Thinking about Yellowstone in Fall

My wife and I are thinking about a trip to YS in Fall. We want to see the beautiful yellow Aspens and the rutting of Elk. When is the best opportunity for this. My guess is middle September. Is this correct?

Thanks for your input.

Ed,
End of September will be a good time to go. Yellowstone is actually not known for its aspen groves so you may want to go next door to Grand Teton for dramatic fall color.

Guy

My suggestion would be to contact Jess Lee.

http://jessleephotos.com/

The past four years, we have timed our trip to Yellowstone and The Tetons for the third full week in September. This strategy has worked well. I catches the elk rut at its peak with some bulls really worked into a frenzy, and the difference in the colors of the aspens in The Tetons from the beginning of the trip to its conclusion usually allows us some peak coloration. As a bonus, one yaer we also caught a little snow action, and imaging the bison with snow on their cots was a real bonus.

An added benefit is that the park is a little more quiet in September. My wife and I went around September 1st a couple years ago, and it was great. The hot springs also showed their color very well. I hope you enjoy the trip. Like the others said, there aren't really aspens in Yellowstone, but they can be found to the south in Teton and the Wind Rivers.

The third week in Sept. is probably the best for the elk rut, but it will stretch into October. Madison juunction early in the mornig is the best location, but anywhere between there and Mammoth should be pretty good. Aspen might be a little later, maybe around Oct 1, but how good they are can be pretty variable. A hard, early freeze will knock a lot of the leaves off. In addition to the Tetons, there's good aspen photography past Cooke City towards Pilot Peak and Sunlight Basin on the Shoshone NF.