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Yellowstone

skurey

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Heading to Wyoming for a wedding at the end of July. Anyone ever been to Yellowstone? Could use some basic info from people who have gone before I plan the trip.
 
Went two summers ago. Honestly I liked the drive in an out of the park more than the park experience. We stayed at the Old Faithful Lodge, which is pretty cool but pricey. There was a lakeside place that looked more up to date.

Went fishing, caught fish, the lodge cooked it for us, which was great considering they probably make 5 thousand buffalo burgers a day.
 
Heading to Wyoming for a wedding at the end of July. Anyone ever been to Yellowstone? Could use some basic info from people who have gone before I plan the trip.

Yellowstone is a national treasure, but if you're going in July, you better be comfortable with traffic and crowds.
 
Went there summer of 2017. We spent five days in the park. Split time between Old Faithful Lodge and Canyon area. If you are going to see the geysers and hot springs, the southern loop is where to stay. It's also the busiest. If you want to see the wildlife, the northern loop is where to go. If you have the time, split where you stay between the two areas.
 
Did a day trip there in late September. It reminded me of a giant amusement park without rides. Basically drive from one site to another and take your pictures and take it all in. The scenery is amazing, especially the Yellowstone Grand Canyon.
 
Best view I've ever seen was at sunrise driving around the park and coming upon this huge valley with at least a thousand Bison running, playing with their children, bathing in ponds. My pictures don't do it justice. Drive north of the park and try and see the bears as well. I loved Yellowstone. We camped in a pop up for 4 days. Great experience.
 
I highly recommend hitting Grand Teton while you're there - the two parks are basically adjacent to each other. Stunning mountains and lakes, definitely a different vibe than Yellowstone. I highly encourage you to get out and take a few hikes, even if short ones and get off the beaten path a bit. Just don't forget your bear spray. We did one ranger led hike 2 summers ago, and the ranger welcomed us to the 6% - he said 94% of the visitors to Yellowstone never get more than 50 yards from their vehicle.
 
It's a great place to visit and lots to see - the Lower Falls, and the Grand Prismatic Spring were memorable, but it's all something to experience depending on what you want to focus on. A nice bonus is you have a short drive to Bozeman...head out to Teasers and take home some company - really inexpensive.
 
Heading to Wyoming for a wedding at the end of July. Anyone ever been to Yellowstone? Could use some basic info from people who have gone before I plan the trip.

I spent a couple of nights there in 2015 while going cross country. Came in from Jackson Hole so got to see the Grand Tetons too. We drove in on a highway that ran along the Green River. We stopped at a rest area where fur trappers (Jim Bridger types) held their Rendezvous. You could close your eyes and imagine one going on right in front of you.

Stayed at the cabins at Mammoth Lodge. The cabins were located around a center courtyard. I awoke early and walked out on the porch and there was an elk 15 feet in front of me munching on the grass. You could actually hear the munching. The elk love that area because the Army had Fort Yellowstone there and planted grass on their parade grounds.

The restaurant at Mammoth Lodge was good. Forget about the fast food place, they sell 2 day old hamburgers. Enjoy
 
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I spent a couple of nights there in 2015 while going cross country. Came in from Jackson Hole so got to see the Grand Tetons too. We drove in on a highway that ran along the Green River. We stopped at a rest area where fur trappers (Jim Bridger types) held their Rendezvous. You could close your eyes and imagine one going on right in front of you.

Stayed at the cabins at Mammoth Lodge. The cabins were located around a center courtyard. I awoke early and walked out on the porch and there was an elk 15 feet in front of me munching on the grass. You could actually hear the munching. The elk love that area because the Army had Fort Yellowstone there and planted grass on their parade grounds.

The restaurant at Mammoth Lodge was good. Forget about the fast food place, they sell 2 day old hamburgers. Enjoy


This is great - beautiful drive. Hiking Jenny Lake was breathtaking.
 
Heading to Wyoming for a wedding at the end of July. Anyone ever been to Yellowstone? Could use some basic info from people who have gone before I plan the trip.

If you want to stay IN the park, accommodations-wise, get your reservations in NOW. That is, if you can.
My wife and I did a cross-country national parks tour in summer 17' and we were only able to stay inside the park one night, and that was making reservations in January. Camping might not be bad for you at that point, but we went in May. There was still a foot of snow on the ground, and we ended up ditching the camping idea and stayed at a KOA outside of the park.

We came in from the east and stayed at Cody for a night. Great story with that. We got a great Air BnB just outside of Cody, a little ranch cabin with breathtaking views. The day before going further on towards Yellowstone we spent the afternoon in Cody and went to the Buffalo Bill Museum of the West, which is highly recommended. Cody in general, is a really neat little cowboy town. Anyway, as I'm leaving the restroom in the museum, I turn a corner and eating an ice cream cone is Arnold Schwartzenagger! Most random celebrity sighting ever. It was my wife's birthday that day and I got Arnold to stop and take a photo with her. It was pretty cool. Needless to say, that photo got more "likes" on social media, than anything we posted later from Yellowstone.

Yellowstone is HUGE, so I'd pick 3-4 MUST SEE things and then go from there. It will take you a LONG time to drive around, especially if there's an animal crossing. As others have said, it's the height of tourist season, so be prepared for that as well. I'd probably put these high on your list:

Grand Prismatic Spring
Grand Canyon
Old Faithful
Bubbling Paint Pots
Kodachrome Pool at Norris Geyser Basin
Yellowstone Lodge

We only were there for two days and I wish we'd been there for a week! There's so much to do and see. We'll be back again, for sure.

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Best view I've ever seen was at sunrise driving around the park and coming upon this huge valley with at least a thousand Bison running, playing with their children, bathing in ponds. My pictures don't do it justice. Drive north of the park and try and see the bears as well. I loved Yellowstone. We camped in a pop up for 4 days. Great experience.

On the same trip we did Yellowstone, we also did Yosemite. Waking up inside the Badlands National Park and watching the sun rise over the butes I thought was the best view I've ever seen...until a few weeks later when we drove out of Yosemite and we saw Tunnel View at dawn. Holy cow.
 
Our scenario, we went for a week some years back, it was in August I think. We didn't have any kids with us, mainly a fishing trip, 4 adults.

GTNP/Jackson Hole.
As mentioned above, definitely don't miss the Teton's. Though I wouldn't enter Jackson Hole again if you paid me. I've seen a lot of crazy tourist traps, that could be the worst. We stayed a good ways outside Jackson Hole at a nice little hotel near the woods ( a huge grizzly's route was basically through the hotel property. The location was great access to some dirt roads leading up to some really nice lakes, there was hardly anyone around. There's great hikes for some of the best scenery you'll ever see (which is everywhere up there). I also agree with the above mentioned drive up, from there to Yellowstone. It was a great part of the whole trip.

Yellowstone
We stayed outside the west entrance of Yellowstone, which is actually in Montana. Very close to the west entrance though, the main road follows the famed Madison river in all the way. Fished around 4 of the world class rivers/streams inside the park. Saw a grizzly, black bear, all the buffalo and elk you can handle. If there's a bear off any of the main roads, there will be a huge traffic stopping "bear jam". It will take a while. Also beware of hiking around and seeing the geothermal pools or geysers. It's imperative to stay on the main trail and not walk up to the edge of those, they're unstable. It's also crazy with the lack of common sense, how many people walk right up to buffalo, not realizing how dangerous they are. If you're hiking back a ways, make sure and get bear spray.

Usually to get a room in the most popular places, it's a year in advance to make sure you get a spot. There's a lot of camping that's first come first serve.
 
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If you can enter park from the north leaving Red Lodge and go through the pass do it. I ve been to a million parks including Canada but the ride through the pass I think it’s called Beat Tooth is the most beautiful scenery in NA

My sister had a ranch in Red Lodge that was the land Jeramiah Johnston homesteaded. The real story is that he was known as liver eating Johnson . Hollywood and Robert Reford did not depict the real story.
 
Our scenario, we went for a week some years back, it was in August I think. We didn't have any kids with us, mainly a fishing trip, 4 adults.

GTNP/Jackson Hole.
As mentioned above, definitely don't miss the Teton's. Though I wouldn't enter Jackson Hole again if you paid me. I've seen a lot of crazy tourist traps, that could be the worst. We stayed a good ways outside Jackson Hole at a nice little hotel near the woods ( a huge grizzly's route was basically through the hotel property. The location was great access to some dirt roads leading up to some really nice lakes, there was hardly anyone around. There's great hikes for some of the best scenery you'll ever see (which is everywhere up there). I also agree with the above mentioned drive up, from there to Yellowstone. It was a great part of the whole trip.

Yellowstone
We stayed outside the west entrance of Yellowstone, which is actually in Montana. Very close to the west entrance though, the main road follows the famed Madison river in all the way. Fished around 4 of the world class rivers/streams inside the park. Saw a grizzly, black bear, all the buffalo and elk you can handle. If there's a bear off any of the main roads, there will be a huge traffic stopping "bear jam". It will take a while. Also beware of hiking around and seeing the geothermal pools or geysers. It's imperative to stay on the main trail and not walk up to the edge of those, they're unstable. It's also crazy with the lack of common sense, how many people walk right up to buffalo, not realizing how dangerous they are. If you're hiking back a ways, make sure and get bear spray.

Usually to get a room in the most popular places, it's a year in advance to make sure you get a spot. There's a lot of camping that's first come first serve.

Another vote for bear spray. We had it but didn’t need to use it. The photo of the buffalo I shared was taken from our car. That’s how close they were to the road. I ain’t no fool. I wasn’t going to get that close to a 1,000 lb beast. Needless to say, leaving the wildlife alone and staying on the paths around geysers is not only for your safety but also nature’s safety from you.
 
Another vote for bear spray. We had it but didn’t need to use it. The photo of the buffalo I shared was taken from our car. That’s how close they were to the road. I ain’t no fool. I wasn’t going to get that close to a 1,000 lb beast. Needless to say, leaving the wildlife alone and staying on the paths around geysers is not only for your safety but also nature’s safety from you.
I figured, like a lot my own pics, it seemed closer than the actual pic was taken. That wasn't directed to you. I witnessed a lady walk right up to a buffalo turn her back to it to take a selfie. I yelled at her. Lol. I have pics of brown bears in Alaska that my friends were like, you idiot you got way too close. I'm like no, there's this brand new invention called a zoom lense.
 
I figured, like a lot my own pics, it seemed closer than the actual pic was taken. That wasn't directed to you. I witnessed a lady walk right up to a buffalo turn her back to it to take a selfie. I yelled at her. Lol. I have pics of brown bears in Alaska that my friends were like, you idiot you got way too close. I'm like no, there's this brand new invention called a zoom lense.

Yeah...I’d say it’s surprising about the amount of clueless people that visit national parks and don’t know to leave the animals alone, but it’s really not when you think about it.
 
If you want to stay IN the park, accommodations-wise, get your reservations in NOW. That is, if you can.
My wife and I did a cross-country national parks tour in summer 17' and we were only able to stay inside the park one night, and that was making reservations in January. Camping might not be bad for you at that point, but we went in May. There was still a foot of snow on the ground, and we ended up ditching the camping idea and stayed at a KOA outside of the park.

We came in from the east and stayed at Cody for a night. Great story with that. We got a great Air BnB just outside of Cody, a little ranch cabin with breathtaking views. The day before going further on towards Yellowstone we spent the afternoon in Cody and went to the Buffalo Bill Museum of the West, which is highly recommended. Cody in general, is a really neat little cowboy town. Anyway, as I'm leaving the restroom in the museum, I turn a corner and eating an ice cream cone is Arnold Schwartzenagger! Most random celebrity sighting ever. It was my wife's birthday that day and I got Arnold to stop and take a photo with her. It was pretty cool. Needless to say, that photo got more "likes" on social media, than anything we posted later from Yellowstone.

Yellowstone is HUGE, so I'd pick 3-4 MUST SEE things and then go from there. It will take you a LONG time to drive around, especially if there's an animal crossing. As others have said, it's the height of tourist season, so be prepared for that as well. I'd probably put these high on your list:

Grand Prismatic Spring
Grand Canyon
Old Faithful
Bubbling Paint Pots
Kodachrome Pool at Norris Geyser Basin
Yellowstone Lodge

We only were there for two days and I wish we'd been there for a week! There's so much to do and see. We'll be back again, for sure.

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Cody was awesome, I could've stayed in that museum all day.

Someone else mentioned the Badlands...very cool.

Ironically another post here disliked the Jackson Hole part for the tourist trap. The Lodge at Yellowstone pretty much had you and were mostly indifferent on basic things- that stuff drives me nuts (but the park was beautiful).
 
Cody was awesome, I could've stayed in that museum all day.

Someone else mentioned the Badlands...very cool.

Ironically another post here disliked the Jackson Hole part for the tourist trap. The Lodge at Yellowstone pretty much had you and were mostly indifferent on basic things- that stuff drives me nuts (but the park was beautiful).

I posted about the Badlands! We visited them as well on our way out to Yellowstone.

And yeah, I loved the Buffalo Bill museum in Cody as well. There’s a TON of really cool old west artifacts on display. I heard from one of the security guards that the reason why Arnold was there was because he’d just seen the movie “The Hateful 8” and flew in to get a custom cowboy duster jacket made. Crazy.

We combined our road trip with National Parks and baseball, lol. We saw The Badlands, Yellowstone, Devil’s Tower, Mt. Rushmore/Crazy Horse, Yosemite, Arches and Death Valley. On the baseball front we visited Field of Dreams, Wriggley Field, AT&T Park in San Francisco and the Negro League Baseball museum in St. Louis.
 
I posted about the Badlands! We visited them as well on our way out to Yellowstone.

And yeah, I loved the Buffalo Bill museum in Cody as well. There’s a TON of really cool old west artifacts on display. I heard from one of the security guards that the reason why Arnold was there was because he’d just seen the movie “The Hateful 8” and flew in to get a custom cowboy duster jacket made. Crazy.

We combined our road trip with National Parks and baseball, lol. We saw The Badlands, Yellowstone, Devil’s Tower, Mt. Rushmore/Crazy Horse, Yosemite, Arches and Death Valley. On the baseball front we visited Field of Dreams, Wriggley Field, AT&T Park in San Francisco and the Negro League Baseball museum in St. Louis.


Custer - Mt Rushmore - Badlands - Devil's Tower - Cody - Yellowstone - Jackson Hole.
 
Badlands, Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Yellowstone, Tetons, Arches, Mesa Verde and Grand Canyon.
 
I heard from one of the security guards that the reason why Arnold was there was because he’d just seen the movie “The Hateful 8” and flew in to get a custom cowboy duster jacket made. Crazy.
Hmm. I would think he would've went to Telluride where it was filmed to get that. The main reason being, that's one of the biggest star hangouts there is. Don't know if you saw this thread some years ago? I posted pics of the actual ranch (Schmid) it was filmed on.

The Hateful Eight
 
Hmm. I would think he would've went to Telluride where it was filmed to get that. The main reason being, that's one of the biggest star hangouts there is. Don't know if you saw this thread some years ago? I posted pics of the actual ranch (Schmid) it was filmed on.

The Hateful Eight

Yup. I'm almost sure that's where he was. Pretty crazy stuff.
 
If you want to stay IN the park, accommodations-wise, get your reservations in NOW. That is, if you can.
My wife and I did a cross-country national parks tour in summer 17' and we were only able to stay inside the park one night, and that was making reservations in January. Camping might not be bad for you at that point, but we went in May. There was still a foot of snow on the ground, and we ended up ditching the camping idea and stayed at a KOA outside of the park.

We came in from the east and stayed at Cody for a night. Great story with that. We got a great Air BnB just outside of Cody, a little ranch cabin with breathtaking views. The day before going further on towards Yellowstone we spent the afternoon in Cody and went to the Buffalo Bill Museum of the West, which is highly recommended. Cody in general, is a really neat little cowboy town. Anyway, as I'm leaving the restroom in the museum, I turn a corner and eating an ice cream cone is Arnold Schwartzenagger! Most random celebrity sighting ever. It was my wife's birthday that day and I got Arnold to stop and take a photo with her. It was pretty cool. Needless to say, that photo got more "likes" on social media, than anything we posted later from Yellowstone.

Yellowstone is HUGE, so I'd pick 3-4 MUST SEE things and then go from there. It will take you a LONG time to drive around, especially if there's an animal crossing. As others have said, it's the height of tourist season, so be prepared for that as well. I'd probably put these high on your list:

Grand Prismatic Spring
Grand Canyon
Old Faithful
Bubbling Paint Pots
Kodachrome Pool at Norris Geyser Basin
Yellowstone Lodge

We only were there for two days and I wish we'd been there for a week! There's so much to do and see. We'll be back again, for sure.

View attachment 155933View attachment 155934View attachment 155935View attachment 155936

Agree with pretty much everything you have on Yellowstone. My mom was born and raised in Wyoming and two uncles lived there for their entire lives so been to Wyoming plenty of times and the park a few times.

As others have mentioned South Dakota was great also. That trip was much more fun than I ever expected it would be. We did the Badlands, Mount Rushmore, Mitchell Corn Palace and Wall Drug. Wall Drug isn't a must see. I'm not a big shopper but really enjoyed the rest.
 
Agree with pretty much everything you have on Yellowstone. My mom was born and raised in Wyoming and two uncles lived there for their entire lives so been to Wyoming plenty of times and the park a few times.

As others have mentioned South Dakota was great also. That trip was much more fun than I ever expected it would be. We did the Badlands, Mount Rushmore, Mitchell Corn Palace and Wall Drug. Wall Drug isn't a must see. I'm not a big shopper but really enjoyed the rest.

Wall Drug is amazing. It’s a slice of Americana. We had no idea what it was and fell victim to the roadside billboards.

“Only 150 miles from Wall Drug!”...

“85 miles away from the best pit stop in the US...”

We did as we were told.
 

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