What animals can you see in Yellowstone in the summer?
Ah, summer. School is out. The days are long. And you don’t have to pile on four layers just to step outside.
Not to mention, ALL of Yellowstone National Park’s roads are open to the public! Summer is the busiest time in Yellowstone for good reason. Many people ask me if it’s worth braving the traffic and I always say 100% YES!
(Although, if you do want to avoid the crowds, May and October are my recommended months. More on that in another blog post some day.)
Oftentimes summer is the only season the whole family can take off for an adventure, so summer it is! Now which month should you plan your trip for?
August is my least favorite month to spend in the park (maybe I should go ahead and make a ranking), for reasons I’ll go into further in the post, but if it is the only month you can make work, you still have a shot at seeing amazing things! The beauty of Yellowstone is that you never know what’s just around the corner.
June and July are the preferred months of the summer to visit, and if I had to pick one I’d lean June, just for its slightly cooler temperatures. Long weekends that I have had incredible luck on include June 7-10th, June 25-28th, and July 1-4.
So you’ve narrowed it down to a weekend that works for you, and you want to know: What animals can I see in Yellowstone in June? Or What animals can I see in Yellowstone in July?
All of these images were taken in June of 2024.
June is a fantastic time to visit Yellowstone!
The wildflowers peak between Mid June and Mid July, depending on elevation. You’ll notice vibrant purple lupines and yellow balsam root across the valley. You’ll easily spot bison and their babies, still bright orange, and other ungulates like elk, pronghorn, and mule deer. Far up on the cliffs you may even scope out some Mountain Goats. Coyotes are not hard to find, and red foxes stand out easily in the green grass. Although wolves are harder to spot than in the winter months, you can still catch glimpses of them through a scope at the dens, or with a lucky chance encounter. Black bears and grizzlies are easier to come by than you think, and their clubs are still playful and full of energy, exploring their new worlds.
All of these images were taken in July of 2023
If you’re in the park in July, try your best to catch a moonrise over Yellowstone Lake.
By July, the snow is fully gone (except for a few places very high in the park), and the wildflowers at high elevations are reaching their peak. Dunraven Pass comes alive with a collection of colors. The days are long, with plenty of sunlight to see everything you want to see, and the nights are just as beautiful. A full moonrise viewed from the back porch of the Yellowstone Lake Hotel never fails to take my breath away. All the animals I mentioned in June still appear, but towards late July may begin to drop off in sightings as the temperatures rise. July seems to be black bear month in the park, and the area around Tower Falls is the place to be if you want to see mama bears and their adorable cubs.
Is the Fourth of July a good time to visit Yellowstone? If you don’t mind a little more traffic than usual, yes!
Storytime: One summer, my full time job meant the only weekend I could make it up to Yellowstone was the dreaded 4th of July weekend. Everyone avoids it because the park is PACKED, but I was missing the GYE and I had to make it work. I was pleasantly surprised at what a successful weekend I had, full of baby bears and coyotes. Some of my all time favorite shots came from that weekend, ones I never would have gotten if I’d let the crowds deter me.
A bison photographed in early September
Why is August my least favorite month to visit Yellowstone?
Four words: Heat. Smoke. Attempted Patience.
Yellowstone’s hottest months are July and August. Just like us, the animals sleep more when it’s hot, and seek the shade of the park’s forests, making it harder to spot them. While the grass is still green in July, if it’s been a harsh dry summer like this one, by the time August rolls around the landscape begins to dry up into a sea of yellow-brown grasses. Not a photographer’s favorite background! Wildfires can rage across the west, often filling the air with so much smoke that it becomes hard to see (and recreate). And finally: attempted patience. By August I am not-so-patiently waiting for fall to come and breath life back into the ecosystem. September and October are right around the corner, with their elk calls, cooler weather, and emptier roads, so I often use August as a time to conserve energy and gas money for the fall months.
That being said, if August is the only month you can make work, it is still worth a visit!
My biggest tip for all the summer months would be to wake up early and stay out late. Use your early mornings (and I mean early, before sunrise!) and late evenings to look for wildlife. They’ll be most active at this time especially during hot weather. Do as the critters do and use your middays for a nap back at the hotel or campsite. Use the remaining hours of the day, like 9-11am and 3-6pm, for sightseeing all the beautiful landscapes and geothermal features Yellowstone is known for. Remember, even if you don’t see a single animal on your entire trip (impossible), it is still a park worth visiting for its scenery alone!
