Yellowstone Trip Planning

[Mtnboy]

The wife and I are planning a 4 day trip to Yellowstone this summer, hoping to do some hiking/backpacking, maybe a night or 2 in the backcountry and some general site seeing.

Anybody been before and have some "must see areas" ?

 

[neverquit]

I'm also in the planning phase. Including 2 days each way from phoenix we are setting aside 10days. A friend gave us a book I forget the exact title but it like Yellowstone off the beaten path. They followed it last summer. They avoided most of the crowds and have the best trip of there lives.

 

[DaveC]

Yellowstone's funny in that the roads are ridiculously crowded, but the backcountry is almost empty. This contrast is much stronger than in any other National Park.

All the big-name tourist spots are worth seeing. The thermal features near Old Faithful, Old Faithful itself, Yellowstone Falls, bison in Hayden Valley, etc. If you can do this early or late in the day you'll save yourself a lot of grief in the driving department. Old Faithful protip: stake out a good seat on the second-story outdoor balcony ~40 minutes before show time, get yourselves drinks from the cart inside, and relax. Two years ago you could enjoy Johnny Walker from a plastic cup.

Shoshone Geyser basin is a great destination for a short backpacking trip. Lots of ways to get there, but I like going in from Old Faithful and Lone Star geyser the most. If you care to do more days backpacking, headed south into the upper reaches of the Bechler River is awesome. Hot springs, waterfalls, great fishing, etc. The river fords on the Bechler are no joke, as are the mosquitoes, so that's a mid-August or later option. An out and back into the Lamar is also worthwhile, and has great fishing.

Book accommodations now if you can, the hotels and campgrounds fill up very fast.

 

[Eagle]

Contact me through PM with your number or email and I'll tell you what I can. I lived and worked in the park during the summer of 07 and backpacked every weekend I had available. Give me the following information and I'll give you my recommendations.

-Length of Trip
-Time of Trip
-Age and condition of the people going
-Your preferred terrain type (canyons/rivers/plains/alpine)
-Fishing?
-Wildlife?
-Horses?

 

[Flying Squirrel]

Mtnboy - I haven't spend much time in the southern two-thirds of the park, but I've spent a lot of time in the northern third (mostly in winter), and I've done a lot of backcountry up there (staying in park service cabins, mostly). IMO, hiking the black canyon of the yellowstone from the Hellroaring trailhead down to Gardiner is an awesome trip. Should take you two full days, more if you fish, and the fishing is good in there. The northern third of the park is in a kind of snow shadow and thus, sees the bulk of the elk wintering there. Antlers and sheds are everywhere off trail (but you can't take them). Another trip I would like to do would be heading up towards the head of the Lamar Valley. The Lamar river goes for quite a ways and from what I gather, the fishing is quite good.
Have a good trip and don't forget to soak in the Boiling River between Mammoth and Gardiner. And the Two-Bit saloon in Gardiner is a good choice as well.

 

[Brightwhite]

Contact me through PM with your number or email and I'll tell you what I can. I lived and worked in the park during the summer of 07 and backpacked every weekend I had available. Give me the following information and I'll give you my recommendations.

-Length of Trip
-Time of Trip
-Age and condition of the people going
-Your preferred terrain type (canyons/rivers/plains/alpine)
-Fishing?
-Wildlife?
-Horses?

Wow, nice offer here! I may take you up on your trip planning advice this summer if my wife and I make it up to Yellowstone.

 

[Eagle]

Wow, nice offer here! I may take you up on your trip planning advice this summer if my wife and I make it up to Yellowstone.

I'm happy to help. I love the park, no question there. One thing I'll mention though, is that for backpacking/scenery, I think the Beartooths and the Tetons are superior. Yellowstone is great for seeing wildlife in the Lamar River valley and in the Hayden Valley along the Yellowstone River, and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and Yellowstone Lake are beautiful, but if you aren't real high on thermal features, the rest of the park is just kind of meh, compared to the Tetons and the Beartooths.

 

[PA 5-0]

On the way out to and back from an Idaho elk hunt, we stayed in West Yellowstone Montana at the Park's West gate. Super cool cowboy town. Local fly fishing was awesome. Park was right there. Steaks were incredible. Hot tubs were even more incredible after getting broke down in the Clearwater National Forest!!! Steepist shit I was ever in without skis on.

Try to set aside a week. Sooooo much to see. I could easily kill an entire summer there. Best of luck.

 

[Eagle]

On the way out to and back from an Idaho elk hunt, we stayed in West Yellowstone Montana at the Park's West gate. Super cool cowboy town. Local fly fishing was awesome. Park was right there. Steaks were incredible. Hot tubs were even more incredible after getting broke down in the Clearwater National Forest!!! Steepist shit I was ever in without skis on.

Try to set aside a week. Sooooo much to see. I could easily kill an entire summer there. Best of luck.

All the nearby towns are great, Cody has the Buffalo Bill Cody Museum, Jackson has the Tetons and lots of great art galleries/stores for the ladies and restaurants, West Yellowstone has the Wolf and Grizzly Discovery Center, Gardiner has the arch (not much else though), Cooke City has the Beartooths (not much else here either though) and Red Lodge on the other side of the Beartooth Highway from Cooke City has some great restaurants. All the mountain towns are charming, but for some reason, Red Lodge is my favorite.

 

[patty59]

Contact me through PM with your number or email and I'll tell you what I can. I lived and worked in the park during the summer of 07 and backpacked every weekend I had available. Give me the following information and I'll give you my recommendations.

-Length of Trip
-Time of Trip
-Age and condition of the people going
-Your preferred terrain type (canyons/rivers/plains/alpine)
-Fishing?
-Wildlife?
-Horses?

What your recommendations for fly fishing north end of the park? I am planning a fishing trip but haven't decided where to go yet.

 

[Eagle]

What your recommendations for fly fishing north end of the park? I am planning a fishing trip but haven't decided where to go yet.

On the north end of the park, you've got three solid options. The Lamar River (Soda Butte and Pebble Creek), the Yellowstone River (Hellroaring Creek) and my personal favorite, Slough Creek. Slough Creek will require backpacking if you want to fish the best areas, the third meadow (furthest back) is the best and where I had the best fishing of my time in the park. I stayed at campsite 2S6 I believe.

As a caution, if it's hot and the water levels are low (which is possible with the low snow pack), the park will likely put a restriction on the fishing hours, or cancel fishing in certain streams all together at some point in July/August. Also, the streams can be impossible to fish during the spring melt which can last well into June.

 

[patty59]

Thanks eagle! And sorry for the hijack.

 

[mtswampfox]

All the nearby towns are great, Cody has the Buffalo Bill Cody Museum, Jackson has the Tetons and lots of great art galleries/stores for the ladies and restaurants, West Yellowstone has the Wolf and Grizzly Discovery Center, Gardiner has the arch (not much else though), Cooke City has the Beartooths (not much else here either though) and Red Lodge on the other side of the Beartooth Highway from Cooke City has some great restaurants. All the mountain towns are charming, but for some reason, Red Lodge is my favorite.

Beat me to it..love cody and the museum and so many other sites like buffalo bills hotel in town with the cherry wood bar sent by the queen of england

 

[dihardhunter]

If you're on the north side near Mammoth, swing up Specimen Ridge for a 10-12 mile loop hike. Do some digging to learn about the petrified forest remnants scattered off the side of that ridge and you've got yourself an excellent day hike. Backside of Specimen Ridge is breathtaking!

 

[dihardhunter]

Specimen Ridge