ~1 hr 45 min |
| BZN | West Yellowstone (West Entrance) | 93 mi / ~2 hr |
| Bozeman (downtown) | Gardiner | 78 mi / ~1 hr 30 min |
| Bozeman (downtown) | West Yellowstone | 89 mi / ~1 hr 55 min |
| Bozeman | Big Sky | 44 mi / ~1 hr |
| Livingston | Gardiner | 54 mi / ~1 hr |
| Billings Logan Int’l Airport (BIL) | Gardiner | 173 mi / ~3 hr 15 min |
| BIL | Red Lodge | about 63 mi |
| Red Lodge | Cooke City (Beartooth Highway) | 64 mi / ~2 hr |
| BIL | Cooke City (via Beartooth, summer only) | 127 mi / ~3 hr 35 min |
| BIL | West Yellowstone | 236 mi / ~4 hr 35 min |
| Yellowstone Airport (WYS) | West Yellowstone town | 3 mi / ~5 min |
| Inside the park (NPS averages) | Minutes |
|---|---|
| North Entrance → Mammoth Hot Springs | 15 |
| Mammoth → Tower Junction | 40 |
| Tower Junction → Northeast Entrance | 60 |
| West Entrance → Madison Junction | 30 |
| Madison Junction → Old Faithful | 35–45 |
| Mammoth → Norris Junction | 45 |
| Canyon Village → Tower Junction | 50–60 |
Outside-the-park estimates come from OSRM routing on OpenStreetMap data, run Oct. 21, 2026. They assume no traffic or construction. In-park times are from NPS, which notes that they “may be significantly longer due to wildlife on the roadway, weather, or infrastructure improvement projects.” The park speed limit is 45 mph unless posted otherwise, and the maximum RV length is 75 feet.
2026 road dates, and what to expect in 2027
The park publishes projected dates each year. Here are the 2026 dates for regular vehicles (NPS Park Roads):
| Road | 2026 projected dates |
|---|---|
| North Entrance → Northeast Entrance (via Mammoth, Tower, Lamar) | Year-round |
| West Entrance → Madison → Old Faithful; Madison → Norris; Mammoth → Norris → Canyon | April 17 – Oct. 31 |
| East Entrance (Sylvan Pass); Canyon → Bridge Bay | May 1 – Oct. 31 |
| South Entrance → West Thumb; Craig Pass; West Thumb → Lake; Tower-Roosevelt → Tower Fall | May 8 – Oct. 31 |
| Dunraven Pass (Canyon → Tower Fall) | May 22 – Oct. 12 (may stay open later, depending on conditions) |
| Beartooth Highway (US-212) and Chief Joseph Scenic Byway (WY-296) | May 22 – Oct. 12 |
Winter oversnow travel, by commercially guided snowmobile or snowcoach only, is scheduled from Dec. 15, 2026. Most segments close between March 7 and March 15, 2027. The 2027 summer dates haven’t been posted yet. As of Oct. 22, 2026, the park’s Oct. 21 release covered only this fall’s closures: most roads and the West, South and East entrances close to regular vehicles on Nov. 1 (NPS, Oct. 21, 2026). If 2027 follows the 2026 pattern, the West Entrance will be the first seasonal entrance to open, in mid-April, with the road through to Old Faithful.
Construction delays in 2026: the Gardner River High Bridge, half a mile southeast of Mammoth toward Tower, was down to one lane with delays of up to 15 minutes, around the clock, from April 13 through late October. Oversize vehicles (8’6″ or wider, 75 feet or longer, or 80,000 lbs or heavier) couldn’t cross it. The Northeast Entrance Road near Tower Junction has paving delays of up to 30 minutes through November (NPS Park Roads). For road alerts, text 82190 to 888-777, or call (307) 344-2117.
The Beartooth Highway
US-212 climbs from Red Lodge over the Beartooth Plateau to Cooke City and the Northeast Entrance. The NPS describes it as “typically open the Friday of Memorial Day weekend to mid-October,” and it was listed as closed for the season when we checked in October 2026 (NPS Park Roads). Weather can close it after it opens, so check Montana and Wyoming DOT before you go.
From October to May, the way to reach Cooke City by car is through the park from Gardiner. The Chief Joseph Scenic Byway (WY-296) is open year-round from WY-120 to the Pilot Creek parking area. The 9 miles from Pilot Creek to Cooke City are closed to wheeled vehicles in winter and open again from about mid-May to early November (NPS).
Flying in: BZN, BIL or WYS
The park lists Bozeman and Billings among the airports with year-round commercial service, along with Cody, Jackson and Idaho Falls. Yellowstone Airport (WYS) in West Yellowstone has flights from Salt Lake City only from early May to mid-October (NPS).
- BZN is the closest year-round airport to both Montana entrances, at roughly 1¾ hours to Gardiner and 2 hours to West Yellowstone. Bus service runs year-round from Bozeman to West Yellowstone on US-191. Commercial transportation from Bozeman to Gardiner runs in summer and winter (NPS). Driving yourself? Compare rental cars at BZN.
- BIL makes sense if you’re combining the Beartooth Highway with the Northeast Entrance in summer. It’s more than three hours to Gardiner. Compare rental cars at BIL.
- WYS puts you minutes from the West Entrance, but only in season.
BZN is the closest year-round airport to both Montana entrances.
There’s no train service to the park, and no public transportation inside it (NPS). Guided tours are the main alternative to driving. From the Montana side, one option is the Best of Yellowstone full-day tour from Bozeman.
A full-day guided option if you would rather not drive the park yourself.
Fees
| Pass | Price |
|---|---|
| Private vehicle (7 days) | $35 |
| Motorcycle or snowmobile | $30 |
| Per person (on foot or bicycle) | $20 |
| Yellowstone annual pass | $70 |
| America the Beautiful annual pass | $80 for U.S. citizens and residents; $250 for non-U.S. residents |
| Nonresident fee | $100 per person, for non-U.S. residents 16 and older, on top of the standard pass. It doesn’t apply if you enter with an annual or America the Beautiful pass |
Source: NPS Yellowstone Fees & Passes, and the NPS Data API park record (retrieved Oct. 21, 2026). All five entrance stations accept cash or credit/debit cards, unlike Glacier, which is card-only. No vehicle reservation is needed. The 2027 fees haven’t been published.
Where to stay: Montana gateways
| Town | Entrance | Local resort tax | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gardiner | North | 4%, collected seasonally from May 1 (Gardiner RAD) | Year-round access; Mammoth is 15 min |
| West Yellowstone | West | 4% (Town of West Yellowstone) | Closest to geyser basins; seasonal airport |
| Cooke City / Silver Gate | Northeast | 3%, enacted 2006, per MT DOR. Local rates can change, so check the current rate when you book | Closest to Lamar Valley; Silver Gate is ~3 mi from Cooke City |
| Red Lodge | (via Beartooth) | 4% (City of Red Lodge) | Summer approach to Northeast Entrance |
| Big Sky | (US-191 corridor) | 4% (Big Sky RAD) | About an hour from Bozeman, on the road toward West Yellowstone |
Montana’s combined 8% state lodging tax applies on top of the resort taxes (MT DOR). For how the two fit together, see our guide to Montana sales, lodging and resort taxes.
Compare West Yellowstone hotels or West Yellowstone vacation rentals for your dates.
Inside the park, Yellowstone National Park Lodges runs all nine lodging properties (NPS Lodging). Two are a short drive from the Montana entrances:
- Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel & Cabins (near the North Entrance) is open year-round except for a short closure in March and April.
- Roosevelt Lodge Cabins at Tower-Roosevelt run from early June to early September.
Most rooms in the park have no air conditioning or TV. Book in-park rooms through the park’s authorized concessioner, Yellowstone National Park Lodges, by phone at 307-344-7311 or online at yellowstonenationalparklodges.com.
Camping near the Montana entrances
All Yellowstone campsites require a reservation, and reservations open six months ahead on a rolling basis. The exception is Mammoth in the off-season (NPS Camping).
| Campground | Nearest MT entrance | 2026 dates | Fee | Sites | Book through |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mammoth | North | Year-round (reservations mid-April to mid-October; first-come the rest of the year) | $25 | 82 | Recreation.gov |
| Indian Creek | North | June 12 – Sept. 14 | $20 | 70 | Recreation.gov |
| Slough Creek | Northeast | June 15 – Oct. 12 | $20 | 16 | Recreation.gov |
| Tower Fall | North/Northeast | May 22 – Sept. 27 | $20 | 31 | Recreation.gov |
| Pebble Creek | Northeast | Closed until further notice (2022 flood damage) | — | 27 | — |
| Madison | West | May 1 – Oct. 17 | $38 + tax | 276 | Yellowstone National Park Lodges |
Source: NPS Camping (2026 table). Fishing Bridge RV Park is the only campground with full hookups. Car camping in pullouts or parking areas is prohibited.
Before you go
- Check alerts. As of October 2026, NPS alerts still listed Biscuit Basin, near Old Faithful, as closed after a hydrothermal explosion, and warned visitors to stay away from bull elk during the rut (NPS park alerts, via the NPS data service).
- Leave buffer time. The park says it takes “several hours” to drive between entrances.
- Add a soak. Chico Hot Springs (about 30 miles from the North Entrance) and Yellowstone Hot Springs (about 7 miles from Gardiner) are in our Montana hot springs guide.
- Thinking about living near the park? See the cost of living in Bozeman and Billings.
- Pair a Yellowstone trip with Glacier using our Glacier National Park trip planner.
Sources
- NPS Yellowstone, Directions & Transportation: https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/directions.htm
- NPS Yellowstone, Park Roads (2026 projected dates; last updated Oct. 13, 2026): https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/parkroads.htm
- NPS Yellowstone, Fees & Passes: https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/fees.htm
- NPS Yellowstone, Camping: https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/campgrounds.htm
- NPS Yellowstone, Lodging: https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/lodging.htm
- NPS Data API, parks and alerts (parkCode=yell), retrieved Oct. 21, 2026: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/developer/api-documentation.htm
- OSRM route service (OpenStreetMap data), queried Oct. 21, 2026: https://project-osrm.org/
- Gardiner Resort Area District: https://www.gardinerresorttax.com/important-dates
- Town of West Yellowstone, Resort Tax: https://www.townofwestyellowstone.com/resort-tax-information/
- City of Red Lodge, FAQ: https://www.cityofredlodge.net/faqs/361
- Big Sky Resort Area District, FAQ: https://resorttax.org/frequently-asked-questions/
- Montana Department of Revenue, Lodging Facility Sales and Use Tax: https://revenue.mt.gov/taxes/miscellaneous/lodging-facility
- Montana DOR, Local Resort Tax: https://revenue.mt.gov/taxes/miscellaneous/local-resort-tax
- NPS Yellowstone, “Most Yellowstone National Park Roads and Entrances Close Nov. 1, 2026”: https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/news/26026.htm
Cole Bennett edits MontanaHelp, a research-driven guide to moving to and living in Montana. Articles cite official and public sources and are updated as rules and data change. AI tools help research and draft them; a person runs the editorial process and spot-checks one article from each batch before it’s published.
AI tools helped research and draft this article. A person runs MontanaHelp’s editorial process and spot-checks one article from each batch before it’s published.