Please Suggest! Yellowstone...

Well we got RESERVATIONS in West Yellowstone! Thank goodness. We considered inside the park which did have options but it would be a bit more difficult as we would have to get a LOT of water for us that we would need to carry in as well as showers, and bring a generator.

To make life easier, we have opted to stay at a place with water and electric, so no generator, no worries for carrying water, and we can cook ourselves.

Thanks for all the recommendations!

We will stock our own groceries for the entire trip (hopefully) as well as fuel up before getting into the park, bring our own snacks and lunch every day, and plan for typical Colorado weather - as in you never know what could happen in the next hour!

Hopefully our 3-year-old will have a blast. She enjoyed the moose and fishing while we were gone the past two weeks so hopefully she doesn't get too board! Thank goodness for the DVD player and individual headphones.

So any MUST Do's?

I was in Yellowstone when I was maybe 9 or 10. So decades ago...

We are allowing ourselves FOUR full days in the park... Things I KNOW we can' miss:

1. Old Faithful
2. other thermal features
3. Fountain Paint Pots
4. Wildlife - duh
5. Grand Prismatic Spring
6. Mammoth Hot Springs
7. Grand Canyon of YSNP
8. Grizzly/Wolf Discovery Center

If you're comfortable boondocking a short drive outside of the park, I suggest Beaver Creek (Hebgen Lake). It is about a 15-20 min drive from West Yellowstone and even on the busiest of weekends for the Park there seems to be plenty of dispersed/primitive camp spots available. My wife and I always camp there when we take our long weekend trips to Yellowstone.

Beyond my help if you are only planning 2 weeks out

Indian Creek is a lovely little CG, BUT this year it's in the midst of a long stretch of MAJOR road construction. (And I suspect next year, and possibly the year after that. As I said, it's major construction.) Much of this stretch of road is one-lane, with up to 30-minute delays while the other side waits for the pilot car. Staying at Indian Creek might be a pain while this is going on. That said, there are lots of other attractive CGs in the park. The smaller ones are first-come, the others reservable.

I try to buy my supplies in Jackson before hitting the YNP much cheaper. Smith grocery has good prices and has a deal on gas if you get a rewards card. The gas in West is not cheap, usually 25 cents more per gallon than anywhere else. Island Park, Ennis, Gardener and Big Sky all have lower prices.

We go every year with a 34' fifth wheel. We make reservations at Madison the year before, but then move to the first come, first serve sites at Norris campground. Madison refunds our unused nights.

That being said, during mid-week, Norris will fill up by mid-morning on most days. We have friends who are camp hosts at Indian Creek and that campground usually fills after Norris. BUT, it does not allow generators AND the new rule this year is that your entire vehicle length (tow vehicle and camper) must be less than 35'. But it is a quiet campground, closer to Mammoth and then from there on to the Roosevelt junction and the Lamar valley. It is however, a bit far from the thermal features south. Maybe 45-60 minutes to Old Faithful from there.

Hope this helps.

Scott

Did you search this Forum for Yellowstone? Lots of previous posts. Search the results for `campgrounds' or `tours' or `activities' or `hiking' etc.
We stayed at Grizzly in West Yellowstone.

I'll second what kknowlton said about supplies - take LOTS of your own food, etc. and stock up that pantry before you get into the park. Even basic groceries in the YNP "trading posts" are very expensive and you'll not find much in the way of variety of brands and/or sizes.

Fuel - there's nothing you can do about that. We traveled over 300 miles within the park in just three days so you'll need to gas up in YNP. Grin & bear it.

Clothing - layering - yes. The weather in very changeable throughout the day. On our second day we went from bright sunshine to hailstorm. It gets cold at night, even in July. Be sure you have warm clothing, blankets for the beds and your LP supply is sufficient.

What to do? I think the better question is deciding what you have time for and what you'll have to put off for a future visit! The famous attractions are a must - Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Mammoth Hot Springs, Old Faithful. We rented a motorboat and went out on the lake for a couple of hours. Cost was reasonable (in 2004 dollars, $37 an hour) and we had a blast.

There are thousands of geysers, hot springs, and the like. Ones that stand out in my mind are Artists' Paint Pots, Mud Volcano, Dragon's Mouth Spring. Enjoy & safe travels.

We got spots at the Red Rock RV / Campground in Island Park by Henry Lake. Very nice ( arrived today) and is about 25 min from the west gate. Now we are YS veterans and wanted something new. We have stained in the park and in West Yellowstone at the KOA and the Grizzly..... It is best to stay in the park if you can because it will save you a few hours of driving every day. Just to get in and out of the park. Fishing Bridge is full hook-ups but hard side trailers only.

We always carry a propane grill so we can pull over any place we like and tail gate. The food in the park is expensive crummy and the places are crowded..... Cook a burger or dog roadside and look for things others drive past.

Take a chill-pill, you will need it. People will stop any place they see an animal and you will too...

Google Yellowstone and go to the site that has NPS in the web address. It will have a plan your trip section. Click it and it will take you to the reservation page. You can see what is open or call for cancellations.

Enjoy the park, we do.
JMHO

I returned form Yellowstone last week. I planned this nearly 5 months in advance. We did speak with several people who were able to find accommodations for one or two nights, mid week, with little notice. We drove from Mt Rushmore to West Yellowstone. It is the best place to stay, if not staying in the park. When I do this trip again, I WILL stay in the park. From our site in West Yellowstone KOA, to the nearest point of interest in the park, was a 30 minute drive. Keep in mind, each subsequent day, the destinations get further away from the origin... The services in West Yellowstone were great. They had all the tourist stuff. I found decent prices on groceries and fuel.

4-5 days is probably what you will want to budget to get to most of the spots throughout the park. We did dinner at Old Faithful Inn, was great! We hiked to most of the "scenic overlooks" to escape the huge crowds that travel in large packs in the middle of the day. Some of the sights have horrible parking or access, we drove by and planned our return for later in the day when the crowds would be smaller. I also gauged the length of our stay based on the interest and energy level of my three kids. They each had their own interests and could only out up with so much driving, parking, hiking, watching steam... The info sessions, movies and exhibits at the various visitor centres are a great way to break up the day. There really is enough variety to cater to most people's wants.

In terms of what to bring, I would pack clothing for three seasons. We had everything from cold temps at higher elevations to impromptu rain/hail storms to 90+ degree heat. Lots of sunscreen is a must! While I found the flying pests to not be an issue at most places, as soon as you are off the beaten path, they find you. I was without bug repellant one day, not again after that though. Be prepared to stop and drive slowly through the park. You hear about it, and can see the videos pasted on Youtube. I can tell you, it is very real. People will park in the road, get out to take a picture.