Fishing Bridge in Yellowstone

[Nerak]

We just made our reservations for early June at Fishing Bridge. We are excited that we will be staying inside the park to take full advantage of everything there is to see. I guess we can plan on some pretty cool evening temps at night that time of year, so probably will still need a little heat at night, right? Also, since we have elderly family whom we need to stay in touch with, can anyone tell me about Verizon cell service within the park? Can someone reach us in the event of an emergency? We booked 4 nights so hopefully that will give us plenty of time there. Thanks for any info you can give us!

[kfp673]

bigdogger wrote:
This may be sacriligious, but we enjoy creature comforts almost as much as we enjoy Yellowstone. We always stay outside the park, normally at Gardiner, but sometimes West Yellowstone. We do this because we like to come home after a long day and enjoy a nice meal at a decent restaurant without a 2 hour wait. We like having our cell phones work and enjoy having internet access. We like to be able to drive 1/4 mile to a grocery store and buy stuff at prices that are not totally ridiculous. Yellowstone will always involve a lot of driving, to us the amenities at our base camp are more important than saving a couple of minutes and miles.

I have only been to Yellowstone once but we did the same. Stayed in Gardiner. I cant remember the campground name but it was beautiful. I sat up on the side of a cliff (could not use an awning because of the wind) and the view was amazing. Thre real reason we did it was becuase we brought the ATV. THere are miles and miles of logging roads legal to ride outside the park which we enjoyed. It was 05 when we were there so I am itching to get back! The 30+ hour drive and the $3000 in fuel it costs me are a major roadblck however. If I had any idea how to post a picture here I would 🙂 Enjoy

[MPond]

UsualSuspect wrote:
Same here, except I am going in September right before they close and the crowds are gone.

I just spoke to a Xanterra Rep (the company that runs Fishing Bridge for the park service).

He explained that the 40' spots are even harder to get, as they've just recently re-measured and reduced nearly half of them from 40's to 35's. He went on to say that much of the summer is overbooked by as many as 5 concurrent reservations, including the week that I'm looking for, so there would have to be 6 cancellations with my dates before I could get one.

Looks like I'm staying in West Yellowstone.

[CA_Traveler]

Keep checking as a FB site it worth the effort!

[UsualSuspect]

MPond wrote:
How hard is it to get the 40' spaces at Fishing Bridge? I've been checking every day since January, and nothing is ever available for my dates in July.

As a plan-B, I've got a site booked in West Yellowstone, but I think I'd like to be in the park.

Same here, except I am going in September right before they close and the crowds are gone.

[dlos]

You can definitely get some cold temps in June. We were there last year mid-June and woke up to some snow on the ground! It warmed up nicely every day. Leave for the day wearing layers!

FB is a great location in the park, IMO. We were there 8 days using FB as our basecamp from which we drove out and back every day. We had all the food and supplies we needed to make it a week in the park eating primarlily out of RV and picnic lunches. We did eat at a couple places in the park and were NOT happy with many. There was only one place in Canyon, a burger counter that was any good, everything else was overpriced and of poor quality.

The mosquitos at night in FB were pretty rough, bring lots of spray!

[Eurocamper]

It won't help anybody right now, but in the next couple years Fishing Bridge is scheduled for a $17.7 million upgrade.

The plan is to replace all water, sewer and electric hookups (already begun); rebuild loops E, F and G to accommodate larger units; remodel four existing comfort stations; remodel the camper service building; build one new comfort station with showers; and landscape the entire park.

Xanterra has also received permission from the park service to install wifi at FB.

[kedanie]

40' sites are a problem at Fishing Bridge. There just aren't very many of them. They are at the end of the rows so there are just a few. Odds are that by now most all have been booked. Unfortunately, this is a destination that must be booked really really early if you are in need of the larger sites.

Keep checking and calling, you might get lucky.

Keith

[MPond]

How hard is it to get the 40' spaces at Fishing Bridge? I've been checking every day since January, and nothing is ever available for my dates in July.

As a plan-B, I've got a site booked in West Yellowstone, but I think I'd like to be in the park.

[CA_Traveler]

If you drive around the loops then it's hard to beat the FB location. Before our FB site was available we stayed in WY and had several good animal encounters (non human) on the west exit road.

[kedanie]

While I understand you're desire for creature comforts at the campground, that is not what most people desire in a visit to Yellowstone.

We usually show up with a full pantry. While in the area, we make stops in Cody and sometimes in Jackson for any resupply items needed. We cook very nice meals in our RV and have little need for restaurants. We usually pack and take our lunch with us. After dinner at the RV, we usually head out for animal viewing until dark. Then it's off to bed for some rest before the next days activities.

In our view, West Yellowstone is a tourist trap. If that is what you like, great. There must be a reason most of the campgrounds inside the park are completely full most of the time.

Keith

[bigdogger]

This may be sacriligious, but we enjoy creature comforts almost as much as we enjoy Yellowstone. We always stay outside the park, normally at Gardiner, but sometimes West Yellowstone. We do this because we like to come home after a long day and enjoy a nice meal at a decent restaurant without a 2 hour wait. We like having our cell phones work and enjoy having internet access. We like to be able to drive 1/4 mile to a grocery store and buy stuff at prices that are not totally ridiculous. Yellowstone will always involve a lot of driving, to us the amenities at our base camp are more important than saving a couple of minutes and miles.

[Eurocamper]

West Yellowstone is actually more centrally located to MOST of the parks main attractions.

I hear this repeated a lot on this board and I'm not sure why so many people think this. I was bored so I thought I'd put this myth to the test.

Miles from West Yellowstone/ Miles from Fishing Bridge

Old Faithful Geyser .......... 31.3 miles/39.4 miles
Grand Canyon of Yellowstone............ 39.6 miles/15.7 miles
Hayden Valley............. 47.1 / 8.4 miles
Mammoth Hot Springs............ 48.7 miles/48.6 miles
Yellowstone Lake (nearest approach) ............ 48.6 miles/ .3 miles
Norris Geyser Basin............ 28.2 miles/27.7 miles
Lamar Valley...... 65.2 miles/41.9 miles
Tower Fall....... 55.4/31.8 miles
West Thumb Geyser Basin...... 48.3 miles/20.5 miles

So I guess West Yellowstone is actually more centrally located to ONE of the parks main attractions, it is 8 miles closer to Old Faithful.

[kedanie]

About the only regret you will have is that 4 days isn't nearly enough time in Yellowstone. You will be able to see most of the highlights, but to truly see and enjoy the park one needs 1-2 weeks. Enjoy your stay and begin thinking about your next trip to Yellowstone.
Fishing Bridge RV is not a place to just hang out at your camp site. It is a little tight but most don't have any problems. Most of your time will be spent away from the campground. Plan on taking your lunch with you or plan on buying something at one of the visitor centers.

Enjoy your time there,
Keith

[Nerak]

Thanks for all the information everyone has provided. It is very helpful and much appreciated. Now, can you all just make time fly so we can hit the road and get there already? Can you tell I'm excited? We have traveled to lots of the National Parks but this will be the first time we have actually camped inside of a park. I am so ready to experience waking up and enjoying early morning in Yellowstone! Thanks again everyone!