Planning 1st Trip to Yellowstone: Getting there question

We just passed through southern ILL to & from Yellowstone. Used Buffalo Bill SP, Cody Wy for home base while exploring Yellowstone & Grand Tetons. We enjoyed the trip!!!!!!

Thanks all for the great input. Yes, this is a 2015 trip for those that asked!

Yellowstone is talked about in detail on this forum I know, but glad to get a very specific perspective the drive there from my area.

Thanks.

Oakman wrote:

mleekamp wrote:
From Minnesota, yes, I can see the South Entrance being too far out of the way. But where I live in IL, I can drive straight west on 80 to the S. entrance or drive north a bit and take 90 west.

Appreciate the info on 16 vs. 14.

Anyone from IL out there that has went this way west? Do you drive it in 3 days, 4, ???

I believe the advice others have given you to take hwy 16 is based on your statement that you would be staying at the Devil’s Tower KOA.

If you’re just wanting to drive to Yellowstone from IL then yes I would enter through the south entrance. I would even consider spending a couple of days at the Colter Bay campground before continuing on to Yellowstone.

We live in MO and take I-70 to Kansas City and then a northern route to I-80. We continue on I-80 to Rawlins, WY and then connect with hwy 287 and head north to hwy 26 up to the Grand Teton NP entrance. Of course this route isn’t going to get you anywhere near Devil’s Tower.

If you take the I-90 route you will be closer to Mount Rushmore and Devil’s Tower. You could always take the I-90 route going and then come home via the I-80 route.

Right on, Devils tower is right off of 90 , like I said I just did the trip last week. So I have a good feel for where it is.

mleekamp wrote:
I didn't see this discussion here on RV.net: I will be camped at Devils Tower KOA before entering the east entrance of Yellowstone. However, its just about 400 miles to Fishing Bridge, and I know there will be traffic.

Do you guys camp outside yellowstone before going in first thing in the morning? Would that be a better approach?

We also considered entering from the south (through Grand Tetons NP).

We will be coming from Central IL.

We were just there 2 weeks ago. If you are staying at Devil's Tower first, then take 16 to Cody. There is a KOA in Cody. Given the length of the drive from Devil's Tower, you probably don't want to be entering Yellowstone that late in the day, since you may have a long drive within the park to get to your campground. If your only interest is overnighting and then going to the park the next morning, you may consider staying overnight for free in the Walmart lot. This is what we did on our way to Yellowstone. I was surprised that the Cody Walmart allowed overnighting but they do. You save the $30 or so that an overnight at a KOA might cost.
We did spend a few days at the Cody KOA on our way out of the park. There are several great things to see/do in Cody, so you should plan at least a full day or two to see them.

You can't go wrong with either east or south entrance. There are a bunch of fs cgs within 3-15 miles of the east entrance and Grand Teton has a bunch too. If you want to see your options in Cody, Jackson, the Tetons, or Yellowstone this is the best tool for planning: Yellowstone area campgrounds and rv parks

Also look at Dubois that is a pretty route and a bit out of the high traffic area.

I've been through all the entrances and they're all beautiful routes. No matter which one you choose it's going to be "interesting" along the way with all the twists, turns and mountains. Don't sweat the route just enjoy the scenery.

Ditto on seeing Cody and the museum. We stopped at The Yellowstone Valley Inn campground 18 miles west of Cody and 32 miles from Yellowstone entrance. Easy drive to Yellowstone from there. http://www.yellowstonevalleyinn.com/index.html

We live in Davenport, IA and visited Yellowstone in July. We took 2 days to get to the Blackhills and stayed there for 3 nights nights before taking a day to get into Yellowstone via the East entrance and stayed in Fishing Bridge. We went across the Big Horns on 14 and I had no issues at all.

On the way back we came from the Grand Tetons down to 80 and east to Davenport taking two 11 days to get home. That was rough!

If you PM me I can share with you the routes we took and where we stayed.

Chris

Whatever route you take definitely plan on spending some time in Teton National Park which is adjacent to Yellowstone even if it's a little out of your way. They are completely different in looks. For the Teton we love Gros Ventre campground which has 300 sites - no reservations accepted but it's rarely full - perhaps sometimes in the summer.

For Yellowstone, Mammoth campground - no reservations accepted but it's not a large campground. Staying outside the park the previous night is helpful then you can get a site early morning.

You might also try for Madison campground in Yellowstone even without reservations. There are usually spots.

However, are you planning to go this year yet? It's kind of late to be heading out from Illinois. You might want to check for campground closing dates.

Yellowstone Campgrounds

mleekamp wrote:
From Minnesota, yes, I can see the South Entrance being too far out of the way. But where I live in IL, I can drive straight west on 80 to the S. entrance or drive north a bit and take 90 west.

Appreciate the info on 16 vs. 14.

Anyone from IL out there that has went this way west? Do you drive it in 3 days, 4, ???

I believe the advice others have given you to take hwy 16 is based on your statement that you would be staying at the Devil’s Tower KOA.

If you’re just wanting to drive to Yellowstone from IL then yes I would enter through the south entrance. I would even consider spending a couple of days at the Colter Bay campground before continuing on to Yellowstone.

We live in MO and take I-70 to Kansas City and then a northern route to I-80. We continue on I-80 to Rawlins, WY and then connect with hwy 287 and head north to hwy 26 up to the Grand Teton NP entrance. Of course this route isn’t going to get you anywhere near Devil’s Tower.

If you take the I-90 route you will be closer to Mount Rushmore and Devil’s Tower. You could always take the I-90 route going and then come home via the I-80 route.