the size of Yellowstone

Times two on Grizzly. Great folks running it and only two blocks from the west gate. Free coffee in the mornings when I was there. If you get to the west gate early in the morning, you'll miss the folks just arriving throughout the day. You're a half mile from the west gate and another 14 miles to the Grand Loop. But you're not in a tunnel. One spring morning, I saw a pair of eagles feeding their chicks, a fox nursing her kits, and a herd of bison taking their own sweet time crossing into the valley. And a man that walked up behind a male moose with an impressive rack of horns to get a better picture. Yellowstone isn't a petting zoo.

Stay in the Town of West Yellowstone at Grizzly RV Park, that's where kknowlton and I stay when visiting Yellowstone NP.

bukhrn wrote:

dodge guy wrote:
And with a place that size, you want to enjoy as much of it as possible! Last thing I want to do is drive an hour and half to get somewhere only to drive another hour and a half to see everything. Stay in the park and eliminate that first hour and a half drive.

Can I ask, Where you stayed that took an hour and a half drive to get into the park? We stayed just North of West Yellowstone, and only took 25 minutes to get to Madison Junction, it certainly took much longer to get to other parts of the park, but that's just part of the site seeing experience.

Stay in West Yellowstone and make a drive to the Falls. in heavy traffic that can (and most likely will) be a very long drive!

Like I said, stay in the park and minimize your drive.

dodge guy wrote:
And with a place that size, you want to enjoy as much of it as possible! Last thing I want to do is drive an hour and half to get somewhere only to drive another hour and a half to see everything. Stay in the park and eliminate that first hour and a half drive.

Can I ask, Where you stayed that took an hour and a half drive to get into the park? We stayed just North of West Yellowstone, and only took 25 minutes to get to Madison Junction, it certainly took much longer to get to other parts of the park, but that's just part of the site seeing experience.

donkeydew wrote:
and one bison going for a stroll can back up traffic on all 198 miles or at least it seems that way.

Well said! Or a bear walks within sight of the roadway

and one bison going for a stroll can back up traffic on all 198 miles or at least it seems that way.

To classctioga73: what CloudDriver said about rental cars. I strongly suggest it. If you are camping within the park, you can still get a rental car and park it near/in your campsite. It is possible to drive around the park in a 30' MH and it is possible to find parking spots, but perhaps not when you want to be in a particular place. Sometimes it's even difficult in a car, if it's a popular stop.

Thanks, 4runnerguy, for the additional "fun facts." I didn't know that about Death Valley! Yellowstone is the oldest (and some may argue, the best :) ) but it hasn't been the largest NP for quite some time, especially after Alaska joined the Union.

Sunset in late June/early July is 9:15 to 9:30 PM, and it remains somewhat light out until almost 10 PM on clear days during that timeframe.

classctioga73 wrote:
So is it difficult or easy to find parking with a 30'+ RV? were going in July and the only mode of getting around will be the RV itself. I'm hoping the major park sites have ample parking

We always drive our 24 ft MH around Yellowstone, but we visit during the first two weeks of June to reduce the parking and campsite availability issues. The largest parking area in Yellowstone is at the Old Faithful area and by mid-June parking for an RV there is limited. One thing we have noticed is that many people leave there after each eruption of Old Faithful, making parking easier until the next crowd of cars arrives. Another observation is that parking is easier to find in the smaller parking areas and pullouts in the evening as people head back to their lodging or campground for dinner. In July it is light until 8 or 9 PM.

Rental cars are available in West Yellowstone.

kknowlton wrote:
125 acres of parking lots (and trust me, folks, the last thing I'd describe the park as, is "one big parking lot"!)

That's 0.005 percent of the total acreage!

Other interesting facts:
Yellowstone isn't the largest park in the lower 48. Death Valley is about half again as big!
Six parks in Alaska are bigger, topped by Wrangell St. Elias which is six times larger!

So is it difficult or easy to find parking with a 30'+ RV? were going in July and the only mode of getting around will be the RV itself. I'm hoping the major park sites have ample parking