Community Forums

mxgeezer · 07-14-2015, 08:56 PM

My wife and I are planning out first adventure and we're going to try Yellowstone next summer and I have no idea where to start. We'll be leaving from Ft. Worth TX in our 37' National Tradewinds(2 slides) and hope to have 9-10 days to use. My biggest question is where to stay and how far ahead we have to book. We're looking for something nice, somewhat modern and scenic that's close to the major attractions. We'll be pulling a toad. Any links to campgrounds or good advice on how to prepare would be greatly appreciated.

DRKM · 07-14-2015, 09:10 PM

Grizzly RV Park in West Yellowstone is about the most modern in the area I believe. Very nice facility. Right at the west entrance to Yellowstone, but still on the edge of small community within easy walking distance.

Yellowstone Grizzly RV Park and Cabins

twogypsies · 07-14-2015, 09:20 PM

Here's the official Yellowstone site that can answer many of your questions including where to stay:

Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service)

Personally, we like to stay IN the national parks for the best experience and less driving times. Fishing Bridge campground has full-hookups; the rest are dry camping.

Don't forget to include Grand Teton National Park in your plans. It's right next door and is completely different in looks from Yellowstone. Colter Bay RV is the full hookup place there. Don't try to do both parks from the same base camp. It's entirely too much driving.

http://www.nps.gov/grte/index.htm

daydream37 · 07-15-2015, 04:50 PM

We stayed at Colter Bay in the Grand Tetons. Great location. We used it as our home base. For the Yellowstone portion of our trip we used a tour company based out of the Grand Teton Lodge. It stopped at all the major locations in Yellowstone, we didn't have to hassle with parking and they did the driving. Grand Tetons Lodge is run by the same people who run Colter Bay.

Fred and Bonnie · 07-15-2015, 05:01 PM

I was just talking with Yellowstone Grizzly RV Park 2016 reservations are accepted starting Oct 2015, that's how popular the park is.

Fred

rockport · 07-16-2015, 07:56 AM

Mxgeezer
We just returned last month from there. Left from Weatherford TX, spent 4 nights in colter bay rv park which was beautiful, then moves over to fishing bridge in Yellowstone. For us the full hookups were a must, besides we were there for the beauty of the park not the camping experience. The convenience of fishing bridge far out weighed the tight spots for us. We booked almost a year in advance. Have fun it's a beautiful place.

G.G. · 07-16-2015, 09:09 AM

We stayed at Grizzly in West Yellowstone MT last summer and will be there again next week. It is a very nice place. As stated, it's in a cute little town and is at the west entrance to Yellowstone.

We tried to get into Fishing Bridge in Yellowstone this summer just for a different ambiance, but they are very limited on 40' sites, so couldn't get a site. I tried about 4 months ago, so if you want to stay there, you'd better plan now. Keep in mind there won't be cable, and I doubt you can get anything else whether satellite or antenna, but not sure. Same for internet and probably doesn't have good cell service. We've realized all of that is important to us, so it's a good thing we're back at Grizzly.

There are other CGs in Yellowstone that are not FHU and are first come-first served. From what I read, you must get there early to get a site.

The same for Colter Bay RV Park in Grand Teton. They are FHU but won't have cable, etc. If you decide to go there also, you'd better plan early and make a reservation.

I'm not sure of the cancellation policies of the above, but I'm sure there's a fee to cancel. It might be worth it to make your reservations now and pay the cxl fee if you need to cancel.

Enjoy your trip!!!

mxgeezer · 07-17-2015, 06:45 AM

If we stay at Grizzly how much of a drive to Teton and Yellowstone? I like being in between the two and don't mind driving if it keeps me from having to relocate.

oakcreekeric · 07-17-2015, 09:24 AM

We stayed at Flagg Ranch.. It was just a couple miles south of the Yellowstone's southern entrance...

It was ok.. nothing special.. we didn't spend a great deal of time there... basically to sleep.. it had full hook ups.. we figured it was right between Yellowstone and the Tetons.. so we had easy access to both..

Hope that helps..

G.G. · 07-17-2015, 03:21 PM

mxgeezer..we just arrived in W. Yellowstone. I'm looking at the map they give you when you enter the park.

W. Yellowstone is 14 mi. to the loop road that takes you either north 40 miles to the north entrance or south 55 miles to the south entrance. So,no matter where you go, you'll always have to retrace those 14 mi. It says Grand Teton Park is 8 miles beyond the south entrance.

If you don't go all the way to the south entrance and want to drive toward the east side (Fishing Bridge), it would be 54 miles once you get on the loop road. Then you'd loop back around to either go northeast to see more - 64 miles to the northeast entrance, or loop back toward W. Yellowstone -66 miles.

It's basically a big loop that veers off N, S, E, or W, so sometimes you have to retrace your steps.

If you stay at Fishing Bridge, you'd be into the park 27 mi. from the east entrance and wouldn't have to necessarily retrace your steps as much. FB is 43 mi. to the south entrance.

Hope this makes sense...lol

ronspradley · 07-17-2015, 07:17 PM

mxgeezer, you will love Yellowstone and Grand Teton. During the summer when school is out, Yellowstone is very busy with long traffic jams for vehicles and animal viewing. I would think you would hope to maybe average near 30 mph traveling in Yellowstone, but that may be optimistic. You said you hope to have 9-10 days for the trip. That does not include driving there and back, right? Cause it would take me 4 days driving there and 4 days driving back, if I left from Ft. Worth.

ronspradley.

twogypsies · 07-17-2015, 09:09 PM

I would not stay in West Yellowstone to tour Grand Teton. It's much too far unless you're the type that considers doing national parks in one-day of touring.

You can't go by mileage figures from West Yellowstone to Grand Teton. That's only to get you to the park boundary and there's just forest there. If you want to get into the heart of the Tetons it will take many more miles. If you want to check out the town of Jackson - add many more miles. If you want to do a short scenic hike to a gorgeous lake then allow more hours. If you want to do a gentle float down the Snake River then add more hours.

Bottom line, you can't 'do' Grand Teton in a one-day drive. If you really want to explore it, as you should, then pack up and move there. It's not hard. You move from RV park to RV park as you're traveling anyway. Colter Bay RV is ideal if you need hookups.

Even folks saying Grizzly RV is a few blocks from Yellowstone entrance is a misconception. First, you're waiting in line to even get to the entrance booth. Then you're driving miles to get to the heart of Yellowstone. Then you do one section of the park, return to West Yellowstone and do the same thing again the next day - one section at a time. Both parks are HUGE. It's so easy if you stay IN the parks themselves.....my opinion only. . . not everyone will agree, I'm sure.

LINADR · 07-17-2015, 09:55 PM

+1 on Flagg Ranch, full hook ups, convenient to both parks. For Yellowstone, do the southern route, we did the highway route through Tetons, don't think we missed much.

mxgeezer · 07-18-2015, 07:25 AM

We'll be driving for 2 days each way. We'll have 5 to 6 days of sight seeing. I'm even considering just 1 day at Grand Teton as a recon for our next visit. I've also thought about bringing our "scooters" to see the parks, but they only do about 35 mph. Not sure if we'd contribute to the traffic.