Picturing Summer: 16 Solstice Images From Yellowstone and Grand Teton

Winter in the greater Yellowstone area is long and often harsh, so year-round residents cherish the extended, warm days of summer when they finally arrive. Long shadows and late sunsets are a welcome change from the icy cold of winter and the seasons of spring and fall that seem all too brief.

So in honor of the arrival of summer, Yellowstone Gate sent photographers Janet White of GeyserWatch.com and Ruffin Prevost into Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks, respectively, to capture a full day’s worth of images on Friday, June 21. The first day of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, also known as the summer solstice, is the longest day of the year.

Though the days will likely get warmer as summer progresses, they’ll only get shorter from now until next spring. If you haven’t spent time (or enough time) in the parks so far this year, take these images as inspiration and motivation to plan and make your trip now, before the daylight fades any more.

— photos by Janet White and Ruffin Prevost

A colorful sunrise lights up the sky in Grand Teton National Park. (© Janet White/GeyserWatch.com)

Dawn breaks near Sylvan Pass in Yellowstone National Park. (Ruffin Prevost/Yellowstone Gate)

Mike White fly fishes from a boat on a shallow channel in Jackson Lake in Grand Teton National Park. (© Janet White/GeyserWatch.com)

An elk pauses in the early morning light near Sylvan Lake in Yellowstone National Park. (Ruffin Prevost/Yellowstone Gate)

A pair of common mergansers enjoy the beach on Jackson Lake in Grand Teton National Park. (© Janet White/GeyserWatch.com)

The Yellowstone River rushes over the Lower Falls as seen from the bottom of Uncle Tom’s Trail in Yellowstone National Park. (Ruffin Prevost/Yellowstone Gate)

The Tetons appear in the background behind a burst of yellow wildflowers in Grand Teton National Park. (© Janet White/GeyserWatch.com)

Riders on horseback move along a trail near the Roosevelt area in Yellowstone National Park. (Ruffin Prevost/Yellowstone Gate)

Wildlife watchers line the road and strain for a glimpse of bears in Grand Teton National Park. (© Janet White/GeyserWatch.com)

Josh and Avery Reese check into the Madison Campground in Yellowstone National Park. (Ruffin Prevost/Yellowstone Gate)

A bear cub walks among the willows in Grand Teton National Park. (© Janet White/GeyserWatch.com)

First responders manage traffic and assist victims in a vehicle accident near Madison in Yellowstone National Park. (Ruffin Prevost/Yellowstone Gate)

As evening approaches, the calm waters in a cove on Jackson Lake begin to mirror the colors of the sunset in Grand Teton National Park. (© Janet White/GeyserWatch.com)

Visitors walk along the boardwalk past Grand Prismatic Spring in the Midway Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park. (Ruffin Prevost/Yellowstone Gate)

The last light of the longest day of the year kisses a bit of color onto Mt. Moran in Grand Teton National Park (© Janet White/GeyserWatch.com)

A beachcomber walks along the shore of Yellowstone Lake in view of Lake Hotel as the evening light fades in Yellowstone National Park. (Ruffin Prevost/Yellowstone Gate)