Planning trip to Yellowstone

[Dardale]

Hi all, We are planning a trip this coming summer to Yellowstone. We have reservations at Grizzly RV Park in W. Yellowstone. We are using Rt. I-90 from Ohio and going north of Yellowstone to the W. entrance.

We have never been in the mountains with our RV. Our questions are, when we leave W. Yellowstone for home, we are planning to go around the grand loop Rd to the east exit and follow 14/16 to Cody then spend a day or two. Leave Cody on Rt. 120/20 southeast to Casper. ..... Has anyone driven this planned route and if so are there many steep grades we should be aware of and are we missing Big Horn Mountains this way?

We have a 07 Winnie class A 30ft. and will be towing four down CRV.

Can't wait for summer!!
Dar and Dale

[Pinz6x6]

I have never driven the way you are leaving, so sorry I don't know those roads. If you were to exit the south entrance of Yellowstone you would see Teton National Park on your way to Hwy 80. Teton is on the same must see list of places as Yellowstone.

[CurbCrusher]

Dar and Dale,

We did a Yellowstone trip back in 2010, and being from Florida I was worried about the mountain driving. I think the definitive work on Yellowstone is from rvcruzer at RVcruzer.com - Driving Routes for Large RVs into Yellowstone National Park

We had been further west, so we approached from Salt Lake City, and spent a night in West Yellowstone at the Grizzly park before driving around the Grand Loop Fishing Bridge for our stay in the park. We then took the east exit out of Yellowstone through Cody and took the trip over the Big Horn mountains on 16. I had considered taking the trip through Casper to avoid the mountains, but in the end decided traveling in a straighter line to the Black Hills (our next stop) was preferred. Details of our Yellowstone trip start in our blog here.

I have to say I was very (VERY) nervous about driving in the mountains. We have a 35ft Itasca and were towing a Vue. For our entire trip out West we never had any problems, and I never felt like I was loosing control. For all but one decent (the switchbacks on 120 out of Yosemite) I just used the grade brake on that comes with the Allison on the Workhorse chassis, and was able to control the rig with no problems.

Good luck and great travels. I'm jealous, because I want to go back to Yellowstone.

Steve

[RVThere]

I have done EVERY route coming to and from the East entrance of Yellowstone.

Your route above is the only one that avoids the steep grades and mountain climbs.

Stop in Thermopolis for the hot spring pools!

[DKO]

You are in for a beautiful trip. 89 from I-90 to Gardner and 191 from I-90 to West Yellowstone are both fine for RVs in my experience. Either route should be no problem for you to negotiate. Grizzly RV park is the most accessible park in the area as far as big rigs go and West Yellowstone is a neat little touristy town.

I have been across 14 between Cody and I-90 in a pickup and absolutely loved the drive. Would I take my MH through there? Maybe to save a life but under no other circumstances...

16 out of Worland doesn't look much better on the map although I have never been that route.

Taking 120 to Thermopolis and then 20 to Casper and I-25 and then home on I-80 looks to be OK. I am sure there is somebody on here that has been that way or can advise you differently.

Enjoy the trip and enjoy Yellowstone.

DKO

Edit: Looks like "somebody on here" already came through while I was typing.Lol

[Dardale]

Thank you all so much for your great responses.
It makes us feel better knowing that we won't have a lot of steep climbs on this return route and we can now start to plan our stopovers for the trip home.
(PINZ6x6)While in W. Yellowstone park we were hoping to drive our toad down to Grand Tetons for a day trip, is that possible in one day?
Thanks again everyone, you are all the greatest!
Dar & Dale

[Old Trucker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dardale Hi all, We are planning a trip this coming summer to Yellowstone. We have reservations at Grizzly RV Park in W. Yellowstone. We are using Rt. I-90 from Ohio and going north of Yellowstone to the W. entrance. We have never been in the mountains with our RV. Our questions are, when we leave W. Yellowstone for home, we are planning to go around the grand loop Rd to the east exit and follow 14/16 to Cody then spend a day or two. Leave Cody on Rt. 120/20 southeast to Casper. ..... Has anyone driven this planned route and if so are there many steep grades we should be aware of and are we missing Big Horn Mountains this way? We have a 07 Winnie class A 30ft. and will be towing four down CRV. Can't wait for summer!! Dar and Dale

Hi Dar & Dale, I am a retired cross country trucker. I Have not traveled from the park to Cody to Thermopolis, but I have traveled 20 from Thermolopis to Casper several times. It is just gently rolling, no problems there. There is some beautiful . There is some beautiful from Cody on US 14 A and US 14 as well as US 16 all go back to I-90. These routes are steep and crooked, but that is where the scenery is. I assume your RV is gas? A dinghy brake on the Crv may be advisable on the above mentioned. But nothing steep on I-90 from Ohio to Yellowstone. You might consider US 14 or 16 back to I-90 and check out the Black Hills. There are lots of ways to go and lots of things to see on alternate routes, like I-90 one way & I-80 the other. I drove the same truck 3,145,000 miles on the SAME truck, plus others, I could probably route you to see many things. If I can help, call me 812 346 4396 or cell 314 610 2622, happy trails, old trucker

[DKO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dardale Thank you all so much for your great responses. It makes us feel better knowing that we won't have a lot of steep climbs on this return route and we can now start to plan our stopovers for the trip home. (PINZ6x6)While in W. Yellowstone park we were hoping to drive our toad down to Grand Tetons for a day trip, is that possible in one day? Thanks again everyone, you are all the greatest! Dar & Dale

Our first trip to Yellowstone we based at Grizzly RV Park in West Yellowstone and had a great time. One morning we left and drove the west side of the bottom loop in Yellowstone stopping at Old Faithful for an hour or so to watch it go. Then on around and south all the way through Grand Tetons.

We stopped at several places to look around in both parks and had a nice picnic in the Grand Tetons. We went back up to Yellowstone by the same route. We decided to push it and drove the east side of the bottom loop. We went up to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone then across the middle of the figure 8 and back to West Yellowstone.

It was a long trip but one we will never forget. It probably would have been better had we skipped the east side of the loop that evening but it made for a memorable day.

It is long but completely doable...

DKO