West bound trip & need advice

And if you get caught in a Buffalo Jam it could indeed be a very long trip. They act like they have the right of way. :B

What highway will you be coming into the St. Louis area? We love Edmund Babler State Park - huge manicured sites, trees and a beautiful park, hiking, biking, pool. It's an easy commute to see the Arch.

Tetons: This is one of our favorite parks which we've been to often. It's a long drive from W. Yellowstone. Do yourself a favor and stay there. The hiking trails are awesome and of all abilities. The scenery is like a little Alps and altogether different from Yellowstone. Take a gentle float trip down the Snake River and you might see a moose in the water with you! If you need full-hookups, Colter Bay RV Park is the one. If you can do without hookups, there's Colter Bay campground or Gros Ventre campground, both of which have 300 non-reservable sites. We like Gros Ventre. If you leave W. Yellowstone in the a.m. your sure to get a spot in the Tetons if you arrive by noon or so. We never make reservations for either the Tetons or Yellowstone. You'll probably head south out of the Tetons - going through Jackson. Just south of town are 2 large groceries - on both sides of the highway. It's a good place to re-stock as W. Yellowstone just has tiny expensive groceries. You'll also find better fuel prices heading out of Jackson toward Alpine/Thayne. Have a great trip!

Search for those areas of interest on this Forum where there are lots of good ideas such as bus tours of Rushmore, Yellowstone and Tetons boat rides.

St Louis - I liked the Casino Queen RV park. Right across the river from the Arch.

For me the Tetons were a great place to take a few pictures. I stayed 2 nights in the RV park near the lake, and honestly would have traded those 2 nights for 2 more in Yellowstone.

I stayed at Mt Rushmore KOA, it was OK. Rafter J Bar ranch would probably be my choice now.

doglegdon wrote:
is West Yellowstone within decent driving conditions/time for day trip to the Tetons or is it better to stay there?

You could do it in one long day trip, but once you saw the Tetons you would regret not staying overnight there.

It's about a hundred miles from West Yellowstone to Colter Bay and not a bad drive. You could do the round trip easily, but you need way more time to enjoy the Tetons. I would suggest you plan on staying in the Tetons several days.