May 2012 Yellowstone trip

[campingcpl]

We are planning a trip to Yellowstone in late May of next year and not sure which would be a better route down to West Yellowstone where we will be staying. We will first be heading for Aberdeen, Sd. for a few days and then heading out US 12 to I90 and stoping in Miles City, Mt.. From there we will be going out I90 and then here is where I'm not sure which would be a better route. Would I be ok taking US 89 to US 20 and going through the park or should I take a little longer route and head over to US 191 and take that down to West Yellowstone? If anyone has driven one or both of these routes I would love to hear your opinions.

[Jim W]

Phil,
We were there in late Aug and early Sept of this year. All though I did not drive on US 89 from I90. It seem to me that all of MT 2 lane highways were better than some 4 lane interstates, east of the Mississippi river. I would have no hesitation with driving on US89. This is one of the recommend ways to reach the northern entrance of Yellowstone Pk.
We visited Hardin MT. to see Custer's battlefield when we left Yellowstone Park (we were at the east entrance Cody WY) taking WY120 to MT72. Catching I90 at Laurel MT. and then to Hardin MT.
When we were driving on MT72 and WY120, I was passed by 10 to 15 campers traveling south. All of these pick-up trucks were pulling 5ers with Canadian license plates, might have been snowbirds heading south.
BTW if you are over 62 yr's you can buy a lifetime pass from the park service for $10. This will get you and 3 occupants of any non-commercial car/truck into any fee paying parks for free.
Jim W.

[jq1031]

We visited Yellowstone a few years ago entering from the north entrance south Of I-90. Camped about 10 mi outside the park & entered each day near Livingston. Next time (after alot of research) I'm going in from the east near Jackson. Yellowstone is so big, I found the north entrance to be away from MOST of the park interior. Alot of driving from where we were, next tiime hopefully less!

[Jim W]

We visited Yellowstone a few years ago entering from the north entrance south Of I-90. Camped about 10 mi outside the park & entered each day near Livingston. Next time (after alot of research) I'm going in from the east near Jackson. Yellowstone is so big, I found the north entrance to be away from MOST of the park interior. Alot of driving from where we were, next tiime hopefully less!

Joe,
We camped 18 miles outside of Cody WY. at Yellowstone Valley Inn and RV park. This was 32 miles north of the east entrance to Yellowstone Park. The campground we choose was one of the closes to Yellowstone Park that had full hook-ups.
We asked at the office how long it would take to get to Jackson Hole and the Tetons National park. They said from the campground this would be a 4 to 6 hour one way drive through the park. Never went ran out of time. As you said the park is so large you need at least 10 days to drive and see everything in this park.

Jim W.

[antiqfreq]

We came in the west side of Yellowstone last year when we stayed at Grizzly RV park for 5 nights which is just outside the main entrance. It was a great park that was full service and nice people.

We came up from Victor, Idaho because we had just left Grand Teton Natl Park.

We left Yellowstone by driving through the park and coming out on the east side of the park and staying in Cody, Wyoming at Ponderosa RV Park. A nice if not a little crowded park but in center of town and near the huge museum there.

Our route took us 33 north to 20 and 20 east into the park.

JO

[LouSlugger]

We traveled there in late May this year, driving from a stop in Rapid City, S.D. to Grand Teton National Park (Jackson Lake). There was still a lot of snow and some major routes (and trails) in Yellowstone remained closed during the time we were there. Also, the mountain pass we crossed to enter Grand Teton had been closed only days before we got there. So keep that in mind as you plan your approach. You could probably do an internet search to determine which roads were closed this year during that time period.

[campingcpl]

We had looked at staying in Cody too but after talking to few people and finding out how long it would take us to get to parts of the park we wanted to goto we decided to stay In West Yellowstone. We are also planning on staying at Grizzly RV park. The reviews for this place have really been good and it has been recomended by several people. I know the weather is going to play a big part in the route we will take. I did check with the park and they said that US 89 and US 20 are usually open by late April. We had talked about going US 20 all the way across but wasn't sure how that route would be to travel. We might take this route back home.

[Bob Landry]

If you are planning to stay in Yellowstone, you would do well to get your reservations now. I already have mine for July 4th week in Grand Teton.