Best Things to Do in Yellowstone at Christmas
Spending Christmas in Yellowstone looks very different than visiting during the summer months. Roads are limited, daylight is shorter, and many services are seasonal. That said, Christmas can be one of the most magical times to experience the park if you know what to prioritize and how to properly celebrate the season.
We spent the weeks before and after Christmas staying just outside Yellowstone’s North Entrance in Gardiner, Montana. We decorated our first real Christmas tree, spent Christmas Eve inside the park, and rang in the New Year with a soak at Yellowstone Hot Springs and dinner at Wonderland Cafe, one of the best sit-down restaurants in town.
We explored the park slowly, drove the Northern Range repeatedly, celebrated the holidays locally, and experienced firsthand what works (and what doesn’t) during Christmas in Yellowstone. Below are the best things to do in Yellowstone at Christmas, based on what’s consistently open, worth your time, and realistic for winter travel.
This guide focuses specifically on how to spend Christmas in Yellowstone. For a full breakdown of what parts of the park are open in winter, where to stay, and how to get around, see our Yellowstone in Winter planning guide.
Table of Contents
1. Wildlife Watching Along the Northern Range
During Christmas week, this is the most reliable thing you can do inside Yellowstone National Park!
Yellowstone’s Northern Range runs from Gardiner through Mammoth Hot Springs, Tower Junction, Lamar Valley, and out to Cooke City near the Northeast Entrance. This road is open year-round and is where Yellowstone’s winter wildlife congregates.
The best way to experience it is simple: drive it back and forth. Slowly. More than once.
Bring binoculars. If you can, rent or bring a spotting scope. A scope makes a huge difference, especially in Lamar Valley, where wildlife may be far from the road.
During Christmastime, you may see bison, wolves, elk, coyotes, foxes, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, bald eagles, and more. Snow makes animals easier to spot, and wildlife activity changes throughout the day, so even repeated drives can feel completely different.
2. Stay at the Yellowstone Christmas Cabin
One of our favorite ways to experience Christmas in Yellowstone is by staying at our Yellowstone Christmas Cabin.
It was once a small ranger hut inside the park before eventually making its way to Gardiner, where it spent years as a forgotten storage shed.
We restored and preserved it as part of our Cozy Yellowstone Compound and transformed the inside into year-round Christmas magic. Spending the holidays here feels like stepping into a chapter of Yellowstone’s past, with twinkle lights, warmth, and festivity in every corner.
3. Drive from Gardiner to Cooke City
Driving all the way from Yellowstone’s North Entrance at Gardiner, MT, to the Northeast Entrance at Cooke City is not filler time during Christmas in Yellowstone. It is the activity!
Even on days when wildlife sightings are quieter, this drive delivers wide-open valleys, snow-covered hillsides, steaming geothermal features, and very few people. It’s the most consistent thing you can plan for in early winter and often becomes the highlight of a Christmas trip.
Bonus: Stop in Cooke City Coffee for a snack and hot chocolate before turning around to retrace your steps. We can’t recommend the chocolate chip banana bread enough.
4. Explore Mammoth Hot Springs
Walking around Mammoth Hot Springs is another one of the best things to do in Yellowstone at Christmas. The boardwalks of the Upper and Lower Terraces remain open during the holidays, and the springs look especially dramatic against snow and ice.
Plan to spend time exploring on foot, then head inside for lunch at Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel. The dining room is open around Christmas and decorated for the holidays, making it a warm, cozy stop during a cold day in the park.
You can also stay overnight at Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel. It’s one of only two lodges open inside Yellowstone during Christmastime, and the best option of the two if you want to self-drive rather than rely on over-snow transportation.
5. Take a Snowcoach Tour to Old Faithful
Old Faithful still erupts on holidays, including Christmas, but seeing it requires planning to reach the Old Faithful Snow Lodge.
The Snow Lodge is the only other lodge besides Mammoth that’s open in Yellowstone on Christmas, and there’s no winter driving access. The only way to reach it is by over-snow travel, including snowcoach tours, snowcoach transportation, or snowmobile.
Witnessing an Old Faithful Geyser eruption is one of the most iconic Yellowstone experiences. We have a full step-by-step guide to getting there in our Old Faithful in Winter guide.
6. Stay overnight at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge
If staying inside the park is part of your Christmas plan, you can’t get more remote than the Old Faithful Snow Lodge. You only get here by snowcoach or snowmobile, so once you arrive, the rest of the park fades away.
At Christmas, the boardwalks are quiet, the snow is deep, and Old Faithful feels like something you stumbled upon rather than something you scheduled. Staying overnight lets you walk the geyser basin early in the morning, when steam drifts through the cold air, and there are very few people around.
Another perk of staying here is access to ski shuttles that take you deeper into Yellowstone’s interior. These shuttles drop you at trailheads you can’t reach any other way in winter, opening up snowshoeing and cross-country skiing routes through geyser basins and open valleys that most winter visitors never see.
It’s not the easiest option in winter, and it’s not the most flexible, but if you want a truly once-in-a-lifetime Christmas experience in Yellowstone, this is one of the most memorable ways to do it.
7. Celebrate Christmas in Paradise Valley
For Christmas dinner, the experience matters just as much as the food. One of our favorite options is Sage Lodge, set right in the heart of Paradise Valley with mountain views that feel especially peaceful in winter.
They typically offer a Christmas dinner, and it’s the kind of place where the drive, the setting, and the meal all feel like part of the occasion. Snow on the fields, soft winter light on the mountains, and a slower pace that fits the holiday perfectly.
Even if you don’t stop for dinner, the drive through Paradise Valley around Christmas is well worth your time. It’s one of the most scenic areas near Yellowstone and one of our most reliable spots for wildlife viewing outside the park. My in-laws have visited us twice in winter, and spotting a bald eagle has always been at the top of my father-in-law’s wish list. While we haven’t had luck inside the park, he’s seen plenty of bald eagles in Paradise Valley, along with elk and pronghorn.
If wildlife or scenery is high on your Christmas list, this drive is a great addition. And if you have extra time, continue on to Chico Hot Springs for a soak, which feels especially good after a cold winter day.
8. Brunch in Gardiner and Walk to Roosevelt Arch
One of the simplest ways to enjoy Christmas in Yellowstone is with a local meal, followed by a winter walk.
For those staying in Gardiner, we highly recommend breakfast and/or brunch at Tumbleweed Cafe. Afterward, enjoy the short stroll over the Yellowstone River to Roosevelt Arch.
Roosevelt Arch is one of the most photographed landmarks in North Yellowstone, and the area is especially peaceful at Christmastime. Take as many pictures as you’d like in front of the Arch and the nearby Yellowstone National Park welcome signs… you’re unlikely to run into a line.
9. Snowmobile in Yellowstone
If you’re spending Christmas in West Yellowstone instead of Gardiner, this is one of the best ways to access Yellowstone’s interior, including places like Artist Point in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.
We also highly recommend a visit to the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center while you’re in town. It’s an amazing place for both kids and adults to get close-up views of bears, wolves, otters, and bald eagles.
If snowmobiling is on your Christmas wish list, we have a full breakdown of what it’s really like, how tours work, and what to wear in our Snowmobiling in Yellowstone guide.
10. Snowshoeing and Skiing
Snowshoeing and cross-country skiing can all be part of a Christmas trip to Yellowstone, as long as there’s plenty of snow.
We first fell in love with snowshoeing during a February visit, but during our Christmas trip, snowfall was lighter than expected. The best snowshoeing conditions we found were near Cooke City, close to the Northeast Entrance, where snow levels were higher than those in Gardiner.
If you’re looking for alpine skiing, plan to visit Big Sky Resort or Bridger Bowl, both located near Bozeman.
FAQs Christmas in Yellowstone
Can you visit both Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone at Christmas?
This is possible, but the most important thing to know is you can’t drive through Yellowstone to reach Grand Teton National Park at Christmastime. There is no direct winter route between the parks.
You’ll need to take the longer route (through Bozeman) and monitor weather conditions closely, as mountain roads can temporarily close.
Where can I find a Christmas tree near Gardiner?
If you’re looking for a last-minute Christmas tree while staying in Gardiner, check the Conoco gas station. In previous years, local students cut trees from a nearby farm and sold them for about $20 each. We picked up a tree stand at the Gardiner Market and decorated our first real Christmas tree during our trip! It was a simple, local way to celebrate the season while staying near the park.
Is Christmas in Yellowstone Worth It?
Christmas in Yellowstone is not about packed itineraries or nonstop attractions. It’s about wildlife, winter landscapes, and a slower, more festive pace.
If you plan around what’s reliably open, stay flexible with weather, and prioritize wildlife watching and winter sports, Christmas in Yellowstone can be one of the most peaceful and memorable times to visit the park.
For more on road conditions and weather expectations, check out our complete Yellowstone in December guide next.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Keep planning a winter trip to Yellowstone:
Can You Drive Yellowstone in the Winter? What’s Open + How to Get Around
Snowmobiling in Yellowstone: Is It Worth It? (Our Honest Take + What to Expect)
Want a step-by-step plan for Christmas week in Yellowstone? Our All-Seasons Yellowstone Travel Guide shows you what’s open, where to stay, and how to make the most of winter conditions.