Yellowstone plan decided need expert advice

We had a similar tip that we were on last year. I have spent quite a bit of time in the park and sounding area. Here is my suggestion. Stay out side the park and go in for day trips, until you are ready to move closer to Jackson. We stayed at a campground 3miles north of West Yellowstone named Bakers Hole. The Madison river runs right through camp and they have about 20 or so power hookups. No black or gray..... it was a very nice place. I will definitely be staying there again. Its also so close to town. Fun things to do in the evenings..... the rodeo is one of our favorite things to do . Don't miss it.

Thanks for the tip Like2Travel and sorry for the late reply.

83trekker, it looks to me like you have a good plan that will give you the necessary time to see Yellowstone. DW and I have worked and spent 4 months in both the years of 2007 and 2008 in Yellowstone. It is one of my favorite places.

I see that some people always recommend some of the other great places around Yellowstone and there are some great ones. Hopefully, this will not be the only trip you make to this area.

One suggestion I would make is combine the nights of the Canyon and Grant village into either Bridge Bay or Fishing Bridge. I think you would be better off not having the extra moving day. From either one of these campgrounds, its not that long of a drive north to the Canyon or south toward the West Thumb area or Grant Village.

There is one other spot I recommend you see. I presume you will stop at the Grand Prismatic which is in between Madison and Old Faithful. When leaving the Grand Prismatic driving toward Old Faithful, within about one mile, you will come to a short road that turns right. This road is only about 1/4 mile long, has a loop at the end, and has a bridge that crosses the Firehole river. You can park along this road and then take a less than one mile walk that will bring you to the back side of the Grand Prismatic. When you get there, notice that there is a hill on the left side of this road. Look around and find one of the paths that will take you to the top of this hill. Once on top, you will find one of the best views of the Grand Prismatic there is. You should be able to easily do this in one hour.

Enjoy your trip..

littlemo wrote:

A trip over Beartooth Highway out Northeast entrance going to Red Lodge, Montana is a "must do".

x2

Allow a whole day on this.

There are some nice national forest campgrounds along beartooth (hwy 212) as well, if you want to camp up there for a couple nights between your day trips up over the passes. Allows for a day trip into Cody (via Chief Joseph) to see the incredible Buffalo Bill museum as well.

As far as campgrounds in the park, i generally start with Madison for the first half, then move east to Canyon or Tower (or other first come sites) Fishing Bridge is a nice location, but the worst campground in terms of space between sites, have not been back since my orginal visit in 2004 for that reason.

83trekker wrote:

Jayco-noslide wrote:
If you can hike a couple of miles, see Lonestar Geyser. It isn't quite as predictable as Old Faithful but it's pretty impressive, uncrowded and you can get as close as you dare.

Thats is very cool, does it blow everyday, or just have to be lucky?

Roughly every three hours.

The trail is an old road that used to go near by, no significant elevation gain that I recall. When we went in 2009, there was a ranger led walk that got us there 30 minutes before the eruption. No such ranger walk available last year (2013), but easy to do on your own.

Well worth the time, if you have it.

White-water rafting down the Yellowstone. Embark in Gardiner. Did it just to say I had done it.

GM

Any other cool little things to see not on my list?



A trip over Beartooth Highway out Northeast entrance going to Red Lodge, Montana is a "must do".

X2 on Fishing Bridge it will handle your rig. In our 10 years we have never traveled with a list like yours. We spent 7 days in Yellowstone and did sightseeing by area enjoying our activity. Never knew where exactly we would have lunch but had a great one every day.
Enjoy your time.

Bob

I highly recommend the book, "Death in Yellowstone." Visitors to the park are completely safe as long as they follow the posted guidelines and regulations. Unfortunately, many fail to do so and the results are disastrous. The animals are wild and dangerous, the hot springs are hot, the canyons are deep. The park ranger from whom I bought the book said, "Almost all of these incidents could have been easily avoided."
Be safe, and enjoy your visit to one of the most beautiful areas in North America.

GM

So i have uped for now my stay from 9 days to 10 to try and see more, cant wait, not just need to finalize it all and book.