Yellowstone NP trip planning

[Danno]

Thinking that next summer is the time to load up the camper and hit Jellystone. I have driven through the park in a single day many years ago, but this time will be family oriented (my daughter will be 10).

Am I too late already for camping reservations? Our camper is small (17') but the car is about the same length so our total length is over 30'. I did a little searching and it seemed like all the 40' sites are gone, but there may have been a few 30' ones, how strict are they, could I fit in one? Are 1st come sites a reasonable option? I hate pulling a camper all day with the stress of not knowing if there is a site available for me.

We have 2 dogs, is it useless to even bring them?

How many days should we plan for? We could do a week easy, maybe could swing 2 and add stuff on.

I know nothing. Hit me with some knowledge.

Or I can just wait till Buster gives me the full itinerary.

[yeahman]

Damn, already booked for next summer? Wow. So one option in that situation is to reserve a campsite at a place like the one we ended up staying at last weekend, Yellowstone RV park in Gardiner. Our plan was to drive down and try to get a spot at Mammoth Hot Springs campground (first come, first serve) but we did not get there in time. So as a backup we had reserved a spot at the Yellowstone RV park, which worked okay--not as nice as staying in the park, but at least it's a place to stay. So the thing to do is reserve a night there (or more just in case), and get up very early in the morning, and drive to one of the first-come campgrounds (like Mammoth), and wait in line to get a spot. Apparently they fill up by like 9:00 a.m., even though check out time isn't until 11. Kind of a mickey mouse way to do it, but it's really the only option if all the reserved campgrounds are full. Same method could apply to any of the gateway communities/park campgrounds. Just gotta camp outside the park the night before and show up very early to get in line for a spot.

[plugboots]

There’s basically nothing you can do with the dog. We’ve been to Yellowstone I think 15 times now and we’ve never brought our dogs.



Oh yeah, I forgot to add, it’s super crowded, and Old Faithful is over rated.

[muted]

Man there is a lot to say but first thing: no dogs allowed on trails in the park.

[eagleskier]

Have you thought about Colter Bay in GTNP? I haven't done the RV camping there, but we've tent camped at CB a couple of times. Here's what I like about Colter. It is easy to make a couple of day trips into Jellystone plus you've got all the sites and activities in GTNP. It's the perfect central base of operations for both parks. I was gonna stay there with a 17 foot trailer this summer but couldn't get the days I wanted so we changed it up and stayed in a KOA type place in Jackson.
I'm not totally sure about the reservation situation, but as has already been mentioned the other strategy if you're gonna be there for a week or more is to get as close as you can the night before, and then get up early and get in the line

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[rideit]

We tell friends to get in line before 5:00 AM.

[billyk]

I spent a week there, camping at Mammoth. Could have easily spent two weeks. The place is huge and there are lots of different kinds of features: geysers, hot springs, animals, falls, mud pots, paint pots, hiking trails, the lake, etc etc.

Woke up one morning to the sound of wolves howling. Later that day on the road to Cooke City, a huge black wolf crossed the road directly in front of my car.

Another morning woke up to a bison grazing right outside my tent. His head was about a foot from mine. Terrible breath.

Damn, I need to go back.

[doebedoe]

Not sure if daughter is the youngest or not -- but consider an overnight backpack during your stay if you're into that sorta thing. (Even if it is just a couple of you sneaking out for a night.) We got a sweet site via walk-up midsummer a few years back, but booking ahead is certainly preferrable.

Backpacking sites in YNP are very spread out from one another. And the backcountry trails are empty once you're more than a mile from the trailhead.

Definately don't bring the pups.

[schindlerpiste]

Best place to camp is Lizard Creek. It is the northern most campsite in GTNP, and it on Jackson Lake. Great spot for dogs to swim. Lakefront camp spots 36-40 are very nice, with plenty of shade. It's only 4 miles north of Colter Bay and about a 10 minute ride from Yellowstone. We camp here every year.
If you want just Yellowstone, I would drive 5 miles outside of the West Yellowstone gate and camp on Henry's Lake. Good campground with showers and the dogs will love it. Good fishing, too. It is located directly between Yellowstone and Henry's Fork.

[Danno]

Was afraid that I would hear "don't bring the dogs". It's the main reason I rarely hit national parks, so it's not like I'm doubting the advice. But shit, hard to go on a 1-2 week road trip and not bring them. Both because camping with dogs is part of the fun, and because that's a shitton of money in dogsitting!

[snowaddict91]

Was afraid that I would hear "don't bring the dogs". It's the main reason I rarely hit national parks, so it's not like I'm doubting the advice. But shit, hard to go on a 1-2 week road trip and not bring them. Both because camping with dogs is part of the fun, and because that's a shitton of money in dogsitting!

If your dogs are well behaved and you aren't spending more than a couple days inside the national park, bringing them can be a viable option. I say this because with the camper, you can leave them to do short hikes, sight seeing as well. Its certainly not ideal, and I know "the rules" say you can't do this, but we have done it when doing the national park thing as part of a longer trip.

Again, this only works if your dogs are well behaved and won't be a barking shitshow in the campground. And of course, you have to manage temps too if leaving them in the car or camper.

[Danno]

If your dogs are well behaved and you aren't spending more than a couple days inside the national park, bringing them can be a viable option. I say this because with the camper, you can leave them to do short hikes, sight seeing as well. Its certainly not ideal, and I know "the rules" say you can't do this, but we have done it when doing the national park thing as part of a longer trip.

Again, this only works if your dogs are well behaved and won't be a barking shitshow in the campground. And of course, you have to manage temps too if leaving them in the car or camper.

We have left them in our camper before (this past weekend, for ex), they do seem to chill in there, but it's hard to say they are well-behaved when one is 5 months old right now.

[plugboots]

We see dogs all the time, but people aren’t doing anything, they’re just at the pull outs with their dogs on a leash.
Like snowaddict says if you’re super organized you could have the dogs in your camper and you could do a short hike and come back, walk them, repeat. I would recommend going in September, (at least to manage the temperatures).
You could also do it as was mentioned earlier, stay just outside at one of the entry towns, and split it up: couple days in Gardner, a couple days in West Yellowstone, a couple days in Jackson, couple days near Cody.

[guide]

You should call me.

[muted]

I'd spend a couple days hitting the popular spots then hit the lesser known geysers or waterfalls for a more uncrowded feel. Because it is horribly crowded in the summer. Wake up early to do anything. If you have time, go to Cooke City and up Beartooth Pass, it's by far more scenic up there than anything in YNP and anywhere else, really. Also there is Chico Hot Springs for pool time with the kid while you sip beers in the hot tub. Also has decent food, and bands play on the weekends. it's in Paradise Valley which is beautiful. Boiling River is a free soaking option near Gardiner, a short flat hike to a river with springs spilling into it, inside the park. And of course Teton National Park is an easy hit.

Other family options nearby is whitewater rafting on the Gallatin, or just a mellow float do the Yellowstone north of Gardiner. If you need to drop a trailer for a quick road trip, I think I can set you up with a buddy in Gardiner who has land.

[old goat]

I feel incredibly lucky to have been able to go to places like Yosemite, GT, Arches, Zion, Sequoia/Kings Canyon, Grand Canyon, Mt Whitney back when you could just show up in the middle of high season and camp and backpack without a reservation or any other planning. I blame Ken Burns. (I've never been to Yellowstone.)

[Bobcat Sig]

There’s basically nothing you can do with the dog. We’ve been to Yellowstone I think 15 times now and we’ve never brought our dogs.



Oh yeah, I forgot to add, it’s super crowded, and Old Faithful is over rated.

Heh, yah. In the summer, YNP is wedged to the point you think you're in Disneyland. At all the major tourist spots, you will see an inordinate number of RVs and tour buses. Plan accordingly.

Or, as it's been suggested, find the less-traveled portions of the park. Or as I did when I lived in Bozeman; travel through there in the mid- to late fall. Fewer crowds, migrating wildlife, and spectacular colors.

I'd spend a couple days hitting the popular spots then hit the lesser known geysers or waterfalls for a more uncrowded feel. Because it is horribly crowded in the summer. Wake up early to do anything. If you have time, go to Cooke City and up Beartooth Pass, it's by far more scenic up there than anything in YNP and anywhere else, really. Also there is Chico Hot Springs for pool time with the kid while you sip beers in the hot tub. Also has decent food, and bands play on the weekends. it's in Paradise Valley which is beautiful. Boiling River is a free soaking option near Gardiner, a short flat hike to a river with springs spilling into it, inside the park. And of course Teton National Park is an easy hit.

Other family options nearby is whitewater rafting on the Gallatin, or just a mellow float do the Yellowstone north of Gardiner. If you need to drop a trailer for a quick road trip, I think I can set you up with a buddy in Gardiner who has land.

I would concur with all of this. Chico and the Beartooth Highway, especially. The latter with a trailer will be hell and maybe not permitted, so if you're camping in or near Cooke City, drive it after you've dropped the trailer and plan for the entire day. There are plenty of neat pull-outs and short hikes worth a stop. Also, I love Chico.

[plugboots]

I feel incredibly lucky to have been able to go to places like Yosemite, GT, Arches, Zion, Sequoia/Kings Canyon, Grand Canyon, Mt Whitney back when you could just show up in the middle of high season and camp and backpack without a reservation or any other planning. I blame Ken Burns. (I've never been to Yellowstone.)

You need to go to YNP. It's different. OK, like: largest concentration of thermal features on earth.

[uglymoney]

We did Yellowstone a few years ago with our dog. It was exhausting. We tent camped with reservations and the sites were super packed and all the foreigners have zero respect for boundaries so they were walking through our sites constantly and loud at 6 am and smoking and being generally clueless which was just annoying. Reserving a site just gives you a site. You still have to go stand in line and they offer you whatever garbage patch of land they have that just opened up.

Going with a camper will certainly ease the pain of the camping clusterfuck.

Going with dogs is okay once, to show the kids the place. We will never go back with the dogs because the next time we go it will be a permitted backpacking trip. There is plenty to do with the dogs on a family scouting trip.

My daughter still talks about all the Buffalo we saw, the elk at our campsites, the bears, the wolf we spotted. She loved it and it made a huge impression on her the way other places just can't. My favorite part of the trip was just her reactions and excitement to it all, the before hiking and camping up in the Beartooths, and the after down in TNP and Jackson. I went as a kid though, when it was less crazy. Even in my twenties I went with my X girlfriend and it was better and way less over run. We camped in the Lamar Valley in prolly Sept 93 and that was actually good tent camping. The stories my dad tells are even better. The Yellowstone of then is gone. It is still great though.

I think today YNP is like Disney. You have to go once. You'll never want to go back without a backpack (except maybe in October, winter, etx).

I wish I had more specifics to offer. Get up early and/or be willing to either eat early afternoon or after dark so that you can be out and about during the golden hours when tour buses and guided tours and gaper gap tourists are all holed up.

[east or bust]

I went a few times this summer. The key, as said above, is hitting the popular areas either early in the morning or late in the evening. If you’re 300 yards from the road you’ve just eliminated about 80% of the chance of seeing anyone.

[lifelinksplit]

Grab a park fishing liscence and a few cans of bear spray. Find some nice looking water, get stoned, go fish. And repeat. Swimming at firehole can be fun and good people watching. I'd skip boiling river unless its uncrowded(last time I went by it had prob 50-60 cars and multiple tour buses..)

So much to do in the park and crowds can be avoided with advice above. Also agree with dog advice, if staying in park no but if staying in cooke, west, Gardiner etc it can be fine.

[yeahman]

Yellowstone is crowded, but it's way less of a cluster fuck than Glacier IMO. A lot more roads to spread people out in different directions.

Don't miss the Upper and Lower Falls in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Brink of the Lower Falls is a pretty amazing viewpoint.

The Lamar Valley is like going back in time. Bring a spotting scope if you have one, or good binos, for wildlife viewing. If you drive to Cooke City make sure you hit the Stop the Car Trading Post in Silver Gate for huckleberry milkshakes. The kids will love them.

[old goat]

Yellowstone is crowded, but it's way less of a cluster fuck than Glacier IMO. A lot more roads to spread people out in different directions.

Don't miss the Upper and Lower Falls in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Brink of the Lower Falls is a pretty amazing viewpoint.

The Lamar Valley is like going back in time. Bring a spotting scope if you have one, or good binos, for wildlife viewing. If you drive to Cooke City make sure you hit the Stop the Car Trading Post in Silver Gate for huckleberry milkshakes. The kids will love them.

My kid went to glacier early season last year, while they were plowing going to the sun road. They were able to ride bikes up to the end of plowed pavement with no cars allowed on the road.

[yeahman]

My kid went to glacier early season last year, while they were plowing going to the sun road. They were able to ride bikes up to the end of plowed pavement with no cars allowed on the road.

Yeah they do that every year early season.

[2bjenny]

Dogs are ok if you are just visiting the "tourist" sites and it's not too hot to leave them in the car. I just spent the last week up there with a friend that visited. She was amazed by all the thermal features since she's never been. She wants to come back early or late season now for hiking in and around the park.

There is a person in West Yellowstone that will do doggie daycare in her home - that's an option is you don't want to leave the dogs in the camper or in the car. I think she only will take a few dogs at time though. I was considering this, but she was taking October off (don't blame her). I ended up boarding them in Victor, where they love to go and stay with Russ.

I'm going to drive up there at the end of the month and make the loop from my house, up through Island Park, West and then through GTNP just to see the difference at the end of October before the roads close for the winter. The doggos will go with me on this little adventure.

I should go more often, but too many people.