Yellowstone: Cody to Gardiner

We took Cody to Gardiner last July and except for heavy traffic and lots of road construction and a buffalo who had the right of way and took his sweet time getting off the road, it was fine. It seems to me that there are boondocking sites between Cody and the park entrance. We had reservations so I can't help with winging it.

there are several NF campgrounds between Cody and Yellowstone. Two of them will hold you just fine. Rex Hale is one and has some elec hookups. There's another one just west of Wapiti, and I think it's name is Wapiti..on the right side of the road, going west. rex hale is further west and on the left.

You can probably find a place to camp before the East Entrance near Pahaska Tipi. Plan to drive through the Park. I never hang around in the summer and just drive through. Spring and fall are much better.

Roy&Lynne wrote:
We took Cody to Gardiner last July and except for heavy traffic and lots of road construction and a buffalo who had the right of way and took his sweet time getting off the road, it was fine. It seems to me that there are boondocking sites between Cody and the park entrance. We had reservations so I can't help with winging it.

The alternative is go up to MT, west on I90 to Livingston and back down.

On June 6 we traveled from Cody to Gardiner with a 37' fiver and HDT.

Left Cody at 9 AM. Went north out of Cody and picked up the Chief Joseph Highway. Beautiful drive, top speed of about 40, and a lot at 30-35. Very light traffic.

Turned west onto Beartooth Highway into Yellowstone. Traffic picked up and the road was really narrow, bit of nail bitter all the way across to Mammoth Springs. We did see a bear on the roadside, of course the traffic was stopped dead while people looked and took pictures.

Arrived at Rocky Mountain RV in Gardiner, MT at 1 PM, better time than we expected.

Good road all the way if you don't mind mountain driving. With the Volvo climbs are no problem and a good engine brake makes descents a snap as well.