Wyoming Route.... Need Some Advice

Assuming you will eventually be heading back eastward seems like going through Yellowstone and Cody would be more practical. Then south towards Meteetsie, Thermopolis and Riverton. Since you will be in Wyoming I wouldn't pass up the wind river canyon that is south of Thermopolis. BTW, Best restaurant in Cody is the Chop Shop. Better known to tourists as Wyoming Rib and Chop House.

RAMPY wrote:
Next summer we will be staying near Moran (just North of Jackson)to enjoy the Tetons etc. After leaving the Moran area I'd like to visit Cody. Looks like I have 2 choices: (1) Go North into Yellowstone via 89/267and then East on 14/16, or (2) Go back SE on 26/287 towards Riverton and then North on 20/120 up to Cody.
We have plenty of time and driving a 40' MH. Would appreciate any feedback. Thanks

Sounds good to me. But whatever you do, do NOT go east on 14 over the Bighorn mountains .... that is many miles of steep 10% grade with very winding 25MPH curves. Turn south at Graybull if not sooner. Enjoy!

With your motorhome (we drove the same one on this route), it's very doable to go through Yellowstone and then east to Cody. Weren't you planning to tour Yellowstone anyway?

Definitely plan on at least 3-4 hours at the Cody Museum. It's awesome. Yellowstone Valley RV is in a very nice setting and minutes to town which is very busy.

Ed_Gee wrote:

RAMPY wrote:
Next summer we will be staying near Moran (just North of Jackson)to enjoy the Tetons etc. After leaving the Moran area I'd like to visit Cody. Looks like I have 2 choices: (1) Go North into Yellowstone via 89/267and then East on 14/16, or (2) Go back SE on 26/287 towards Riverton and then North on 20/120 up to Cody.
We have plenty of time and driving a 40' MH. Would appreciate any feedback. Thanks

Sounds good to me. But whatever you do, do NOT go east on 14 over the Bighorn mountains .... that is many miles of steep 10% grade with very winding 25MPH curves. Turn south at Graybull if not sooner. Enjoy!

He is way west of hwy where you mention in the big horn mtns. 14/16 comes down out of Yellowstone referred to as north fork hwy. Very good road. Goes through the little town of Wapity before Cody. (Wapity is the indian word for elk.) Lots of elk in the area.

I would go through the park. Good roads, much shorter. Alt 14 has the 10% grades, not 14. 14 has 6-7% grades. We took 16 over the Bighorns. 20 miles straight of 5% grade with pull off at the top. Wasn't bad.

Will you have seen Yellowstone by that time?

Where are you going after Cody?

If you are in GT and haven't seen Yellowstone yet, the do that as part of the drive to Cody. Also if after Cody you intend to head south the I80, you might as well skip the 2 way drive past Thermopolis (not that there's anything wrong with that).

But if you've already seen the Park, and will be heading east over the Big Horns, then the southern route would be fine.

Years ago, I drove Chicago to Seattle via this southern route. I'd already done Yellowstone and Cody on a previous trip. So I took US16 over the Big Horns, then straight to GT, and on west into Idaho.

Campground info, both routes:
1. through Yellowstone to Cody: Buffalo Bill State Park is on the way to Cody. two campgrounds. one where the river flows into the lake and the other one closer to town and on the lake. Both have some elec and water and dump station.
2. through Riverton:
north of town, Wind River Canyon, two campgrounds just below the dam. very scenic. Boysen State Park. or further north at Thermopolis, another state park with mineral hot waters, etc. In Cody, if you want an RV park, there are two big ones. Absaroka Bay RV park and Ponderosa RV park. both good. But busy, so call ahead.

If you go through Thermopolis check out the Dinosaur museum. It's worth a stop.

lc0338 wrote:
Flattest Route

This is so awesome! Thanks for posting!