r/yellowstone

We are traveling to Yellowstone for first time this Friday and wanted to check about the weather, is it snowing and do we require AWD car?

Thank you!

My wife and I have some mobility issues. We can hobble around but distance is torture. Is scooter access decent? Aside from stairs I can do packed gravel just fine, but aside from Google street view there's no resource I can find aside from "there's cement paths and boardwalks in places". Can we get around midway basin? Or Norris? Or the canyon? I need information!

Hi everyone! My boyfriend and I are planning our first Yellowstone trip during the last week of August and I’m wondering how crowded it usually is around that time.

Are the main areas and roads extremely busy, or is it still manageable and enjoyable? How bad are parking and traffic during that week? Do you need to get to places really early to find parking?

We’d likely stay in West Yellowstone and visit the main highlights plus do some hiking. Any tips for avoiding the biggest crowds or things we should know before going?

Hello! My husband and I are visiting Yellowstone for the first time here in about 2 weeks and I am seeking some tips for how to get the most out of our trip and essentials to bring. We are renting a car and driving through Yellowstone down to Grand Tetons (over a roughly 2 week period). We are very go with the flow people when it comes to traveling but there is so much to see and do I am going to need some sort of a rough outline. We will be there end of May/beginning of June. Thank you all!
Edit to clarify time we will be spending out there

I should be at yellowstone in a few weeks, but everything is already booked.

Where should I camp and drive in? Preferably north.

My family is going to Yellowstone for the first time the end of June (3 kids youngest is 6, all are good hikers up to 5 miles). We are staying one night at OFI and three nights at Canyon Village. After months of studying trip plans and YT videos, this is what I came up with. I need some help filling in the morning of day 3, maybe shuffling some things around, I tried to leave wiggle room for traffic or spontaneous stops. We land Friday evening in Bozeman and will get a cooler and supplies.

Saturday - 11:00 am Mammoth Visitor Center for Junior Ranger books, Mammoth Hot Springs (drive upper, walk lower), Sheep Eater Cliffs for picnic lunch, Frying Pan Springs, Fountain Paint Pots, GPS Boardwalk if parking is available, check in OFI, dinner Snow Lodge, Observation Point.

Sunday - Visitor Center at 8:00 am then Upper Geyser Basin Trail to Morning Glory. Lunch at OFI (big lunch to try to avoid eating at Canyon Village), GPS Boardwalk (prepared to wait for parking), Firehole Canyon Drive, Gibbon Falls, Norris Geyser Basin, Check in at CV, drive to observation points of Canyon.

Monday - Leave CV for Lamar Valley at 5:00 am, head to Slough Creek to look for wolves, Trout Lake Trail, Tower Fall, Ice Cream/Snacks in Roosevelt, back to CV 1:00 pm, North Rim Trail, drive to Lake, Storm Point Trail, Lake Hotel Dinner at 5:00, Mud Volcano, Back to CV

Tuesday - Morning? Originally planned to do Fairy Falls to Imperial Geyser but don't love the idea of driving an hour first thing in the morning again, should we stick to the Canyon? Afternoon - West Yellowstone, Bear & Wolf Center, Dinner, Artist Paint Pots on the way back to CV to pack.

Wednesday - Up early for South Rim Trail, head South to West Thumb Geyser Basin, Moose Falls, exit toward GTNP.

Hey so I’m not sure if this is asked a lot because I hate to ask repeat questions but me and my dad are staying in Yellowstone for 4 nights so we have 3 days essentially.

We would like to know the best way to go about it, we would like to do some good lengthy hikes and hopefully see some wildlife - we are also both from England ( although I’ve been studying in Colorado for last year) so are quite unsure on the whole layout and size and kinda scale of it.

We were also thinking of doing some cool activities there as the weather looks good for when we go (21-25 May) so were thinking of doing some kayaking, also we defo want to see the geysers.

we are staying in west Yellowstone on the 25th we are driving to fort Collins CO while staying a few nights at Cody.

Also if there’s anything people recommend in the evenings in west Yellowstone that would be nice to know.

Thanks sm !

Hello! I am wanting to go to Yellowstone in the next few months and want some tips. Do you recommend camping or staying in a cabin? I have been camping multiple times but never out of the state that I live in( Iowa). Overall can you guys give me so tips and tricks when going to Yellowstone. Thank you😊

Hi all, heading to Yellowstone and the Tetons with my family of four and our 23' travel trailer. Camping at Gros Ventre for the Tetons portion of the stay, then heading to our next camp site outside of Gardiner on Weds June 17th. I

'm planning to tow the trailer through Yellowstone that day and see a few sites on the way. I'm curious if anyone has experience towing a trailer through the park at this time of the year and what it's like. I can see RV/Bus parking on satellite photos at West Thumb Geyser Basin, Old Faithful, and even a couple at Grand Prismatic. I'm curious what will be reasonable for us to see on this travel day on our way up to Gardiner with the trailer. We will have two more full days in the park after this day, so we'll be able to come back without the trailer for trickier spots. I've also heard the road from Mammoth down to Gardiner can be challenging but is doable with a trailer. Any suggestions or advice out there? Thanks.

First visit to Yellowstone and we witnessed the most dramatic scene!

On Saturday, May 16th, my wife and I woke up around 4:30 am in the hopes to spot some wolves in Lamar Valley. What we witnessed far exceeded our expectations.

As we are making our way down the gravel road on Slough Creek there is a bald eagle perched in a dead tree - the eagles had been feasting on a bison carcass for the last few days further down the valley. There are a few bison grazing on the far side of Slough Creek.

Along the creek there are viewing spots with perfect line-of-sight to the Junction Butte Pack den. The day prior we had seen 12 wolves from the pack chasing a herd of bison. Later in the same day we had seen the Alpha female take a nap outside the den with what appeared to be swollen nipple from having fed her pups.

As we are scoping the den on Saturday morning, we witness small, tight herd of Elk sprinting away from an unseen threat. As they moved closer to the den they stopped and looked behind them. I panned the scope around just in time to witness a mother grizzly and yearling sprinting down the hillside right by the wolf den.

Out of nowhere, as if they appeared out of thin air, there were 5 wolves prepared to defend their den. There was a 30+ minute standoff between the wolves and grizzlies with the yearling being the main aggressor.

The grizzlies eventually made their way down the valley with no casualties on either side.

Truly incredible experience.

Talk to me about food and bear safety and just how are we doing this correctly (yes, of course we will get bear spray…I’m talking about overnight storage and daytime trailhead parking and in everyone’s backpacks food storage).

Flying in from the east coast for a two week trip to Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and Glacier. Will have a rental minivan and two kids who are big snackers, especially on hikes and long car rides. We are staying in a ton of different places, including some motels, some airbnbs, and some nights inside the national parks in a cabin (never camping though). As we typically do on trips, planning to swing through Costco and load up on all sorts of snacks and food to stretch our budget farther and reduce the whining from kids. All of that we have down pat, no biggie. EXCEPT, have not done this out west. Do not usually need to factor in bears!

So tell me, how are you people doing this? Especially when flying in? Are you buying all sorts of coolers and canisters upon arrival? If so, what foods do you like buying to supplement meals? Are you limiting your hunger to towns outside the parks? I’ve seen things about having a locked cooler and hiding food with blankets, but again, flying in and we try to travel light (as in, carry on only). So how do we do this without wasting money or resources?

I am looking at going camping in yellowstone in late june. does anyone have any recommendations or suggestions on where to go and what to bring. I will be tent camping most nights but my girlfriend will want to sleep in the car some nights what campgrounds would be available and allow that. I was looking and maybe buying some waders but didn’t know if that was necessary. open to any advice first time going to yellowstone!