Yellowstone
 

Have you (tent) camped there in the summer? Please tell me about your experiences.

No. I visited several times as a kid. Each time, the campsites were all full, and we slept in a field just outside the park borders. There were scores of other campers there too. I'm sure it was illegal, but the cops left us alone.

yeah, that's what I'm concerned about, and yet most of the campsites are non-reservable as far as I can tell from the website. Plus I hate to commit to exactly what day we would arrive....

Did you enjoy the park?

Yes. I liked it a lot. The geysers and bubbling mud pits were the most memorable for me. Plus, I had never seen a bison before then. This was 30 years ago, and the fires since then have changed it a bit, I understand. I recommend it.

Our kids love to camp and just explore nature. I think it will be awesome. but I'm worried about getting a site.

Mon try here http://www.reserveamerica.com/
its how we score cabins at a state park in Fla

Yes you can (and should) make reservations. They fill up quickly. Go through the Xanterra website http://www.yellowstonenationalparklo...mping-250.html

I camped there for 4 nights summer of 2008. It is absolutely gorgeous, and 4 nights was not even close to enough time.
Photos here: http://pruett.smugmug.com/Travel/Yel...58740252_BgVnp
Bring your own food. There are restaurants and very small convenience stores with a limited selection of fresh food.

The park is massive, highlights include the long staircase down to the base of the Grand Canyon falls (not for those who have a fear of heights. Not kidding at all, it is a simple metal staircase bolted to a sheer rock wall that goes down hundreds of feet), West Thumb geyser basin, Mammoth Hot Springs, Grand Prismatic, the Yellowstone Lodge, Roosevelt Lodge, and of course Old Faithful.
Summer in Wyoming can be odd. Bring light clothes for the daytime when it can be nice and sunny and hot, and a thick fleece and pants for nighttime when it can get cold. I'm talking 40-50F degree temp drop from high to low over a day. You will be at elevation too, so don't push yourself too hard hiking around if you live at sea level.
There are pay showers and pay laundry, bring quarters.

Want to know anything else just ask. I lived in Wyoming for a year back then, beautiful country out there. I hope you're driving!

Cool, thanks. I went online and it seemed that the nicest tent sites were not reservable -only the tent sites attached to the predominantly RV sites -is that not really the case?

Our first long road trip we made it to Devil's Tower, but didn't have time to extend it to Yellowstone. We near froze to death the first night near Mount Rushmore (in June) -we will not be turning up with just shorts and t-shirts for sure!

We camped at an RV site. It was actually nice because it was near bathrooms, level ground, place to park the car, and near the showers. Really all you need is a place to lay your head, you will be out in the park from sunup to sundown.
Badlands is a great spot too, worth at least a drive through. There's also the missile silo national park on the same highway. Very cool stuff, but you need to make a reservation for that way ahead of time because spots are very restricted.

We'd really like to avoid the RV sites, but maybe we should book one as a back-up. I will look into the cancellation fees etc.

thanks

...oh and thanks for the list of things to see -that is exactly what we needed.

Yeah I know what you mean. Backcountry camping would have been preferable, but we went when I was about to move back to Ohio so I had my car with everything I own in it. It really was not bad being in the rv spot though. Wasn't noisy at all, not much traffic, and 95% of our time was spent out in the park anyway.

No problem. It's a huge park so definitely make time the first day when you get there to go over the park map and make a plan. The park service has a wealth of trip planning info here: http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/publications.htm

Oh and take care of your camera lens. The minerals and silicon in the air from the geysers and hot springs will permanently damage your lens just fyi. Adorama.com has cheap camera accessories including simple clear lens covers. I stacked a circular polarizer with a clear protective lens on top of my main lens and it worked great. I could take it off at the end of the day, clean it down real well, and rest assured my expensive lens wasn't getting damaged just the cheap little thing was.

Our bestest camera cost $100 ...but thanks for the heads up. And really? The RV parks aren't a hive of nasty/noisy? That's good (but surprising) to know

I have never been to the US, but Yellowstone and Yosemite are both on my list of places I really want to go. I'm sure I could spend a couple of weeks in each and still want to stay more.

I was there in August and the rv campsites were 80% full, and I never had trouble getting to sleep. If I remember, they enforce strict quiet hours from an hour after sunset through the night. A lot of the people there in rv's were families, so the loud drunkeness was kept to a minimum. Long days = short nights too, so coming back at say 8pm we built a fire, ate dinner, sat and talked till about 10pm, then went to bed. Woke up at 6-7am and busted out of camp to go see stuff. Rinse & repeat every day. Minimal time spent at the campsite because there's so much to see and do.

Mosquitoes.

The mosquitoes aren't too bad actually due to the cold temps and elevation. True active season for them is pretty short due to the weather up there. May-ish to October-ish. Will be delayed this year, still snowing up there. Cold temps keep the larva inactive.

We're in michigan. seems nowhere has worse mossies than us and we've travelled

I was eaten alive, shat out, reconstituted, and eaten all over again.

Bad blood.

Musta been good. They just kept drinkin, and drinkin....

You should stop through Sheridan, WY on your way too. It's the next major town after Gillette which is after Devil's Tower. Gillette is boring, nothing there just keep driving. The Big Horn mountains are pretty scenic, and the town of Sheridan is an old west cowboy town that still has that charm to it. Make sure you drive downtown, and if you have time take a walkabout.

If you're lucky, and you're there on a weekend, you can watch a polo game or two at the Flying H ranch. Polo is huge in Sheridan. World renown players and teams come from all over the globe to play. Argentina, New Zealand, England, etc. My old employer out there raises and trains polo ponies.

If you do have time in Sheridan, and your vehicle is in good shape, I would suggest a quick afternoon trip up Red Grade Road south of town. Its a windy dirt/gravel switchback that takes you up into the mountains and there's some great views up there. Don't need 4x4 unless its raining/snowing. My Honda Civic made it just fine.

Cool tip, thanks. I want to see a polo game

Leaving first thing Monday!

travel safely take lots of pictures. yield to all wildlife, especially bison. and by yield I mean get the fuck back in the car NOW.

Onnn the road again, jus can't wait ta get on the road again...

Roofbox is packed and locked. Now for the rest of the car. I'm tired, I wanna go to bed. Or laze here and drink beer...... Where are the packing fairies when you need them?

Enjoy yourself! Jackson is a favorite area of ours :)

I'm envious. It's going to be fun.

Packing in the dark in 90f and humidity is not the most awesome fun..... We wanted to be done by now, but at least we're way ahead of our usual game -which is starting about now....

I love that place, want to go again. Have a great time! I can't wait for the photos! :)

Kinda excited but still not done packing. But it's definitely under way.....

be the tent Nazi !!!!!
You guys Are camping Right ??

Lots of Pics !!!

of course we are camping. And this time we know just how cold it gets over there......

FUCKERS STOLE MY BIKE WHILE WE WERE PACKING.

no, not joking :cry;

Oh That there SUUUUCCCCKKKSS !!!!!

we were supposed to be leaving in 7 hours. kinda no point without my bike..... ):

Bastards!

Hi from Wyoming -Greybull to be exact, on the right side of the Bighorn mountains. We will reach Yellowstone as early as possible tomorrow. Not too many options in the dark, so we are at the KOA, and have got out more stuff than we would have liked, so an early off will be harder, but get this, we have cooked every meal and slept in the tent every night, even though we are only spending one night in any place and are driving most of the time :) Not a single McDonalds, not even on the way out of AA (almost a tradition)

Just don't eat yellow stone.

Feel free to use their toilets though!

That's awesome monster. Brings back memories. Your kids will remember this forever.

Thanks for checking in. Sounds like happy camping!

Hi monster

glad you and yours are having a good time. Please, do NOT be this woman:

Well, I was in a different park for a start......

Now on way home, in Scottsbluff NE, all set to visit Carhenge tomorrow morning. Still all food prepared by us and no motels! :) Last night's camping was a little challenging, but it happened, and with grilled chicken for dinner

PICS !!!!
Glad yer haveing fun

many pics. soon come.

iowa. prolly last night. :(