Yellowstone plan decided need expert advice

[83trekker]

Ok I know there are a ton of YS posts, but here I am leaning more towards your opinion of what I have selected and what I want to see and the amount of days I am picking.
Please let me know of who has been there before if my timings is good and good choice of campgrounds. Any and all advice and comments will be welcomed. Thanks

Things I want to see are
Old Faithful Geyser/Upper Basin
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
Hayden Valley
Mammoth Hot Springs
Yellowstone Lake
Norris Geyser Basin
Lamar Valley
Tower Fall
Lower Geyser Basin
Firehole river cascades
Firehole Falls
West Thumb Geyser Basin

Any other cool little things to see not on my list?

Coming from North Entrance
Stay at Madison Camprground 3 days
Stay at Grant Village Campground 3 days
Stay at Canyon Village Campground 3 day

Staying in my 27.5 ft 5th wheel pulled by my shortbox ext cab 2500HD.

[poloace]

That looks good, but i was looking to stop half way,probably in Anaconda. Looks like 287 to 90 might work.

[Eurocamper]

poloace wrote:
Anybody have a good route from Yellowstone to Glacier? Looks like i90 to 93 to Kalispell and up.

I've tried quite a few different routes over the years, this one is my favorite for the scenery and because it avoids the freeways.
Google Maps

[poloace]

Anybody have a good route from Yellowstone to Glacier? Looks like i90 to 93 to Kalispell and up.

[zzpw3x]

I've been to Yellowstone twice - It's a great place and I think the maps denote most of the must see places.

That being said, the Boiling River near the north Yellowstone entrance is among the best attractions in Yellowstone. It is no longer marked on the Yellowstone maps. Google it and you will find how to get there. Boiling river is a hot river that flows into Gardiner river, just south of the historic north entrance. You can swim in the river where the boiling water mixes with the cold river water - it's awesome, and gets very very busy during the busy times of the year. There is a parking lot there but not it isn't really marked.

[poloace]

Great input. We are staying at fishing bridge for 5 days end of june. Before that we will be at Headwaters in the Tetons.
Will try to use the input supplied here to see the sites.

[jules6]

The camp sites at Fishing Bridge are side by side parking meaning that you park your tow vehicle next to your camper not in front of it

[jspence1]

83trekker wrote:
Was just looking at Fishing bridge and their 40ft spots are book and only 35ft spots left.

Its shows this when registering
"This site can accommodate equipment up to 35 feet in length, plus additional towed/towing equipment up to 25-feet. Please specify fully extended sizes for all equipment below. If your primary equipment is longer than 35 feet you must select a larger site."

My 5th wheel is 29 feet from front pin to rear spare tire, then i have my ext cab so 7-8ft from the the 5th wheel hitch, do they take into consideration i could park side ways or at an angle with my trailer?

I called because I was confused myself. I have a 30' TT plus my TV and they said the 35' sites will work for me. Give them a call but I think you will be fine with the 35' sites

[Uppercrust]

We stayed at Fishing Bridge a couple years ago and mapped out the park and visited a different area each day. We brought along picnic stuff and found different picnic spots each night to eat at. Lots to see & do, from your list it is pretty well covered. Enjoy your time there.

[A_hitch_and_hop]

We stayed 6 days at Flagg Ranch about 8 miles outside the South entrance. We made separate day trips to the west loop, North loop and the east loop. I would suggest that you get up early and do the driving to the days location. You will see more animals and avoid most of the traffic. The only advantage I see in staying inside the park was the evening Ranger programs. As mentioned, it is a B I G park and the traffic moves very slow sometimes. If you try to see it all you will miss the enjoyment of the park.

[sweetnoni]

To Veebee's- IMHO, choose Colter bay in the
Teton's, nice sites, quiet, and close to all.

[bcsslc]

We had a similar tip that we were on last year. I have spent quite a bit of time in the park and sounding area. Here is my suggestion. Stay out side the park and go in for day trips, until you are ready to move closer to Jackson. We stayed at a campground 3miles north of West Yellowstone named Bakers Hole. The Madison river runs right through camp and they have about 20 or so power hookups. No black or gray..... it was a very nice place. I will definitely be staying there again. Its also so close to town. Fun things to do in the evenings..... the rodeo is one of our favorite things to do . Don't miss it.

[83trekker]

Thanks for the tip Like2Travel and sorry for the late reply.

[Like2Travel]

83trekker, it looks to me like you have a good plan that will give you the necessary time to see Yellowstone. DW and I have worked and spent 4 months in both the years of 2007 and 2008 in Yellowstone. It is one of my favorite places.

I see that some people always recommend some of the other great places around Yellowstone and there are some great ones. Hopefully, this will not be the only trip you make to this area.

One suggestion I would make is combine the nights of the Canyon and Grant village into either Bridge Bay or Fishing Bridge. I think you would be better off not having the extra moving day. From either one of these campgrounds, its not that long of a drive north to the Canyon or south toward the West Thumb area or Grant Village.

There is one other spot I recommend you see. I presume you will stop at the Grand Prismatic which is in between Madison and Old Faithful. When leaving the Grand Prismatic driving toward Old Faithful, within about one mile, you will come to a short road that turns right. This road is only about 1/4 mile long, has a loop at the end, and has a bridge that crosses the Firehole river. You can park along this road and then take a less than one mile walk that will bring you to the back side of the Grand Prismatic. When you get there, notice that there is a hill on the left side of this road. Look around and find one of the paths that will take you to the top of this hill. Once on top, you will find one of the best views of the Grand Prismatic there is. You should be able to easily do this in one hour.

Enjoy your trip..

[katleman]

littlemo wrote:

A trip over Beartooth Highway out Northeast entrance going to Red Lodge, Montana is a "must do".

x2

Allow a whole day on this.

There are some nice national forest campgrounds along beartooth (hwy 212) as well, if you want to camp up there for a couple nights between your day trips up over the passes. Allows for a day trip into Cody (via Chief Joseph) to see the incredible Buffalo Bill museum as well.

As far as campgrounds in the park, i generally start with Madison for the first half, then move east to Canyon or Tower (or other first come sites) Fishing Bridge is a nice location, but the worst campground in terms of space between sites, have not been back since my orginal visit in 2004 for that reason.