Yellowstone in summer 2008

[chinacat]

Hello all! I hope everyone had a happy holiday!  

We are starting to plan some trips for the '08 camping season (It helps with the cabin fever).  We are thinking about taking the big trip to Yellowstone this year. Can anybody give us advice on when to go, where to stay, how to save $$, etc.  This will be our first trip there in years and the first ever with the pop-up.  We would like to stay in a place with hookups and then just take day trips out to see things I think.  

Any veteran 'stoners out there with good advice? (That's Yellowstoners)

[AZsix]

Have you gone to the web and done any research there? You can also search this forum for old posts that may answer your questions. I did some research on the Grand Tetons and there are cg's there that are first come first serve basis but it says that they fill up late afternoon if at all. I know it's very hard to get a spot in Yellowstone and the last I saw on here I don't believe that they were allowing pup's in because of the bear danger.

I'm sure that in time someone will give you some first hand experience.

Good luck

[SpeakEasy]

There's only one of the Yellowstone campgrounds that disallows popups. That's the Fishing Bridge campground, if I remember the name correctly. All the other campgrounds in the park are open to popups, but they don't have hookups. When we did our Yellowstone camping trip we chose to stay at Norris Basin campground, in the park, without hookups. The park is so huge that we didn't want to waste time driving from a campground outside the park each day, just for the benefit of hookups.

-Speak

[mountainrev]

As has been said, the only campground with hookups in Yellowstone is Fishing Bridge, and has been discussed ad nauseum, no popups allowed there.  If you really need hookups, you'll have to stay outside the park.  There are several private campgrounds just outside the park that offer hookups.  You'll have to decide which entrance you want to be nearest (West Yellowstone, Cody, etc.) and go from there.

Another option would be to stay in nearby Tetons NP.  Colter Bay has two separate campgrounds, one traditional NP campground (no hookups) and one privately-run campground w/hookups.  We camped at the NP campground this summer, but had friends staying at the privately-run one.  It's packed with 5ers and Class C's, but I did see at least two popups there.  

It's about 20 minutes or so from Colter Bay to the south entrance of Yellowstone.

[Clarabelle]

Hello all! I hope everyone had a happy holiday!  

We are starting to plan some trips for the '08 camping season (It helps with the cabin fever).  We are thinking about taking the big trip to Yellowstone this year. Can anybody give us advice on when to go, where to stay, how to save $$, etc.  This will be our first trip there in years and the first ever with the pop-up.  We would like to stay in a place with hookups and then just take day trips out to see things I think.  

Any veteran 'stoners out there with good advice? (That's Yellowstoners)

We were there this summer.  As people have mentioned, they don't have hookups in the park.  We actually stayed at two places.  Yellowstone is big, so there can be a lot of driving to see everything.  The first CG we used was Grant Village.  It is reasonably close to all the famous geysers.  The second place we stayed (in the park) was Mammoth.  I always worry about there being vancancies, so we called for reservations at Grant Village a day before our arrival.  It was nice knowing there was a spot for us.  I don't believe Mammoth takes reservations, so getting there reasonably early is a good idea.  If you plan your arrivals on Mondays or Tuesdays, there is usually a lot of openings.

Fees at Grant Village are $18.00 per night.  Mammoth is $14.00 per night.  One of the perks of being an old goat was my having a Golden Age pass which cuts the fees in half.  

Good luck.  Yellowstone is a lot of fun.

[boukrev]

I have contacted the Park service and they have stated that only one campground is for large RV's and I think it's a snob thing. There are no restrictions on any campgrounds unless it is closed for Bears. If thats the case it will be closed period. My wife small kid (4year old) stayed just inside the north park entrance and were there the weekend before it opened and had the best time as no crowds to scare the locals away. All the animals were out in huge force including the elusive wolves. You may want to bring a good pair of binoculars or a spotting scope to see the wolves. The campground we stayed at was near the village and not a bad drive to anything at the park i.e. all the geysers. Hope you enjoy your stay. One suggestion is you buy a year pass to the National park sys. called a National Park Pass as this is money well spent. The campgrounds are about 20 a night. Bring in your own food and ice chest ice is pricey inside but food is way overpriced. Oh Yeah have fun.



Gregg