Yellowstone park entrance/exit

We went in the West entrance and exited through the south entrance. Also went out the north entrance to buy groceries and eat in Gardner,Mt. None of those routes had any real steep slopes that I remember. But you'll have to listen to the others about going in the east entrance.

Flatest route would be west entrance up to I90 East though that adds a lot of miles. Depending on where you are staying though also has a lot of thought because you could have some steep grades just getting to one of the entrances.

Going out the East entrance to Cody has a climb but not really that bad as you are going slower anyhow. Once you get out then you have to decide your next step. 14 is the worst, 16 is better but still a steep pull over the Big Horns. You can avoid them though by adding a number of miles and going down through Casper. Had to take this route in 2000 because the wild fires closed all west/northwest routes out of Custer. It was a pleasant drive with our gasser and 30' TT.

Never exited by the west side, but entered that way 2x. Once with a Ford Ranger pulling a TrailManor 3023 and again with a 2013 Ford F350 6.7 pulling a 9.5k 30' fiver. Both times we exited I-90 and took 14(?) through Shell Canyon. Theres a great (no hooked) forest service campground by a lake shortly before descending into Sheridan.

Now mountain grades and driving steep, long grades don't bother me. Slow and easy and no problems. We now have a 36' 12k fiver and I'd not hesitate to travel that route again. Keep your equipment in great shape and enjoy.

FWIW, that Ranger was a 4L V6 and had no problems with power up, or down with the 3500+ lb. trailer. And coming down Wolf Creek Pass in CO I lost 1 trailer brake (wire broke at the magnet). Realized it part way down. Took my time and fixed the brake on the side of the road in the next down after purchasing supplies. Sure, I was way more alert, but it was totally uneventful.

Happy Trails!

CloudDriver wrote:
The high point on the east entrance road is at Sylvan Pass at 8,524 ft. The east entrance station is at 6,951 ft so it's a drop of 1,524 ft. Using the 5 miles mikim mentioned, that's 320 ft decent/mile or about a 6% average grade. I just used Google Street View to "drive" the east entrance road from Sylvan pass down to the east entrance station and see no grade warning signs. The only switchback is along the climb to Sylvan Pass from Yellowstone lake.

After the entrance station it's a long gradual descent for some 50 miles to Cody.

thank you that's what I'm looking for. I think I'd prefer to go up the grade as opposed to down since I have no exhaust break.

Been a lot of years ago and we were not towing at the time. But after getting info to Cody, you should ask also about Cody to I-90. We took 14 from Cody to I-90 in the area of Sheridan. As I remember that was much steeper up and down than YNP to Cody. Not sure I would tow our 5er over that section.

The high point on the east entrance road is at Sylvan Pass at 8,524 ft. The east entrance station is at 6,951 ft so it's a drop of 1,524 ft. Using the 5 miles mikim mentioned, that's 320 ft decent/mile or about a 6% average grade. I just used Google Street View to "drive" the east entrance road from Sylvan pass down to the east entrance station and see no grade warning signs. The only switchback is along the climb to Sylvan Pass from Yellowstone lake.

After the entrance station it's a long gradual descent for some 50 miles to Cody.

I have no first hand knowledge but The Pioneer RV Resort posted a picture on their Facebook site last Thursday that showed the recently plowed South entrance and stated it is the only entrance open at Yellowstone.

Going from Yellowstone, there is 5 miles of a steep grade. Just took it slow with a 36 Ft Class A and tow car. Once you get outside of the park, it is not a bad grade. In Cody, the museum is amazing but we took a tour out to the BLM land to see the wild Mustangs. That was a highlight of our trip.

I've driven the road to Cody a number of times and don't recall any major steep grades. But I am not very sensitive to road grades unless they are very steep like Hwy 12 in UT. You do drop about 3000 feet between YNP and Cody tho, so there have to be grades. There is some way to show grades on Google maps but I don't recall how. The road around the dam just before you get to Cody is somewhat curvy as I recall. There is a small museum there which is worth a stop.

The diversion to I-90 is -way- out of your way and will add hours to the trip.