Yellowstone & Grand Teton

Hello all,
A couple friends and myself are planning to get out there this 1/2 half of October. Our goal is to experience this wild west areas for wildlife and landscape.
We’re planning to stay at the sexy girl next door GT for 3 full days and 4-5 full days at YNP.
I’d love to hear your experiences and recommendations
Phuong

We were in Jackson in the middle of October last year. That was a great time as the weather was changing (it snowed on several occasions) and the animals were very active. Bears were very common on the Moose-Wilson road, a lot of very visible moose in the sage flats and in the river bottoms, plenty of elk bugling in the morning. Get out early to catch the elk out of the trees and to get shots of the bulls bugling in the cold morning air to get the classic breath vapor shots.

We were at the tail end of the fall colors, but there was still some beautiful foliage. We spent one day driving to YNP, but this trip was really focused on the Tetons.

Tim

Naturography wrote in post #19250538
Hello all,
A couple friends and myself are planning to get out there this 1/2 half of October. Our goal is to experience this wild west areas for wildlife and landscape.
We’re planning to stay at the sexy girl next door GT for 3 full days and 4-5 full days at YNP.
I’d love to hear your experiences and recommendations
Phuong

.
The 2nd half of October? . Hmmmm. . Going that late in the season could be challenging.

There is a good chance that snow will shut down many of the roads, and leave you with few places to go. . There is little chance that Craig Pass and Dunraven Pass will be open, and when those two passes are closed, that makes it very hard to get around in the Yellowstone. . You usually can't get through the park once that happens, and then you have to go back out the way you came, and drive all the way around the park to get to the other side - which is a full day's drive.

I would really call the Park Office and talk to a ranger about what to expect in late October when it comes to road conditions and closures. . Do not just look at a roadmap of the park and assume that those roads will be open in late October - it doesn't work that way.

Plus, a lot of wildlife action is over by that time. . Most of the birds are gone, the Elk rut is long over. . The Moose rut is over. . Marmots and Ground Squirrels are in hibernation. . The Bighorn Sheep and Mule Deer ruts will not have started yet.

I think the fall color will be all but gone, as at those elevations and that climate, late October is more like winter than autumn.

Not wanting to be all negative and doom and gloom, but timing is everything when it comes to photographing wildlife and landscapes, and I think you could have real trouble with road closures and find the wildlife not very active. . I want you to know what to expect, so that you aren't caught unprepared and disappointed.

If I was going to go in late October, and was not able to change my schedule, and HAD to stick with late October, then I would focus more on the Tetons than Yellowstone. . The Tetons are a little behind Yellowstone, season-wise, so you could maybe still get a little bit of fall color and at least be able to drive around a little without the roads getting shut because of winter storms. . And I think that that late in the year, you will have a better chance of seeing Moose or Bears in the Tetons than you would in Yellowstone. . Also, the Elk Refuge between the Teton Park and Jackson should be starting to fill up with Elk, as they will have already descended for the winter migration.

.

Thank you so much. We were not able to book anything so it’s postponed until next year. We’ll plan better and possibly end of September to 1st week of October.
Again I really appreciate both of you Tim and Tom!!!

Will be there later this week.

Nick5 wrote in post #19293488
Will be there later this week.

I’d love to hear your experiences