Trip to Montana need help planning!!!

[Foster]

Looking for advice and places to stop along the way from Anahuac, Texas to Montana. We are looking at Yellowstone and Jacksonhole. This will be a summer trip in July.

[padredw]

Well here is the way we went a couple of years ago: 1 night in Texas (but you would likely spend two from where you start). Second night on Raton Pass at the Cedar Rail Campground. Next, Cheyenne Mountain State Park at Colorado Springs. - - - Skip ahead to Colter Bay RV Park in the Grand Teton National Park, but you could obviously go on to Yellowstone. We have been to Yellowstone several times, so on this trip we just drove up from Colter Bay. On an earlier trip we stayed over in Idaho at Red Rock RV park in Island Park and drove into Yellowstone (about 20 miles from RV park to entrance.)

Now, this summer we are going from Cheyenne Mountain up through Wyoming, but skipping Tetons and Yellowstone. Staying at Casper, then at Big Timber, MT. One night at East Glacier then 3 or 4 nights at Hungry Horse for visit to Glacier National Park.

These are just highlights; details would far exceed the proper limits of this forum.

Our trip will go on through Washington state and Oregon before turning back at Crater Lake to head through Nevada and Utah for more days in Colorado (Ouray and Gunnison). Santa Fe will be our last destination before heading home with a couple of nights in Texas before getting home.

[lfw]

Foster... we are headed up to Montana and Yellowstone when the snow melts.. right now we are in Ruidoso, NM... will be here for at least a month.. finally got out of TX..been in TX for 6 months.. a long story..
We are also looking for some good campgrounds and places to see along the way.. We plan to spend a month in southern Utah before heading north.. hope the snow is melted by then..We will head north out of Flagstaff, AZ.. at least that is the plan right now...

lfw

[Wayne and Carolyn Mathews]

We are fulltimers who call Montana and Texas home. In fact, we're about to leave Matagorda (TX) and head back to Montana at the end of the month. No matter how you go, once you are in the "touristy" areas, you should have reservations or else you may find yourself staying at a Walmart or truck stop. Both Jackson Hole and Yellowstone RV parks (in West Yellowstone) are booked months in advance for the summer season.

Two other places that can be hard to get reservations in are Cody and/or Cheyenne, Wyoming. Again, they're such huge summer crowd draws that the RV parks are booked well in advance.

In Montana, we live in Dillon, less than 2 hours from Yellowstone, so we go over there frequently. We stay at the Yellowstone Grizzly RV Park in West Yellowstone, a large, beautiful RV park right at the West Entrance to the park. Yellowstone itself does have one RV campground, at Fishing Bridge, but the spots are very tight and it's pretty basic. Other MOCers have places they recommend, too, so I'm sure you're get additional places to contact.

You're going to have a wonderful trip--we love the areas where you'll be traveling. One caution about Montana (not really a caution, if you like the snow): On the Friday before Mother's Day of 2011, the Dillon/Butte area had the worst blizzard I'd seen there since 2002, and after work that day I was stranded in Dillon because I-15 had been closed from Butte through Dillon and on to Idaho Falls, Idaho. And on July 12, 2011, we had an 11" snowfall after a beautiful day with temperatures in the mid-70's. Like a scout, be prepared!

I don't know what the dates are for Cheyenne Frontier Days this year, but whatever they are, expect everything along I-25 from Sheridan, Wyoming to Trinidad, Colorado, to be full during that time. One year I left Montana without reservations anywhere and headed for Houston with a popup camper and my ailing 74-year-old mother. Sure enough, I caught the Frontier Days celebration and ended up sleeping in the car in a motel parking lot in Trinidad. That was a long haul for one driving period, but I had no choice. The truck stops were full also, and back then, Walmarts were non-existent along that route.

Even without Frontier Days, if you travel I-25 through Colorado and Wyoming, places to stay are difficult to find unless you have reservations. That's not to say you won't find a place to stay, but it can be difficut.

Carolyn

[Foster]

Thank y'all for the responses. Would y'all recommend purchasing a small generator for the trip? We haven't traveled much up north so I'm looking for advice on what to pack for the trip.

[jsmitfl]

Ennis has a good CG, Its never completely full. Redrock RV Park 20 miles from West Yellowstone is great. Just get some reservations for July or August. The generator is nice if your stopping at Wally world or Cabelas for a sleep over. Have fun. What Carol says about July 11,2011. Be prepared you never know.

[BusyCarol]

We live in Billings, MT yearround at our S&B and as everyone has stated if you are going to a touristy spot like the Grand Tetons or Yellowstone make sure you have reservations! We have stayed at Fishing Bridge and as Carolyn stated the spots are tight but if you get a 40' spot they are fine and they have full hook-ups. I have included a picture of our rig in a slightly smaller spot than the 40' (we had a travel trailer when we made the reservations and 3 days before the trip we bought the new rig). We LOVE Fishing Bridge because it is close to everything in the park! They also have a grocery store, a mechanic, a ranger station(nightly ranger talks), and a gift shop right around the corner(walking distance) from Fishing Bridge. We have heard that Grizzly RV Park is also amazing but it is located outside the west entrance to the park.

Wherever you stay, as Carolyn also stated, make sure you are prepared for the weather as it can change at the drop of a hat! I was driving my daughter in the middle of June to Red Lodge, lower elevation than YNP, and it snowed when it was 70 degrees the day before! It can also be very hot in July...you just never know!

Bring binoculars, and a spotting scope if you have them. Always carry your jackets, hats, raincoats, in the car because you want to be prepared for bison jams and elk crossing where you may want to take pictures but don't want to be freezing at the same time!

Here is us at Fishing Bridge:


Have fun!