Yellowstone trip in August

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Roadhappy

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Okay, this is where I'm at with our August trip

Day 1 - San Angelo TX to Kansas, stopping at a Walmart to sleep.
Day 2 - Custer State park South Dakota
Day 3 - Custer State park
Day 4 - Custer State Park
Day 5 - Custer State Park
Day 6 - Custer State Park
Day 7 - Cody W.
Day 8 - Cody W.
Day 9 - West Y.  Grizzly park
Day 10 - West Y. Grizzly park
Day 11 - West Y. Grizzly Park
Day 12 - West Y. Grizzly Park
Day 13 - West Y. Grizzly park
Day 14 - West Y. Grizzly park
Day 15 - Tetons
Day 16 - 17 - 18 -Head home

Questions - Would it be better to stay inside the park at Yellowstone or will 6 days give us enough time to see a lot from west yellowstone.  Fishing bridge doesn't sound that nice.
Also is it easier to take the east entrance into yellowstone and drive through pulling the 5th wheel to get to West yellowstone. 
We are taking 3 days to get back to San Angelo TX from the Tetons.  Am thinking about stopping in colorado to see Mesa Verde dwellings.  Any thoughts?
 
Here is my opinion. You have Custer and the Tetons backwards. I would do one day at Custer and 5 days at the Tetons. I think the Tetons is one of the most beautiful spots in the country. I prefer it over Yellowstone.

If you have a toad then either Fishing Bridge or West Yellowstone will work quite nicely. Yellowstone is over 2 million acres and requires a lot of driving to see it all, and every corner of Yellowstone is worth visiting. Don't worry about what Fishing Bridge sounds like, you will not be spending very much time at your campground when at Yellowstone.

Grand Tetons to San Angelo via Mesa Verde in three days is almost 500 miles a day. I would skip Mesa Verde and drive directly from the Tetons to Texas and do it in 4 days. That would be 300 miles per day which is a lot more reasonable pulling a 5er.
 
From Cody, going through the park to get to West Yellowstone is considerably shorter than going North to I-90 to US-191 South to West Yellowstone. If you stay at Fishing Bridge, you would minimize the number of mountain passes you would have to tow the 5er over to get from Cody to the Tetons. You can compare the different routes through the park using this interactive map http://www.nps.gov/features/yell/interactivemap/index.htm .

Grizzly is a very nice RV Park as are some of the others in and near West Yellowstone. West Yellowstone has some attractions like the Grizzly Bear Center. There are also some campgrounds with electric hookups in the Gallatin National Forest not far from West Yellowstone.
 
Only two days at Cody, you will surely miss a lot. We spent 4 days there and didn't want to leave then.

BTW, we liked Fishing Bridge.
 
I agree with Tom, in that you're shortchanging the Tetons. Last year we spent 5 nights at the Tetons, two in W. Yellowstone (Grizzly), and three in Cody. Of course so much depends on your personal preferences, which won't always match those of others. Also, I'd look at no more than two or three days at Custer, depending on whether you're going other places near the Black Hills, such as Deadwood, Spearfish Canyon, Reptile Gardens, etc.
 
I will have to rethink the trip.  I thought it would take at least 5 days in South Dakota to see the bad lands, mammoth digs, devils tower, Crazy horse and Mt. Rushmore plus drive the loops.  Also from the posts I've read, the Tetons did not have much for trails and things to see except from the car.  Am I wrong about that. 

Robin
 
Roadhappy said:
I will have to rethink the trip.  I thought it would take at least 5 days in South Dakota to see the bad lands, mammoth digs, devils tower, Crazy horse and Mt. Rushmore plus drive the loops.  Also from the posts I've read, the Tetons did not have much for trails and things to see except from the car.  Am I wrong about that. 
Click to expand...
The Travel Channel has a program called "The Ten Best National Parks in North America to View Wildlife". The number one park was The Grand Tetons, Yellowstone was number three. One of my all time favorite hikes is located at the Tetons, the Swan Lake loop. Oxbow Bend is probably the best single spot I have ever seen for wildlife viewing and photos. Not only is the scenery awesome there, but at sunset the place turns into a zoo without bars. Bears, moose, elk, deer, beaver, river otters, swans, eagles, osprey and pelicans show up just about every night.

The great thing about the Tetons is that it is never crowded like Yellowstone. People just drive right though it in a great big hurry to get to Yellowstone. You never need reservations at the Jackson Lake Campground unless you want hookups.
 
We made a similar 3-week trip from NY to Yellowstone in 2007 and hit a lot of the same sights along the way. We spent 6 days in the KOA in West Yellowstone and drove into the park each day. It required some extra driving time but it worked ok for us and did not create any hassles. We only spent 1 day in the Tetons. We were one of those that Tom mentioned and "drove right through" but with family and employment responsibilities, some compromises had to be made. We'll get back there someday to check it out in more detail.

Is it better to max out your stay in 1 park and barely see the others or try to spend just a few days in many parks? That's tough to say and depends on a lot of factors. We have no regrets about the way we spent our time. Whatever you decide, have fun!
 
Most people, myself included, don't realize just how big Yellowstone park really is. No matter where you stay, there will still be a lot of driving involved if you want to see most of the park. Also consider traffic jams, once we got stopped for most of an hour due to buffalo crossing the road and the rangers stopped all traffic. We was stopped on top of a hill, so got lots of good pictures.
 
zzyzx said:
The Travel Channel has a program called "The Ten Best National Parks in North America to View Wildlife". The number one park was The Grand Tetons, Yellowstone was number three.
Click to expand...
There is no question that is true today.  Back before they burned down half the Park and turned the Wolves loose, Yellowstone was the best place in the lower 48 to view wildlife.  I went to college in Bozeman and go back to the area every couple of years.  Teton and Jackson Hole has always been my favorite for its natural beauty and small crowds.

zzyzx said:
Oxbow Bend is probably the best single spot I have ever seen for wildlife viewing and photos. Not only is the scenery awesome there, but at sunset the place turns into a zoo without bars. Bears, moose, elk, deer, beaver, river otters, swans, eagles, osprey and pelicans show up just about every night.
Click to expand...
The last couple of times I've gone to the Oxbow Bend it has been quite crowded, but nothing like Yellowstone gets.  I love the place.
 
Joezeppy said:
Is it better to max out your stay in 1 park and barely see the others or try to spend just a few days in many parks?
Click to expand...
Nine years ago when I started full timing I spend the first six months visiting one western National Park a week. 26 weeks, 26 parks. I always felt like one week was never enough to see most of the parks. I have returned to many of these parks many times sometimes spending as much as two months at the park and never getting bored.

The next year I did the same thing with the eastern NPs doing 20 parks in 26 weeks and also spending time in Washington and NT city. There were many parks back east that one week was way too much, but I won't mention names or I might upset someone.

If you have never been to any National Parks it might be better to spend a few days in many parks to see which ones you really want to come back and spend more time in. However doing it this way you will probably use more gas.
 
Looking at it again and deciding to cut one day off Custer and one day off Cody so it will give us 3 nights in the Tetons.  Cody sounds nice but we are not much on Museums and have seen enough Rodeos.  We really like walking trails and seeing the wildlife.  We went to Sequoia and Yosemite last year and only had 5 days between them and could have kicked ourselves.  Needed a week at least for each.
 
Our biggest attraction around Cody was the St Joseph Highway and the Beartooth highway, said by some to be the most scenic in the country. Trips up to Cooke City and Red Lodge was fabulous. Talk about the top of the world WOW.
 
Yellowstone contains 2.2 million acres. It takes time to see and appreciate all it has to offer. The Grand Tetons are mostly seen from the valley. Attached is a photo of a lucky moment in 2010 at Oxbow Bend in the Tetons.
 

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I never tire of looking at that picture.  It's one of my all time favorites.  :)

Margi
 
Marikie and Tom,

Thanks, that is my lucky photo. It won the Defenders of Wildlife contest two years ago in the wild lands division. Just as I was about to release the shutter, the moose wander into the river.

Margi,

It's my favorite, too! :) We have a 13X22 hanging in the galley.
 
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