Where to go in Yellowstone?!!

“Hey guys, I've taken two weeks off of work for a road trip to Yellowstone the first two weeks of June. Two of my friends from here are going with me and any of you who want to join us are welcome.

We want to do either 2 3-day trips or 1 6-day trip in the backcountry. I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions on routes or trails? I like trails that have lots of thermal features or water (lakes, rivers, etc). I have already done the Heart Lake Trail in Yellowstone and would like to do something different. Any suggestions? Thanks!”

“There is a spectacular back-country lake called Shoshone. There are many beautiful campsites around it. On the far end are lost of hot-pots and geothermal features. I've been in there twice, and it's one of the greatest trips I can remember. Fishing is terrific too. Get your permits early.”

“Shoshone? I've heard of that one actually, I'll have to check my guide book for what it says about that one. Thanks for the suggestion! How many days of a trip is it to get there and back?”

“Damn, Dub. Have fun man!”

“Actually - the Falcon Backcountry Guide is actually very good for Yellowstone. I didn't buy it nor did I make any reservations, we would just pop into the Ranger Stations ask what was open & consult their copy. It was right on with the different back country sites (including if it has fallen logs to use as benches etc.)

My family loved Heyden Valley trails, including Pebble Creek (youngest was 8 at time so we had to be very selective on distance per day).

Cammies favorite though was site OA1 - Lone Star Geyser & River with Thermal Features right there. I recommend this one for anyone taking kids younger than 12.

What ever you do - you have to do the Boiling River - it was awesome even when it was freezing at 5 AM.”

“You can hike in to the near end of Shoshone lake in one day. Plan to spend more time exploring though. I always like to plan my trips in advance including campsite reservation. It's camping by permit only most place in the backcountry in Yellowstone Park.”

“we plan on being there in mid september and will want to do a 2-3 day trip.”

“2-3 days isn't enough for Yellowstone. I could only get 12 days, wish I could get more.

Still haven't had a chance to look at my guidebook for the suggestions so far, but keep 'em coming!”

“we fly into salt lake city and will head north from there. we hope to make it to glacier.”

“Ahhh, now Glacier, that would be the place. I was supposed to go this year on the TT trip but couldn't get the time off work.”

“Dub...

Thinkbubelz & I flew to Salt Lake City and rented a car from there to Yellowstone... it was about a day's drive from there...

I think there's also an airport in Jackson Hole, but it's smaller, so the cost is more...

We were up there almost a week (9 day vacation with 2-1/2 days of driving time.) and there was so much to see! We liked going to some of the ranger stations and visitor stations to check out their talks and videos-- it gives some interesting info and history about the parks, and the flora and fauna...The park is huge....

Word of advice-- Don't camp in 1 place if you expect to see the park-- I would suggest camping a few days in each section of the park so that you can see more!

We made the mistake of car camping to 1 side of the park and then realized that we had to spend about 6 hours every day driving around to the other sides of the park... (the view is nice, but not if you actually want to hike or see anything!)

Next time we go, we'll try backpacking and moving around the park....

In the past, Thinkbubelz & I did also went on long driving trips to see the National Parks. (We like being able to stop along the way and seeing things we wouldn't see from the plane.) However, we finally realized after a trip to Mt. Rushmore and the Badlands, that if we want to actually SEE the parks out west, we need to fly and rent a car (or use trains/buses, etc.) Otherwise, you spend most of your vacation driving and not much time actually seeing and hiking the places you want to visit. When we drove to Mt. Rushmore one year--South Dakota was so boring on the freeway, that at times we felt almost like we were sleeping while driving! That was also a trip that we planned a group camping trip to Northern Michigan at the tale end of our vacation... It really sucked because we had to come back earlier than we wanted to and missed seeing some interesting things on the way back...

Oh, and the funniest thing was that when we first got there, Thinkbubelz & I were looking through our binoculars at some of the formerly burned out areas, when someone drove up to us and said "Whaddya see?" We thought it was a little odd, and just said that we were looking for birds. Well, soon after, we realized what they were asking... Wildlife (elk, moose, bears, birds, buffalo, otters, etc....) are so abundant throughout the park-- anytime you see a bunch of cars on the side of the road, you can bet that there are some animals within visual distance from you!! If you have a camera that has a decent zoom lens on it, bring it along-- you'll probably see more animals than you have ever seen elsewhere!!

:-)”

“Sorry to kidnap your thread but we are heading to Yellowstone next week for 3 days.

I think we are going to focus most of our time in the Norris Geyser Basin and Old Faithful Geyser Basin.

Anybody have suggestions for specific things to see?

Anything that you recommend hiking in to?

Any info would be appreciated.”

“Bring your snow shoes and warm clothes.”

“and your camera!”

“And bear spray.”

“Do you know if there is snow up there yet and how much?

I guess I will bring our snowshoes just in case.

I'm going to be bring our winter gear as far as clothing, tent and sleeping bags.”

“I really don't know. I do know it has been snowing there though. No sooner did the Beartooth Highway reopen, they had to close it because of snowfall.

I'm guessing that there will be some snow on the trails though.

It has been pretty cold there too. In Cody (5000 ft) this morning, it was right at 32 degrees. It's going to be quite a bit colder in Yellowstone. Probably down into the teens at night, and up to 40's in the day.”

“Word of advice.
Yellowstone is huge.
Thinkbubelz & I were there for a week. We made the mistake of car-camping outside of the park and driving in each day. Best thing to do, if you want to see different regions within the park is to camp/stay at various locations within the park-- otherwise you spend 1/2 of your day just driving in and out of the park....

Bring your camera-- you will be overwhelmed at the number of photo ops... and animals present.

Next time, we plan to go for 2 weeks and move around within the park.”

“"No sooner did the Beartooth Highway reopen, they had to close it because of snowfall."


So they got it done, huh? Jon and I took the highway as far as Top of the World. We definitely want to go back to drive the whole thing and check out the scenery. Interesting note, a week later when we were in Montana at the Beartooth Harley dealership, they had advertised a "Ride to the Slide" Harley ride coming in from the other direction. We didn't have time to join them, but it sure looked like a great bike ride.”