Yellowstone 2016 Vacation

Here's the information on campgrounds within YNP.
Fishing bridge is the only CG with full hookups. Some take reservations, some don't. IF you need or want FHUs, West Yellowstone outside the west gate has more than one. I stay at Grizzly RV Park in West Yellowstone. Two blocks from the West gate to YNP. FHUs and roomy sites. Here's the link to Grizzly.

We have gone to Yellowstone 4 time over the years & have never had a reservation.

Yellowstone & Tetons An old post.

Any of the campgr'ds in the park, such as Grant, Canyon, Bridge Bay, Mammoth, Madison etc., would be ideal. It is a big place takes some serious driving to see the place. Much easier to do so in a more central location. Drop down to the Tetons before you leave, it is neat and somewhat different.

This Site Clicky tells about each campground (down by "Click on a Campground Name Below to Take an Interactive Tour"), if the chart has DS for Dump Station in the Features column it has a dump station. Ha! Grant Village, Canyon, Bridge Bay, Madison & Fishing Bridge have them. One could use Mammoth or Norris (ones a generator can be used) & still dump in one of the other places.

The last 2 visits to Yellowstone was in July (2010) & Aug (2009). We stayed at Mammoth CG in 2009 & Grant CG in 2010. We have been 4 times all together & never had a reservation. Madison, Canyon, Bridge Bay as well as Grant & Mammoth CGs all should be places to consider. Checking the site given above should help on rig size. Mammoth has some sites which would work. There were really large rigs there. We came in from North Dakota in 2009.

South entrance via the Tetons is the easiest route into as is the North entrance by Mammoth. West entrance would be easy enough, but take a lot more driving to get around to it. East entrances one will have to do some climbing. We enter that way, via Cody, once & exited that way in 2009. Not too hard of a climb, very good hwy.

In the Tetons: Gros Ventre Campg'd or Colter Bay Campg'd. We stayed at Colter Bay Campground, the one without hook-ups in mid-June 2010 and once before some years ago. The Colter Bay Visitor Center and Indian ArtsMuseum by the Colter Bay Campground is really neat.

I have heard good things about Gros Ventre Campground...get more animals walking by or close by, etc. Nice views. (from French: big belly) Actually, the French used the term Gros Ventre, for a local native population/people which was mistakenly interpreted from their sign language. Instead, the Gros Ventre people call themselves by the autonym A'ani or A'aninin, which means "white clay people," or more loosely "ourselves, our people, us, we," etc. The French is pronounced "Grow Vaunt."

Both Gros Ventre & Colter Bay have dumpsites.

We stayed at Mammoth Campground for 2009 visit to Yellowstone. It has some very large spaces in it, almost any size RV could fit. But can't make reservations, but we have never done so in the four visits we have gone there over many years.

We stayed at Grant in 2010, pretty large campground, all sizes of RVs. Bridge Bay looked like it would be a nice one to stay. We did stay there in '86.

Our trip this summer took us to KOA West Yellowstone. This is a great place for a family. Only six miles from the West entrance of the park, indoor heated pool and spa, lots of KOA family friendly activities, snack shack and restaurant, lovely tree covered park, level spot, just a real nice place. At the Tetons try to find time for the Bar-J Chuckwagon Dinner and Show in Jackson. A truly entertaining family evening, and the food was good too. Excellent cowboy music and stories. There is a zip-line at the ski resort in the town of Jackson, (not for me but the grandkids had a great time). Have a wonderful time, make memories, and Happy Trails.
PS: If you have any problems around Yellowstone, or need to rent anything I highly recommend Big Sky Rentals in West Yellowstone. My Adventurer motorhome need a engine air conditioner something or another, and I was told by many not to drive any distance for it could cause the belt to break and freeze the engine. Big Sky diagnosed the problem and ordered the parts, put me back together so I could return to the RV park in the evening after touring all day, then had me bring it in the following day for the repairs, again while we spent the day touring. Totally saved the vacation. We rented a 12 passenger van from them also, so that our whole group (3 families) could tour together. Good People.

and for even more posts search this Forum for `yellowstone' first in the RV Parks section and then on the entire forum. Reads like War and Peace!

MO,
As you can see by the variety of answers, Yellowstone is HUGE. At nearly 3500 square miles, its larger than 11 states and occupies part of 3 states. One lap around the Grand Loop road is 140 SLOW miles. Lots to see. And the part of the loop that goes by Old Faithful and the geyser basin is closed until June 11th due to a road collapse. YNP sits on top of a huge underground lava field.
Pack clothing for every season. YNP park is 8,000 ft. ASL. Missouri averages 500 ft. ASL. You'll get acclimated to the altitude since you're driving, but don't over exert yourself.
Take lots of pictures and spend the drive home planning your NEXT visit. And on that trip, spend some time in Grand Teton NP. Even though they're next to each other, the Tetons are completely different. I actually prefer it to Yellowstone. The scenery is so spectacular, my blood pressure drops about 50 points! I've been known to just sit and stare. :)

X2 on Jim Shoe's comments.

I have always said that Yellowstone is spectacular due to it's features and Grand Teton is magnificent due to its beauty. We live about three hours, dragging our FW and boat, from Colter Bay Campground in Grand Teton and make the trip about three times during the summer to fish and sightsee. Some people will call me cheap, but Leek's Pizza Restaurant is where we celebrate our anniversary, and have for about the last 15 years or so. Good pizza and beer and the view from the deck facing the lake and mountains is simply to die for.

Jim Shoe wrote:
MO,
As you can see by the variety of answers, Yellowstone is HUGE. At nearly 3500 square miles, its larger than 11 states and occupies part of 3 states. One lap around the Grand Loop road is 140 SLOW miles. Lots to see. And the part of the loop that goes by Old Faithful and the geyser basin is closed until June 11th due to a road collapse. YNP sits on top of a huge underground lava field.
:)

It's not a road collapse, but replacement of the bridge at Isa Lake. It has been scheduled for two years. And it isn't the road that goes by the geyser basins and Old Faithful, it is the road between Old Faithful and the South Entrance, over Craig Pass. The Geyser basins and Old Faithful are fully accessible from the north. Road construction is pretty much a given every year, and that bridge is one of the targets this year. Just don't want to scare anyone planning on visiting in the next couple of weeks.

Friends of mine just got home from there a couple of weeks ago. They said that you couldn't get to the geyser basins from either direction. Somebody's wrong.

I watch the Old Faithful webcam once in awhile, and I've seen people there for over two months. Isn't it in a geyser basin?

http://www.nps.gov/features/yell/webcam/oldFaithfulStreaming.html

(embed link not working for me)

MoRookie wrote:
We are looking for the best campground in Yellowstone we will be traveling in a 28ft travel trailer we will have a genarator looking to stay 5 nights in Yellowstone and 4 nights in the Tetons. We will be traveling the first two weeks of July I see they are already taking reservations so thought I would get some advice so we can start making plans. We will be traveling from Kansas City MO stopping at Devils Tower our first day and then on to Cody for a stop over. We have two kids ages 11 and 14. Any help would be great we have never been to the area.. Any ideas on things to do would be great also we love hiking, fishing, kayaking, white water rafting and horseback riding. Thanks in advance with any help you can provide..

Others have covered the campground question already, so I won't duplicate. As far as things to do, this link will take you to that page on the Park's website. Except for white water rafting, it looks like all of the interests you listed are available. You will have no problem filling up 5 days in Yellowstone.

This link gives you a list of things to do in Grand Teton NP. Click on the links in the list on the left for more detailed info. Probably the most popular hike in the Park starts with the boat ride across Jenny Lake then up to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point. The trail continues on into Cascade Canyon between the mountain peaks.

There are white water and scenic rafting trips out of the town of Jackson and also a rodeo.

Unless you drive many miles out of the way, your route between Devil's Tower and Cody will take you over the Bighorn Mountains. Most folks here recommend taking route 16 between Buffalo and Ten Sleep for the easier grades. Make sure you use lower gears going down the west side to save your brakes.

There are three private campgrounds in Cody with FHU, plus the State Park on the Buffalo Bill reservoir a few miles west of town. There is also a WalMart on the west side of town, which is the last place to stock up before the higher prices and more restricted selection in Yellowstone. Fill the gas tank in Cody as well.