Yellowstone NP......Finally

Hey

Some time ago, I asked the question on this forum, Yellowstone or Hawaii (https://photography-on-the.net …/showthread.php​?p=9873501) and the clear winner was Yellowstone. So we went to Canada instead.

Finally, after much deliberation and long, hard days working for myself, we have booked our 3 week trip to South Dakota, Yellowstone National Park and Grand Tetons National Park in September 2015.

Out rough itinerary is

3 days in Black Hills area
7 days Silvergate (base for North YNP
3 days Old Faithful Lodge
4 days Jackson
with odd days in between for travelling.

So, apart from the obvious (Old Faithful, Canyon, etc), can anyone recommend some great locations for landscapes and wildlife. For example, I had a conversation with a friend and they mentioned Schwambachers Landing and Oxbow Bend. So similar suggestions please. Other suggestions for hiking, eating, etc would also be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

I'd be prepared for moose and bears, and if you're really lucky wolves.

In Teton there are the usual places, particularly the Snake River Overlook and Jenny Lake. Sunsets in Grand Teton can be fabulous. It's my fourth favorite national park (behind Yosemite, Glacier and Rocky Mountain).

Eat well before you get to Yellowstone. Food at Old Faithfull is not so good.

From the Upper Basin you can drive North and see Biscuit, Black Sand, Midway and Lower Basins within a 20min drive. So I would do that for 1 (or 3/4) day.

Basic question is do you want to see geysers or wildlife? Both can obviously be seen if you are lucky, but both need planning if you are going to be assured of something besides Old Faithful in only 3 days. I guess if you see wildlife from Silvergate, then you'd be prime to see a bunch of geysers in 3 days from Upper Basin if you want to. I can tell you how to go about that if that is your intention (just hanging around and 'hoping' is not a great strategy).

Thanks for the responses, much appreciated.

The plan was to do mostly wildlife while at Silvergate plus the canyon and Mammoth Hot Springs and the three days at OFL were pretty much for geological activities and the lake. I am open to suggestions on how best to organise our time at the various locations. The last time I was at Yellowstone, I was 18 years old and accompanied by 360 other exchange students, so we only had a day to do Artists Point and OF before we lodged at MHS. That was 27 years ago, so I had hoped I had split the time according to our preferences fairly well.

While in the Black Hills area you may want to consider Custer State Park and Wind Cave Park right next to it. They both are great for wildlife and some awesome scenery as well. Your chances of getting close to Pronghorn and Bison are excellent and far less crowded than Yellowstone. I find Wind Cave itself to be quite interesting and much to learn about caving if you would choose to go underground on one of the tours.

Hey Steve, thanks for the info. I had Custer State Park down on my list but not Wind Cave, not to excited about being underground in caves, I'm a bit of a jessy where that is concerned ;o)

I thought the Badlands (Badlands NP) were much more interesting than the Black Hills and they are in the same neighbourhood.

My two wolf sightings were near Norris Basin and on the road from Norris to Mammoth.

West Thumb in the southwest corner is worth visiting too.

Just so much to see and so little time ...

Maxdave

For Grand Teton, you already have two of my favorite viewpoints, Oxbow Bend and Schwabacher Landing. Also include Mormon Row and the Chapel of the Transfiguration. You are likely to see wildlife just about anywhere, but The Gros Ventre Road and Moose-Wilson Road are great areas to look (there is a pond near the north end of the Moose-Wilson Road that is a great place to look).

In Yellowstone, just about anywhere you stand is likely to be something photo-worthy, from the critters to the wildlife. I particularly enjoyed the pools and springs of the Upper Geyser Basin, Black Sand Basin, Midway Geyser Basin, Norris Geyser Basin and West Thumb Geyser Basin. Mammoth Hot Springs has a few interesting views as well along the terraces. Lots of color in the microbial mats growing around the hot springs in each location.

Again, you are likely to see animals everywhere in the park, but we really like the Lamar Valley for the huge herds of bison and the views over the rolling hills. The stretch of road between Mammoth and Roosevelt is also a good place for critter sightings.

I've created a couple of very long and detailed journals on the trips to Grand Teton and Yellowstone that my wife and I have taken (September 2011 and July 2014). They might give you a few hints on things to see and do. Here are the links:

2011: http://wewentthere.wee​bly.com/wyoming-2011.html
2014: http://ohiohickpresent​s.weebly.com/tr---wy-2014.html

Links to photos are included in the journals, in case you are interested (hey, I just shoot for fun, so don't expect anything great in my collections). There are also descriptions of the hikes we made in the parks. You can see a lot from the main roads, but there is a lot more to see along the trails.

weather....went there towards the end of september 2013....pissing rain/snow for two weeks...the first nice day was the day the government shut down started.

went in the middle of september 2014....mid 70's to 80 for two weeks.

In Grand Teton NP, check out Moose for Moose! Been lucky there several times. Also in and around the Gros Ventre campground.

As MaxDave mentioned, the Badlands National Park is really worthwhile, and they're only about an hour or so from the Black Hills. Many excellent landscape opportunities can be found in the badlands, along with wildlife opportunities including Bighorn Sheep, Mule Deer, Bison, Prairie Dogs, and Burrowing Owls. Sunrise and sunset opportunities are abundant there, as the land is rather flat for miles and miles to both the east and the west of the park.

Here's a link to images of the park:
http://www.google.com …z9OgBLnOgfAF&ve​d=0CCUQsAQ

September will be a perfect time to photograph Moose and Elk, as it is their rutting period. You'll find the best Elk opportunities in Yellowstone, and the best Moose opportunities in the Tetons.

Pika can be found in both Yellowstone and the Tetons, and September is the best month of all for photographing them. They live in rockslides, and are not too hard to find once you know what types of rocks they prefer. Find the rocks and you've found the Pika!

Thanks for all the responses, sorry its taken so long to reply

Hi OhioHick, just had a quick read of your travels, amazing. Your images are great, the SX50 has done a good job. Will spend some more time and read them properly before we go.

Thanks for the inspiration.

Since you are staying at Silver Gate, I assume that you will be driving the Beartooth Highway over from Red Lodge - if not then be sure to add it to your itinerary. If you haven't researched it, just Google it. I can guarantee some potentially breathtaking landscape possibilities there. I drove over the pass last Saturday, took a bunch of shots that I won't get to really review until I get home the end of this week. I did see a herd of Rocky Mountain Goats near the top of the pass, but too far away to do more than just watch for a bit through binoculars.

My trip was through Yellowstone and Teton, but just passing through on my way to Idaho Falls, so no stopping, and didn't see any wildlife there but the bison, of which there were many, as usual. One large herd was crossing the road in dribbles, so there was a lot of stopping and waiting, then inching ahead and stopping again, so I hopefully got some good shots without even having to get out of the car.

In September the Beartooth Highway may be a bit dicey, as that is late for that area and snow can fall there most any time. It's too bad too, because the flowers this year are wonderful, but they will be long gone by then.

Preeb, we most certainly will be doing the Beartooth Highway. We travel from Rapid City to Silvergate via Sheridan, as a stopover, as we want to do Beartooth, looking forward to it.

We've been watching videos of the Bison causing road havoc as well as the amorous Elk in Mammoth battering peoples cars but still very excited.