Towing through Yellowstone.

All of the Park Service roads are slow and winding. They do that on purpose. The Park in August will be crowded. There will be wildlife jams. There will be stupid people doing stupid things. You have to expect it now.

The Park is mostly a Plateau and not that hard to drive through. The approach from the West will be much harder. If you are going to drive in the mountains in the West, just get used to it.

dennydecuir wrote:
I'm planning a trip from Mt. Rushmore to West Yellowstone towing a 33' FW, and it seems the only logical route is through the park. Can anyone tell me what I'm getting into, or advise an alternate route? It'll be late August.

I would take 14 or 14A and plan to stay on top of the Bighorn Mountains for a night. There's moose everywhere and at dusk you can usually see hundreds of elk. No cell service, a little rugged and wild but a very nice experience. If your looking for a good campground I would recommend Sibley Lake. Large sites and they have electric or you can boondock just about anywhere up there. There is a dump station on top of the mountain. It also has potable water if needed.

I've done the trip you mention with a 34' 5th wheel. We went from Custer, SD through to West Yellowstone, MT with no issues. there are some grades where you just have to slow down. hopefully you have exhaust brakes as they as very very helpful.

We took 16 up to I-90 then south on 16 at Buffalo then on through the park to West Yellowstone. My only issue was the traffic jams in the park due to tourists stopping to look at the buffalo.

The Park is mostly a Plateau. The NPS builds narrow, windy roads on purpose to slow down traffic. In August you are going to run into thousands of tourists that we stop to see a coyote. Wildlife jams are troublesome.

Drive through the Park early before the tourists get up. Then you can see the wildlife without interference.

RedRocket204 wrote:

Kavoom wrote:
"I towed my 30' TT with a crewcab/longbed truck from West Yellowstone to Cody and there were no issues doing it. I'd do it again and would not consider going a different route."

So, why did you turn south to Cody instead of just keep going on north to Red Lodge MT?

We were headed home to CO.

Doh!, I was going at the Bear Tooth highway question and towing something that big. I don't recommend it primarily from having been behind one doing it and holding up traffic trying to get around the switchbacks. Sounds like you had a nice trip, now time for winterizing.

The most traffic we encountered was south of the west entrance, where the big geyser fields are. All the rest of the park was fairly easy and open.

The parking around the lodge and the inn is very crowded.

By the way, I highly recommend the buffet at the Inn, but not the Lodge.

dennydecuir wrote:
I'm planning a trip from Mt.
Rushmore to West Yellowstone towing a 33' FW, and

it seems the only logical route is through the park.

Can anyone tell me what I'm getting into,

or advise an alternate route?

It'll be late August.

Plan on a good day in Cody - and resupply at the Wal*Mart in town.

Then - If you do not want to be Recommitted to that State Hospital in Cali - Take the Day and drive through the Park to West Yellowstone.

Crowds likely.

Traffic Likely.

Beautiful - YES, No Question.

Best Route to Take? - Yes, IMHO.

Next Question - :B - :S

Our friends and my family towed our TTs (26' and 28') from Gardiner, Mt down through Madison and down to Grand Teton in late August (89 to 191). There was some road construction between Mammoth and Madison which was dirt road, but our wait was quite short. We thought the drive was pretty good. Don't plan to stop many places along the road though as the parking is limited at most attractions.

Kavoom wrote:
"I towed my 30' TT with a crewcab/longbed truck from West Yellowstone to Cody and there were no issues doing it. I'd do it again and would not consider going a different route."

So, why did you turn south to Cody instead of just keep going on north to Red Lodge MT?

We were headed home to CO.

"I towed my 30' TT with a crewcab/longbed truck from West Yellowstone to Cody and there were no issues doing it. I'd do it again and would not consider going a different route."

So, why did you turn south to Cody instead of just keep going on north to Red Lodge MT?