Yellowstone area update

OP here. Change in plans, we now have to have a usable internet connection on Monday, so will be going somewhere else for the next few days.

Thanks for the responses, hopefully someone else will benefit.

John Burke. nice without the tour busses. Love Bakers Hole, spent 16 days there over the 4th of July. The old story there is "you snooze you lose"!

Carabelle boondocking site 15.5 miles north of Gardiner has excellent verizon/visible and my hotspot was good enough for videos. No WiFi of course tho

agesilaus wrote:
The road to Bechler is ten miles of extreme washboard BTW but the Cave Falls CG is good and the falls and trails excellent.

While planning our third Yellowstone visit in 2009, looked at the park maps and noticed an entrance we’d never been to, in the SW corner, Bechler. Why not give it a try?

The worst washboard I have ever driven. After a couple miles, considered turning around, giving up. But figured it can’t be this bad the whole way. Yes, it’s that bad all the way.

The scenery is worth it, and Cave Falls CG is right on the river. Did think it was odd that we were the only people at the CG in mid June, until we saw how thick the area was in mosquitoes. Clouds of them, never seen so many, not even in Alaska. Had to bribe my youngest to run out and get the campground registration slip. To this day, it’s the only CG I’ve stayed overnight and did not get out at all to enjoy the site.

Drove up to Cave Falls, ran up to the falls (alone, no other takers) took a couple photos and ran back. Spent the rest of the night swatting mosquitoes let in.

Would like to brave that road again, but NEVER in June.

As I mentioned above we went to the Bechler entrance this year in July. The road was still in awful condition, 10 miles of washboard and potholes. But the falls are spectacular, the campground was about half full and the skeeters are still there at night and mornings. Cave Falls USFS cg is right on Falls river. The river is wide and covered with rapids at the cg. But I think this area is on our do not return list because of the road in. If you are hikers this is a spot you want to visit, once anyway.



I've wanted to visit this entrance for years. And last year we we at the entrance to the Ashton Tate road starting at the Flagg Ranch there is a small one ranger station out in the parking lot and I asked about the Bechler entrance station and was told that it had been closed for several years. The rangers at Bechler were surprised to hear this....heh