I stay on the Yellowstone River just north of the Park for 4 or more months each year, normally from the beginning of June to early October, and am traipsing around the mountains there all summer long, as well as fishing in some of the hike-into places in the Park.
The ratio of Grizzly attacks on people compared to the number of people who visit the area each year is low -- I only know of 3 such attacks in our area in the fall of 2007 -- I haven't yet heard the statistics from this past year.
All of the information previously provided is good. However, I've found that the best way to insure your safety when visiting in our area is to always go with one or more people that you can outrun. I'm living proof of its effectiveness.
Oh, and afterwards send to these persons' relatives.
I agree with Gene, try to go in the fall that is when we went and it was very nice and little crowds. I hear from my other friends that they wished they waited untill fall to go, due to the growds.
we did not camp so i can not help you there, but would love to go back and camp someday...it truly was a awsome place that everyone should see just once.
pictures dont do it justice
Dave
__________________ Keep your nose to the wind and your eyes on the horizen.
And if you get a chance, visit the Tetons and take a wildlife tour with the Teton Science School. They are doing wolf and bear adventures in Yellowstone I believe this year. Master's level wildlife folks, extremely knowledgeable about where the animals are, their habits, have safari-type vehicles and can tell you all about everything in the parks. We saw moose, elk, lots of bison, a black bear and a BLACK WOLF!! An amazing experience for we mid-westerners! Have a wonderful trip.
__________________ "If a man does not have an ideal and try to live up to it, then he becomes a mean, base and sordid creature, no matter how successful." Letter to his son Kermit, quoted in Theodore Roosevelt by Joseph Bucklin Bishop, 1915
My wife and I visited Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons in the fall of '07, spending a week in each park. It was fantastic trip and we saw lots of wildlife including wolves, bears, mountain goats, bison, coyote, elk, fox, moose. We camped in a variety of Campground while there and never had any encounters in the campgrounds because the park staff has done a good job of policing them for proper etiquette. The animals are no longer associating the campgrounds as a place to find food like they did years ago. Having said that, we always slept with our doors and windows closed at night. This was not a problem as it did not get hot during the last two weeks of September.
We saw all the sites and took several day hikes. We went out at dawn and dusk in our truck to cruise some of the roads in Yellowstone and saw a great deal of wildlife. We saw grizzlies 5 times, black bears 3 times and watched wolves on 5 different occassions. The wolves were actually the easiest to find as we focused on the Lamar Valley road and would pull over when we was the wolf groupies and biologists stopped on the road side. They were happy to point them out immediately. You will need good binoculars and, better yet, a spotting scope to see them as they are not close up. There is usually a group of "watchers" pulled over who are easy to spot. One evening, we saw a group of 7 wolves lounging in the field with a two pups. To the right, we saw a heard of bison and then watched a grizzly emerge from the woods out into the valley. The sun set so headed back to camp. We went back to the same spot on the road the next morning only to find everyone watching Coyotes and ravens feeding on the remains of a dead grizzly. The wolves had already taken their turn and left. At that point, no one knew how the bear died. While a group of bison have the potential to injure or kill a grizzly, it was most likely taken down by another bear. Quite a dynamic place.
We enjoyed camping the most in some of the 2nd tier, more primitive campgrounds up near the Lamar Valley. They are small and have no hookups and generators are not allowed. If you can deal with that, you should have no problem. Since it got quite cool at night (near freezing), we brought a portable catalytic propane heater to avoid running the trailer battery down with the furnace. We turned it off at night. We spent one night at Fishing Bridge campground on the north end of Yellowstone Lake. It is the only campground in the park with hookups. We did not care for it at all, as we were shoehorned into very tight spots. Only good if you plan on spending all your time in your Airstream. You can use generators at the other larger campgrounds within the park during posted hours. The park is very large and, if you camp outside the park, you will spend more time driving.
Grand Teton National Park, just south of Yellowstone had more spectacular mountain scenery and that is where we saw the moose and fox as well as a lot of elk.
Thanks for all that wonderful information. We made a rather whirlwind run through that area last year, intend to return in 2010 for a more leisurely exploration. Sounds like you can see a lot of wildlife without the $$, we will give that a try. Super-greenhorns in many areas, here----still lots to learn.
I have to add here that I saw a story on the Today show last year about a little boy aggressively attacked by a black bear on a hike in the Smoky Mtns with his parents. He had been afraid to hike, for fear of bears, his parents made him go, he got attacked by a bear. I'm sure his parents will never hear the end of that. A true story. I refuse to hike in the woods----maybe I'm a scaredy cat, but we stick to bike riding on hard surfaces.
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Bears do not like to be surprised by bicycles. And yes, you are a scaredy cat. That said, I would pick shark attack over big mean stinky grizzly. Mountain Lions are acquiring a taste for Mt. bikers as of late.
We go to the Tetons each summer. And drive up into yellowstone. We like the campsites in the north Tentons better, trees and big. they also have bears but it 3 strikes and there out (dead) there. kind of sad. I would get yourself a can of bear pepper spray, I'm sure someone has mentioned it, and it works on people too. Good luck.
__________________
Jason
May you have at least one sunny day, and a soft chair to sit in..
"
Bears do not like to be surprised by bicycles. And yes, you are a scaredy cat. That said, I would pick shark attack over big mean stinky grizzly. Mountain Lions are acquiring a taste for Mt. bikers as of late.
I Must buy a faster bike. "
Funny. Grizzly bears, black bears, mountain lions----not interested in encountering any of those large-toothed critters, other than from the safe inside of a vehicle. 3 Grizzly attacks in one fall seems like a lot to me. Scaredy cat, okay, it is just self-preservation in my opinion. Could have something to do with the coumadin I take. We don't bike mountain trails (we're 60), we like paved campgrounds, quiet roads, etc. We'll leave the deep woods stuff to younger, braver bikers and hikers.
A few years ago, while trying to enjoy Glacier NP in Montana a group of nutty people got it into their heads that they needed to make a lot of noise all the time in the campground to let the bears know where were there. They used bells and rang them constantly while walking around.
I don't know if it worked on the bears, but after a few hours of that, I was out of there and searching for quiet and solitude myself.
A few years ago, while trying to enjoy Glacier NP in Montana a group of nutty people got it into their heads that they needed to make a lot of noise all the time in the campground to let the bears know where were there. They used bells and rang them constantly while walking around.
I don't know if it worked on the bears, but after a few hours of that, I was out of there and searching for quiet and solitude myself.
Attaching bells and the like to one's self is a strategy used for backcountry hiking and the like.
Personally, I've always liked what an old friend of ours used to say about bears: No bear is going to be able to catch up with me because he's going to be running through all that poop.
Attaching bells and the like to one's self is a strategy used for backcountry hiking and the like.
Personally, I've always liked what an old friend of ours used to say about bears: No bear is going to be able to catch up with me because he's going to be running through all that poop.
You don't have to outrun the bear, just outrun the person you're with...
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