We are planning our first trip to Yellowstone National Park in mid august. We will be traveling in a 38' motorhome towing a 20' enclosed trailer. My questions are this #1) where is a good place to stay that can accommodate my rig size, #2) when should I make my reservations, #3) what is the average weather. Any info would greatly be appreciated. I have been looking on the NPS website and getting info, but I would rather hear it from people that have been there. I had planned on just traveling somewhere different every night but I do not think that is going to be feasible. Anyone got any ideas, we are open to suggestions. Thanks for the help.

#1 Grizzly Park in West Yellowstone.#2 ASAP#3 We had lots of rain in July

I was there in '72 and it was fantastic. Saw every kind of animal except bears, unbelievable.Planning another trip this year probably end of May 2014. This trip will also include Bryce, Zion, Arches, Glacier, Grand Teton plus...?RV campgrounds within the park are convenient but twice as expensive as outside. I think only two accept RV. Reservations can be made now before they open but will be hard to get later in the year.

It depends on what type of "camping" you like. Some here will say that there are CG's within YNP that will accommodate your rig and trailer but I would have to disagree, with the exception of Bridge Bay. They have large sites up front and a huge parking lot that you may be able to park your trailer in. When we go over, we stay in West Yellowstone and since we prefer CG's, we stay at Baker's Hole, a FS CG 2 miles north of West Yellowstone. They have sites that you will fit in and you can make the turns. There are quite a few pull throughs and most sites have electricity. There is a water fill station at the entrance plus numerous spigots throughout. If you like RV parks, Grizzly RV in West Yellowstone is a super nice place. We've stayed there for a couple of nights either coming or going to dump our tanks, do laundry, and refill. Most sites are pull throughs. The service is super. Free coffee every morning at the clubhouse and within walking distance of town. Another place we've staying within driving distance of YNP is at Colter Bay RV park. Most sites are pull throughs and full hookups. They also have a dry CG side. We've stayed at Flagg Ranch too but that was years ago so I couldn't tell you how it would be for a rig your size.

How are you getting around inside the park? I hope there's car in your trailer; a motor home isn't the way to drive around park.

Do you want to camp inside or outside the park?Are you particular about hook ups and amenities?Reserve ASAP once you decide on the park. Check an almanac or other weather source for possible weather this year. Sometimes it's dry, sometimes you see a flood. Just remember that long range progs are guesstimates of the weather patterns.

Yellowstone ?????? | Good Sam Community

brianseay1
Explorer
Feb 02, 2014
thegriffins wrote:
Yellowstone is one of our favorite destinations! We plan 2 days for each "circle". That is a minimum of 4 days. There is so much to see. You never know what you will stop a look at and for how long. Be sure you drive up to the north entrance and see the rock entrance. There is a small town - Gardiner (I think) - where you can stop and have a huckleberry shake. Have a good time. You will love it. Just don't get in a hurry!

We are really looking forward to going. I had planned on 4 days at the park. We want to see as much as we can in what time we have. We plan on making the best of every minute we have. Thanks for all of the valuable insight on what to plan for and what to expect. It definetly helps making preparations when you have info to help out.
thegriffins
Explorer
Feb 01, 2014
Yellowstone is one of our favorite destinations! We plan 2 days for each "circle". That is a minimum of 4 days. There is so much to see. You never know what you will stop a look at and for how long. Be sure you drive up to the north entrance and see the rock entrance. There is a small town - Gardiner (I think) - where you can stop and have a huckleberry shake. Have a good time. You will love it. Just don't get in a hurry!
kedanie
Explorer II
Jan 31, 2014
Yes, there is a sewer dump station near the entrance of the facility.

Keith
Veebyes
Explorer II
Jan 31, 2014
Does FB have a dump other than at the sites? From the pics it looks like the sewer is at the back of the site. Not going to work for us.
2gypsies1
Explorer III
Jan 31, 2014
Here are some photos of Fishing Bridge RV in Yellowstone:

Fishing Bridge Photos
Ivylog
Explorer III
Jan 31, 2014
Ken if I had a Ca-Am I'd tow it backwards behind the MH on a rack for the rear wheel that turns side to side. Messing with a trailer can be a pain. Click on "How I tow" below for why I suggest this.
NCWriter
Explorer
Jan 31, 2014
coachk wrote:
I have reservations for a 40' site at Fishing Bridge. I'll be towing my Can-Am in a 7 x 12 trailer. I was told it was a double wide site & the trailer could fit beside the camper. Is this true? If not, is there a place in Fishing Bridge campground that I can park my trailer? By the way, I'll be driving a 38' motorhome.
Thanks

The sites at FB are all double wide and paved. We saw Fifth Wheels with good sized trucks parked alongside. All sites are back-in, as I recall, no pull-throughs. They are separated by some trees and shrubs, as well as thick wood posts. At the back of the site is a low concrete box for your sewer. Other RVs are backed into sites directly behind yours so there's not much, if any, wiggle room to the back.

So your RV and trailer will be backed in side by side. If you get the trailer tucked in to the edge of one side of your site, it sounds do-able, but you may not be able to open the RV slides. You could call xanterra and try to get an answer about trailer parking but I don't recall seeing any in 2013.

The office staff determines your location on arrival. When you get there and check in, you might politely explain your scenario to them. We found them really knowledgeable about where to place us, based on a location request we had and what open sites they were working with. They were nice folks, seemed like they'd worked there a long time.
coachk
Explorer
Jan 31, 2014
I have reservations for a 40' site at Fishing Bridge. I'll be towing my Can-Am in a 7 x 12 trailer. I was told it was a double wide site & the trailer could fit beside the camper. Is this true? If not, is there a place in Fishing Bridge campground that I can park my trailer? By the way, I'll be driving a 38' motorhome.
Thanks
Executive45
Explorer III
Jan 31, 2014
There are so many small side roads and loops, mileage doesn't matter. And in August they're be so many people simply stopped in the middle of the road taking pictures, you just don't worry about distance. Twice we had a Bison decide to wander down the middle of the highway. You just get in line and let him decide how long and how far the next mile is going to take you.....Dennis
ReneeG
Explorer
Jan 31, 2014
brianseay1 wrote:
Ivylog wrote:
For this long a trip I'd leave the trailer home and pull your Jeep 4 down. From your picture I cannot tell much about your Jeep but trying to find places for 76' for DP + trailer + Jeep is going to spoil your trip and make it hard to find places to stay... not just in NPs. Why are you putting the Jeep in a trailer when they are one of the easiest to pull?

I was undecided on the vehicle of choice. I was going to put my car in the trailer and bring my HD as well. But now, we have decided to bring the jeep instead. I tow it 4 down where ever we go. After reading the advice on here we think it is a better plan to just leave the bike and car at home. We did get reservations made a Grizzly campground today. So that has been settled. Can anyone tell me the distance of the loops thru the park? We are really looking forward to our trip. Never been there, so this should be a great experience. Thanks for all of the replies, they were very helpful.

Here you go - a map with mileage

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