Planning Yellowstone trip in 2019

[Kansas newbie]

Wanting to start planning our trip to Yellowstone next summer. Plan to meet my brother and his wife there. Any suggestions on where to camp? We would need full hookups and showers. Thanks in advance.

[profdant139]

My best advice would be to head over to rv.net and use their archive search function -- there are a lot of discussions on this topic!

The trouble with Yellowstone is that it is so big, and the two lane roads get blocked whenever the drivers see an animal -- a so-called "bear jam" is the result. So you could stay at Fishing Bridge, for example, and other parts of the park would be tough to reach.

We stayed in West Yellowstone at an RV park -- this was in mid-October, and it was very cold, so we needed hookups. Grizzly RV was the name. Nice place, but every part of the park was a bit of a commute from that location.

Will your brother have an RV? If not, that will affect the range of choices.

[Kansas newbie]

Unfortunately his wife doesn't care for the pop-up camper, which also would hamper our choices! Although I would Love to camp in the park, I don't think it would work. I was looking at Cody or perhaps something near both Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons?

[Silverado]

West Yellowstone KOA is where we stayed. 5 minutes drive to the park gate, hookups and they also have cabins for anyone without an RV. Would be my first choice again. Cody Wyoming is more of a drive to the park but has an awesome Outdoor night time Rodeo that is a must see. Their claim to fame is 90 days straight of nightly rodeos. Silverado

[Eagle]

Originally Posted by Kansas newbie

Unfortunately his wife doesn't care for the pop-up camper, which also would hamper our choices! Although I would Love to camp in the park, I don't think it would work. I was looking at Cody or perhaps something near both Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons?

Last time at Yellowstone, 2 years ago, we stayed in Cody.. about 2 blocks from the Cody Museum (BE SURE TO VISIT IT!). A nice park with full hookup here: Ponderosa Campground - Cody, WY - Home



Ponderosa Campground - Cody, WY - RV Park Reviews


Nice campground.

[Silverado]

Eagle is right about traffic, millions of visitors each year, go in the shoulder seasons. Was that the Buffalo Bill museum you are talking about ? In Cody. Great museum and great town to visit. Silverado

[Eagle]

Originally Posted by Silverado

Eagle is right about traffic, millions of visitors each year, go in the shoulder seasons. Was that the Buffalo Bill museum you are talking about ? In Cody. Great museum and great town to visit. Silverado

Like you stated, do the shoulder seasons as the Yellowstone gets super busy June, July, August. Before or after is best to avoid the jam packed roads and crowds everywhere. Here are the annual visitation statistics:
https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvis...ationstats.htm

Yes, the Buffalo Bill museum is excellent. I've visited it three times now over the past 30 years. Lots of upgrades and display changes since the first visit. Easy to spend most of a day there.

http://www.irmahotel.com/index.php

Also visit the Irma Hotel in Cody, once owned by Buffalo Bill. Has a fabulous bar/back bar given to him by the Queen of England. Walk thru and look around for free. The rest of it has become a 'tourist tramp' IMO.

If time permits, slip down and see the Grand Tetons and Jackson Hole, Wyo.

[Gerald Miller]

In August 2015 we stayed at Fishing Bridge for two nights Don’t think they allow pop ups. Then we went to Colter Bay in the Tetons, they have full hook ups, or another section has boondocking spaces where we stayed. We had a generator, but camp only allowed you to run it for 2 hours in the evening. We loved our visit and didn’t run into any major traffic jams. Previous to that we stayed at North Fork Cody State Park, no hook ups, and I think too far to commute to Yellowstone.

[dogs_rule]

I seem to have read that you can boon dock for free in all national parks? Just as a back up if you have trouble finding a spot one night. But you have to know where the spots are for that as some areas it is not allowed.

[Eagle]

Yellowstone campgrounds:

https://rvshare.com/blog/top-10-camp...national-park/

Also, if you have time, drive over to Crow Agency, MT and visit the battleground where Lt. Col. G. Custer was dispatched by the Sioux and Cheyenne American Indians in the Battle of Little Big Horn. https://www.nps.gov/libi/index.htm

It's only 164 miles from Cody, WY.

https://www.distance-cities.com/dist...-mt-to-cody-wy

[Kansas newbie]

Thanks for all the info. Will pass along to my bro and see what he says!

[Randall143]

Spent 7 days in Yellowstone last year. Camped in island park Idaho. and in Cody nCody was 55 miles from the east entrance to Yellowstone. Island park was 16 minutes from the west entrance. We stayed in valley view Rv park. It was much cheaper than the koa which is just up the road. Not real fancy but had full hook ups. Took my Goldwing motorcycle and had a wonderful time riding in the park. This year we spent 7 days riding in glacier national park. Hope to go to Yosemite next year.

[Kansas newbie]

Change of plans...won't be going to Yellowstone next summer due to concerns about our truck. Will keep it on our bucket list and just camp closer to home next summer unless something is decided about the truck😕