route to yellowstone?

[amydive2]

Headed to South Dakota to Badlands and Custer State park and what ever else we decide along the way, question is the best route to West Yellowstone from Rapid city, South Dakota. We plan on visiting the Tetons also. I have a 350 ford Pickup towing a 38 foot fifthwheel.

[richardcoxid]

Some general information about YNP (some items apply to GTNP also)

YNP is about 45 miles E/W and about 65 miles N/S (2.2 mil. Acres total). The figure 8 loop road inside the park is about 140 miles around. The lower loop is 96 miles and the upper loop is 70 miles around and yes, it is bigger than the states of Rhode Island and Delaware combined.

Whatever time that you think you will need to see YNP you better double it, or to say it another way is that you will see one half as much as you planned on in the allotted time. The Bison think that they own the road (they do!) and will slow down the traffic to walking speed or all stop for 1/4 mile or more blocking both directions of travel, the thermal attractions also tie up traffic and with a 5 month long summer tourist season that coincides with a 5 month long road construction season and a 45 MPH radar controlled speed limit it will take about a full day to see each loop and then you will only see the main attractions. In addition to the occasional construction delays they will also sometimes close whole sections of road (for uninterrupted night construction) between 10 PM and 8 AM in the morning, if you are running late and get caught at night in the wrong area it CAN be a LONG way around to your CG! (The entrance stations will have current construction information or go on line to check it out)

Then there is the elevation- YNP ranges from a low at Mammoth- 6239 ft to 7784 ft at Fishing Bridge or higher if you go hiking and there are passes on the grand loop road that are close to 8000 ft or so! Drink plenty of liquids and pace yourself when walking.

I recommend that you get up EARLY, leave the CG and be back by 4 or 6 PM have dinner and be sitting in your recliner drinking a cool one when your neighbor drags himself back to the CG at 8-10 PM. Remember that from mid May to mid July in YNP the sun doesn't set until about 9:30- 9:45 PM then there is a long twilight.

Cell Phone Service- Only at the major visitor centers, otherwise spotty to non-existent!

Clothing- Especially in the early or late season it is not unusual to have a 30 or even the occasional 40 degree temperature change throughout the day. Dress with easily shed layers of clothing. Also dress in bright easily seen clothing. I am sure that we all have been to a sporting event, parade or Disney World etc. and we blink our eyes and our partner/child has disappeared. My DIL was born and raised in HI, you guessed it, every Xmas, b-day or Father's Day I receive a Hawaiian shirt. One of them is shiny black with 4-5 inch dia. bright flowers. Not many of them in Wyoming and in YSNP, that is what I wear. If your partner has on a Violet blouse and a Orange scarf with a Pink hat I guarantee that she will be the only one within the boundaries of either NP. It can save you a few anxious moments.

Water- Now I will have to contradict myself, at the altitude of YNP yes, drink lots of water! HOWEVER, be aware that the flush toilet restrooms are are in the major tourist areas- Mammoth, Canyon, Fishing Bridge, Lake Hotel, Bridge Bay, Grant Village, Old Faithful, Madison Junction etc. The geyser basins and other thermal attractions areas only have pit toilets. I have seen the pit toilet line (2 rest rooms) at the lower Geyser Basin 25 or more feet long (bless the tour buses) So be smart about drinking your water and use the major tourist area R/Rs before leaving the area! I.e. “Never pass up a flush toilet!”

Sun- At YSNP altitude the Sun is intense (uv)have and apply sunscreen, wear that old floppy wide brim sun hat, wear Sunglasses!

If your luck is like mine Old Faithful will have just erupted when you get there and you will have up to a hour and 10 to 15 minutes wait for the next one. Tour tour the O/F Geyser basin while waiting. O/F INN is a must see, reportedly the largest LOG building in the U.S. (Meals in the O/F dinning room are “OK” also.

We have lived about 110 miles from West Yellowstone, MT since 1964, go to YSNP 3-4 times a summer (normally before Memorial Day and after Labor Day) and haven't seen it all yet! So don’t be discouraged that you didn’t have the time to see all of it. Just plan on coming back another time!

I honestly don’t mean to scare or discourage you but to give you a heads up as to what to expect! After all there was 4.1 million visitors in 2015! As far as I know we didn’t lose one of them. Except those who by their own stupidity step off the board walks into BOILING HOT water and ignoring the warnings about the WILD ANIMALS! That is called purifying the gene pool!Early in the summer of 2017 a foreign visitor stepped off a boardwalk into just a few inches of hot water. He walked about 100 yards (according to the newspaper) broke thru the crust and parboiled himself. The park service decided not to try to retrieve the body! Between the temperature of the water and the acidity of it the body would just fall apart when retrieving it, as well as being dangerous to the rangers. Of course a few Bison fall in every winter also.

Note I have seen on this blog and others about folks “day tripping” from YSNP to GTNP, it is done all the time (myself included) however remember this is BIG country and with the speed limits, animals and thermal attractions you will NOT come close to a 60- 65 MPH average. From the West Thumb Area, Grant Village Visitor Center (extreme S/E corner of the lower loop road) to Jackson, WY is about 80 miles with Coulter Bay being about 1/2 way then from Grant Village you have to add the distance to your CG it will be a Long days trip!

A point of Coulter Bay (in GTNP) clarification- there are two (2) CG’s at Coulter Bay, One, the “Coulter Bay RV Park” a full service “RV Park” with FHU’S that takes reservations. The other is the “Coulter Bay Campground “ has no hookups and doesn’t take reservations. Both have about 300 sites and are located basically across the road from each other.

Also in GTNP be sure to see Jenny Lake, the water is swimming pool clear! You almost feel like you are in space when you are on the boat dock and you can see the rental boat shadows on the bottom of the lake!

When in the Jackson area I highly recommend seeing the Bar J Chuckwagon dinner show! If you go, MAKE RESERVATIONS and BE THERE EARLY TO PICK UP YOUR MEAL TICKETS/ TABLE SEATING ASSIGNMENTS! They seat you by when you show up to get your tickets NOT by your reservation number. Tim, their fiddle player has won the "Idaho state old time fiddle contest 7 times and the US open fiddle championship twice". If you decide to go you will sit at picnic type of bench seats/table, they get pretty hard, I recommend that you take along a blanket/pads to sit on. We day trip it there 2-4 times every summer just to see them! Disclaimer- We have no financial or other interest in the Bar J only that it will be the best $$ value for your money for your trip! Check out their website.

http://www.barjchuckwagon.com

Also in Jackson check out the “COWBOY” bar, the bar stools are saddles and check out the # of Silver Dollars imbedded in the bar. The Wort Hotel Bar (just around the corner from the Cowboy Bar) also has Silver Dollars imbedded in the Bar

[john_bet]

donn0128 wrote:
I90 west enter the park via the north enterence. Yea, its a long climb, but a beautiful way into the park. That is if the snow is gone.

Yes it is. We did that route in June of '82 with a Dodge maxi-van with 180hp gasser pulling a 21' TT. Stayed a week in the park.

[Kavoom]

Avoid 14A and the Beartooth is out of the question imho. Those would be my recommendations. I live in Helena MT. I would guess it would be where you want to end up that would dictate. If you want to go toward the North and end up in the Tetons, I'd do the east entrance through Cody. Come from Custer on 16 to 90. We do it once or twice a year.

From the South hitting the Tetons first head down to Riverton and 26 in to Dubois. There is a nice but expensive place in between Tetons and Yellowstone that used to be called Flagg Ranch, not sure if it still is. It is a decent place to base if you want to be central to both areas. Makes for a long trek north into the park for day trips. It has full hook ups. Good luck getting into Fishing Bridge as you are likely late within a half hour of it opening online.

And in reality, we go nowhere near Yellowstone during the season. It is one massive parking lot. The best times are the two weeks before kids get out of school and two weeks after they go back or best yet, Winter and stay in a motel.

[Isaac-1]

Keep in mind the easiest may not be the most scenic, for example there is a whole lot of nothing on the drive from Rawlins WY to Dubois WY

[TexasShadow]

One more option:
take I 90 to Bozeman MT, then 191 south to West Yellowstone. No passes or winding roads or road construction and slow traffic. Beautiful country everywhere up in that part of the US.
Then use Yellowstone Park's road to get down to the Tetons. You'll cross the continental divide twice but it's hardly noticeable because you are already pretty high in altitude anyway.

[2gypsies1]

Once you're at West Yellowstone and want to get to Grand Teton NP the best way is through Yellowstone and use the south exit into the Tetons. Try to leave early morning to avoid the crowds and to see more animals along your drive.

Look at Yellowstone's web site (& any other national park you'll be visiting) for much good information on roads, road closings, special alerts, camping, things to do.. and more.

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

and driving through all entrances:

http://www.rvtechmag.com/travel/4_yellowstonebyrv.php

[Mortimer_Brewst]

Here’s a very good article describing the various routes into Yellowstone. Be sure to read the section on the Big Horn Mountains as not all posts here have been accurate. Since the speed limit in the park is 45 mph and there is going to be construction near Fishing Bridge this summer, I would avoid the East Entrance on your way to West Yellowstone.

[Corky12]

Flattest route would be I-90 to Livingston MT then Hwy 89 south to Gardiner MT. No extreme ups or downs.

[ppine]

All roads lead to Yellowstone.
None of them are that difficult.

[paulj]

Best in what sense?

The most direct is over the Big Horn Mtns and up to the east entrance; basically US16 the whole way. It's best if your target is the Fishing Bridge campground which is near the middle of the park. East entrance to Fishing Bridge is a gentle downhill, and doesn't have all the hot springs that attract slower traffic.

Continuing on I90 and then south on 191 to West Yellowstone has the most gentle climbs. It also avoids the slow traffic through the park itself.

The NE entrance via US212 is the most scenic, but not for RV wimps.

South via the Tetons is another option, though the most direct still involves crossing the Big Horns.

Keep in mind that Yellowstone Lake is 7000 ft, essentially on a broad mountain top. So there's some degree of climbing which ever way you go.

[donn0128]

I90 west enter the park via the north enterence. Yea, its a long climb, but a beautiful way into the park. That is if the snow is gone.