When to Book Yellowstone Lodging: The Complete Timeline

If you’ve ever landed on the Xanterra/Yellowstone National Park Lodges reservations page only to find everything sold out — welcome to the club. It’s one of the most common Yellowstone planning frustrations I hear, and it’s almost always a timing problem, not a luck problem. Knowing when to book Yellowstone lodging — and how the reservation system actually works — means you stop competing blindly and start planning with a real advantage.

Here’s everything you need to know about when Yellowstone lodging opens, when campgrounds fill, and what your options are if you’re starting later than you’d like.

How Yellowstone’s rolling 13-month reservation window works

Yellowstone’s in-park lodging (hotels and cabins run by Xanterra) operates on a rolling 13-month advance reservation schedule. On the 5th of each month, reservations open for the same calendar month of the following year.

Here’s how that plays out in practice:

• On May 5, reservations open for May 1–31 of next year
• On June 5, reservations open for June 1–30 of next year
• On July 5, reservations open for July 1–31 of next year
• …and so on, rolling forward every month

Online reservations open at midnight Mountain Time on the 5th. Phone reservations open at 7:00 a.m. Mountain Time the same day. If you’re after one of the high-demand properties — Old Faithful Inn, in particular — set an alarm. The most desirable dates go fast. For phone reservations, call Xanterra at 307-344-7311.

One useful wrinkle: if your stay arrives in that 13th month, you can extend your reservation by up to 4 additional continuous nights into the following month, at the same lodge and room type, before that month officially opens. So if you’re booking a late-May stay and want to push into early June, you can grab up to June 5 without waiting for June’s window to open.

Book with Xanterra/Yellowstone National Parks Lodges here.

When to book, by property

Not all Yellowstone lodging is equally hard to get. Here’s a realistic picture of what requires the most lead time.

Book on the 5th, 13 months out:

• Old Faithful Inn (the most in-demand property in the park — if this is on your must-do list, don’t wait)
• Old Faithful Snow Lodge (especially for winter stays)
• Lake Yellowstone Hotel

Book 6–9 months out:

• Canyon Lodge & Cabins
• Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel
• Roosevelt Lodge Cabins

More availability, still worth booking early:

• Grant Village
• Lake Lodge Cabins
• Old Faithful Lodge Cabins

If a specific property matters to you — particularly the Inn — treat May 5 like a concert ticket drop. Log in at midnight Mountain Time and have your dates and party size ready to go.

For a full breakdown of what each lodge offers, what I’d recommend based on where you want to spend your time, and honest takes on which ones are worth the price, see my complete guide to staying inside Yellowstone.

Campground booking: a shorter window, but still book early

Yellowstone has 11 campgrounds with over 2,000 established campsites — and the booking system here is much simpler than lodging, but it still rewards planning ahead.

Nearly all campsites must be reserved in advance, on a rolling 6-month basis. That means you can book a site exactly six months before your arrival date, as long as availability remains for that period. There’s no equivalent to the 13-month lodging scramble, but don’t mistake that for an easy booking — popular campgrounds, especially Madison and Canyon, fill quickly for summer dates, so reserving as early as your 6-month window allows is strongly recommended.

The one exception is Mammoth Campground, which offers first-come, first-served sites from October 15 through April 1. Outside that window, Mammoth also requires reservations like the rest of the park’s campgrounds.

A practical way to think about it: pick your dates, mark your calendar for exactly six months out, and be ready to book through Recreation.gov the moment that window opens — particularly for summer stays.

(All dates and policies are subject to change, so it’s worth double-checking current details before you plan around them.)

If you’re in an RV, note that Fishing Bridge RV Park requires hard-sided, self-contained RVs — no tents or pop-up campers are allowed there. For the full picture on camping options, seasonal availability, and reservations, visit my Yellowstone campgrounds guide.

Book a Yellowstone campground at Recreation.gov here.

The cancellation window: your second chance

Here’s what most planning guides don’t tell you: Xanterra has a generous cancellation policy, which means reservations turn over constantly — especially in the 30–60 days before your trip as people finalize (or change) their plans.

If you’re planning a trip and lodging looks sold out, don’t give up. Instead:

• Check the Xanterra website regularly, especially in the 60-day window before your trip
• Call Xanterra directly — availability sometimes appears on the phone line before it shows online (307-344-7311)
• Be flexible on dates — a Tuesday arrival often has more availability than a Saturday
• Pick up nights one at a time — multi-night blocks are harder to score; sometimes you can stitch together a stay night by night as individual cancellations open up

This isn’t a long-shot strategy. I hear from readers regularly who landed Old Faithful Inn rooms in June by checking a few times a week in April. Persistence often works here.

That said, here’s the smart move while you’re working the cancellation angle: book a backup stay in a gateway town first. Sites like Booking.com or Hotels.com often offer free cancellation until just a day or two before check-in. Book one of those as your safety net, keep checking for the in-park cancellation you actually want, and cancel the gateway booking if and when it comes through. My guide to the best places to stay near Yellowstone is a great place to start.

This way you’re never stuck without a place to stay while you wait — and if the in-park reservation never opens up, you’ve still got a solid plan in a gateway town.

If you’re starting late: outside the park is not a consolation prize

I want to push back on a common assumption: that staying inside the park is inherently better and staying outside is settling.

It isn’t.

Staying outside gives you more lodging options, more space, often better value, and access to the broader Greater Yellowstone region that most park visitors never see. The gateway towns around Yellowstone — Gardiner, West Yellowstone, Cooke City, Silver Gate, Cody — each have their own character and put you near different sections of the park.

Critically: there is no booking window for gateway town lodging. You’re not competing with people who set midnight alarms on the 5th of the month. You book like any normal hotel reservation, and availability is far more flexible.

My best places to stay near Yellowstone guide covers every major gateway option with honest recommendations based on which part of the park you’re prioritizing.

If you’re looking for something beyond a standard hotel, I’ve also got guides to glamping near Yellowstone and the best RV parks near Yellowstone — both solid options if you want to be close without fighting the in-park booking scramble.

Frequently Asked Questions About When to Book Yellowstone Lodging

Q: Can I book Yellowstone lodging more than 13 months in advance?

A: No. Xanterra opens each month’s reservations exactly 13 months ahead, on the 5th of the month. There’s no way to book further out, and no waitlist for future months — you simply have to wait for that month’s window to open.

Q: What time does Yellowstone lodging booking open?

A: Online reservations open at midnight Mountain Time on the 5th of the month. Phone reservations open later, at 7:00 a.m. Mountain Time the same day. If you’re targeting a high-demand property like Old Faithful Inn, booking online at midnight gives you the best shot.

Q: Can I extend my stay past the 13-month window?

A: Yes, with limits. If your reservation falls within the newly opened 13th month, you can add up to 4 additional continuous nights into the following month, in the same lodge and room type — without waiting for that month’s booking window to open. Beyond those 4 nights, you’ll need to wait and book separately once that month becomes available.

Q: Is it cheaper to stay inside or outside Yellowstone?

A: It depends on the property, but gateway towns generally offer more options across a wider price range, including budget hotels and vacation rentals you won’t find inside the park. In-park lodging tends to be priced for the experience and convenience of being inside Yellowstone, not for being a budget option. My best places to stay near Yellowstone guide breaks down value by location.

Q: What happens if I can’t get a campsite reservation?

A: If your dates are within 6 months and reservation campgrounds are full, your best options are checking Recreation.gov frequently for cancellations (these happen regularly), considering Mammoth Campground if you’re traveling October 15–April 1 (first-come, first-served), or booking a site in a gateway town or national forest campground just outside the park. I write about camping near the North Entrance here and glamping Yellowstone here.

Q: Do hotels in gateway towns near Yellowstone fill up too?

A: Yes — don’t assume “no booking window” means “book whenever you want.” Gateway towns like West Yellowstone and Gardiner get busy during peak summer months and major events, so good options can sell out weeks in advance. The advantage is that booking is flexible and last-minute availability is far more common than inside the park, but for July and August trips, I’d still recommend booking a few months out if you can.

The people who get the lodging they want aren’t lucky — they know the system. They book on the 5th. They check for cancellations at 60 days. They know which properties fill fastest and which ones have more give. And if they’re late to the party, they know that staying outside the park is a genuinely good choice, not a backup plan.

If you’re still figuring out where to base yourself, how many nights you need, or which side of the park to anchor from, I offer 1:1 trip planning consultations — one conversation typically cuts weeks of research and gets you to a plan you can actually book.