What to do at night at Yellowstone.

Thanks everyone for all the info. I do agree that if I'm bor d at night I would've screwed up. I'm just used to commercial campgrounds where there is always something going on whether I want to do it or not, LOL! I have my days all planned out, so I'm
Leaving early a.m. and should be back by dinner or later. Just looking for feedback as I'm getting anxious!!!! Leaving sat. morning for Chamberlain SD. Long drive day but shorter than I've done. 10 hrs driving. Then to Redlodge MT on Sun. This is one of my trips I've been planning for over 20 years!!!! After this trip my next big trip will be Cali. (Yosemite mine, and the Sandiego zoo my wife).

Thanks again.

Matt x2

I'm going to be succinct here. If you still need something to do at night other than plan the next day, you screwed up. If you find out about a ranger or other program someplace and you have the energy to get there, you screwed up.

Every day that we were in Yellowstone, I was looking forward to sitting or lying down at the end of the day.

Matt

Don't rely on the Avon skin cream. It is seldom effective unless glopped on and dripping. On the other hand, DEET is safe and it is effective. You can verify this in AK, there are a lot of third and forth generation Alaskans that were dosed with it from cradle on.

Harold Fairbanks II wrote:
Go looking for wildlife of course!!!

Get a good 1,000,000 power flashlight and go out in the woods looking for bears.

That's what we always did.

Too bad the **** got rid of all the bears, though...now the only place you can see them is in the Smokeys.

No bears in Yellowstone? I do believe you have been misinformed. They are not always easy to find, but they are there.

Been to Fishing Bridge many times. Unfortunately it is not much more than a big parking lot with RV's crammed on top of one another. But, it is the only campground in the park with full hookups so that makes it in high demand. No campfires are allowed.

Since it does not get dark at that altitude until say 10:00pm (Summer DST), one can drive around the local area looking for wildlife almost until bedtime (the Hayden Valley, for example).

Other things to do until bedtime are:

Drive over to the Fishing Bridge General Store for an evening Ice Cream;
Head over to the Fishing Bridge Visitor's Center for the evening program;
Visit Lake Lodge or the Historic Lake Yellowstone Hotel (Yellow One) for an evening cocktail or meal.

Note that all of the above are a convenient 10-15 minute drive from Fishing Bridge.

Because of it's proximity to Lake Yellowstone, Fishing Bridge is active Grizzly country. No soft side TT's are allowed for that reason. Also, food must be stowed and not left unattended. We would walk the pups at night, but didn't stray far from the main lighted loops for that reason.

Enjoy. There really is no other place like it in the Lower 48.

Harold Fairbanks II wrote:
Go looking for wildlife of course!!!
Get a good 1,000,000 power flashlight and go out in the woods looking for bears.
That's what we always did.
Too bad the **** got rid of all the bears, though...now the only place you can see them is in the Smokeys.

Not a very good suggestion. Spotlighting animals illegal in national parks. In fact it's illegal to spotlight animals in a lot of places.
From https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/rules.htm
The following activities are prohibited in Yellowstone:
(snip)
Spotlighting wildlife (viewing with lights).

Also, there are plenty of bears in Yellowstone both black and grizzly. And you don't need to spotlight them to see them.

wyocowboy00 wrote:
If you are going to do some serious hiking into the back country, wear a little bell on your belt loop and carry a can of bear spray.

It is also a good idea to keep an eye out for fresh bear scat so you have an idea if bears are in the area. People should be able to recognize the difference between black bear and grizzly bear scat.
Black bear droppings are smaller and often contain berries, leaves, and possibly bits of fur. Grizzly bear droppings tend to contain small bells and smell of pepper.

Tell your wife not to worry. I have stayed in Yellowstone for the past 15 years. Always took a family member from my wife's side of the family. For fifteen years i have never seen a bear. On the other hand I never did bring a family member home with me. Her family is getting easier by the year to get along with.

If you are going to do some serious hiking into the back country, wear a little bell on your belt loop and carry a can of bear spray. Otherwise, you won't have any trouble with bears in the campground unless you or your neighbors are cooking bacon on the outdoor grill. Tie a bounce sheet on your belt loop and it will help to keep the mosquitos away. Don't worry about it, go to the Ranger programs and have a good time. If you go to the Old Faithful Inn, say hello to the "little maintenance man" for me.