Yellowstone and/or Grand Teton

[DumOleBob]

Ok, you evidently changed your mind because Madison is an rv parking lot, and a Very large, crowded one at that. Not that it won't be fine, but it is not what you described in the original post. Just so you know...

[karenjude]

I didn't find Madison campground to be that way when we were there. Now Fishing Bridge, that's a different story. Yes, you can see others when you are camping at Madison but I thought the sites were pretty well spaced for a campground. It isn't the boondocking experience OP hoped for in the original post but still very nice.

[n2916s]

Madison is full of trees, centrally located and 12 miles from West Yellowstone (groceries, gas, restaurants...). Far from being a "parking lot".

Mike

[Ridgerunner3]

Originally Posted by tdyoungblood

Thanks, everyone. We booked the entire stay at Madison and may hop to another first-come/first-served site as available.

We stayed at Madison on our first trip to Yellowstone. We really liked Madison campground. We found it to be one of the best National Park campgrounds we have stayed in (except for the lack of showers). You will be camped right on the Madison River which is world class trout stream. It is a beautiful place.

The down side of Madison is that there are no bath houses with showers and there was no camp store close by when we where there. My wife takes two showers a day, which she did in our camper. Which meant I was hauling water to and from the camper way too much for me. Most of the campers climbed into the Madison River at the end of each day for a swimming bath (which really screwed up trout fishing in the late afternoon.). We now stay at Grant Village campground because that campground has a shower facility and a camp store. No more hauling water and driving long distances for last minute food needs.

You will love Yellowstone and Madison campground.

[robwok]

I'm considering this trip in May. Would you tow your Airstream through Yellowstone, or park it (with locks) and drive through to see the scenery.

I have this nighmare vision of getting my trailer highly polished and having a bison or Elk mistake their mirror image as a threat and headbutting the side of the trailer.

[Chasmorgan]

Park it! With the exception of Old Faithful, the parking lots are small.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Airstream Forums mobile app

[Ridgerunner3]

Originally Posted by robwok

I'm considering this trip in May. Would you tow your Airstream through Yellowstone, or park it (with locks) and drive through to see the scenery.

I have this nighmare vision of getting my trailer highly polished and having a bison or Elk mistake their mirror image as a threat and headbutting the side of the trailer.

Are you only spending one day in Yellowstone? If yes, you should consider what area of Yellowstone you want to see. Each of the areas is very distinct. These distinct areas of Yellowstone are part of what makes it so incredible to us. You will probably only be able to see one or two areas in a day. I would pick my entrance based on the area(s) I wanted to see. Yellowstone is huge and driving is very slow. 15 miles takes a long time in the park. I have at times seen first time visitors stop and abandon their cars in the middle of the road to get a closer view of one bison or elk. A large herd will cause or a bison in the road will slow traffic considerably.

[youngpeck]

Here is the map you want for Forest Service Campgrounds between Jackson and Yellowstone:

National Forest Store: Bridger-Teton N.F. Buffalo & Jackson R.D.

It includes the Buffalo and Jackson Ranger districts. These are really good maps, with lots of information, especially on campgrounds. It will also list phone numbers of Forest Service offices in the area. A phone call can result in a wealth of information.
The people at the National Forest Store (which happens to be in Missoula) are also quite helpful, and they have maps for all the national forests in the U.S. These are a real bargain at $10.00 a piece.

[tsunami]

Stayed at Fishing Bridge in June of 2007. Day before photo it was bright and sunny, but overnight, it turned cold and as you can see in the photo, it snowed. Not very many visitors to the park in June and the snow made for beautiful scenery. Recommend a slow drive in the park because many very large wild animals will step right out into the rode in front of you. Enjoy your trip.

[tsunami]

Also a decent campground in Moran Junction (between Jackson Hole and Yellowstone) with spectacular views of the Grand Tetons

[DumOleBob]

Originally Posted by n2916s

Madison is full of trees, centrally located and 12 miles from West Yellowstone (groceries, gas, restaurants...). Far from being a "parking lot".

Mike

Ok, "parking lot" was a bit extreme, but it is far from the "wilderness" they asked for. In that context it is a big, commercial campground. "Centrally located, but only 12 miles from West Yellowstone", but Yellowstone is 54 miles east to west. Just so they know...

[John Adler]

Another option is to stay at the north entrance at Gardiner. You'll need to do a little driving to get to the park, but you won't need to work your way through what can be some pretty tough traffic with your camper. The good thing is that the day is long in July so you can do a lot in a day even with driving a few extra miles. The road from I90 down to Gardiner is an easy drive compared to others in the area.

[KCN]

Jackson is my hometown. I was a ranger for three years in Grand Teton and my dad was with the Forest Service. That being said, you can drive TO and THROUGH any park, but the true beauty is off the roads. Yes, it's a slow drive in the summer. The John D. Rockefeller parkway between GTNP and YNP can get bogged down.

Both Flagg Ranch (run by private vendor Grand Teton Lodge Company in the JDR parkway) and Gros Ventre Campground in SE GTNP are good advice. Jackson has a KOA that typically is full of seasonal workers that site hop, but you might get a spot. Colter Bay...meh. Boondocking aka "dispersed camping" is available in NFS lands that surround the park, but not IN the parks. Buffalo Fork west of Moran Junction puts you right into the Bridger-Teton National Forest..

Bridger-Teton National Forest - Camping & Cabinsispersed Camping

Yellowstone lost a lot of trees in the campgrounds during the big fire and so a lot of the forest feel was lost - but the trees are coming back.

Cody (NE Entrance to YNP) has an amazing museum (and a fun nightly rodeo) - truly, truly world class. It's a Whitney/Vanderbilt funded Museum, same family as the NYC museum, and it's truly worth a visit - takes days to really go through it though. Unbelievable art and Indian collections, and the firearm collection.... The Beartooth Highway loop is incredible.. worth doing but leave the trailer in the campground.

West Yellowstone has a Wolf and Grizzly attraction if that's your thing. I wouldn't go that way just for that, but that's a pretty side of the park. Buffalo are on that road frequently. It's true they might dent your 'stream if you pushed through the herd.. They are like cows.

Tour guide here: One of the best ways to see GTNP is on a scenic float trip - 10 miles down the Snake River on a very safe, very comfortable section of river. You are more likely to see wildlife on the river than the roads. Guides are all very educated and you will learn a lot. Whitewater is available south of Jackson, if that's your thing. Can park your rigs at the Craig Thomas Visitor Center at Moose Junction in GTNP and meet your float trip guides there - multiple companies use that meet up. Four hour trip generally speaking. They run throughout the day on the hour.

Jackson also put a lot of money into a bike path from town and up through parts of GTNP so you can now cycle safely on a separate paved path that generally parallels the road. GREAT addition - wish it had been there when I was riding my bike back and forth to work. Bikes are available to rent everywhere, including at Dornan's, next to the Moose Visitor Center - which serves an amazing outdoor breakfast served with a view that's hard to beat. Hard to pull a trailer into Dornan's lot though. Google Dornan's for pics.

[bonginator]

Originally Posted by jpons

Come mid June I will head out from Maine to Yellowstone where I will be joined with a bunch of other family members for a 2 week stay in YNP and Teton late June to mid July. We made reservations at Fishing Bridge and Colter Bay. I would have rather been boon docking at nicer campgrounds but with this much family we needed hookups.

I run photography workshops in Yellowstone 3-4 times a year for the past 10 years or so, this time I am serving as a guide to my family which will be somewhat different, but I am still looking forward to it.

For as much time as I spend in Yellowstone, I have never been in the park between May and September, so I am not sure how well I will handle the crowds.

I am also planning a short trip after to Glacier for a few days. Any recommendations for campgrounds in Glacier would be most welcomed.

-J

We love the campground right near the Many a Glacier hotel. It is popular and small so you have to be ready to get there early. It is right near a lake and wooded and there are great hiking trails in this area. If you don't get one there, you could reserve St. Mary's as a backup. This side of the park is spectacular! Be aware you cannot take your trailer over going to the sun road so plan your drive accordingly.

[jpons]

Bonginator,

Thanks for the advice, just a few more weeks and we can't wait to get away.

-J

[Savage68]

Just spent a week@Gros Ventre where we were able to get an electric site. Lots of BIG RV's, nothing as vintage as LaTortuga however. It was handy having dump & water right at the campground.

[bonginator]

Originally Posted by Savage68

Just spent a week@Gros Ventre where we were able to get an electric site. Lots of BIG RV's, nothing as vintage as LaTortuga however. It was handy having dump & water right at the campground.

Savage-
We saw you in the D loop. You probably drove by us when you were exiting the loop. We were on the left about 5 sites from the exit. Quite a quiet campsite.

[Steamy1]

how is the weather up there? we leave tomorrow morning for Glacier via Pinedale-Teton Pass-Ashton.

looks like NOAA is forecasting rain.

[Savage68]

Raining pretty hard right now, our FarmersMarket will probably be rather sparse, snow warning for any Glacier-bound folks!

[bonginator]

Originally Posted by Steamy1

how is the weather up there? we leave tomorrow morning for Glacier via Pinedale-Teton Pass-Ashton.

looks like NOAA is forecasting rain.

Rainy and cool the.past few days. High 40s and low 50s. Looks that patterns is continuing.