!st major Monty trip

[yogib1b]

We'll be heading west out of MI for the Black Hills, Deadwood SD, and Yellowstone Oct 1st. 3 week trip, finishing up on the Bighorn mtns near Hyattville. We need advise and opinions on campgrounds near deadwood. I know Yellowstone could be interesting, and it looks like only Madison and Mammoth would be the only sites open to us. Good showers nearby are important or water access. Advise Please !? Thanks to all!

[adelmoll]

I don't know which Montana you have but if it is one of the bigger ones, Fishing Bridge is about the only park you will fit in at Yellowstone. A word of caution though... Oct 1 could be really cold and lots of snow at that time as well as the Black Hills. It is beautiful though without all the tourists. September 30th is the Buffalo Round-up in Custer State Park. Exciting event!... We did have snow in the higher elevation one year the end of September. It melted fast but once it starts in Yellowstone it is there until May. You won't have any trouble finding campgrounds at that time of the year but many will have the water turned off so call ahead.

Helen

[Wayne and Carolyn Mathews]

I'm not sure you'd enjoy staying at Fishing Bridge no matter what size your Montana is. Small, basic campers do ok there, but the sites are tight (do you have slides?) and the campground is barebones basic. Our 38' Monty won't work there. Another thing to keep in mind is that Fishing Bridge campground closes on the 30th of September (earlier, if "big winter" arrives prior to the 30th. You can check out closing dates on this site:

http://www.us.national-parks.net/camping.htm

We live less than 2 hours from Yellowstone and make at least two trips over there a year. No matter what the "open/closed" dates state, the weather is king there and determines what is and is not open or accessible. Expect anything--snow, sleet, hail, sun, heat, rain . . . The temperature can be below freezing in the morning, with snow, and in the balmy 80's by noon.

Enjoy your visit--it is a GREAT place to "recapture your soul."

Carolyn

[RickW]

I would suggest staying in Gardner, MT. Mammoth is just inside the North Gate, Gardner is outside the North Gate. Staying in Gardner will only add about 2 miles per pay but in Gardner you should be able to find full hookups. The camp ground at Mammoth has no hookups.

My wife and I do an annual trip to Yellowstone. In 2008 we went in late September for the first time. We had night time lows in the upper 20's with daytime highs in the 50s. Luckily it did not snow on us unlike June this year. Due to the temps I am sure you will be running the furnace. While the furnace is LP you still need 12v to run the blower. I don't know how long the battery will last for the blower with out electrical hookups. The most I have ever done running the furnace with out hookups is one night. I am sure some of the regular boondookers will have a better answer on how long they can go in those temps with out having to recharge the battery.

[Art-n-Marge]

I can only comment on Yellowstone.

You have two basic choices. First, keep in mind Yellowstone is a 100 mile by 100 mile square Park as the crow flies - in other words it's HUGE. Your first choice is staying outside of the park and driving all day long to get to the things you want to see in Yellowstone or your second choice is staying at centrally located Fishing Bridge in Yellowstone next to a large lake, because it's the only place that can support large rigs but it's cramped spacing.

Outside the park you'll have more space at your site, but if you are gone all day because everything is a longer drive then you won't be spending much time at the CG anyway. Expect to drive about 150 to 200 miles a day at about 45 mph slower driving if you want to go to all corners of Yellowstone which may not allow a lot of time at each point of interest.

Fishing Bridge being centrally located is a 75-100 mile trip to each corner of the Park (half the distance) and many less hours in driving time because the more you drive in Yellowstone the longer it takes because of stoppages, traffic and animal watching. I hope you are recognizing that I am highly recommending staying at Fishing Bridge even if it's crowded.

Two other considerations. I went to Yellowstone in late September to beat the summer crowds, which we did, but we ended up in an early winter storm. The daily temperature averaged 39 degrees even with little to no precipation. Fortunately, I had the foresight to pack parkas and ski pants when we left home even when it was 91 degrees outside at the time. The other thing is Fishing Bridge is the only campsite that allows for advance reservations. Look for the information on the internet and lock in a campsite. You will need to provide the length of the RV and the TV so they can fit you in.

NEW EDIT!!!!!!!!! Fishing Bridge will be closed when you get there. Besides Madison and Mammoth the link below shows other campgrounds that might still be open. Check the name of the CG and when it's closed. Then you will need to make sure your rig will fit.

http://www.yellowstonenationalpark.c...ng.htm#Camping - Yellowstone National Park

[sreigle]

I usually recommend Fishing Bridge because of its central location. We stayed at Red Rock CG at Island Park, ID and enjoyed it a lot. However, it's 23 miles just to get to the west entrance of the NP. If you'd prefer to stay outside the park, there are numerous RV parks in West Yellowstone, just outside the gate. Many of those can handle your size, no problem. I know Fishing Bridge has water and electric at the site. I'm not sure about sewer.

Helen, we had sleet and snow near Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, inside the NP, in August the year we were there. And at our RV Park we got 3 inches of snow overnight. Just once, though.

Yogib1b, that sounds like a great trip. Enjoy. Also, there are a good number of rv parks south of Deadwood, down around Hill City and closer to Mt. Rushmore. I'm sure there are others but I'm not sure what's close to Deadwood.

[yogib1b]

Thanks to all for the advise so far. We have a 3670, 05 model 3 slides. I'm told Mammoth would work cause the sites are mostly pull through, but I will call. Very important to make this a great trip for my wife so I'm planning early.