Yellowstone 4th of July

katleman wrote:

2gypsies wrote:
I definitely wouldn't try to get a non-reservation site by pulling into the campground in the afternoon. Keep your Fishing Bridge reservation for the night and move early the next morning.

I agree. Leave EARLY from your single night at Fishing Bridge to your target non reservable campground.

There are quite a few national forest campgrounds outside the NE entrance as a fall back.

I would keep the Fishing Bridge reservation. Then you can take your time getting back into the park.

We ended up at Fishing Bridge "accidentally" after leaving Norris Campground to spend a night in Cody. Came back into the park on Sunday afternoon planning to camp at Madison, but that was around 2:00 pm and the campground was full. We were happy to find an available spot at Fishing Bridge even though we missed having a campfire.

Lantanatx, you mentioned that you have a month scheduled in the parks. I don't know if it would work out for you or not, but Gillette, WY will be hosting the "World Fireworks Convention" (Pyrotechnics Guild International) August 8-15. I'm not sure of the dates for the fireworks shows, but I can guarantee they'll be bigger than anything you'll see on July 4. They have their convention here every 2-3 years iirc. We "watch" them from our home 5 miles away. ;)

Just thought I'd mention it, in case the timing would work out better. (Gillette is on I-90, about halfway between the Bighorns and Black Hills.)

When i visited Cody in 2006, stayed just outside the NE entrance at a NFCG (Crazy Creek) and took the 24' C over Chief Joseph scenic byway into Cody for the museum. Not nearly as challenging as Beartooth, and quite scenic.

Any of those sites would mke an ideal stepping off point to get a site in park at Slough or Pebble

There are quite a few national forest campgrounds outside the NE entrance as a fall back.

Probably, but I think the OP will be much more interested in the East Entrance. There are several NFS CGs there, and a few private CGs, plus a SP, west of Cody. (Plus I don't recommend trailering over the NE entrance, i.e. Beartooth Hwy.)

2gypsies wrote:
I definitely wouldn't try to get a non-reservation site by pulling into the campground in the afternoon. Keep your Fishing Bridge reservation for the night and move early the next morning.

I agree. Leave EARLY from your single night at Fishing Bridge to your target non reservable campground.

There are quite a few national forest campgrounds outside the NE entrance as a fall back.

If you do need a fireworks fix on the Fourth, the town of West Yellowstone has a nice display on that evening at dark. On US 20 going out of West Yellowstone towards Island Park, ID. at the old airport. We back in along the side of US 20 to watch. Bring jacket!

Please ! skip fireworks !

They will thank you later. Ask them about it when there are in there 20's if they remember yellostone, and how silly it would have been to go see fireworks instead ...

They will thank you later !

You know what's best for your kids, you are right on with Yellowstone ..


My parents brought me to Colorado when I was in 3rd grade, I'm in my 20's now, and to this day, I visit Colorado once a year ever since I could afford to, the only reason is I experienced it as a Kid!

lantanatx wrote:
We are also going to visit with old friends in Cody so this is only a change in WHEN we go to Cody. We have a full month planned in Yellowstone/Grand Teton and Glacier so I'm not worried about letting them pick the activities a few days. I'm a organismal biologist (with an undergrad background in geology) so they have had no choice but to experience the wonders of nature 365 days a year for the past 11 years ;) - sometimes they just want to do "normal" things. Believe me they will be tired of having to listen to Mom's prattling on about trophic cascades and keystone predators or the Yellowstone caldera by that point in the trip and need a break.

That said, would it be any advantage to deal with Fishing Bridge for a single night on Sunday and campground hunt Monday morning or should I just go looking for space in a unreservable campground Sunday afternoon? I have no idea how a holiday weekend will change the campground migration patterns.

Holidays and days of the week do not change anything in Yellowstone. The campgrounds are all full, every day of the week from mid June to mid September. Locals do not effect the park's occupancy since there is only a very small population within a few hours drive and those locals generally do not visit the park in high summer. There is no bump in visitation on holidays or weekends. Actually the visitations drop on weekends since many vacationers need leave Friday to return home to be in their cubes on Monday or left for the three day trek to the park after they got off work on Friday.
To get a non-reserved site you have to get in line at your campground of choice and wait for people to leave. If you are 5th in line and only 4 people leave, you are out of luck. Finding a non-reserved site in the afternoon requires lotto-type luck.

I definitely wouldn't try to get a non-reservation site by pulling into the campground in the afternoon. Keep your Fishing Bridge reservation for the night and move early the next morning.

My trailer external length is a hair under 27 feet , so I'm hoping it will fit in some smaller sites. I was debating staying at a Forest service campground for a day or two instead of trying to deal with the immediate aftermath of a holiday weekend. It looks like there are a few on the Shoshoni river that sound interesting - maybe a chance to fish a bit.