National parks trip

jkjenn wrote:
I think Yellowstone and the Tetons are quite hard to wrap your arms around until you visit, not that you shouldn't research, but it will be easier to plan your second trip... which, no doubt you will want to make after your first visit. I am now planning my second visit. My first was late last September and my trip this year will be in July. I am wondering how much I will dislike the crowds.

x2

I've been four times in the last 10 years, including last year in August, and look to be going again this June.

Knowing your way around and the scale of the parks helps quite a bit, sizing up a bear jam, worth stopping for, etc. Animal viewing is generally best at dawn and dusk, thermal features don't care about time of day so much.

My first three visits were in mid/late June, based on advice from others ( school not being out for kids prevented earlier). Went in August for the first time last summer. Was more crowded, but to my surprise not overpoweringly so. But that may be in part because I know what times to avoid doing things, based upon past visits. It really does pay to visit areas with limited capacity early in the day, or late in the day, which is why I prefer inside the park for lodging.

When driving in the park, assume it will take you 2 minutes per mile traveled., to account for most jams, or other slowdowns.

I think Yellowstone and the Tetons are quite hard to wrap your arms around until you visit, not that you shouldn't research, but it will be easier to plan your second trip... which, no doubt you will want to make after your first visit. I am now planning my second visit. My first was late last September and my trip this year will be in July. I am wondering how much I will dislike the crowds.

2gypsies wrote:
Explore the official Yellowstone web site thoroughly. It even gives you 'Things to Do'.

Yellowstone National Park

I don't understand if you've read through the forums and read of others' suggestions that you can't get the jist of what to do there or where to stay. It's all been answered. We can only give you suggestions and things that we have experienced. There is no 'right' way to visit. You have to decide for yourself what kind of campground and where you want to stay. Some folks need an RV park. Some, like us, would rather stay IN the park themselves and experience the surrounding nature. We're all different....and yes, Fishing Bridge is a good central location. Or..you might want to move within the park at a couple campgrounds and save driving and explore one area at a time. Everyone does it differently. If you need full hookups then definitely Fishing Bridge or a RV park in West Yellowstone (not necessarily Grizzly - there are many other RV parks in and near West Yellowstone) are the best places to stay. Have a great trip whichever way you decide!!

Thanks these are the posts i need, i thought Grizzly and Fishing Bridge were the only rv parks with hook ups.

Corndawg75 wrote:
My wife and I are planning our first trip up north to the national parks. We are undecided on the date, but are deciding between mid June and late august. We are going to have 14-15 days, but several of those will be driving since we are coming from Alabama. We were wanting to swing by Mount Rushmore on the way, and then on to the parks. I don't think there will be enough time to visit glacier, Yellowstone , and grand Teton. Which 2 of the 3 would make the best trip?

You will get a ton of advice -- I will try to focus mine on travel time and the stops.

First if you have two weeks, you can count that as 16 days if you plan correctly. Start by having everything, EVERYTHING, packed and ready to go on Thursday, and then leave the minute you get home from work on Friday -- 4:00-5:00? -- For the purpose of planning Birmingham will be the start finish -- The aim would be to get somewhere near 3-400 miles on that first night - for us we usually were so excited I could have driven all night, but that's me an many think I'm a little crazy - none the less get out early on Friday and drive hard spending the night in a Wal*Mart the first night. Get a good start on Saturday morning and keep the pressure on to get as far up the road as possible, every mile you do on these first two days, is money in the bank, the further you get the more time you will have left.

That takes care of the STRETCH, now let's think about the route, IMHO I would try to focus on Getting to Yellowstone National Park, In Scope
and Grandeur there is nothing else like it,(a note here that the time of year you go may allow you to be close to, tens of thousands of your soon to be close friends) and again IMHO it is most fun to visit late after the kids head back to school.

So for me I would target say Great Sand Dunes NP as a drive by on the way, next drive by would be Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP, this is a seldom seen park that is just beautiful (not to mention all the surrounding mountains) from there to Dinosaur NM and then on to Flaming Gorge NRA before heading up to Jackson and then the Tetons.

None of the mentioned drive through parks are set to be stops as you will be driving over 4,000 miles by trips end. Yellowstone -- spend your time here -- more to see and do than most can do in a lifetime, so read up and plan well as you only have a few days. when you finish YNP you will need to decide on how to get home, if you are up for it the exit out of YNP to Custer is usually through Cody neat town but it is also a drive by, may are not in awe of Mt Rushmore, but that does not include me -- it is one of my fondest memories,and having visited it numerous times it just gets better, Crazy Horse - Mt Rushmore - Custer SP - Wind Cave - Jewel Cave - Pic's around Custer So much to see and do.

Now if you thought the trip out was tough -- just be sure you have time to get home in time to get back to work.

Next year you will likely visit a couple of the drive by's

Probably more than you wanted --

Stan Parker's Photo Album

Just a taste of what is out there to explore, hope this is of some help.

BOL,

Explore the official Yellowstone web site thoroughly. It even gives you 'Things to Do'.

Yellowstone National Park

I don't understand if you've read through the forums and read of others' suggestions that you can't get the jist of what to do there or where to stay. It's all been answered. We can only give you suggestions and things that we have experienced. There is no 'right' way to visit. You have to decide for yourself what kind of campground and where you want to stay. Some folks need an RV park. Some, like us, would rather stay IN the park themselves and experience the surrounding nature. We're all different....and yes, Fishing Bridge is a good central location. Or..you might want to move within the park at a couple campgrounds and save driving and explore one area at a time. Everyone does it differently. If you need full hookups then definitely Fishing Bridge or a RV park in West Yellowstone (not necessarily Grizzly - there are many other RV parks in and near West Yellowstone) are the best places to stay. Have a great trip whichever way you decide!!

Does anybody have like a write up or something for Yellowstone, i have read so manys fourms and websites and franly so confuesd on which is the best place to stay at for seeing for a certain part of the park, what not to miss and see if you go.......I think its just a little over welming for me to try to start to book my trip cause i dont know where to start.

Can you see the best of YellowStone by staying at just Fishing Bridge RV Park and Grizzly RV Resort, hoping to have hook ups and these seem like the only 2 places that do.

from alabama :
Mesa Verde NP in southern Colorado
maybe the other nearby National Parks in Colorado .
Arches National Park Utah maybe .
Grand Tetons and Yellowstone
Badlands NP , Wall SD .
Mount Rushmore is a half day
All of the others you could spend 2 days at each .

We did an 18 day trip last summer from Ohio - so you're a little farther. We did 3 1/2 long days driving out, 2 1/2 days at Grand Teton, 5 days at Yellowstone, spent a day driving from Yellowstone to Devil's Tower with a stop at Little Big Horn on the way; three days at Custer/Mount Rushmore over the 4th of July and then worked our way home, stopping at Wall, Badlands, Corn Pallace, Laura Ingalls Wilder Home and Clear Lake Iowa on the way home tobreak up the drive a little. Four of those days were really long days, but worth it to have the extra day or so at other locations. I'd do it again - of course I'd love to have a day or two longer, but there's only so many vacation days in a year!

I agree that throwing in Glacier is too much.

We went end of June, beginning of July last summer. Book your National Park camp sites for those big parks now, especially if your rig is big. We stayed at Colter Bay and then Fishing Bridge to have hookups because we're pretty small. There are a lot of other beautiful campgrounds with less (or no) hookups, but you need some capacity for them. (At Rushmore we stayed at Rafter Bar J if you ever do that trip, good spot).

Enjoy - it's a great trip however much you decide to tackle!

Any way you can add another week? A lot of driving time and not much enjoying time. I agree about focusing on Yellowstone, the Tetons and maybe visiting Jackson Hole. Great spots.

We loved Custer SP and the badlands are really different but you may want to take the most direct route to Yellowstone.

Enjoy..

My friend, Tucson Jim, is right. We LOVE Glacier but if you can only do 2 then Yellowstone and Grand Teton makes the most sense and are spectacular. June might be early for Yellowstone but August it will be packed. But well worth it; last time in Yellowstone we spent a week there. Get going out early in the morning to avoid the crowds. Be safe.