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This week in Yellowstone National Park, from April 23rd to April 29th, 2026, I will let you know about the return of the red dogs, give some advice about trying to do all the open sections of the park in a day, share a birthday celebration of sorts for an iconic park location, and hope to convince you to trek in a geyser basin. I will also give you the complete weather forecast, the snowpack update, the wildlife report, and everything else you need to have an incredible time, “This Week in Yellowstone.”
LISTEN TO THIS AS A PODCAST
The text below is my notes for the podcast. They may be incomplete.
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-week-in-yellowstone-national-park/id1789397931
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/41E5WWldz4s7n6NXh2Lahr
RSS: https://rss.com/podcasts/this-week-in-yellowstone-national-park/
Disclaimer: I may miss a few details, so please feel free to reach out with any questions. I also mention park locations casually. If you’re unfamiliar, a quick search can help. This report only covers drivable areas of the park.
Also, this podcast is a passion project. If you enjoy it, I’d love a review or a quick email! To support my work, check out my hiking and wildlife-watching guidebooks, or join me for a guided hiking tour in Yellowstone’s backcountry. For more information, visit outdoor-society.com or contact me directly. Seriously though, come book a trail tour with me.
EXPERIENCE OF THE WEEK
The Return of the Red Dogs
Every spring in Yellowstone National Park, there’s a moment people start watching for. It’s not tied to a specific road opening or even the weather. It’s when the first “red dogs” show up, those bright orange-red baby bison that seem to glow against a landscape that still looks a lot like winter. What catches a lot of people off guard, though, is how slowly it starts. As of last week, there were only a handful of visible newborn bison in the park, but each day and week, those numbers will increase.
By late April, you might expect to see calves everywhere, but that’s usually not the case. Bison follow a pretty consistent biological timeline. After breeding in mid to late summer, cows carry their calves for about 9 to 9½ months, which lines up births with spring. Most calves are born in late April and May, but that doesn’t mean they all arrive at once. In fact, the season tends to ease in gradually.
Early on, like right now, it’s often just a few scattered calves. You might spot one in a place like Lamar Valley or Little America, maybe even by Norris or the thermal areas. When you see one, it will be tucked close to its mother while the rest of the herd looks unchanged. While many come to the park this time of year hoping to see the prairies full of frolicking red dogs, late April is really just the front edge of the season.
There’s a reason for that. Calving in Yellowstone is highly synchronized, but it’s not immediate. Research shows that about 80 percent of births happen between late April and late May, with the peak usually landing in early to mid-May. So if you’re visiting in late April, you’re catching the very beginning, not the main event. And honestly, that’s part of what makes it so interesting.
Those first calves stand out in a big way. Their reddish coats, which give them the nickname “red dogs,” are completely different from the dark brown coats of the adults. That color doesn’t last long; within a couple of months, they’ll start to blend in, but right now, they’re impossible to miss. Even more impressive, they’re up and moving within just a few hours of being born, sticking close to their mothers and keeping pace with the herd almost immediately.
They also grow fast. Really fast. Within their first few months, calves can gain a couple of pounds per day, quickly building the strength they’ll need to handle their first winter. By the time fall rolls around, they already look much more like small versions of the adults. Over the next couple of years, they continue filling out, with females typically reaching maturity around age two to three, and males taking a bit longer. In the wild, bison in Yellowstone generally live around 12-15 years, though some can live longer under the right conditions.
Of course, life isn’t easy for those early calves. One of the biggest risks they face comes from predators, especially grizzly bears. Spring is when grizzlies are emerging from their dens, often having lost significant body weight over the winter, and they’re actively searching for high-calorie food. Newborn bison are vulnerable, particularly in their first days of life. Bears will target calves when opportunities arise, especially if they can isolate one from the herd. Wolves and other predators can also pose a threat, but grizzlies are a major factor in early-season calf survival.
That risk shapes behavior. Mother bison are extremely protective, and herds often group tightly when calves are present. You’ll sometimes see adults forming a defensive wall around the young, facing outward and ready to respond to any threat. It’s a constant balance between new life and the realities of the ecosystem. The slow start to calving season also reflects the reality of Yellowstone’s spring. Late April is still unpredictable. Snowstorms are common, nights drop below freezing, and new grass is just starting to emerge. Calves born too early face tougher odds, which is another reason most births are a bit later.
As the weeks go on, things change quickly. What starts as one or two calves turns into dozens. Herds take on a completely different energy, with young calves running, resting, and bunching together while their mothers graze. By mid-May, it becomes one of the most visible wildlife events in the park.
But late April has its own feel. It’s quieter. You might spend a long time scanning before you find a single calf. And when you do, it feels earned. It’s not a crowded roadside scene; it’s a small, fleeting moment, a newborn bison standing in a landscape that’s still caught between winter and spring. That’s how calving season really begins in Yellowstone. Not all at once, but slowly. A few red dogs at a time, scattered across the valleys, signaling that something bigger is just around the corner.
TIP OF THE WEEK
Even in April, Yellowstone Is Bigger Than You Expect
Yellowstone National Park is deceptively big. It doesn’t always feel that way when you’re looking at a map or planning a quick trip, but once you’re inside the park, the scale becomes very real, very quickly. A lot of first-time visitors assume they can see everything in a day, espcially in April. That mindset is one of the fastest ways to end up frustrated, rushed, and walking away feeling like you missed something.
Take a common early-season route this week. If you start in West Yellowstone, drive down to Old Faithful, head back up through Madison Junction, continue north to Mammoth Hot Springs, then out toward Lamar Valley, and finally return to West Yellowstone, you’re looking at roughly 200 miles of driving. On paper, that might not sound like much. In Yellowstone, that’s about six hours of driving with no stops at all. And that’s the key part, no stops. Add in even a handful of stops, a walk through a geyser basin, or time spent watching wildlife, and that six-hour drive can easily turn into a ten- or twelve-hour day.
That original route also skips one of the park’s biggest highlights, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Adding that in means heading east from Norris, which tacks on at least another hour to an hour and a half, and that’s still without factoring in time to actually walk to viewpoints or take in the waterfalls.
Some will also look at mileage on a map in the park and not factor in the speed limit in the park. Average travel speeds in Yellowstone fluctuate between 25 and 45 miles per hour. The fastest you can legally drive in the park is 45. Some of you may think you can push this to 50 or 55 miles per hour. This would be wrong on so many levels. Winding roads, wildlife on or near the roadway, and frequent scenic stops and slow vehicles will hinder you. Plus, speeding in a National Park is selfish, idiotic, and dangerous. One of these weeks, I will talk about how many animals die from getting hit by cars in the park. It is a lot.
Last week at Madison Junction, I ended up talking with a family visiting Yellowstone for the first time. They had two days, Friday and Saturday, and were taking it easy on their first day, planning to see Grand Prismatic Spring and some of the mud pots. Their second day, though, was ambitious. They wanted to wake up early, drive from West Yellowstone to Lamar Valley, come back to hike Norris Geyser Basin, and then finish the day at Old Faithful.
They asked if it was too much.
The honest answer was this: it’s not too much, it’s just a lot. It will take a minimum of six hours.
It is hard to accept, based on how we all live our lives, but Yellowstone doesn’t run on your schedule, nor can we control the pace of the park. That’s part of what makes it special, but it’s also what makes planning tricky. A “quick stop” at a geyser basin can turn into an hour without you realizing it. A wildlife sighting can bring traffic to a complete stop. What’s often called a “bison jam” can delay traffic for 20 minutes or more as herds move down the road. And if you happen to come across a bear or wolf sighting, you’re probably not going to just drive past it. All of those moments stack up.
Yellowstone actually recommends planning multiple days to explore Yellowstone at a comfortable pace, precisely because of these variables. Trying to see everything in one or two days isn’t impossible, but it does mean long hours, a lot of time in the car, and less time actually experiencing the places you came to see.
That said, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. If you only have a short window, go for it. Drive the miles. See as much as you can. Just go into it with realistic expectations. Understand that it will be a long day, that plans may shift, and that some of your best moments might come from the unexpected stops along the way.
RANDOM YELLOWSTONE FACT OF THE WEEK
Roosevelt Arch Dedication Day (24th of April)
If you’ve ever entered Yellowstone National Park through the north gate at Gardiner, you’ve probably stopped at or passed under one of the park’s most recognizable landmarks: the Roosevelt Arch. It’s such a familiar sight that it’s easy to overlook the story behind it, especially the significance of April 24, 1903.
On that day, Theodore Roosevelt happened to be vacationing in the park during its construction and was asked to speak at the dedication ceremony. The Arch was not originally intended to honor Roosevelt, but was so named because the president was there. For him, it was a chance to emphasize something he strongly believed in, the protection of public lands. Yellowstone was already the country’s first national park, but the idea of conservation was still gaining traction. Roosevelt’s presence helped reinforce that these landscapes were meant to be preserved and enjoyed by everyone, not just a few.
At the time, the north entrance was the primary way into the park. The Northern Pacific Railroad had reached Gardiner in 1883, bringing visitors directly to Yellowstone’s doorstep. From there, they would continue by stagecoach into the park. As visitation increased, there was a push to create a more formal entrance, something that reflected the importance of the place people were about to experience.
The result was the Roosevelt Arch. To construct the Arch, hundreds of tons of native columnar basalt were hauled from a quarry in the area. The structure stands about 50 feet tall and spans roughly 30 feet wide. It cost around $10,000 to construct, a significant investment at the time, and was completed in just a few months in 1903 after Roosevelt laid the cornerstone. The design is simple but powerful, and the inscription across the top, “For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People,” comes directly from the 1872 act that established Yellowstone. A fun fact about the arch is that the initial design Original plans called for two ponds and a waterfall by the arch. However, this plan proved impossible due to Gardiner’s dry climate.
There are a few details that often go unnoticed. The cornerstone Roosevelt set includes a time capsule with documents and items from the era. The arch itself was built while the park was still managed by the U.S. Army, before the creation of the National Park Service in 1916. Soldiers stationed at nearby Fort Yellowstone played a major role in overseeing construction and maintaining the park during this period.
For decades, every visitor entering Yellowstone from the north passed directly beneath the arch. Whether arriving by train, stagecoach, or later automobile, this was the official gateway. Even after cars were allowed into the park in 1915, the arch remained a central part of the arrival experience.
What makes the April 24 ceremony so meaningful is how it connects to the bigger picture. Roosevelt wasn’t just dedicating a structure; he was reinforcing a vision. During his presidency, he would go on to protect millions of acres of land, establish national forests, and expand conservation efforts across the country. His role in placing the cornerstone tied Yellowstone directly to that broader movement.
Today, the Roosevelt Arch still stands much as it did over a century ago. It no longer serves as the only entrance, but it remains one of the park’s most iconic features. People stop for photos, walk beneath it, and often pass through without realizing they’re stepping into a piece of history.
Every year on April 24, that moment is quietly remembered by a handful of park visitors and locals, remembering when a president stood at the edge of Yellowstone and helped set the foundation, both literally and symbolically, for one of its most enduring landmarks.
WEATHER FOR THE COMING WEEK
As always, this is the best forecast for the week at the time of recording. The forecast can change numerous times in a week, but this should be within the ballpark of what you’ll experience when visiting the park.
I am too lazy to type it all out, so you’ll have to listen to the podcast to get the weather forecast, or just contact me.
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-week-in-yellowstone-national-park/id1789397931
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/41E5WWldz4s7n6NXh2Lahr
RSS: https://rss.com/podcasts/this-week-in-yellowstone-national-park/
SNOWPACK UPDATE
As of April 22nd, the snowpack is around 75% of normal for this time of year. The eastern and northern ranges of the park are 86% of normal, while the western and southern sides are 65% of normal. Last year on this date, we were averaging around 94% of our normal level.
ROADS CONDITIONS
The road between West Yellowstone and Old Faithful, all the way up to Mammoth and out to Canyon, is open. The road from Gardiner, Montana, to Cooke City, Montana, is also open, as it is open all year long. Please be aware that this road can close at any time due to inclement weather.
For up-to-date information, call (307) 344-2117 for recorded information, or sign up to receive Yellowstone road alerts on your mobile phone by texting “82190” to 888-777.
CAMPING INFO
There is only one campground open in the park right now, and that is the Mammoth Campground, which is open year-round.
WILDLIFE WATCHING UPDATE
You have to listen to the podcast to get this information. Sorry.
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-week-in-yellowstone-national-park/id1789397931
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/41E5WWldz4s7n6NXh2Lahr
RSS: https://rss.com/podcasts/this-week-in-yellowstone-national-park/
PICK UP A GUIDEBOOK
Love what you have heard on this podcast and want more information on wildlife watching? Get a copy of my wildlife-watching guidebook to the region! Available in both ebook and paperback formats, my book will help you spot wildlife like a seasoned local. Please consider buying a book directly from me, as I make next to nothing when they are sold on Amazon. Grab your copy now at outdoor-society.com!
TRAIL ALERTS AND UPDATES
The Backcountry Conditions Page is updated! I have a link to it in the show notes.
Right now, bear sightings are becoming more common and will only be increasing with every passing week. Carry bear spray. Have it readily accessible and not in a backpack. Know how to use it.
TREK OF THE WEEK
This time of the year is not ideal for hiking. While I would love to recommend things like Bunsen Peak, Osprey Falls, Mystic Falls, or even Blacktail Deer Creek, the level of mud, standing water, and lingering snow really limits how fun those adventures will be. So instead of sending you all on a potential slog in less-than-ideal conditions, I will instead be proposing a trek around Old Faithful.
Right now, Old Faithful is pretty empty, along with the area trails, making it perfect for this coming week. While there is no wrong choice of where to wander (as long as you stay on designated trails), there are a few solid choices that I think you will love. The first is the adventure up to Observation Point. Reaching Observation Point, from the main Old Faithful Viewing area, is a little over a mile and a half round trip at most, with a few hundred feet of elevation gain. At the top of this trail is a stunning view of Old Faithful, so obviously the goal is to time it with an eruption. There are some logs to sit on, making this a perfect outing.
Once you are done with watching an eruption at Observation Point, continue along the boardwalk paths on the Upper Geyser Basin Trail. This will lead you to even more thermal features, most of which are unseen by the masses who visit the region. Walk this to Morning Glory Pool, which many consider to be the best hot spring pool in all of Yellowstone. Once you are done there, start heading back on the main paved path, but make sure to swing out and watch Daisy Geyser erupt. It is like a mini-Old Faithful and a personal favorite of mine.
In total, going up to Observation Point, out to Morning Glory, and back to Old Faithful with a Daisy Geyser detour is around 4.5 to five miles. It’s not especially difficult in terms of elevation gain, but it will take longer than you might expect. Not because of the mileage, but because of everything you’ll stop for, geyser eruptions, thermal features, and just the sheer amount of awesome things to see. I know it may sound simple, but this loop adventure is truly spectacular, made even better this time of the year due to the lack of crowds along the way. You might even have the majority of the route to yourself.
NEXT WEEK
In the next episode, I’ll return with all of the information you need to have a good week in the park, including wildlife, weather, and trail updates. Until then, book a tour with me, pick up a guidebook of mine, and happy trails!
