Trip to Yellowstone - tips?

[LDusky]

Jackson Hole area

Steve, I go to Jackson every year and place my TT at my Aunts cabin in Kelly. Just outside of Jackson on the way to Teton NP there is a road heading to Kelly along the Gros Ventre River (pronounced "grow vont"). The Gros Ventre Campground is 5 miles from the main Hyw. It was almost empty last year. No hookups, you can hack it for a day or two, but all kind of wildlife within the area, moose, antelope and large herd of buffalo. Good place to be for Jackson and Teton NP. The RV park in Jackson is crammed and big $$$$. . Take the family to the Bar J for great western entertainment and dinner. Have fun

 

[Andy Perreault]

This brings back memories of when I took a trip to Yellowstone in ’96 with my new Dodge. It was the height of summer and the place was packed. All the campgrounds were full. I drove out of West Yellowstone and found a primitive campground as the sun was setting. That place was full, too. I continued past the campground, past a huge sign that said, "WARNING: GRIZZLY BEAR AREA", up a dirt road and found flattened out area off the road. I could tell that others had camped there before, there were tire tracks and a fire ring.

As it was getting dark, I whipped out my camp stove and fixed dinner on the tailgate. There was no one around and it was eerily quiet. Not even a bird was chirping. Mind you, I was by myself on this trip! In the distance, I could hear a deep "THUNK" every few minutes. My guess was that it was some male bighorn sheep bashing their heads together. By the time I finished cleaning up after dinner, it was a very dark, moonless night. I was about to start a campfire when I could hear twigs snapping in the forest very nearby. The only other sound I could hear was my own heartbeat pounding faster and faster. Call me a wimp, but I packed up and left! I had no gun with me, and I figured there was no way I was going to get any sleep that night. I worked my way down to I-15 and stayed in a rest area, which, actually, was probably more dangerous than the middle of a dark, grizzly infested forest!

It was a great trip, though. I went from L. A. to Seattle, then to the following: Glacier NP, Yellowstone, Flaming Gorge Reservoir, Dinosaur Nat'l Mon. , then I zig-zagged over the Colorado Rockies and came out at Durango, then to Lake Powell, the Grand Canyon, Zion, Las Vegas, and home to L. A.

Andy

 

[Joe G.]

I think there is one attraction(?) that no one has mentioned, buffalo! They are everywhere and there are a LOT of them. Don't be surprised if one wanders out in front of your rig and flops in the middle of the road. Just like that and won't move while it imitates a boulder. We sat in one place for quite a while because a bunch of them just wandered across the road taking their time going who knows where. Gotta be patient with the varmits.

 

[dalton4]

Just north of West Yellowstone on US 191 is Bakers Hole campground (US Forest Service). I stayed there two nights in Sept, 1998, and because of bears they would not allow soft side campers or tents.



Andy, I do believe that you were in bear country.



Jerry

 

[Lhotka]

Steve,



There is a brief one page article in the February issue of Four Wheeler magazine about exploring Yellowstone's backcountry. Not a lot of info, but enough to wet your appetite.

 

[LSMITH]

Steve, do not feed the bears and don't try to pet the mountain lions!!! Just looking out for you health and welfare bud.

 

[BigFun]

Hootin' Good Time

Hi Steve,



Michelle and I went Labor Day weekend and stayed for twelve wonderful days in 2000 after I returned home from a 6-month deployment. If you can afford to delay your trip, this is an ideal time as most of the people have returned to the ho-hum of post summer life. We stayed at Fishing Bridge park and had plenty of room to spread out. Many of the areas were wide open throughout the park. They have a reservation system there for when ever you stay. Call early! The times you intend fill fast. Staying in the park is great as you're already there. Highlights for us was: The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Mammoth Hot Springs, Old Faithful, Noris Basin, Lower Guyser Basin, Upper Guiser Basin, Elk bugeling, Buffalo, Moose, Bear, Wolves, and the Upper and Lower Falls of the Grand Canyon. Make sure you hike Uncle Tom's trail to the Lower Falls. Spectacular. We often set out early to ge a jump start on the day and would find ourselves alone or in little company until mid day in most areas. Wonderful trip. There's an air of briskness that time of year.



Good luck on your trip and have a wonderful time!



Bud

 

[cullyguy]

Reservations, Reservations,Reservations! You will be traveling @ the Peak of the year. Also, when you are unhooked & traveling through the parks (Teton & Yellowstone) Fold your mirrors in! If a ranger sees you with them out & not towing there is a fine. The roads are narrow two lanes & it is not uncommon to have two rigs tag each others mirrors.

 

[HBarlow]

Steve,



I have very little experience in the Teton and Yellowstone Parks, having been there only once, last July. My experience was a little different than some who answered. I finalized our travel plans late, just a week or two before departing home requesting RV reservations via e-mail. The concessionaire who operates the campground responded immediately by phone and e-mail and I got the reservations requested. We spent several days in Teton staying in primitive campgrounds with our 3500 QC Ram and 31' Airstream TT. We left Teton going west out of Jackson Hole over Teton Pass into Idaho then up the west side of the parks and entered Yellowstone from the west. We ended up arriving a day before our RV reservation and spent one night in an overflow space in a primitive campground on the west side before moving on to the "RV Park" at Fishing Bridge. The primitive park was beautiful, natural, cool, and quiet. We were nestled in between tall pine trees and felt like we were experiencing nature. With the benefit of hindsight, I would have preferred staying in the primitive park without hookups. The campground offers clean and modern bathroom/shower houses if you prefer to use them. The RV park is nothing more than a parking lot with hookups with the RVs packed tightly, on blacktop. It is like a thousand other RV Parks dotted along the interstate highways with no beauty, only a place to park and hook up. Whereas the primitive campground was pleasantly cool during the day, the RV Park was hot requiring use of the ac. I had no difficulty backing our 31' Airstream into a spot between the tall pine trees in the primitive campgrounds with my wife acting as rear spotter. We traversed all of the park roads with trailer in tow as did dozens of others with no difficulty. The scenic mountain highways and high elevation passes that surround the parks offer beautiful scenery and will provide bragging rights for your powerful Dodge-Cummins truck. I recommend reaching the park via the mountain passes and scenic highways as much as possible. Travel will be a little slower but far more beautiful and interesting. Unless you get a freak snow storm, the roads are easily passable with a large travel trailer in-tow.

 

[Fireman Dave]

I agree with Harvey.

Harvey,



I agree with you about Yellowstone. We were really glad we ended up in the Canyon Campground after seeing Fishing Bridge. It was much more scenic and roomy. We had our own picnic table and campfire ring. We got 5 nights out of one of our batteries, then we switched to #2 for the last night, so not having hook-ups wasn't an issue for us. We didn't need A/C since we were there in mid-June. The restrooms/showers were immaculate and nice to use. The nominal cost to use the showers was certainly offset by the lower campsite rate versus a full hook-up site or private RV park.



Dave

 

[BIG BOB]

Steve,



Sound like we are just going to miss each other! Dog-gone-it! Kathy and I will be arriving in the Black Hills on June 30th. We will stay at the Rafter J Bar Ranch in Hill City. We will stay there until July 8 when we go to Jackson Hole. Plan on getting to Jackson Hole on July 9th and leaving on the 12th for a slow trip home. We are going to stay at the Snake River Park KOA/Jackson South/Hoback Junction. We have been to Yellowstone both in car and by snowmobile, so we are not going to go to Yellowstone. We want to really check out the Jackson Hole area. Those mountains are awesome!



Paul Somers,



Do you have a tentative date to be in the Yellowstone/Jackson Hole area? Maybe we might have the opportunity to meet each other.





We have already made reservations. Everything is already planned. The only problem is that we still have 5 months to wait!

 

[JyRO]

Big Bob - I stayed at the Rafter J Bar Ranch in Hill City for 2 weeks last September. I happen to have been there during the twin towers terrorist incident. You'd think that may have dappened the trip, but the patriotism level sky-rocketed while we were there, making for excellent memories. You will definetly enjoy the Rafter J Bar. I recommend the, "Island," (I think it is) part of the campground. Its beautiful, and easier to get a big camper in than the Ranch (I think that's the name of the more wooded section). The other area I think is the Line camp. Its ok, but not as pretty.



Steve - 1,600 miles in 2 days, or 3 days? You've got the truck to do it, if anyone does. But that's hard work on a body, especially for 4 maybe 5 days to see the sights. It will absolutely fly by. You'll be headed home before you realize it. I did 1,200 miles in 2 days (MI. to Mt. Rushmore area), and that was pretty tough. But I had 2 weeks to toodle around. And there is a 3 or 4 hour section of I-90 that can cause internal bleeding (exaggerating), its very jarring. Not rough, but jarring. My wife said if she had been pregnant, going over that section would've induced labor, or a miscarriage (she was exaggerating too). You may want to consider another route if that's the way you're planning on going, and you think that jarring may bother you or your travelers too much. The good point of I-90 (at least when I traveled it) was that the traffic through MN & SD was nill.



My suggestion - try to take more time so you can relax and enjoy your trip more. Plus, seems like you have a girl between 1 & 2 years old? Hope she's a good traveler, or maybe she can stay with grandparents. But its more fun to have them with you. Good Luck!



- JyRO

 

[Paul Somers]

Big Bob, We're going to Centerville, MI July 8-12 for a Sunnybrook 10th aniversary rally. Will leave on the 12th for Yellowstone/ Jackson Hole. Ever how long it takes to get there is when we will arrive. We'll probably make a day or two stop in S. Dakota. Looks like every one is going to just barely miss each other. The Snake River KOA you mentioned sounds good. We've never been there so this is a first for us.

 

[WyoJim]

I-90 around Chicago is a nightmare, and then up through Wisconsin is not much better. I time it to be around Chicago late, around midnight, Then I stay on I-80 to I-680 to I-29 then back to I-90 at Sioux Falls. Do it every year, sometimes twice.



Haven't noticed the bad part of I-90 the last few trips, Maybe I am getting used to it. A few years ago I had to slow down to about 60 for a while on that stretch, but lately I haven't even noticed it. Its still a better trip than I-80 through Nebraska.



Mitchell SD has a Cabela's with an RV parking lot, RV dump and play ground for kids. Makes a nice pit stop. And you can buy Cenex diesel off the same exit. My truck hates Flying J and loves Cenex by about 2 miles to the gallon.



Stop at Wall Drug at least for doughnuts, Drop your RV's in the parking lot, and make a 3 or 4 hour trip through the Bad Lands.



There are a couple of truck stops at Rapid City. One is at the Air Base Exit. I would consider dropping the Rv's again and looking at the Stone Faces with a drive through of Bear Country. You won't regret it.



Then on to Wyoming, where I defy you to find a pot hole on a state maintained road. Federal yes, state NO. I hunted this entire state last year for a pot hole. Finally found one, not a trophy mind you, just a baby one about the size of a saucer. It was about 20 miles from my house and I went back to admire it about a week later and they had fixed it. Probably moved it to Yellowstone. Thats where they all are.



To be continued... ...

 

[WyoJim]

Trip to Yellowstone

The last few years we lived in PA we visited Yellowstone twice a year. We usually did it on a 10 day trip. That makes it an ambitious trip. We would travel long days, about 700 miles each day, and stop in roadside rests for the night. Get up in the morning and run a hundred miles or so before breakfast. We still travel that way and enjoy it.



There is as much to see outside of Yellowstone as there is inside and I don't think this will be your only trip. That said I would probably run 1-80 one way and I-90 the other, then you will know which way you prefer. The route you mention takes you right past Jardine's 4 inch exaust place.



The east entrance to Yellowstone to me is the least desireable. Once you hit the park it is straight up for miles without any scenery at all.

The most scenic entrance is from Jackson and the next best one is from Cody through Cook City or Red Lodge MT through Cook City. But over the hill from Red Lodge may strain your truck, and I know it will strain an Avalanche.



If you decide to come out I-90, the most scenic way over the Big Horns is route US 14. Get off I-90 at Ranchester, Then over the hill, down the other side, with scenery that will take your breath away, past my house and then to Cody.



Cody is almost as much a must see as Jackson.



More later.....

 

[WyoJim]

Yellowstone

Don't forget to take binoculars and a spotting scope to help enjoy the wild life. Moose might be seen most any where. Same with elk. Same with Coyotes. I have seen wolves in the Lamar Valley right after day light and on the Norris Road between Norris and Gardner in the evening. I have seen Grizzly bears east of Fishing Bridge and in the Hayden River Valley. Buffalo are a pain, but a little rev of your diesel will stampede them off the road.



Old Faithful, The Fire Hole River, Fishing Bridge, The Hayden River Valley and the Upper and Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River are all on a loop road that would be the most convenient from West Yellowstone. I have always enjoyed hunting trout on the Fire Hole below Old Faithful,and also the upper Yellowstone below Fishing Bridge. Not fishing them, just hunting them... .....

 

[Gonzo 1066]

TRAVLES

Try the chief Joseph highway its beautiful. Highway 212 is also very nice but your long rig would make it a challenge to drive. Highway 14A in northern Wyoming is very nice also and a bit of a grunt for those mere mortal trucks (gassers frds & chevs) Should be a piece of cake for your rig. There is a very nice campground at the summit. However you will have to unhook. While you are unhooked drive to the medicne wheel. here is a great view of the valley to the west. Just a bit of my own personel traveling philosophy STAY OFF OF THE DAMMED FREEWAY see the real America!! Hope the trip goes well. If you continue on out to the coast you can camp in our yard. We live on the Canadian boarder north of Seattle I wouldnt offer to anyone but a fellow midwesterner! We made the trip from our home in Wisconsin 13 years ago and din not go back.

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

Thanks for all of the advice! We're going to be camping at the Colter Bay RV Park closer to the Grand Tetons. We'll be arriving late on July 1st and leaving on the 6th. We're going to take I-90 on the way out for the scenic route and I-80 on the way back to get home quicker. After taking in all the recommendations I got from everyone it sounds like the Grand Tetons are a better sight right now because of the fires. We'll probably split our time there between the two parks.



Jyro, 1600 miles in 3 days is no problem for us - we're used to long drives. When I moved here to Michigan from San Francisco my dad I and drove it straight through in 36 hours in my little 4 cylinder S-10, we floored it in SF and lifted in MI - WOT the WHOLE time. Sam does travel very well and it's a good thing because we can't leave her with the grandparents - their coming with us!



Now we just have to count down the days! Can't wait!!



-Steve

 

[Fireman Dave]

Steve,



While you can see scars from the '88 fires, Yellowstone is still beautiful. The new growth is another point of interest to see. The remnants of the fires aren't overbearing at all.



Dave

 

[Paul Somers]

WyoJim

I value your input since I have never been there but my understanding is not to go into Yellowstone from the east. Looking at a map it looks like taking hwy 14 off of I 90 will take you into Yellowstone from the east. Is there a good road turning toward Jackson Hole before entering Yellowstone?