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Old 01-10-2013, 02:43 PM   #1
F3fifty
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RV Parks in Yellowstone and Grand Teton NP

I'M trying to quickly reserve camping spots for a a two week vacation to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. Trip will be last two weeks of May and does anyone with experience in these two parks have input on where to stay. 36 Ft Montana so we will need some space. Why May? because I love spring in the Rockies and wildlife / landscape photography is my hobby. IM reading that the Fishing Bridge is a good place to camp any feedback would be appreciated. I will be traveling from Western Washington.
Thanks
 
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Old 01-10-2013, 02:50 PM   #2
scattershot
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Grizzly CG in West Yellowstone is one of the best I have ever used. I recommend them highly.
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Old 01-10-2013, 03:30 PM   #3
Fire5er
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X2 on Grizzly RV park http://www.grizzlyrv.com/
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Old 01-10-2013, 03:51 PM   #4
tbhd2
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Fishing Bridge is the only campground in Yellowstone with full hook-ups. Space is very limited. If you make reservations make sure you let them know that you have a large unit. Some of their sites you won't fit in. Not sure if Fishing Bridge will be open that early. Depends how much snow is still there.
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Old 01-10-2013, 04:25 PM   #5
BusyCarol
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F3Fifty we stayed at Fishing Bridge for 5 days last September during our maiden voyage with our Monty. We LOVED the location because of how central it was to the ENTIRE park. We went to all but one of the entrances and we drove down to the Grand Teton's for a day trip. However, if you have never stayed there I want to caution you about a few things just so you are prepared. I will give you the good, the bad, and the ugly(based on our 5 day stay and in our opinion of course).

Our rig is a 3100RL and is about 36' (if I remember correctly). They have spots for 40' rigs and 35-39'. I would highly recommend one of the 40' spots. In the pictures below we are in one of their 35-39' spots because we weren't planning on buying a new trailer and they were sold out of the 40' when we did.

The GOOD:

1. It is very near to a store(very nice), gas station, a ranger station, a mechanic (which we ended up using and they were great), and Lake Lodge if you want to have a nice dinner.
2. It is very quiet, or at least it was during September and I think May would be about the same
3. It is fairly cheap
4. Great service at the entrance and they have all of the park services right there for your convenience.
5. Full hookup! Everything worked great!

The BAD:
1. FB is more like a parking lot than an RV Park. It was designed a long time ago for the people who towed their RV with a station wagon (like an airstream type). The whole idea is that you are not going to be spending a lot of time at your campsite. You are going to be seeing the sites of YNP.
2. Because it is more like a parking lot spaces are VERY close together. In some cases you may not even be able to lower your awning.
3. Lots of tight spots but there are LOTS of the HUGE rigs that stay here and were able to move around and even get in and out with a TOAD behind them.
4. Not the nicest looking spot(again...it is more like a parking lot)


THE UGLY:
1. For us, our first time with our new rig, it was a little difficult to navigate. However, it was our fault. We arrived VERY LATE (i.e. 11PM), to a park that has very little lighting and we had very little experience parking a 5th wheel. You pull down a road and then back in to your spot. However our spot had trees on both sides so it was hard to get such a long rig into such a spot. That is why I recommend the larger spots.
So really there isn't any UGLY...except our lack of experience!

I have heard that this year they are remodeling some of the site to make it more convenient for the bigger rigs. I do not know when that will happen.

For safety sake you are not allowed to leave any food or anything outside your rig at night because of the bears and bison that tend to walk right through the camp!

These are pictures from our 5 day stay.







I hope that helps! Please do not hesitate to ask me any questions you might have. We really enjoyed our stay there. Many people told us we would hate it and that was NOT the case at all.
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Old 01-10-2013, 08:40 PM   #6
Wayne and Carolyn Mathews
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Grizzly RV park in West Yellowstone, yes! Clean, landscaping, level sites, friendly staff. We've stayed there 3 times and have had a pleasant exerience each time.

Carolyn
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Old 01-11-2013, 01:38 AM   #7
1retired06
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by scattershot

Grizzly CG in West Yellowstone is one of the best I have ever used. I recommend them highly.
Absolutely beautiful park, right outside the Yellowstone gate
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Old 01-11-2013, 02:48 AM   #8
Gkerlin
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Not sure of what your preferences are as far as "camping" but let me take a slightly different tack.

To each his own for sure - but I hate RV parks and go out of my way to try and find somewhere with a bit more privacy so that while enjoying the luxuries of the RV life, I can still enjoy the great outdoors a bit like I did when I backpacked, camped etc.

In West Yellowstone you have Bakers Hole NF campground a few miles north of town. No reservations but a nice campground.

About 15 miles west of W Yellowstone on US 20 is Henrys Lake State Park in Island Park, ID.

Its a nice campground on a lake with great views. Not a lot of trees so its a bit like an RV park with more space between sites - but with the views and things to do in the area a decent option.

Numerous other NF campgrounds in the East and West areas as well - some with electric - that you could fit into and take reservations.

In Teton NP we like Gross Ventre Campground at the south end of the park. It's close to Jackson for day trips and good hiking in the area. A bit of a drive to the northern end of the park but you can usually find a spot - especially in May - without too much trouble.

I think Busy Carol gave a decent pro/con for Fishing Bridge. If you like RV parks than you probably wont mind it because of the central location. I might be wrong but I didn't they they were remodeling the sites to make them more big-rig accessible - I think they were just redoing some of the electric that was installed by Thomas Edison.
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Old 01-11-2013, 03:06 AM   #9
jsmitfl
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Red Rock RV Park in Island Park Id. 20 miles from West Yellowstone.Check out their website. Lots of room and cheap that time of year. Also Teton Vally RV in Victor Id. 23 miles from Jackson Wy.
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Old 01-11-2013, 04:19 AM   #10
BusyCarol
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Thanks GKerlin for the info on the NF sites! Our trailer is new to us so we haven't had much time to try some of the more private locations. We will definitely have to look into some of those as we are only a few hours away from YNP.

As for the remodeling they upgraded the electric in 2011 and it worked fine for us in 2012. Here is the link about the article I was referring to. It mentions the upgrade for Fishing Bridge in the bulleted points. Thought those of you who visit YNP might be interested in the article:

http://www.yellowstonegate.com/2012/...one-lake-area/

Great input from everyone! That is one of the many things I love about this site. We may have to try Grizzly RV Park. Sounds nice!
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Old 01-11-2013, 04:35 AM   #11
Gkerlin
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Carol,

Coming south from your neck of the woods you might also want to check out Red Cliff NFCG on US 191. Its a few miles south of the turnoff to Big Sky, Mt. Elec and non elec sites along the Gallatin River. We stayed there the year before last for a few days and loved it. Great hiking, river rafting etc. LIke a lot of NF campgrounds the sites can be tight to get into but worth it IMO.

Rainbow point NFCG is another in the W. Yellowstone area. Several miles of dirt road to get there, but another one with electric, shaded sites in heavy pine and on a lake. The road in was pretty washboard the last time we were there in 11 but certainly do able. Bakers hole was my favorite in the area but tougher to get into due to the large electric sites (many pull thrus) and no reservations. We arrived early on a Sunday morning and got a prime site and stayed for 2 weeks. We had Moose and Bison in the Campground and bear along the Madison River.
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Old 01-11-2013, 04:51 AM   #12
BusyCarol
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Thanks Greg for the input! I have printed out this post so I can file it in our future trips folder! Now if I could just find the folder!

I am really hoping we get quite adept at backing our rig into tight spaces because there are a lot of great places nearby that are not really designed for our size rig but once you get into the spot you fit nicely...it is just the backing her in with narrow roads and trees on both sides. I also want to try more boondocking because this rig seems well designed for it. Our old rig was good for about 2 days because the tanks were smaller and it wasn't well insulated. Q will be a good test of boondocking for us since we will be there for 4 nights.

Thanks again for the feedback!
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Old 01-11-2013, 09:46 AM   #13
Chip
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We did Fishing Bridge, in Yellowstone last summer. It was Great. We stayed in Colter Bay in the Tetons, was great, better then fishing bridge as far as campgrounds go.

You should have no problem in May, just ask for a large site.

We also stayed at Henry's Lake State Park west of Yellowstone. It was very nice and worth the trip.

Enjoy
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Old 01-11-2013, 10:42 AM   #14
8.1al
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We enjoyed Fishing Bridge. The sites are small but we didn't spend that much time there. We also enjoyed the fact that we were much closer to much of the park.Just remember the average elevation in Yellowstone is over 7000 ft. and it could be quite cold in May. We were there the second week in June and had a high of 47 the whole week
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Old 01-12-2013, 08:58 AM   #15
F3fifty
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Hey, this is great feedback just what I was asking for. Now to plan the trip, Actually, wife and lived in Wyoming for a few years(Cheyenne)about 35 years ago and grew tired of shoveling snow so we moved to Washington. Probably going to start at Grand Teton for 3-4 days then drive to north to West Yellowstone for few more then up into Montana and spend some time along the Gallatin River valley. We will basically make a loop and come back to western Washington from Missoula and Lolo Pass HWY 12.
Thanks for the information, I'll post some pictures from the trip. Now to make some reservations. Love this forum.....
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Old 01-12-2013, 09:15 AM   #16
BusyCarol
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Safe travels! Looking forward to the pictures!
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