Recommended Campgrounds in Yellowstone?

[Dutch Star Don]

"MPH".....This year, they were rebuilding two thirds of Fishing Bridge and made it hard to get a reservation. They had only one 40' spot left when we checked last year, for a spot this year. We ended up going the last week of May. It was pretty nice, but as stated, it can be unpredictable. There is one high pass in the park that we got a few minutes of sleet/hail as we traversed it.

Here's something fun to do if you like watching animals. I don't recall the name of the valley, but it's about 8-9 miles from Fishing Bridge. Maybe someone else will know. As you leave Bridge Bay and head toward the Fishing Bridge turn, continue on about 8 - 9 miles. It's an area where you typically run into Bison crossing the road everyday. We take one or two evenings where we pack our dinner, binoculars/spotting scopes and head to the area described above. There is one large turnout where many people gather in the evening. The area gives you a view of the bison, elk in the evening coming out of the woods, an occasional bear and wolf and a variety of other animals. We tow a truck, so we put our chairs in the bed and eat dinner while watch for animals.

[J Birder]

I have stayed at Canyon, Grant, and Bridge Bay. None are particularly nicer than any of the others. My favorite is Canyon, because of proximity to the sights and hiking in the canyon area.

Grant is closest to a lot of the thermal areas, and Bridge bay is fairly centrally located.

Joel

[dieselclacker]

We stayed at Bridge Bay first week in June 2013, nights and early AM were quite cool, but not cold long enough to worry about our motorhomes plumbing freezing. Your biggest problem at Yellowstone in late June will probably be the crowded conditions, Have fun

[Just For Fun]

Yellowstone Grizzly RV Park & Cabins • West Yellowstone, Montana
4 Blocks from the West Entrance to Yellowstone National Park
210 S Electric St, West Yellowstone, MT 59758
(406) 646-4466

[MPH]

Originally Posted by J Birder

I have stayed at Canyon, Grant, and Bridge Bay. None are particularly nicer than any of the others. My favorite is Canyon, because of proximity to the sights and hiking in the canyon area.

Grant is closest to a lot of the thermal areas, and Bridge bay is fairly centrally located.

Joel

We're about to decide on Canyon Campground. It's more in the center of the "figure 8" of roads in the park.

(We don't want to stay outside the park, Just for Fun. West Yellowstone is just too far from some of the sites.)

[MPH]

Originally Posted by dieselclacker

We stayed at Bridge Bay first week in June 2013, nights and early AM were quite cool, but not cold long enough to worry about our motorhomes plumbing freezing. Your biggest problem at Yellowstone in late June will probably be the crowded conditions, Have fun

Crowds ... that's what I'm afraid of. But, oh well. It is a national park, so we'll just enjoy meeting folks from all over the country ... and all over the world. It'll be fun!

I carry a trouble light in one of the bays, so if we hear that there might be freezing temps some night, I'll hang it in the water bay. It might help.

[richardcoxid]

YNP is about 45 miles E/W and about 65 miles N/S (2.2 mil. Acres total). The figure 8 loop road inside the park itself is about 140 miles around. The lower loop is 96 miles and the upper loop is 70 miles around and yes, it is bigger than the states of Rhode Island and Delaware combined.

Whatever time that you think you will need to see YNP you better double it. The Bison think that they own the road (they do!) and will slow down the traffic to walking speed for 1/4 mile or more, the thermal attractions also tie up traffic and with a 4-5 month long tourist season that coincides with a 4-5 month long road construction season and a 45 mph radar controlled speed limit it will take about a full day to see each loop and then you will only see the main attractions. In addition to the occasional construction delays they will also sometimes close whole sections of road between 10 PM and 8 AM in the morning, if you are running late and get caught at night in the wrong area it CAN be a LONG way around! I don't mean to scare you but to inform you. (The entrance stations will have current construction information)

Then there is the elevation- YNP ranges from a low at Mammoth- 6239 ft, Old Faithful- 7365 ft, up to 7734 ft at Canyon and Grant to 7784 ft at Fishing Bridge. Drink plenty of liquids and pace yourself when walking. And again I don't mean to scare you but to inform you, after there is normally 3.5 million visitors annually.

I recommend that you get up EARLY, leave the CG and be back by 4 or 5 PM and be sitting in your recliner drinking a cool one when your neighbor drags himself back to the CG at 7-10 PM. Remember that from mid June to mid July in YNP the sun doesn't set until shortly before 10 PM.

If your luck is like mine Old Faithful will have just erupted when you get there and you will have a hour and 10-20 minutes wait for the next one. Tour the O/F geyser basin while waiting for the next eruption. Old Faithful INN is a must see!

We have lived about 110 miles from W. Yellowstone, MT for 51 years, go there 3-4 times a summer (before Memorial Day and after Labor Day) and haven't seen it all yet.

When in the Jackson area I highly recommend seeing the Bar J Chuckwagon dinner show! If you go, MAKE RESERVATIONS and BE THERE EARLY TO PICK UP YOUR TICKETS/SEATING ASSIGNMENTS! They seat you by when you show up to get your tickets NOT by your reservation number. Tim, their fiddle player has won the "Idaho state old time fiddle contest 7 times and the US open fiddle contest twice". We day trip it there 2-4 times every summer to see them! Disclaimer- We have no financial or other interest in the Bar J only that it will be the best $ value for your money for your trip! Check out their website.

[twogypsies]

Here are pictures of Bridge Bay's sites. Note that you can also click on Madison's sites and others. We've stayed at Bridge Bay and Madison with our 40' motorhome. We like Madison. Our very favorite is Mammoth but you can't make reservations there. You have to arrive early morning as folks are leaving.

Temperatures mid-June will probably be cool at night and warm during the day - but you never know weather. As long as it is above freezing during the day you will have no problems with your plumbing.

http://http://www.campsitephotos.com...und/Bridge-Bay

Here are pics of Fishing Bridge. Since it's full of trees I wouldn't call it a parking lot.

http://www.yellowstone.co/maps/fishingbridge.htm

[MPH]

Originally Posted by Steve Ownby

Impossible to predict from year to year. You must realize that the elevation at the valley floor is about 8000 feet, so most of Yellowstone is above that.

Steve Ownby
Full time since '07

The campgrounds aren't above that....

The official Yellowstone National Park website gives the elevation of every campground in the park. Canyon campground is at 7,900', Bridge Bay at 7,700', and Grant Village at 7,800'. The campground at the lowest elevation is Mammoth Hot Springs, at 6,200'.

We'd stay at Mammoth (because of the lower elevation), but everything is so far from there!

[twogypsies]

We've also stayed at two different campgrounds within the park to save on some driving time while touring. It's no big deal to move.

[MPH]

Originally Posted by richardcoxid

YNP is about 45 miles E/W and about 65 miles N/S (2.2 mil. Acres total). The figure 8 loop road inside the park itself is about 140 miles around. The lower loop is 96 miles and the upper loop is 70 miles around and yes, it is bigger than the states of Rhode Island and Delaware combined.

Whatever time that you think you will need to see YNP you better double it. The Bison think that they own the road (they do!) and will slow down the traffic to walking speed for 1/4 mile or more, the thermal attractions also tie up traffic and with a 4-5 month long tourist season that coincides with a 4-5 month long road construction season and a 45 mph radar controlled speed limit it will take about a full day to see each loop and then you will only see the main attractions. We'll be sure to check the signs about construction and plan accordingly. Thanks for the tip.

Then there is the elevation- YNP ranges from a low at Mammoth- 6239 ft, Old Faithful- 7365 ft, up to 7734 ft at Canyon and Grant to 7784 ft at Fishing Bridge. Drink plenty of liquids and pace yourself when walking. We're well acquainted with the need to hydrate continually while at high altitude. We own a vacation home that sits at 7,000' in the mountains of New Mexico. We frequently hike at much higher elevations and always carry plenty of water. Oxygen can help some folks, too, if you can get a portable concentrator on a shoulder strap. One place we frequent in NM has an "oxygen bar." 5 minutes of O2 can help you acclimate if you've come from much lower elevations or if you're coming down from much higher elevations.

And again I don't mean to scare you but to inform you, after there is normally 3.5 million visitors annually. Nope, you're not scaring me. But the other 3.4999 million other visitors might scare me!

I recommend that you get up EARLY, leave the CG and be back by 4 or 5 PM and be sitting in your recliner drinking a cool one when your neighbor drags himself back to the CG at 7-10 PM. Now that is some very good advice! Thank you for that gem. Remember that from mid June to mid July in YNP the sun doesn't set until shortly before 10 PM.

If your luck is like mine Old Faithful will have just erupted when you get there and you will have a hour and 10-20 minutes wait for the next one. Tour the O/F geyser basin while waiting for the next eruption. Old Faithful INN is a must see! Actually, we're going to see if we can get a reservation for lunch or dinner at the Old Faithful Inn. Might be a long shot, but we'll try. When I was there 35 years ago, we got there about 1/2 an hour before Old Faithful blew. We were lucky! Maybe it'll happen again. If not, we'll check out the geyser basin to kill time.

We have lived about 110 miles from W. Yellowstone, MT for 51 years, go there 3-4 times a summer (before Memorial Day and after Labor Day) and haven't seen it all yet.

When in the Jackson area I highly recommend seeing the Bar J Chuckwagon dinner show! If you go, MAKE RESERVATIONS and BE THERE EARLY TO PICK UP YOUR TICKETS/SEATING ASSIGNMENTS! They seat you by when you show up to get your tickets NOT by your reservation number. Tim, their fiddle player has won the "Idaho state old time fiddle contest 7 times and the US open fiddle contest twice". We day trip it there 2-4 times every summer to see them! Disclaimer- We have no financial or other interest in the Bar J only that it will be the best $ value for your money for your trip! Check out their website. Not sure if we'll be in Jackson, but will keep that in mind. Sounds like lots of fun! I really appreciate the info and tips.

Many thanks!

[IC2]

We were in Yellowstone about 5 weeks ago. We stayed in the Mountainside KOA at West Yellowstone and were very happy with their accommodations and at 7 or so miles to the entrance, not too bad. We tried to see Old Faithful, but in the 30 years since either of us had been there, it was disappointing that it had become a vehicle and people 'zoo'. Too much else to see in the park then watch a crowd ooh and ah every hour or two - and several other geyser spouts are almost as good viewing and a lot more regular.

And those bison who decide a morning walk down the road is good exercise - yep .....

[J Birder]

Originally Posted by IC2

We were in Yellowstone about 5 weeks ago. We stayed in the Mountainside KOA at West Yellowstone and were very happy with their accommodations and at 7 or so miles to the entrance, not too bad. We tried to see Old Faithful, but in the 30 years since either of us had been there, it was disappointing that it had become a vehicle and people 'zoo'. Too much else to see in the park then watch a crowd ooh and ah every hour or two - and several other geyser spouts are almost as good viewing and a lot more regular.

And those bison who decide a morning walk down the road is good exercise - yep .....

I'm almost convinced that bison have a sense of humor. "Hey Mike! Look what I can do."m as the traffic piles up behind him.

Joel

[Mac99]

I was there in late June. Can get chilly at night, but, based
on your descriptions you should be fine.
We had great weather, warm days and not so cold evenings.
It was perfect. Fourth of July in West Yellowstone was great !!
Good luck.