Yellowstone 6/23-6/26

[kenzmad]

Taking the family to yellowstone next week. Anyone else going to be there? Any tips that you may have would be helpfull. We are staying at Canyon and not taking the camper off, we want to have our own kitchen and bathroom with us. Traveling with 2 teenage girls so anything in particular that the kids may enjoy? You know how hard it is to get a teenager excited about something.

[MTRhino]

You can still do both entrances. To go through Ennis from Manhattan you still take the Big Sky/West Yellowstone exit at Belgrade onto US-191 but when you get to the stop light at 4Corners (about 10 miles S of Belgrade)turn right (west) onto MT-84 and US-287S and follow the Madison river to Ennis, on to Quake Lake and into West Yllowstone. You will miss all of the road construction and only add 34 miles.

[kenzmad]

MTBob wrote:

MTRhino wrote:
A word of caution, drove the road from West Yellowstone to Bozeman yesterday and there is a lot of road construction complete with pilot cars and delays. You may want to go through Ennis as an alternate route.

That's exactly right - they are advertising this construction as a 15 minute delay, but it will be much more, depending on traffic and how you hit the one-way cycle.
If you go through Ennis (down the Madison River valley) you will go through the Quake Lake area & monument to get to West Yellowstone. Be sure to stop and review the Quake Lake visitors center, very interesting geological event.
You may want to consider going in the north entrance at Gardiner, ie. through Bozeman on I-90, turn south on Rt. 89 at Livingston, then to Gardiner.
In any case, as others have said, be prepared for crowds in the park. And, if you plan on staying in a campground, be sure to have reservations.
Bob

Reservations already made for Canyon campground. Thanks for the road construction tip. We are going to be in Manhatten MT so we can choose the North entrance instead of West. We did want to go in one entrance and leave through another as i dont want to see the same sights twice. May rethink that though.

[MTBob]

MTRhino wrote:
A word of caution, drove the road from West Yellowstone to Bozeman yesterday and there is a lot of road construction complete with pilot cars and delays. You may want to go through Ennis as an alternate route.

That's exactly right - they are advertising this construction as a 15 minute delay, but it will be much more, depending on traffic and how you hit the one-way cycle.
If you go through Ennis (down the Madison River valley) you will go through the Quake Lake area & monument to get to West Yellowstone. Be sure to stop and review the Quake Lake visitors center, very interesting geological event.
You may want to consider going in the north entrance at Gardiner, ie. through Bozeman on I-90, turn south on Rt. 89 at Livingston, then to Gardiner.
In any case, as others have said, be prepared for crowds in the park. And, if you plan on staying in a campground, be sure to have reservations.
Bob

[MTRhino]

A word of caution, drove the road from West Yellowstone to Bozeman yesterday and there is a lot of road construction complete with pilot cars and delays. You may want to go through Ennis as an alternate route.

[MTBob]

kenzmad wrote:
Wow, thanks for all the advice. I hadnt even thought about a horse ride. Good tip. Great, chinese drivers on winding roads. Sounds like a recipe for disaster.

To be clear, the trailheads I mentioned are not places where you will find outfitters to go on a trail ride. You need to set that up before hand. The trail heads are just the place where you begin a ride. If you want references for trail rides, PM me and I'll give you some guidance.
Happy Trails,
Bob

[Holiday27]

Heading to Madison CG on the 21st and then Canyon on the 24th. We have an 8 and 10yr old with us. Can't wait!!

[kenzmad]

H2oSprt wrote:
We will be at Madison from the 22nd-23rd, and then off to Canyon from 24th -26th, and then Bridge Bay on the 27th and 28th. Not sure about the teenage thing as my kids are all under 10 🙂

Good Luck!

Will look for you at canyon. My oldest is 15 and my youngest will turn 12 at yellowstone on the 25th. Look for us, easiest thing to spot on the camper is a Bloodydecks fish sticker above right rear taillight. Give a wave or stop in for a beer.

[H2oSprt]

We will be at Madison from the 22nd-23rd, and then off to Canyon from 24th -26th, and then Bridge Bay on the 27th and 28th. Not sure about the teenage thing as my kids are all under 10 🙂

Good Luck!

[rv2go]

We arrived at our site in Madison, Sunday around 1pm. Lots of traffic coming up from the south. Of course the CG is full. But more of a surprise was the number of sightseers when we went out this morning. Bus after bus of people. Parking lots are full. Cars parked ever where. I don't recall it ever being this crowded at this time of year and we only went from Madison to Old Faithful. It was so crowded around noon, we left and went back home.
Oh well...Maybe tomorrow.

[kenzmad]

Wow, thanks for all the advice. I hadnt even thought about a horse ride. Good tip. Great, chinese drivers on winding roads. Sounds like a recipe for disaster.

[MTBob]

A couple of thoughts:
We were just in the park about a week ago and were surprised by the change in tourists. A large number +50%? or more seem to be Chinese. At least that was our non-scientific impression. This was particularly noticeable in West Yellowstone. For a "cultural experience" go to the supermarket in West and watch the tourists, quite and experience. WATCH OUT for Chinese drivers... wow, apparently there are no rules in Beijing!!!
Also, the Buffalo were caving in the Madison valley, about 10 miles east of the West entrance, along the river. The cows were crossing the river at various places, with their calves - a real spectacle.
A couple of other tips. If you are looking for a free tank dump spot in Belgrade, (just outside Bozeman), go to Rocky Mountain Supply (aka Cenex) gas station and do a fill up. The dump is free.
Also, if you want to overnight, you might enjoy going up Hyalite Canyon south of Bozeman and staying at a camping spot up there. There are reserved spots or you can boondock along the road. The view is pretty spectacular at the reservoir.
Also, if you head to West Yellowstone from Bozeman, via Rt. 191, and want a place to stay overnight, you might try the many trail head parking areas just off the highway (some in the northern corridor of the Park. I can't recall, but they might say No Overnight Parking, but I wouldn't get too worried about that. One that is way off the road is on the west side of the highway, just north of the Park boundary, called Bacon Rind. That would be a good boondock place. Lots of horse outfitters travel out of those trailheads and leave their rigs there for days.
(PM if you have questions / need more info.)
Bob

[DesertHawk]

A Little of What I have on Yellowstone.

Perhaps, the horse back rides would be a win. We did one once with our kids. Horse rides of one and two hours in length which are available at Mammoth, Tower-Roosevelt, and Canyon.

On another trip we had our canoe with us, enjoyed canoeing on Luis Lake (from CG to the Shoshone River & up a way) & Yellowstone Lake (from Grant Village to Geyser area by West Thumb. Boating, Canoeing, Kayaking

However, the scenery is so grand & wildlife so plentiful if into photography one can really enjoy finding & capturing memories with a camera.

Lot of stuff around Canyon Area & somewhat central for branching out to see the sights. Just south is the Hayden Valley. Be sure to drive the Grand Loop Rd through the Hayden Valley (usually see Bison there) from Canyon Area to Fishing Bridge Area. The Lamar Valley has been a wolf watching mecca since the wolves were reintroduced in 1995. It has Bison as well & we have seen bear there as well. This is in the Tower Area east toward the NE Exit of the Park. All the loops have neat things to see.

Tetons are really neat as well.

Maybe a little far out, but......We've gone by Thermopolis, WY twice to do a soak in the hot spring water at the State Bath House. Very neat.

We overnighted in the Wind River Canyon in Aug '09 & at one of the Boysen State Park campgrounds by the lake some years ago. Hot Springs

Cody Walmart was our neatest Walmart Overnight Site yet:


Cody is a neat place. In Cody, try to see the Buffalo Bill Historical Center with Five Museums Under One Roof. http://www.bbhc.org/

The Cody Chamber of Commerce has a nice Visitor Center (full of information) & with a really nice art gallery.
http://codychamber.org/visitorcenter.html

Never been to it, but they have a Cody Night Rodeo with rodeo performances every night June 1st through August 31st. Gates open at 7:00 p.m. with rodeo action starting at 8:00 p.m. http://www.codynightrodeo.com/ And a Cody Stampede Rodeo July 1 to 4, http://www.codystampederodeo.com/

Likely to be too out of your way, but just in case:

East of Billings on I-94, we drove by Pompey's Pillar not knowing what it was in 2009, about 25 miles east of Billings, Montana, on our way to Yellowstone. "It bears the only remaining physical evidence of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which appears on the trail today as it did 200 years ago. On the face of the 150-foot butte, Captain William Clark carved his name on July 25, 1806, during his return to the United States through the beautiful Yellowstone Valley." Might be worth a stop, if time allows.

On 1-90 between Billings & Sheridan, Little Bighorn Battlefield Nat'l Mon't has a special place in history. Not far from Sheridan.

Also off I-90 in WY, The Site of the Fetterman Fight and Fort Phil Kearny.

Overnighting Sites & Sights in the Douglas & Wheatland Area. Includes Guernsey & Fort Laramie Area.

Guernsey State Park ------- Fort Laramie National Historic Site ------ Oregon Trail Ruts and Register Cliff

[n7bsn]

If you are going through Bozeman, and the kids are interested in Dinosaurs, stop at the Museum of the Rockies (the home of Jack Horner)

[Sue_Bee]

teenaged girls and horseback rides seem to go hand in hand. At least, when I was a teen, I still loved the idea of horseback riding.

Xanterra link