FINALLY Booked My Tent Site for Yellowstone ... Now to Plan

[astrostu]

Last year, in mid-May, I took a 1200-mile road trip through most of southern Utah, visiting about 10 state and national parks and monuments in the space of a week. And taking several hundred photos. :)

This year, I'm narrowing my focus and I JUST YESTERDAY booked my campsite for Yellowstone (by the West entrance). I'm driving up May 14 (Friday), and driving back May 20 (Thursday), so I have 5 full days there. I've only been there once, and that was 6 years ago, and I lost all my photos in a hard drive crash just a few weeks later. I'm definitely looking forward to going back.

I know there's SO much to see there, and because of my timing I know part of the park (SE side) will still be closed, but most should be open ... like Tower Falls, Old Faithful, Mammoth Springs, lots of the purdy rainbowy hot springs, etc.

If anyone has a few specific places that I just HAVE to visit while I'm there, please recommend.

[Maureen Souza]

We will be there May 17-22..staying at Yellowstone Lodge. Make sure you get to Yellowstone Lake for the trumpeter swans and eagles. :) Have fun.

[astrostu]

Yeah, the lodge was a little out of my price range. Campgrounds were closer to $20/night :).

I'm kinda thinking maybe spending one day each in different sections of the park ... just have to figure out how to divide the park up into fifths. Looks like Yellowstone Lake would be a good place to spend a day.

[Ed Harp]

Another possibility is to stay in motel in Cook City, Mt. You get to pass through Lamar Valley every morning and shoot something new almost every day. Near by is Slough Creek, Tower Roosevelt, Specimen Ridge for some up close shots of bighorn sheep.

[birdfromboat]

There is a trail leading from old faithful down the north side of the river that leads to the lower (biscuit) basin area. After almost 2 weeks in the park, we were faced with our last day and asked ourselves, what part of the park are we going to wish we could return to at a moments notice a month from now when arguing with a client or trying to not insult a boss that is practically begging for it. That trail was our choice, and that is where we went. On every vacation, there is a point at wich you start the trip back. Thats where we started back from.
Hope you can get there.

Every time I have ever had a few hours alone in Yellowstone, I have sat down on a ridgeline or overlook or just pulled over in the middle of nowhere and watched the treelines, the shorelines, the upper meadows, the open spaces, and I have always been rewarded by wildlife sightings. Not always bears or cougars or wolves, but always something you don't see everyday.
The big, black, mountain chickens don't count.

[Mike55]

1. Geothermal Features from Norris to West Thumb.
2. Lamar Valley
3. Slough Creek
4. Gallatin National Forest. Check out the beautiful stretches of the Gallatin River along 191.
5. West Thumb up to Fishing Bridge.

Drive the speed limit and keep your eyes out for animals. Way too many people speed and run over the critters.

BTW, Madison campground in Yellowstone never fills up in May and is inside the park(you do not need reservations). Mammoth campground is open all year and does not fill up in May(north entrance, do not need reservations). If you want to spend less time driving consider in-the-park camping.

Also, did you look at Gallatin National Forest camping? The Gallatin NF borders the park and offers some really nice campgrounds. Eagle Creek campground sits just behind Gardiner and is $7 a night. It's two miles from the north entrance and offers a spectacular view over the park(grizzly are seen in the meadows behind the campground too). You can see the smoke rising from Mammoth from Eagle Creek:

http://www.parkcamper.com/Gallatin-National-Forest/Gallatin-eagle-creek-campground.htm

Baker's Hole campground is just two miles from the West Yellowstone entrance and is $14 a night:

http://www.parkcamper.com/Gallatin-National-Forest/Gallatin-bakers-hole-campground.htm

The people that run it are kind of cranky, but it is a USFS campground. Also, the Madison flows tight past it making for some nice photo ops. If you are looking to save some cash, jump on Eagle Creek.

If your focus is strictly the park, try to stay in the park. You definitely have this option. You will save time and gas money. Driving from West Yellowstone every morning will become grating.

Also, be aware of this problem:

Visitors to Yellowstone will be impacted by one major road construction project this year between Madison and Norris through Gibbon Canyon. Visitors can expect up to 30-minute delays from the time the road opens to travel on April 16 through October 20. This section of road will also be closed to travel between 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. every night from April 16 until September 1. There will be no daytime delays or overnight closures during the Memorial Day or July 4 holiday weekends. During this period, visitors should allow extra travel time in case they need to reroute through West Thumb and Canyon. Maps and additional construction details will be available at all visitor centers and

Perosnally, I would spend two days at Madison campground enjoying the geothermal features and maybe down to the lake at West Thumb, and then spend the other three days at Eagle Creek or Mammoth which would allow me to enjoy the Lamar Valley and the Tower area. This will reduce drive times and save $$$. That consturction between Madison and Norris is a major PITA and will waste a ton of your time. Definitely switch your camping locations to overcome it.

[birdfromboat]

I went back and looked at my photo's and then did some earth googling and picked the geysers and pools I miss the most. Morning glory pool has to be seen, it is on the trail from biscuit basin up to old faithful. the trail also goes past artemesia geyser, very cool because you can look down onto it from the trail. as you climb up to the upper basin, you pass all the famous geysers, with some points on the trail in sight of maybe a dozen or more geothermals.
all eastbound trails end up at old faithful, get some lunch, rehydrate and cruise back down to the biscuit basin . I wish I was there right now, but I am exactly 1000 miles away by google map. Exactly 1000, isn't that something.

[windpig]

Watch out for bears. My family is from the area, dad wanted to retire in the gallatin area. I'm envious.

[Tdragone]

Please post pix and what worked/didn't when you return.. I'm going this fall!
Have fun!

[astrostu]

Thanks for all the advice so far, folks. I should probably mention that I'm more of a landscape person than animals. Landscapes stay in the same place longer. ;)

[Mike55]

It'sfunny how fast landscape photographers become animal photographers in Yellowstone and Grand Teton ;) Bears have that kind of effect.

That said if your focus is landscapes lock in on these areas:

1. Geothermal features from Madison to West Thumb.
2. Grand Teton - make sure you take Teton Park road south from Jackson Lake Junction.
3. Beartooth Mountains - just NE of the NE Yellowstone entrance
4. Gallatin National Forest - Spanish Peaks, Paradise Valley, Big Timber area (Crazy Mountains)

[Maureen Souza]

Also get to the Grizzly Wildlife center near the west entrance. It might be the most wildlife you see during your stay:)

[birdfromboat]

For landscape shots I would recomend spending a night or two in one of the huge campgrounds in grand teton. Get up early. the photography is so great there that they named the place after a shooter.

[astrostu]

Thanks all for the tips. I've roughly divided the park into 4ths keeping in mind the latest road closings.

First, Mike, thanks for the huge advice on camping, but as in my thread title, my tent site was booked before I started the thread. I took a look at the maps and it's 20 miles (27 min according to Google) between my site and the Madison campgrounds. I'm reserving the option of canceling my KOA reservation early (like on Sunday) so that I can just spend Tuesday and Wednesday night in the park, though it would be a $10 cancellation fee (with 48 hrs warning). The site is charging me only $17.50/day. Madison is $19.50 and Mammoth is $14. It would cost me about 2 gallons of gas round trip between KOA and Madison, or about $6. I'd be doing that once per day. So other than time, I'm not sure it's worth the cancellation fees and the increased rate at the Madison site. But I'm leaving that option open.

As for how I divided the park, I have not separated them into what I'm doing when because the weather could be variable. I divided the park into 4ths because that way I have a rain day or I have a "What did I REALLY like that I want to see more of?" day, that birdfromboat suggested.

1 Day - The Old Faithful BROAD area. Lots and lots of springs and geysers.
1 Day - Yellowstone Lake area: Grant Village, West Thumb, Bridge Bay, Lake Village, up a bit to the mud volcano, and back down through the Fishing Bridge. Lots of lakes and springs.
1 Day - Madison up through Norris and over through Canyon Village and then down a bit, about half-way to the Lake.
1 Day - From Norris to Mammoth Hot Springs and over to Tower Falls. NOTE: Road from Tower Falls through Canyon Village is closed, and Tower Falls over to the NE entrance is both closed and under construction.

I've also noted down the specific places you folks have mentioned so far, and of course added the Grand Prismatic Spring and Tower Falls. I noted down some other waterfalls ... I just got a x400 2.7 Hoya ND filter that I'm itching to try, along with my 0.9 B+W ND filter on these waterfalls (that's 1/512th the light for the x400 and 1/8th the light for the 0.9 ... combined I can shoot the sun). I also just received a 2x extender for my birthday (tomorrow!) that'll turn my 200mm into a 640mm once you factor in my camera sensors' crop. Should be good for wildlife. :)

Anyway, I know that I didn't really divide the park very evenly, but I suspect that I'm going to be spending A LOT of time in the Old Faithful area 'cause that's where many of the purdy hot springs are. I'm a sucker for rainbow colors. I'll be covering basically the whole park so I'll be sure to stop at some point and just chew some gummy bears I bought while I have my telephoto lens out for some wildlife shooting. Guess I'd be a fool if I don't try to get a bear or elk while I'm there.

I expect I'll spend the 5th day re-visiting Madison before heading back up to the Tower Falls area or maybe Canyon Village (too bad the road connecting them is closed).

I should also note that I'm headed from Colorado, and I'll be going in the East entrance and exiting the West to get to my camp site. It's 40 miles shorter but 10 minutes longer to come from the south, so I won't be seeing Grand Teton NP this trip. Okay, now as I write this, though, I'm considering going south on the way back. Saving 10 minutes at a cost of 40 miles is silly. I think one of the reasons I was avoiding coming through the south is that the South entrance was scheduled to open on May 14th ... the day I was to get there. But that was subject to change and it was literally only yesterday (May 12) that the NPS posted a release saying it would be open at 8AM on May 14.

What do you folks think? If you reply, reply before 7AM mountain time on Friday the 14th 'cause that's when I'm hoping to get on the road.

[Mike55]

I think your plans are awesome. But I will say one thing as firmly as I can:

Spend one day at Grand Teton. It's six miles south of Yellowstone and many, many people prefer it for landscapes to Yellowstone. Drive the Grand Teton Park Road from Jackson Lake Junction south to Jenny Lake and you will see what I mean. Grand Teton is a wonderful park. I know landscapers who do nothing but stay in Teton, driving up to the Old Faithful areas for their geothermal fix, and then back down for the Teton 'scapes. If you are driving all this way, you owe it to yourself to see the alpine splendor of Grand Teton.

If your main goal is landscapes, I would highly recommend you spend most of your time between Madison and West Thumb(geothermal features), Yellowstone Falls,and Grand Teton. This is where you will find your landscape "bang for the buck". Unless you go into the Gallatin Range north of the Park or the far notheastern corner of Yellowstone near Pebble Creek and Cooke City(known as the Beartooth and Absaroka Ranges).

[astrostu]

Thanks, Mike. With the current plan, roughly speaking I'll be spending around 2 full days and that's excluding the extra day in the Norris through West Thumb area. I should also probably mention that I'm an astro/geophysicist. I just submitted a paper about volcanoes on Mars to be published and it's mildly depressing that even though Yellowstone's caldera is one of the largest on Earth, I only had 1 of 24 volcanoes on Mars that had a smaller caldera. So geothermal stuff is way cool and if I didn't say it yet, I love waterfalls, too. Bunches of just trees don't quite do it for me.

At the moment, you've swayed me partially. ;) I'm thinking I'll at the VERY least take the south route back to Colorado that'll take me through Grand Teton with some stoppage planned. I could also, on my extra day, perhaps do some northern stuff in the morning and then head back down to West Thumb and then to Grand Teton for late afternoon stuff. I gather the Jackson Lake area is what you'd recommend?

[Mike55]

Perfect.

I bet you must be flipping out about Yellowstone if you're a geophysicits! How cool.

For Teton, view this map:

http://www.mapsorama.com/maps/north-america/united%20states/wyoming/Grand_Teton.jpg

Head into Teton south from Yellowstone(there's only one road) and you'll see Jackson Lake on your right and the magnificent Tetons. There are pulloffs. Just down the road from this is Colter Bay which has gas and food. If you drive in a bit you will see the rental cabins. Beautiful area, but the trees can really block the views unless you take the lake trail at the marina. Heading south from Colter Bay you will hit Jackson Lake Junction. Head east for a tiny bit(maybe a mile or two) and look for the pull off. Look to the west and you will see the famous Oxbow Bend. This is a famous landscape spot and great moose/swan watching spot. Double back to Jackson Lake Junction and take the Grand Teton Park Road, crossing the Snake River and the Jackson Lake dam. This will propel you towards the Jenny Lake area. You will emerge form a small wooded rise into a flat area with one of the greatest views you will ever see. THere are lots of pull offs. The mountains rise 7,000 feet straight up with no foothills. Your next right is the one way road at North Jenny Lake Junction. Take it. This is a very short drive which will put you at Jenny Lake with amazing mountian views. The lake is very scenic. Also in this area is the Leigh Lake trailhead which is a nice flat hike amongst the pine and aspen. Really beautiful stuff. If you are up to the challenge, you can hike to Hidden Falls, and you can see that hike here:

http://faculty.deanza.edu/donahuemary/CascadeCanyon,GrandTetonNationalPark

(the first pic on that page is the Jenny Lake view from the one way road)

That should be more than enough considering you are only driving out that way. Very scenic stuff. Hopefully this is helpful.

[astrostu]

Thanks, Mike. It sounds definitely like I could spend a whole day there ... just not sure I can "spare" it. I am thinking that when I leave on Thursday, it doesn't really matter what time I get back to Boulder on Thursday night 'cause I don't have a tent to set up. So I could spend a few hours there and just get in to Boulder like at 3AM. That may be better than trying to rush the Yellowstone part.

It's also not like this'll be my only trip there. I'll be here for at least another year and hopefully graduating in May 2011 so I could take a celebratory road trip up again in a year and plan better based on what I learn this trip.

Oh, and what you wrote is definitely helpful ... when I had the park map printed out in front of me so I could follow. ;)

[astrostu]

Alright, I had to cut my trip kinda short. I left on Tuesday instead of Thursday because rain was forecast for the rest of the week. But, I had kept an eye on the forecast since I got there and had been compressing and re-arranging my schedule from day 1. I drove through Grand Teton on the way back yesterday and hit that Jenny Lake view point. Got out, took photos, got back in the car, and literally 3 minutes later the downpour started.

[Mike55]

That stinks about cutting the trip short. How was it?

Any photos?

[astrostu]

The trip was fairly good. I didn't like the frost that formed in my tent every morning, though. I took about 970 photos and 13 movies (most movies ~10 seconds of the springs/geysers). Well over 50% of the photos are tied up into panoramas that I need to stitch together, so processing is going to take awhile. I've gone through about 1/3 of them so far, but I'm going to have to hold off for a bit now since (1) a bride got back to me and wants all 530 proofs finished for the final CD, and (2) I'm teaching a class starting next week (June 1) that's every day for 95 minutes. Hopefully I'll get through 'em by the end of June, though.

[tonyniev]

I was going to drive this weekend but when I checked the weather it was rainy so will go after labor day. will follow some of the advise here.