Any accessible fire roads in Yellowstone?

In a word, no. Back country hiking is allowed but driving on fire roads/maintenance roads is prohibited.

I'm sure park rangers and literature can guide you to less used trails.

But you might also look at the National Forests surrounding the park. If you drive backroads in southern California you probably are already aware of the kinds of resources (and restrictions) forest districts offer.

On one cross country trip, in a pickup camper, I camped in the Black Hills at a FS campground, took back roads in Wyoming, camping the next night near the summit on US16 in the Big Horn Mtns. Then across WY to Grand Tetons, camping at a FS campground just outside the park. After briefly seeing sights in GT, I drove toward Yellowstone, and then took a FS road between the parks into Idaho. That night was a FS campground near Mesa Falls.

A lesser traveled road in Yellowstone is the one-way Blacktail Plateau Drive. It's off the Mammoth Hot Springs to Tower-Roosevelt road. It's 6 or 7 miles of good gravel. I have seen bear, moose, pronghorn.
Blacktail Plateau Drive

down in the Tetons Park is one out of Flagg Ranch campground called Grassy Lake Road...I think it goes all the way across the mountains to Idaho, but up at the top of the pass is a lake. Several vauted toilets and little primitive campsite along the way, so take a picnic lunch.

Then down on the southern end is the Snake River road and it is rough and slow going.

I sometimes sound like a broken record when people ask about where in the Yellowstone area, but I love Greys River. It is about 2 hours south west of Yellowstone just outside of Alpine, WY.

The Greys River Road starts in Alpine and follows the Greys River for over 60 miles. There isn't a single power pole once you leave Alpine. There is a dude ranch at about mile 32 and a ranch house or two along the way as well as a couple of Forest Service cabins (which are for rent).

There are numerous side roads and trails to follow. You can stop at literally hundreds of spots along the river to camp, fish, picnic, hike, mountain bike, etc.

There are a couple of roads that actually cut through valleys to the east and you can make a loop out of the trip.

Beautiful area with lots of eagles, deer, moose and possibly a few grizzly bears. I've never actually seen a grizzly while there though I have seen fresh sign while fishing. It is the grizzly capital of the lower 48 states, so take your bear spray when hiking.

Here is a day hiking sampler with plenty of nice options for short hikes:

Day Hikes

Also check out under 'Things to Do' and click on Biking Routes. You'll be able to then click on two gravel roads that autos and bikes can use: Old Gardiner Rd and Blacktail Plateau Dr.

Everyone going to Yellowstone or any national park should really explore the official park website for a wealth of information.

Have a good trip.

rv2go wrote:
A lesser traveled road in Yellowstone is the one-way Blacktail Plateau Drive. It's off the Mammoth Hot Springs to Tower-Roosevelt road. It's 6 or 7 miles of good gravel. I have seen bear, moose, pronghorn.
Blacktail Plateau Drive

Took that road for the first time last August. Its a nice drive and a few hiking opportunities along the gravel road. Certainly away from the crowds, though I was joined on the road by a couple cars, so you aren't completely alone.

Took a ranger lead hike from the canyon area (near Tom's Cabin) that I would highly recommend. Was 90 minutes, looped around to Artist Point. The ranger we were with suggested a longer hike, off to the right by Clear Lake and past a thermal area, just as we were heading in from the meadow, was a personal favorite of his. He couldn't take us there because he had another hike to lead. Just the ranger hike was worth it, but the section he recommended was even better.

Another very out of the way gravel road into Yellowstone is in the SW corner. It's not accessible from inside Yellowstone. Its just north of the NF campground Cave Falls. Nice view of Cave Falls. Can't vouch for the hiking from there as the mosquitos were incredibly thick in mid June, but the area was quite scenic. Just head east from Ashton on Cave Fall Road. Its slow going, with all the washboards. Stumbled upon it back in 2009, looking at a map and noticing there was a single "entrance" I had not visited yet, so we overnighted there on the drive up from Utah, before heading into Yellowstone proper.

rv2go wrote:
A lesser traveled road in Yellowstone is the one-way Blacktail Plateau Drive. It's off the Mammoth Hot Springs to Tower-Roosevelt road. It's 6 or 7 miles of good gravel. I have seen bear, moose, pronghorn.
Blacktail Plateau Drive

rv2go, thanks for posting that, we didn't see it when we were there, but will definitely do it next year when we go, is it open in Late June/early July, or still snowed in ?

kgarrett9999 Thanks for being a broken record. Did not know about that area. Looked it up on the NFS website, looks very interesting. I have a 33 ft MH with a Jeep in tow. I am assuming that you would not recommend the MH for Grey River Rd.

Greys River Rd. is o.k. for your 33' MH but it can be very dusty if that doesn't both you. In my opinion, it's also way too far to tour Grand Teton N.P. or Yellowstone. That would be for a separate trip.