Yellowstone NP

[Tridot]

Just noticed that Bridge Bay Campground is running special pricing in July of this year, fyi.

[twogypsies]

Can you explain and give a link?

I found this.... $33/night ..... the same as Madison.

https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/campgrounds.htm

[Isaac-1]

We are staying at Bridge Bay in late June, early July, as to the pricing I got an email that Xanterra is doing 25% off pricing on booking rooms inside the park this week for Earth Day, I don't know if it applies to Xanterra managed campgrounds. I can say this though, Bay Bridge was cheaper than some other campgrounds when we booked it, likely due to the lack of on site showers or laundry.

[Tridot]

This seems to apply to only Bridge Bay and in July. Found it on the Yellowstone National Park Lodging website. While Madisom and Bridge Bay do not have showers, showers are available at other campgrounds( for a fee) and Fishing Bridge is close to Bridge Bay.

[twogypsies]

OK... here's the ad. The offer expires April 29.

https://www.yellowstonenationalparkl...ark-week-sale/

[SafariBen]

Most of the longer RV sites are sold out, so don't get too excited. Lots of smaller sites available yet.

[Isaac-1]

This is definitely the case, we reserved a 40 ft site at Bridge Bay in January, and could only get 5 nights in a row there, so we added 1 more night at Grant Village before we head to Grand Tetons for another 4 nights there. 40 ft site should let us shoe horn in our motorhome and TOAD car (29.5 ft for the coach, 12 ft 5 inch for the TOAD), though the TOAD is short enough that we can often park it diagonally in many sites and shoe horn into even shorter sites than the combined length.

[High Road Travelers]

Originally Posted by Isaac-1

This is definitely the case, we reserved a 40 ft site at Bridge Bay in January, and could only get 5 nights in a row there, so we added 1 more night at Grant Village before we head to Grand Tetons for another 4 nights there. 40 ft site should let us shoe horn in our motorhome and TOAD car (29.5 ft for the coach, 12 ft 5 inch for the TOAD), though the TOAD is short enough that we can often park it diagonally in many sites and shoe horn into even shorter sites than the combined length.

Where are you staying at the Grand Tetons? I will be there in early July and have found a place in Alpine to stay. Have never been before, but will go to Yellowstone after the Tetons.
Thanks,

[Isaac-1]

We are dry camping in the park, 3 nights at Colter Bay Campground, then 2 nights at Gros Ventre, My wife is flying home afterward out of the Jackson airport, only a couple of miles from Gros Ventre campground (well 7.4 miles to be exact), since she has an afternoon (surprisingly cheap) flight, I will then stay 1 more night before beginning the drive home to Louisiana. We have 1,110 watts of solar panels, 420AH of LiFePo4 batteries, and an 80 gallon fresh water tank so camping off grid with no hookups is not a big deal for us.

[Sunnyfalls]

We go to Yellowstone either the day it opens or a couple weeks before it closes. These photos are from 2023 when it first opened and we dry glamped in Madison CG for 3 weeks. Pretty much had the CG to ourselves and we got to see bison, elk, grizzly and wolves from our campsite. We can easily get our 17' Casita trailer into the smallest of tent sites and can dry glamp forever as long as we can source food, water and propane once a week.

Gayle & Bob
"Los Gatos Casita"

[twogypsies]

Originally Posted by Sunnyfalls

.... we dry glamped in Madison CG for 3 weeks.

What's with "dry glamped"?

[Sunnyfalls]

Originally Posted by twogypsies

What's with "dry glamped"?

Because that is what we now do...comfortable "glamorous" luxurious stays in very remote but road accessible "camping locations" without any hookups...Dry Glamping...

When we have hookups, we call what we now do Glamp Docking...

Back before the RV craze when there were mostly only tents and small trailers, the terms camping (water and maybe electric at the campground) and dry camping (no water or anything else at the campsite).

But we can't really call what we now do dry camping, because we are not roughing it like back when we did backpack, canoe, horse, and kayak trips to the boondocks in our younger days. We now have all the comforts of our home in our small RV including a toilet heated bidet seat...

And since one can't get an RV to a real boondock...real boondocks are NOT road accessible...the term Boondocking tends to be used by inexperienced outdoor wannabes or people just wanting to pretend they are somehow doing something more significant to impress others or improve their broken self-esteem.

Some photos from one of our Bowron Lake canoe trips...and plenty of wildlife including grizzlies will visit your tent site at night too.

https://bcparks.ca/bowron-lake-park/

Gayle & Bob
"Los Gatos Casita"

[twogypsies]

Originally Posted by Sunnyfalls

And since one can't get an RV to a real boondock...real boondocks are NOT road accessible...the term Boondocking tends to be used by inexperienced outdoor wannabes or people just wanting to pretend they are somehow doing something more significant to impress others or improve their broken self-esteem.

Wow! I guess I'm not fond of your definitions. Yes, you can get even a 40' motorhome in a gorgeous true boondocking area 25 miles down an unpaved forest service road. We done it often which led us to beautiful lakes and streams. "Boondocking, also known as dry camping or dispersed camping, refers to camping in a remote area without access to hookups like water, electricity, or sewer. It's a popular form of off-grid camping, offering a chance to experience nature and disconnect from the hustle of daily life. "

What you may have in mind is wilderness camping where you hike in with a canoe on your back or paddle to a campsite. That's not boondocking. Your given link above states you were "wilderness canoeing"; not boondocking. We rafted through the Grand Canyon on the Colorado River for 8 days & slept on the shores but it wasn't called boondocking.

BTW... there's a section in this forum for 'Boondocking'.

[UTTransplant]

My standard advice for Yellowstone during crowded seasons is to get up EARLY, like 5:30 or 6:00 am, and get into the park. You will see so much more when the roads aren’t wall to wall people and there are still parking spots available at the scenic sights.

As for for Sunnyfalls definitions, well, let’s just say ours are different. Mine are wilderness camping is backpacking (we’v’e done a little) and canoe camping (we’ve done a lot), mostly in wilderness areas. Boondocking is camping off-grid not in an established campground. Dry camping is when you have a campground (designated sites) but no services provided. Then again, the words don’t matter much as long as you enjoy what you’re doing.