Yellowstone National Park CG September ??

[Dave1956]

Greetings,

We are planning a trip to YNP 2nd week September. A few questions.
1. Is this a good time, decent weather?
2. We have e 25 ft coach, can we try fist come first serve CGs, or is that a risk?
3. We have 4 nights and we're thinking of day tripping and using different CGS as we travel.

Thanks in advance for comments and advise.

Dave

[casaazul]

I would not plan on FCFS and would get reservations at least for the first night. Not as many families, but still many people are visiting the park. Check this link for which campgrounds will be open and what time they fill. https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/campgrounds.htm

We enjoyed camping at Madison CG and other friends enjoy Canyon CG.

[richardcoxid]

Some general information about YNP (some general items apply to GTNP also)

YNP is BIG!, about 45 miles E/W and about 65 miles N/S (2.2 mil. Acres total). The “figure 8 grand loop” road inside the park 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, or to say it another way is that you will see one half as much as you planned on in the allotted time. The Bison think that they own the road (they do!) and will slow down the traffic to walking speed or stop all traffic for 1/4 mile or more blocking both directions of travel, the thermal attractions also tie up traffic and with a 5 month long summer tourist season that coincides with a 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 (for uninterrupted night construction) 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 to your CG! (The entrance stations will have current construction information or go on line to check it out)

Then there is the elevation- YNP ranges from a low at Mammoth- 6239 ft to 7784 ft at Fishing Bridge or higher if you go hiking and there are passes on the grand loop road that are close to 8000 ft or so! Drink plenty of liquids and pace yourself when walking.

I recommend that you get up EARLY, leave the CG and be back by 4 or 6 PM have dinner and be sitting in your recliner drinking a cool one when your neighbor drags himself back to the CG at 8-10 PM. Remember that from mid May to mid July in YNP the sun doesn't set until about 9:30- 9:45 PM then there is a long twilight.

Cell Phone Service- Only at the major visitor centers, otherwise non-existent!

Clothing- Especially in the early or late season it is not unusual to have a 30 or even the occasional 40 degree temperature change throughout the day. Dress with easily shed layers of clothing. Also dress in bright easily seen clothing. I am sure that we all have been to a sporting event, parade or Disney World etc. and we blink our eyes and our partner/child has disappeared. My DIL was born and raised in HI, you guessed it, every Xmas, b-day or Father's Day I receive a Hawaiian shirt. One of them is shiny black with 4-5 inch dia. bright flowers. Not many of them in Wyoming and in YSNP, that is what I wear. If your partner has on a Violet blouse and a Orange scarf with a Pink hat I guarantee that she will be the only one within the boundaries of either NP. It can save you a few anxious moments.

Water- Now I will have to contradict myself, at the altitude of YNP yes, drink lots of water! HOWEVER, be aware that the flush toilet restrooms are are in the major tourist areas- Mammoth, Canyon, Fishing Bridge, Lake Hotel, Bridge Bay, Grant Village, Old Faithful, Madison Junction etc. The geyser basins and other thermal attractions areas only have pit toilets. I have seen the pit toilet line at the lower Geyser Basin (2 R/Rs) 25 or more feet long (bless the tour buses) So be smart about drinking your water and use the major tourist area R/Rs before leaving the area! I.e. “Never pass up a flush toilet!”

Sun- At YSNP altitude the Sun is intense (uv)have and apply sunscreen, wear that old floppy wide brim sun hat, wear Sunglasses!

If your luck is like mine Old Faithful will have just erupted when you get there and you will have up to a hour and 10 to 15 minutes wait for the next one. Tour tour the O/F Geyser basin while waiting. O/F INN is a must see, reportedly the largest LOG building in the U.S. (Meals in the O/F Inn dinning room are “A OK” also.

We have lived about 110 miles from West Yellowstone, MT since 1964, go to YSNP 3-4 times a summer (normally before Memorial Day and after Labor Day) and haven't seen it all yet! So don’t be discouraged that you didn’t have the time to see all of it. Just plan on coming back another time!

I honestly don’t mean to scare or discourage you but to give you a heads up as to what to expect! After all there was 4.1 million visitors in 2015! As far as I know we didn’t lose one of them. Except those who by their own stupidity step off the board walks into BOILING HOT water and ignoring the warnings about the WILD ANIMALS! That is called purifying the gene pool!

Note I have seen on this blog and others about folks “day tripping” from YSNP to GTNP, it is done all the time (myself included) however remember this is BIG country and with the speed limits, animals and thermal attractions you will be doing a LOT of driving. From Grant Village Visitor Center (extreme S/E corner of the lower loop road) to Jackson, WY is about 80 miles with Coulter Bay being about 1/2 way then from Grant Village you have to add the distance to your CG it will be a Long days trip!

A point of Coulter Bay (GTNP) clarification- there are two (2) CG’s at Coulter Bay, One the “Coulter Bay RV Park” a full service “RV Park” with FHU’S that takes reservations. The other is the “Coulter Bay Campground “ has no hookups and doesn’t take reservations. Both have about 300 sites and are basically across the road from each other.

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 MEAL TICKETS/ TABLE 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 championship twice". If you decide to go you will sit at picnic type of bench seats/table, they get pretty hard, I recommend that you take along a blanket/pads to sit on. We day trip it there 2-4 times every summer just 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 on your trip! Check out their website.

Bar J Chuckwagon

Also in Jackson check out the “COWBOY” bar, the bar stools are saddles and the # of Silver Dollars in the bar. The Wort Hotel Bar (just around the corner from the Cowboy Bar) also has Silver Dollars imbedded in the Bar

[SKP Kirk]

Having lived in WY for 18 years and visited Yellowstone many times both when living there and since, by visiting in September, most families with children will be long gone and the traffic will have slowed considerably from the summer months but it will be busy. September is the third busiest month so I would make reservations if you wish to stay in the park, just to be sure. I would not recommend moving the RV unless you plan to move to the new campground each morning and then go sight seeing.

[J Birder]

DW and I have spent the first two weeks of September in Yellowstone, each of the last three years. The crowds are down, but certainly not gone. There were usually parking spaces at the major attractions, but sometimes we would to wait a bit for somebody to leave. The campgrounds at Madison, Grant, and Bridge Bay, and Canyon were completely full. Tower c.g. is not very good for RV, and also is not well located. Most of the sites at Mammoth Hot Springs are fairly small. The other fcfs campgrounds tended to fill ip before 10:00 a.m., every day. /I would not suggest trying to do it without reservations


As for the weather, it didn't snow last year. In each of the two previous years we did get snowed on in 2017, the exit over Sylvan Pass was closed fo about 12 hours. I'm not sure about the other passes. That being said, Yellowstone is absolutely beautiful in the snow.


Joel

[twogypsies]

If you don't have reservations I'd recommend planning to stay at Colter Bay campground in Grand Teton Nat'l Park (300 non-reservable sites) the previous night and drive to Lewis Lake campground in Yellowstone for your first stop. It rarely fills in Sept. Then leave and be at your next campground by 9am for a site.

We've gotten sites at Bridge Bay and Madison (reservable campgrounds) by just stopping to see if there were any cancellations. We lucked out.

You really need to be at the non-reservable campgrounds by 10am at the latest. Earlier is better. Allow driving time between campgrounds.

In Grand Teton Nat'l Park Colter Bay and Gros Ventre campgrounds rarely fill even in the summer. If you get there in the mornings you'd get a site.

You have a small RV which is a big plus. You can squeeze into almost any site.

Somebody gets those first come sites. Hope it's you!!

[ernest917]

We were there last September and place was packed.... (retired folks like us) also they start closing down so keep that in mind...

We got some great deals at the store also because they were shutting down the next day....

[ernest917]

Grant Village shut down mid-Sept....

[Busskipper]

Originally Posted by Dave1956

Greetings,

We are planning a trip to YNP 2nd week September. A few questions.

1. Is this a good time, decent weather?

Yes when it is and No when it isn't - As people will tell you the Weather in YNP is as varied as it can be - snow to upper 70's is what you should plan for - IMHO it will be Great - Our best trip was in Late October, first week of November 68-70 every day and 32-40 every night - More animals than People Loved it.

2. We have e 25 ft coach, can we try fist come first serve CGs, or is that a risk?

I've never had reservations - really don't see the issue especially with a 25' er.

3. We have 4 nights and we're thinking of day tripping and using different CGS as we travel.

Only Problem with 4 nights is you will need to come back - it is a BIG PARK.

Thanks in advance for comments and advise.

Dave

Couple of notes - Supplies are usually running out so bring what you need - Cody has a Wal*Mart - There are lot's of things to see and do Outside the Park.............

September is still crowded.

Sometimes you get luck, fewer people and great weather late

[Dave1956]

Thanks everyone for the advise. I think we will go for it and try beginning at Tetons. We do plan on more trips once we both fully retire, so this will be a shorter one to at least see a bit of the park

If we were so unfortunate as to get fully shut out, what would be the best exit out of the park to find some camping options?

Best regards,

Dave

[J Birder]

Going out the NE entrance, there are a bunch of national forest campgrounds along hwy. 212. Soda Butte and Colter are both less than 10 miles from the gate, and do not tend to fill up.



If you do go that way, don't miss driving the Beartooth Highway between Cooke City and Red Lodge. At almost 11,000 ft., it is one ot the most spectacular drives in the country. Don't let anybody talk you out of it. I'm a flatlander from Illinois, and I tow my 5th wheel over it with no problem. The Rock Creek overlook is a must. and has lots of parking. The top of the World store is worth a short stop too.



Also, the Beartooth Cafe in Cooce City has excellent food at quite reasonable prices, and they have a craft beer list of more than 50 varieties.


Joel

[MapleKing]

I'm also planning a visit to Yellowstone in September. I've been there several times so I know what to expect but I do have a question about site reservations having next stayed in the park campgrounds before. We are looking to purchase a new class c in the next month or so and tow our Edge behind it. When making reservations, does the site need to accommodate the full length (no more than 50' depending on which model we get) or is there enough room to park the toad next to the RV?

Most of the models that we are looking at are 30-32' but might consider some 27' models if we need to keep the total length in mind for places like Yellowstone where longer sites are more limited.

[twogypsies]

Originally Posted by Dave1956

Thanks everyone for the advise. I think we will go for it and try beginning at Tetons. We do plan on more trips once we both fully retire, so this will be a shorter one to at least see a bit of the park

If we were so unfortunate as to get fully shut out, what would be the best exit out of the park to find some camping options?

Best regards,

Dave

If coming from the Tetons and entering the south entrance of Yellowstone and you didn't find a site on your way to Madison campground then the best exit would be to West Yellowstone & there are many campground there - RV parks, state parks, national forest campgrounds. Baker's Hole national forest campground is about 5 mi. north of W. Yellowstone and is very nice. No reservations accepted there. Some sites have electric. We like the back sites along the Madison River.

Here's a good read for all the entrances and how the drives are:

http://www.rvtechmag.com/travel/4_yellowstonebyrv.php

[twogypsies]

Originally Posted by MapleKing

I'm also planning a visit to Yellowstone in September. I've been there several times so I know what to expect but I do have a question about site reservations having next stayed in the park campgrounds before. We are looking to purchase a new class c in the next month or so and tow our Edge behind it. When making reservations, does the site need to accommodate the full length (no more than 50' depending on which model we get) or is there enough room to park the toad next to the RV?

Most of the models that we are looking at are 30-32' but might consider some 27' models if we need to keep the total length in mind for places like Yellowstone where longer sites are more limited.

Since we don't make reservations we just drove in with our 40' motorhome towing the Jeep and got sites in Bridge Bay, Madison and Mammoth campgrounds. There are no standard parking layouts. Most sites are single width though. You have to sometimes be creative with parking to stay on the parking pad.

I don't know how they decide when you make reservations.