Entering Yellowstone National Park?

We will be leaving home(South Bend, IN) the end of August to head to Yellowstone and the Badlands.  We have a 38ft. diesel motorhome pulling a Jeep and was wondering what the best route would be and which entrance is best to enter Yellowstone?  Some ideas of good campgrounds and things that are a must see in these places are of interest also.  Thanks...can't wait to get started.

When we went, we stayed in Gardiner in a campground outside the park, and used the Jeep within the park.

I would suggest coming in from the south and first stop at Grand Teton National Park for a few days. I actually like GT better than Yellowstone.

We stayed in West Yellowstone at the Grizzly RV Park, which was very nice.    Would definitely stay there again.  It's about a 35 min drive in the toad to Old Faithful.  We've entered Yellowstone from Cody, Wyoming via the East entrance and from Grand Teton via the south entrance.

In September, I would recommend stopping in either the SD or ND badland.  IF ND, stop at the Roosevelt national park and also Glendive for the state park in the badlands.  If coming through SD, stop at Devils tower in WY after stopping at the Black Hills.  IN MT stop at Crow Agency/Garry Owen and tour the Custer battlefield.

When you get to Billings, take a side trip to Red Lodge and take your towed and drive up the mountain on the Beartooth HWY and then on to Cody on the Chief Joseph Hwy.  Return via an alternate route or come back the same way, the scenery changes are interesting and all you have done is reverse the route. 

Then either HWY 89 to Gardner from Livingston or 191 from Bozeman, although I usually recommend coming to Belgrade and fueling before heading to Yellowstone, cheaper than near the park.  191 is very scenic and follows the Gallatin River a good part of the way.

A comment about Bozeman, the Museum of the Rockies is there and they have great dinosaur exhibits.  The curator there was the technical advisor on the Jurassic park movies.  He has some "interesting" theories and approaches. 

There are other more southern routes but I am not familiar with them, one at Sheridan, another at Buffalo and the third at Casper WY.

Cody WY is an interesting but small town.  The museum there is great.

Whatever you do, do not miss the Grand Tetons.

If coming in early September, I recommend coming through Billings and taking the Beartooth HWY, if open.  September is our season for change so be prepared for cold, teens or lower, and snow.  If you have snow, it will be gone in a day or so.  OR, you miss it all, bad weather that is.

BTW, September and October are my personal favorite months in MT, not too hot nor too cold, autumn seasonal changes and lots of wild life coming down from the mountains.

Have a great trip.

We were in and out of Yellowstone last year for two months, staying in Ennis, about 70 miles northwest of the west entrance to the park and "commuting" in and out.

It is an incredibly large venue and everyone has their favorite things to see and do. You cannot do it justice in a short period of time so pace yourself.

There are a number of posts from forum members who have made the trip and you will find their comments interesting and informative. I would recommend not trying to wag your motorhome through the park more than necessary because of the traffic, but use the Jeep.

I don't know that you can go wrong from any direction, and we missed getting to Cody and the museums which I really regret because of all the things we found in the park.

It's a feast - take your time and have fun! It was the most memorable event for us in our two years of fulltiming. And we will get back again because I feel we just scratched the surface.

Jim Godward said:

There are other more southern routes but I am not familiar with them, one at Sheridan, another at Buffalo and the third at Casper WY.

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If you are going to cross the Bighorn's, I'd cross at Buffalo to Ten Sleep.

I lived in Worland and went to Sheridan a lot for a year, and that was the route we took rather than going over Hwy 14/ Hwy 14A near Sheridan.

Oly

Thanks, I kind of know my way around Montana although it has been a few years since Wolf Point, Scoby and Plentywood and the Hi-line in general and a lesser number since SE MT but other than Cody we have not explored eastern WY at all.

Thanks everyone for all of your helpful information.  Love hearing what everyone has to suggest and say. 

Cody is a good way in, as is the south entrance, getting your fill of Grand Tetons NP. Tom is jaded, but we all have our opinions no matter how misguided.  Of course, since I work and live in Yellowstone, I suppose my opinion is just as jaded and misguided. 

Gardiner is interesting place to stay and visit from.  Staying in the park, Fishing Bridge CG is the only one with hookups. 

West entrance is West Yellowstone, a number of CG's available.  Shortest distance to Old Faithful (34 miles) from an outside CG.  The park is huge, if only a few days, concentrate on an area.  Jolene and I work at the Bookstore at the Visitor Center at Old faithful.  Jim and Pat Dick are also there.  Kamper Dave and Sue work at the Canyon VC bookstore.

Enjoy your visit.

Shortly after entering Wyoming from SD on I90 there is a rest area / information center. It is a little way off the highway and easy to miss, but is worth the stop. The exhibits are surprisingly interesting and you will pick up tons of info for the rest of your trip.

There are three ways to cross the Bighorns. U.S. 16 is the easiest, but also the least scenic IMO. U.S. 14 is steeper, but should not be a problem in your rig. Stop at the visitor center and see Shell Canyon.

Just west of Burgess Junction, 14A splits off. I?ve done it several times in a 19? class B, and will do it later this year with a 27? 5er. It goes to Cody also, but you probably want to avoid it. It has some nasty grades (see the photo). If you do decide to go that way, plan to stop off at Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area just before Lovell. It has scenery that looks like a mini Grand Canyon. Wild horses and bighorn sheep wander around the roads there.

Joel