Yellowstone 2016 Vacation

[MoRookie]

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..

[2gypsies1]

We have stayed at Bridge Bay with our 40' motorhome towing the Jeep. We also fit in Madison and Mammoth. Mammoth is our favorite for lovely valley views but it is first-come. We always arrived early morning to get a site.

[kknowlton]

Have driven thru parts of Bridge Bay. Nice CG, and in the trees is a bit nicer, IMO, than the "open" sites. Expect to see bison or deer in the CG from time to time. Great location if you're interested in the Scenicruiser tours or renting a boat for fishing, and fairly centrally located too.

[MoRookie]

Anyone stayed at Bridge Bay that is where we just booked we requested the upper loop in the trees. Hopefully we won't be disappointed we wanted a fire ring and picnic table and I see in fishing bridge you don't get either.

[kknowlton]

Yes, a 30' TT will be too long for most of the CGs inside the park. Even in Fishing Bridge, you may find backing into your site to be quite an adventure, due to trees and other solid items across the narrow CG road from the campsites. (Our TT is 27' and it was tough fitting into our site in FB.) If you want to stay at a CG in the park besides FB, you might look into Bridge Bay; some of the non-wooded sites in there might accommodate your rig better than Canyon's will.

Another vote for Grizzly. Although you can't beat the location of Fishing Bridge, Grizzly is a more comfortable CG (IMO), and still close enough to the park's western border to be easy to get in & out of the park. It's usually where we stay.

You will probably spend almost all the daylight hours away from your campsite, given how much there is to see & do. You know your kids, though, and if they are likely to want to spend a day, or part of each day, at the campground, then opt for the KOA (the original one, closer to West Yellowstone) as they have an indoor pool. Otherwise, Grizzly or Fishing Bridge should fit the bill.

[MoRookie]

Just called to book Canyon Campground in Yellowstone we have a 30ft travel trailer and they said we would be to long with truck to fit in Yellowstone except for in Fishing bridge they said that there 40ft sites are length of truck and camper. I thought that I have saw pictures of people in all the other campgrounds in Yellowstone that look longer than what we are.. Does anyone have any thoughts.

[jalichty]

We have now camped in both Colter Bay and Gros Ventre campgrounds, we don't use the RV park as we don't really want to pay $55+ for a camp spot with hookups compared to about $12 a night for "dry" camping, if you have the Senior Pass. The RV Park will not honor the Senior Pass. We live about three hours from the Colter Bay campground and usually get there around 9:30 -10:00 and have never had trouble getting a spot, except for June last year when the larger side of the campground was closed for water line work. checkout time is 11:00 am so getting there around 9:30-10:00 has gotten us a spot that we want almost every time. We then went to Gros Ventre and had a nice time. My personal opinion is that Colter Bay is prettier and much closer to the lake and most of the things you want to see in Grand Teton. We go to Colter Bay with our FW and boat and we fish a lot, it's a lot closer to Jackson Lake, like right on the shore almost, compared to Gros Ventre so we like it more for that. From Gros Ventre, it's about a 45 minute drive to Colter Bay and the marina. We did see some great wildlife, moose and mountain sheep that we normally don't see at Colter Bay, so that was a plus. If you don't have to take a shower every day, four or five days in the "dry" campground is very doable and enjoyable. Whatever you do, make sure you take the cruise boat on Jackson Lake, maybe even the lunch or dinner cruise, it's something you will not regret. Then, also go to Jenny Lake and try to get over to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point, they are working on the trails there this year. Also get to the Craig Thomas Visitor Center in Moose and then take the Moose/Wilson Road and go to the newest part of Grand Teton, the Laurence(sp) Rockefeller Reserve and Phelps Lake where they had their compound. They have totally taken it back to nature and you cannot tell there were over 30 buildings around Phelps Lake. Great easy hike and wonderful scenery. Whatever you decide, take your time, see a lot and have a great time.

[2gypsies1]

For Colter or Gros Ventre campgrounds (dry camping), each has 300 sites and they rarely fill. We've always gotten a space with our 40' motorhome.

As far as views, we like Gros Ventre best. It's also closer to Jackson if you plan to do anything there...along with big grocery stores.

[padredw]

We stayed in the full hook-up RV park, but I walked through the "basic" campground several times while we were there. I thought the RV park was great. Of course, in our case we wanted the hook-up, but I would still rate it as one of our favorite places we have stayed. I did not notice that much difference in the two areas.

We took the tour boat ride from the Colter Bay Marina and enjoyed it very much.

I'd like to go back. We did make a day trip into Yellowstone and found that to be an easy drive. Yellowstone was not a major destination for us on this particular trip, but it was a great day's visit.

[MoRookie]

Thanks for all the replies we think we have narrowed it down to staying in Canyon Campground in Yellowstone for 5 nights and then moving on to Tetons for 4 nights we are thinking about staying at Colter Bay trying to decide between the Rv park with full hookups or the basic campground at Colter. The basic campground had better reviews on scenery and campsites but they do not take reservations. Coming from Kansas City that worries me not having reservations does anyone have any thoughts on this campground and it's availability for July since this is a very busy time.

[westernrvparkow]

Jim Shoe wrote:
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.

That appears to be the case, somebody is wrong. The NPS website shows the closures. Madison to Old Faithful has been open since mid April. West and North entrances to Madison opened the same day. That makes the geyser basins accessible from two major entrances. If your friends were south of the park, they were correct, no way to go north until mid May. Good lesson on why people should check on road closures before they travel a thousand miles. A minor change in base camps would have given them access.

[3LittleDucks]

We were hoping to head that way this year, but will likely have to wait til 2016 too. Check out Lewis and Clarke State Park, we met the couple who runs the campground in the summer. Sounds like a great place and the Caves look very interesting.

[CloudDriver]

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.

[2lazy4U]

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)

[Jim_Shoe]

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.