Routing thru Yellowstone - Montana Owners Club

exav8tr · 05-13-2008, 06:30 AM

Will be off to Yellowstone soon, staying in Island Park on west side, then off to Cody. Looking for info on travelling THRU Yellowstone, west to east and then on to Cody. Anyone done this? If so, how was the ride through the park? RECOMMENDATIONS??????

Thanks, Phil & Cathy

lwcdg · 05-13-2008, 07:30 AM

Phil, I'm in the Badlands right now and we'll be leaving and heading towards Rushmore, Custer etc this afternoon. It looks like its cold with possible rain. They just had snow 2weeks ago so it should be fun. Winds are blowng 30+mph be careful driving.
Chuck

richfaa · 05-13-2008, 07:59 AM

Avoid the Custer KOA at all cost..Worst KOA we have ever seen..There is a nice C.G right next door.

HamRad · 05-13-2008, 09:59 AM

Phil and Cathy,

Be prepared to go very slowly almost anywhere in the park. The roads are very narrow and they are always doing a lot of repair work. Then anytime there is a "critter" sighting the roads will clog up! People will stop right in the middle of the road.

Just start taking the loops. Plan on a minimum of at least one day per loop! There is so much to see and the park is HUGE!

Enjoy.

Dennis and Mary Kay

boat391 · 05-13-2008, 01:28 PM

The wife and I stayed in the park at fishing bridge rv last sept. had a great time its a slow go as park speed limit is 45 mph for the most part we have a 3400 they don't get much bigger than that didn't have any problem going through the park the camp ground was a little snug but we were able to keep our truck at the same site we took a trip out to Cody for the day and had a great time it's a bit of a drive but we did it in the same day good wal-mart there too stocked up on alot of stuff all in all we had a great trip went on every road in the park and plan on returning in the next few years stayed down at the Grand Tetons for three days also so as you can see I pulled the monty everywhere without any problems good luck and truly take the time to enjoy your trip so much to see and so little time happy trails if I can be of any help just pm me I will respond if needed

Pete Hanson · 05-13-2008, 01:53 PM

I have to agree with Rich.....avoid the Custer KOA. We whitnessed a very bad situation there caused by the manager. The campground wasn't very good either and they claim to be the first KOA in the nation.

ols1932 · 05-13-2008, 03:33 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by exav8tr

Will be off to Yellowstone soon, staying in Island Park on west side, then off to Cody. Looking for info on travelling THRU Yellowstone, west to east and then on to Cody. Anyone done this? If so, how was the ride through the park? RECOMMENDATIONS??????

Thanks, Phil & Cathy

We traveled through Yellowstone from west to east, then through the Big Horn Mountains pulling the rig. But if you really want to see Yellowstone you should plan on spending a couple days. I assume you will and you're just asking about traveling through from one side to the other. It can be done, but plan on going slow, very slow, in some spots.

Orv & Marge

scattershot · 05-13-2008, 04:19 PM

If you haven't made reservations yet, you might want to check out Grizzly Campground in West Yellowstone. great place. I can't add too much to what others have said, but allow more time than you think you'll need, and slow down and enjoy the scenery and wildlife. That's why you're there, after all.

Maybe they have improved Fishing Bridge since I was there last, but when we were there our next door neighbor had to ask us to retract our slide so he could unhook. That's CROWDED, brother!

BirdingRVer · 05-13-2008, 05:35 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by exav8tr

Will be off to Yellowstone soon, staying in Island Park on west side, then off to Cody. Looking for info on traveling THRU Yellowstone, west to east and then on to Cody. Anyone done this? If so, how was the ride through the park? RECOMMENDATIONS??????

Thanks, Phil & Cathy

Hello Phil,

We are currently at Grizzly RV Park in West Yellowstone. We drove through Island Park yesterday there is a lot of snow on the ground between here and there but the road was dry for the most part.

The question of driving THRU the park just now is changing day to day. Currently not all of the roads are open in the park. They are plowing everyday but, they also have had some new snow recently. You might want to call ahead to see if the roads you need are open.

The roads in the park are 35 to 45 mph, narrow and have buffalo and elk wander across them. We didn't see any 5th wheels in the park today but, there are Motorhomes on the roads so I don't think you will have any problems going thru the park.

As others have said it takes at least a day to do the each of the park loops. There is just so much to see here that it took us 2 hours to go 35 miles today.

Why Island Park? It is about 30 miles over the hill from here and we are about 35 to 40 miles from Old Faithful. If you can get in here at Grizzly RV Park it is one of the nicest RV Parks we have ever been to. They are plowing the sites open with a skip loader and are opening another 5 or so site a day. Of the 198 sites here they have about 30 open so far which twice what they had open last week.

To see recent pictures, check out blog http://BirdingRVers.com for May 12th or our slide show at: http://s292.photobucket.com/albums/
mm16/BirdingRVers/WestYellowstone/?albumview
=slideshow
Please use short form to post long links. Thank you. RVWheels

Grant

gojodo · 05-14-2008, 03:29 AM

As another alternative there is a Forest Service campground about 5 miles North of West Yellowstone called Rainbow Point, water, Electric and dump, at $10 or so a night it can't be beat. In fact if you fish it is right on Hebgen Lake, the headwaters of the Madison River. Enjoy John

gojodo · 05-14-2008, 03:32 AM

By the way, if you are traveling to Cody by way of the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone and over Beartooth pass, be sure and talk to someone who has done it lately with a big rig. I was under the impression it was pretty tight for anything like a Monty.

BirdingRVer · 05-14-2008, 03:39 AM

Currently May 14th. The road from Canyon to Lamar valley will open on May 23rd and the road from Canyon to West Thumb will re-open on May 15th or 16th. The road to the east entrance near Cody is open.

exav8tr · 05-14-2008, 05:56 AM

Our plan is to be in the Yellowstone/Grand Teton area from Jun 11-18. This is why Island Park. We plan on holding up at Hill AFB in Ogden, UT for about three weeks. Hopefully snow will not be a problem then. Also it is a Passport America park and with the exuberant cost of fuel we are trying to cut some costs by staying at these parks. I just thought that crossing thru the park to Cody would be the quickest and most direct route, without having to go to Bozeman/Livingston MT and then south to Cody.

padredw · 05-14-2008, 09:37 AM

We stayed at Island Park in the Red Rock RV Park Summer before last. That was our base for visiting in Yellowstone for a few days. We felt it was worth the extra miles to be in Red Rock. Steve and Vicki Reigle stayed longer at Red Rock just after we had left.

We drove all the loop roads that were open, but did not go on out to Cody. Just replying because we also stayed in Island Park. It is a most interesting and scenic area in its own right as well as a base for Yellowstone.

adelmoll · 05-14-2008, 12:03 PM

We have taken the road from Yellowstone to Cody many times... The latest was July of last year... There is construction and sometimes you have to wait your turn but it is not a problem in the Montana at all...

One thing I have to say though is the drive from Bozeman down to West Yellowstone, going past Big Sky is one of the prettiest that we have ever been on.. The one from Livingston isn't too shabby either. I sure would hate to see you miss it... If you check out my blog from last July 4th you can get an idea...

Helen

BirdingRVer · 05-15-2008, 03:46 AM

Phil,

If you are coming to Yellowstone in June I am sure all of the roads will be open but, as Helen said there will be construction. This is the URL for Yellowstone Road Conditions: http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/hours.htm

padredw,
Since the travel inside the park is so many miles to anywhere adding 60 miles to each day trip seems to be excessive. Island Park must be really special if you think it worth those extra miles. When we drove thru there the other day it was mostly covered in snow. We will have to revisit the area in the summer.

Note to all,
Grizzly RV Park has winter rates until the end of the month which are much better than the summer rates.

Grant

sreigle · 05-15-2008, 06:53 AM

We stayed the same place Padre did, for a month, and enjoyed the solitude and the park. But, with today's fuel prices it's a bit far out. It's 23 miles to the West Yellowstone gate. Plus 15 inside the park to get to a loop road.

As others said, figure to have slowdowns and stops within the park.

Another possibility for you if logistics work out is Fishing Bridge CG right within the Yellowstone NP. We've visited friends who were staying there. It is not the prettiest park but it's not bad and has some full hookups, if I recall (doublecheck that). It is for hard sided rigs only. It's a great location for getting around Yellowstone.

Phil, when we were at Island Park we did Grand Teton NP in a day trip. What a gorgeous place! I wouldn't mind spending some more time in that area.

8.1al · 05-15-2008, 01:39 PM

Phil,
We spent a week at Fishing Bridge and enjoyed it's somewhat central location and it has full hookups. If you have thoughts of continuing east from Cody to Sheridan be aware that there is a long, steep 10% grade both up and down on the way there.

boat391 · 05-15-2008, 03:03 PM

Phil I hope you got my e-mail I sent it right back to you and hope it helps out if not let me know I'll resend it happy camping to you

sreigle · 05-15-2008, 05:41 PM

Phil, Red Rock Rv Park is a nice place. It is five paved miles from the highway and very quiet. It is close to Henry's Lake, a premier (so I hear) trout fishing lake, if you like to fish. When we were there the wifi was free and good. If you do not have a satellite dish, be aware you will be up against a mountain and the only antenna reception you will get is one very snowy PBS station. Also, there is no cell signal in the park. The owner has a very tall antenna on the office and he said he can get a verizon signal on it and if you stand next to his antenna you might get a weak signal. We had cingular. We got a signal on the hill near the lake and also a couple miles back toward the highway. We pulled off into a pasture to make some calls and ended up surrounded by cattle being herded by cowboys on horses. It was kinda funny when our granddaughters asked what that noise is.

We enjoyed that park but, to tell the truth, with the cost of fuel today and the number of times we went into Yellowstone during our month in the park I suspect the cost of the extra fuel would eat up our rv park savings. But it's a nice location and quiet.

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