Anyone been RVing to Yellowstone recently?

[MEL T]

We are considering a month long western tour in August with no specific locations and schedules. We would like to see all the better tourist spots.
One of the places I would like to see is Yellowstone.
This will be our first major vacation in quite sometime and never with a 5th wheel so that is why I am asking prime members for help. To complicate matters my wife cannot walk but short distances.
I looked on the web at Yellowstone campsites and want full service but was worried about opening slides and parking my truck.

Any advice on Yellowstone or any other locations would be appreciated.

[Gohawks]

I'm not sure you want to go there without a plan during peak season. Everyone I talked to says plan it a year a so in advance.

[jgourlie]

My co-worker just went there last weekend, no plans or reservations, but they have a motor home which makes it easy to sleep on the side of the road as necessary.

With a fifth wheel for me I don't know if I could fly by the seat of my pants

[Mark S]

A buddy of mine is out in west Yellowstone now and called me yesterday. He said they are having a hard time finding camp grounds. Says there are a lot of foreign tourists right now.

I would make sure I have reservations if I were going in August. Just relaying what I was told yesterday.

[Oakman]

I wouldn't even consider going to Yellowstone NP without reservations. Fishing Bridge campground is the only one in the park with full hookups and trying to get in there without reservations would be an exercise in futility.

One more thing, overnight camping (tent, car, or RV) anywhere but in the campgrounds within Yellowstone is banned.

Winging it during the peak season near any major tourist spots isn't the best idea.

[dj3spots]

Went to Yellowstone two years ago and stayed at the Cody KOA. I too have mobility issues. This KOA has full service and is about an hour drive from Yellowstone. There are many easy driving routes thru the park; plenty parking spots along the routes with small "outhouses". Parking, such is at Old Faithful, puts you close enough to the attractions to make a short walk.. Beautiful country. And.... It's only a couple hour drive from Cody over to Montana to visit the site of the Battle of the Little Big Horn/Custer's last stand, which is well worth the visit. Hope you have a great trip. We visited in April and had reservations at the KOA.


Sent from my iPad using Forest River Forums

[clr]

I have a friend that just returned from Yellow Stone and camped in the park in a tent. As has been said Fishing Bridge is the only full service (hookups) in the park. This CG is always 100% full in the summer, do not try and wing it with out reservations here. This time of year you could always call and try to get reservations but your odds are very low. The other campground in the park do not have full hookups. There are two CG's that do not take reservations but they also are all most always full. If you try get there very early and there may only be 1 or 2 campsites, or none. You may have better luck outside the park and driving in, I would start call around for reservations if I was you. Good Luck.

[AquaMan]

You would have much better luck "flying by seat of pants" in Sept than in June-Aug. Those are peak months. We were just there at the end of June and everything was full. Had our reservations in Cody since Jan. A LOT of foreign tourists who tend to need a wide berth while driving rental class C's. Best advice would be to start calling, look for cancellations in and around the park, then plan your trip accordingly. Many things to see and do outside the park also. From Cody it's about an hour into the park's East gate. From Cody you can drive to Red Lodge, MT and drive over the Beartooth Highway (check to make sure it's open) or drive the Chief Joseph Highway into Cooke City, MT and enter the NE gate at Silver Springs. Both are absolutely beautiful drives. The Beartooth is not advisable with an RV.

[Telstar]

Give Grizzly RV Park in West Yellowstone a call. It's the very best place to stay. Just a few blocks from the west entrance and the town with restaurants and shops. Large pads and grass areas.

[NMWildcat]

We usually go in the West Gate to Yellowstone as we come through the Tetons and Jackson Hole. There are at least 3 good RV parks in or near the town of West Yellowstone. We like this one: West Yellowstone KOA RV Park, Campground, Cabins in West Yellowstone, Montana

But as mentioned above, in August (or really anytime) you better have reservations for any RV park in or near the park. And any amount of time you decide to stay near Yellowstone will not be enough

July and August are the busiest months so I would put off the Yellowstone leg until Sept. Also check the website for any road closures/maint in and around the park.

Have fun!

[RudysWorld]

Originally Posted by Telstar

Give Grizzly RV Park in West Yellowstone a call. It's the very best place to stay. Just a few blocks from the west entrance and the town with restaurants and shops. Large pads and grass areas.

^^ Grizzly is great. You are driving everywhere in Yellowstone so we wanted concrete pad with full hook ups to come home to and unwind.

[Mountndream]

we were in Yellowstone over memorial day. Every single campground was full by afternoon. We made reservations in Jan and still had to move from one site to another campground. (we were at primitive sites) Size is a big issue in the non reserve area.

YOU NEED RESERVATIONS in the park

[Remark777]

We camped there in June with popup tent camper. I had made my reservations in January. During the summer, the Park is full. For a fifth wheel, you might want to look into camping around West Yellowstone. There are several RV parks there and it is a short drive into the Park. Jackson and Cody also offer choices outside yet close to the Park. Driving in the Park is a challenge with rather narrow roads, rough paving, and heavy traffic during the summer. Camping outside the Park and doing day trips with just your tow vehicle may be easier. Be prepared for swarms of people. I've been to the Park many times over the years. This year's visit was somewhat marred by so many people everywhere. They were approaching wildlife and walking onto fragile geyser areas. I've not seen it this bad before and doubt that I will return in the summer for a long time. Visited last September and it was much better. Not as much traffic and fewer people. It is cooler and there is always the chance of snow but the it's worth the risk to avoid the swarms.

[Zargonians]

We tried to make reservations for September 1st for Yellowstone back in January. We have a 28 foot hybrid travel trailer (which rules out Fishing Bridge) and none of the other campgrounds that accept reservations could accommodate our size travel trailer + TV. They will not allow you to park on the roads and there is no overflow parking in which to park your TV. There were only a few sites in any of the campgrounds that accept reservations that would accommodate a truck/trailer combo of 40+ feet and they were already full in January. We were told that Mammoth was the only non-reservation campground that had sites that would work for us and there are no hookups at all there. We were so disappointed! But, we had planned to go and so we made reservations at Grizzly in West Yellowstone. We will be there a week. We made our reservations January 21st. I hope you have good luck finding a cancellation. If you can change your dates and go in early September, I'm told it won't be nearly as crowded. Good luck!

[f5moab]

I can say from driving through Yellowstone quite often (not for camping but as a short cut from where I live in ID to Cody), the different between the Tuesday after Labor Day weekend and July/August can be up to three hours faster.

[mur9335]

We just got back from two weeks out west to the Badlands, Black Hills, Devils Tower, Little Bighorn Battle Field, Yellowstone, Tetons and wagon ruts. I always plan my trips in a circle from home and back to see a lot. I called and setup camp grounds in advance and could not get into Yellowstone Park itself so stayed 7 miles west at the West Yellowstone Park / Mountainside KOA and had a great time. Yellowstone was really busy due to the 100th anniversary of the parks with lots of international tourists. We took our oldest grand daughter with us and she liked all the geysers and animals. Our RV is a Mercedes-Benz Forest River motorhome and we towed a car. The car comes in handy for traveling the park plus in the Black Hills there were tunnels. Only had one afternoon of rain so most days were sunny and warm. So much to see in our own country and always enjoy going west.

[spudston]

We stayed at Yellowstone Grizzly RV in West Yellowstone June 19th through June 26th. We made our reservation January 30th. While there, I noticed some unoccupied sites a few of the nights so perhaps there might be some cancellations. While touring the park I saw several "full" signs at the internal campgrounds. Many of the attractions in Yellowstone require some degree of walking but many do not. Also, what you can see from the car alone is beautiful and interesting and well worth the effort! So, I hope you plan well and enjoy your trip.

[Mmnsc]

Just came out of Fishing Bridge RV Campground. We have a 40 Ft Moho and I made my reservation last December. The park is very crowded this time ( been at YNP 4 times in the past). Would not make the trip without confirmed reservations. Prior to going to fishing bridge we stayed in Cody at the KO A for 6 days and made 2 trips into YNP through the east entrance. In my opinion the trip to YNP is PITA as it takes about 1 3/4 hours to get to fishing bridge before you get to travel the grand loop road and see most of the spectacular Yellowstone sights. I would not even think about staying in Cody and commuting into Yellowstone on a daily basis.
Cody is a great place to visit as there is much to see including the Buffalo Bill Cody museum.
You might also want to visit Jackson Hole Wy and the Grand Teton NP as it is spectacular. There are some campgrounds in the park that might have availability especially Colter Bay. We stayed at the Virginian CG right in town (they had some short term availability) and then moved onto Colter Bay. This is one of the most picturesque parks of the country. I hope you get to enjoy your trip.


Sent from my iPhone using Forest River Forums

[Kf4mnc]

As others have said, no way without reservations.

Also, for those that have stayed outside the park, good for you, but I wouldn't recommend it. The drive in can be several hours long and that is just to get to the entrance gate where you will wait yet again. We stayed at Fishing Bridge and had a leg up on all the outside campgrounds. I would not want to drive in each day, that is for sure! We stayed at Fishing Bridge and still spent several hours in the car each day. Folks do not understand just how BIG YNP really is!

Finally, regardless of where you stay plan to be at your first destination within the park by 6 or 7 and you will beat all the crowds! Alternatively, you can come in the evenings to get another view. That's how we view all national parks!

[Katja]

Just got back Monday from a 6 week trip that included Yellowstone. Stayed at Grizzly and reserved it in January of this year. When we drove in people started lining up behind us for any available spots (I think a few got in) We had two fifth wheels and two dogs. We took the back in sites at the very back and were able to 'hike' safely with the dogs in the many trails behind the campground (US Forest Service land) Within walking distance to banks, restaurants, two groceries, wonderful bakery, etc. but we drove anyway. The free (with senior pass) shuttle takes you to the NP and you take shuttles from there to the overlook points etc. Wonderful campground and the four days in Yellowstone and Grand Tetons were not enough. Hope you can get in and have a wonderful time! Sorry - the free shuttle was at Grand Canyon. We drove our own trucks around Yellowstone