Yellowstone 2020

I tell everyone that I know if you are going to Old Faithful in yellowstone don't forget to go in to the lodge. It is really well built and the fireplace is one of the biggest around. The history of building is really cool.

We were in Yellowstone the second week of Sept (2019). Parking was limited for my F150screw but we saw everything we wanted to see. Get to places like Old Faithful, Geyser Basin, and Grand Canyon area early. You have to plan on getting around slowly. Don't be in a hurry, enjoy yourself.
About 7 years ago we were in Yellowstone during June with our class c. We started early every day with one major destination planned each day. It worked then, it can work for you.

In late May you probably won't face the huge crowds one sees later in the summer. But you may find your explorations somewhat limited because of lingering snow. My mother worked at Old Faithful for more than a decade and I remember pictures she had taken in mid-May and they had dug through the six feet of snow to get to the front doors of the store. Not like that every year, but snow will undoubtably still be around.

Parking near Old Faithful won't be a problem with your rig as there's a huge parking lot there. There are big rig places to park in Mammoth and you can hike from there. Same with Canyon although not at Inspiration Point. I remember there being RV/bus parking at Artist Point on the south rim of the canyon.

You'll be challenged when it somes to some of the other geyser basins. Parking near the Grand Prismatic Spring is particularly difficult, even in a car, as there simply aren't enough spots.

I don't know if you have or use them, but bikes are an amazing way to get around and avoid some of the parking crowds. When we were there in mid-July parking at places like the Lower Geyser Basin was backed up a long ways. We simply drove a mile or so up the road, found a paved pull-off, got on our bikes and rode back to the parking lot. (Traffic is pretty slow so really not very threatening) Locked our bikes, hiked the trails, and got back to our bikes. We saw cars still waiting to park that were in line when we got there.

Bikes are also really handy around Old Faithful. One can ride along the old road from Old Faithful out to Morning Glory Pool. We would check on the predicted eruption schedule in the Visitors Center, then ride out the road, park and lock, then hike to the geyser. Had several people offer to rent our bikes when they saw how much walking we saved.

One more thing: if at all possible try to get that 18 year old to go along. As you know Yellowstone is one of the marvels of the world. She won't be disappointed (although I can't promise how the drive out and back might be! ;) )

Thank you all very much for the excellent suggestions so far, and please keep them coming if you have anything else to add.

We booked early understanding the altitude and possibility of winter weather, but hoping that with most kids still in school there would be less traffic (Disneyland logic.) If we're lucky our gamble will pay off.

The suggestions of bikes, rental cars, and tour buses are all things I had not thought of and will research further. Thank you for those suggestions. We are definitely early risers and our plan was to generally start early and hit one major desirable attraction first-thing per day (again Disneyland logic.) Thank you for your confirmation that our plan may actually work.

4runnerguy, I would love to bring our older daughter with us on this trip and agree with you 100%. Unfortunately this is a busy time of year for our college sophomore. I hope one day she has the opportunity to first experience YS the way I did, when I was young on a summer break from school with friends.

suprz, please thank your son/daughter for their service to our nation from the Jones family.

Again thank you all for the tips and please keep them coming

We visited Yellowstone in '15 with our Class C and Honda CRV in tow. Stayed at Fishing Bridge Campground with FHU. One day we used the toad to tour the park and the next the Class C. We had no problems parking the Class C and enjoyed the day much more because we had all the conveniences on hand during the long day. The suggestions to start EARLY are good ones (we didn't do that and spent a lot of time in traffic and looking for parking). There is a huge parking lot at the lodge where we parked away from the crowds and took naps and had a wonderful lunch in the lodge. 40 miles outside the East entrance, we stopped on our way home at Newton Creek NFS CG for $15. That site was spectacular and a highlight for me compared to the bland campgrounds inside the park. The KOA is a good idea, one I plan to try in 2021 when we go out West again.