Yellowstone in mid May

Expect snow, at least still sitting around.

Depending on the winter not all of the park might be open. The plan is to have Fishing Bridge Campground open by then. But it might not.
Not all of the campgrounds will be open by then.

They don't plan to have everything open by then, so there will be limits on what you can do.

I'm not certain the Fishing Bridge will hold your rigs, but I am fairly certain none of the others will. In fact you might want to stay outside the park.

Whoever has the 36’ rig better call now for reservations in Fishing Bridge. There’s a very small number og sites over 35’. Our friends weren’t able to go with us last August because all the longer sites were gone. He’s had his reservation for 2018 for almost a year.

A few years ago I arrived at Grand Teton the day that GV campground open. I think 5/15 or 5/5. Stayed a week, some snow on the ground in the park (a number of trails were closed), but the CG was clear. The elk (1,000s) were moving to higher ground. I like the GTs with snow on the mountains.


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The next week moved to YS and stayed at fishing bridge for a week then moved to Madison for a week. Snow on the ground at Old Faithful. VERY few people in the park. On day we had snow that closed a few roads until about noon.

I would go back in Mid-May.

You can also have snow in mid July.


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Mid May is too early to visit that area. Big rigs should get reservations at Grizzly RV Park in West Yellowstone.

As a side note, the weather service is expecting above normal snow again this year.

narcodog wrote:
As a side note, the weather service is expecting above normal snow again this year.

I was wondering how the coin flip turned out. Apparently it was heads. Thanks for the update.

TenOC wrote:
A few years ago I arrived at Grand Teton the day that GV campground open. I think 5/15 or 5/5. Stayed a week, some snow on the ground in the park (a number of trails were closed), but the CG was clear. The elk (1,000s) were moving to higher ground. I like the GTs with snow on the mountains.


Click For Full-Size Image.

The next week moved to YS and stayed at fishing bridge for a week then moved to Madison for a week. Snow on the ground at Old Faithful. VERY few people in the park. On day we had snow that closed a few roads until about noon.

I would go back in Mid-May.

You can also have snow in mid July.


Click For Full-Size Image.

Pictures don't LIE.

While early and you may get a little Snow - Before - During and After - the crowds are thinner - That will mean a lot. We travel in the shoulders seasons and Love it. IMHO Crowds trump Snow every time.

Go For IT,

mid may is our favorite time to visit the area. it is less crowded and all the new babies are out. we have had about 10 inches of snow one year but it was gone in a couple days. wear layers because it is cold a night but will warm up in the afternoon.
thinking about detouring that way in may on our way to canada,
enjoy it never fails to amaze

We were there mid May 2016.Great time. Weather was high 50's low 60's during the day. Dropped into low 40's high 30's at night. Crowds were light.No traffic jams.Not everything is open but enough to make it worth while.We stayed in Madison Campground. I would advise reservations.Madison allows generators during certain hours. It is centrally located. Yellowstone is big so staying in the park will save time. Make sure you visit the Inn at Old Faithful. Beautiful lobby and the food was excellent and affordable.We saw a mother grizzly and 3 cubs on the road from Norris to Canyon.The south entrance wasn't open when we came in but was open when we left. There was snow on the ground in the south end of the park and some ice on the lake too. But we felt May was good time to visit.

With your size rigs you'll have no problem if you want to stay in the park itself. With our 40' motorhome and Jeep we've stayed at Mammoth, Madison and Bridge Bay campgrounds. We didn't stay at Fishing Bridge with hookups but their RV limit is 40' and your truck will be parked alongside it so there's plenty of room.

Weather? We had very nice weather when we were there. Yes, you'll definitely see snow on the ground but it didn't snow when we were there. It's a beautiful time to go and all the baby animals will be out.

Closely monitor the park's website for road open times and campground openings. Sometimes the dates given will change depending on the weather. At some times, not every entrance to the park will be open.

https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/parkroads.htm

The website has lots of good information on campgrounds, things to do, special alerts, etc. Click on all the sections and read them.

Enjoy your trip!