Question about visiting the Yellowstone region

Email Me When A New Comment Is Made
Show Only Poster Name and Title Sort in Reverse Order Posted

Pages: 1 2

buzzard 8/12/2008 10:32:36 AM

I have a buddy who just spent his vacation in Yellowstone this summer. I'll ask him about it for you. He rented a cabin up there for cheap. As for screwing around with Grizzlies, I'd say go with a tour of some sort. You really don't want to be around them on your own outside of a car.

buzzard

Quote Reply

doggtag Yellowstone 8/12/2008 12:14:59 PM

I was last there in summer 2003 (last week of August).

If you're interested, you can actually stay in the Park, in the designated camping areas (for tents, trailers, and RV/motor homes), with or without hook ups (water, sewer, electricity),

or you can stay, at reasonable rates (off peak season) at any of the hotels or cottage rentals in the Park.

Link to Yellowstone National Park website

A few points: buy any supplies you think you need (food, film especially) before you go into the Park, as supplies and goods at the park shops are downright expensive (tourist trap).

Bring lots of film.

Don't always count on Old Faithful to stick to her "schedule".

I've seen her erupt earlier than the average time, and other times not for hours.

Bring lots of film.

You can eat pretty good in the Park restaurants if you're there during the off peak seasons. We just missed the main summer cycle, and the menu left in our room reflected the peak prices, often $2-3 more for a given meal as opposed to what we actually paid (we stayed at Canyon Village).

You can book a room at the main Yellowstone Inn or any of the various villages, but you're further to try booking ahead before you even enter the park, just to be sure you'll have accomodation (also book early for the campsites rather than assuming you'll get one just when you show up at any Park office).

If you find yourself on Alternate Route 14 in Lovell, Wyoming (if coming from Bighorn National Forest in the east), don't say I didn't warn you...(I'll leave it at that).

Take the main Route 14; it's the more travelled highway, and especially be wary that school is back in, so be cautious of buses in the early morning and mid/late afternoon...(and don't assume that school buses obey every traffic sign, either).

Grand Teton National Park is south of Yellowstone along Highway 191.

Bring a lot more film if you go there.

If you were ever a fan of the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind,

or just want to see more things of interest,

Devil's Tower National Monument is to the upper eastern corner of the state,

above Interstate Highway 90, between Hulett and Carlile (I'm guessing the highway expansion underway back in 2003 is well finished by now).

Keep in mind when you're going: mid-September at Yellowstone's high elevation means expect frost (night temperatures should be expected to easily drop to 0°C / 32°F, if not lower, but I have no ideas about when the first snow falls come.

Day temperatures, don't expect it to be t-shirt, shorts, and sandals for mid-September (and if you camp near pine trees, check for ticks as often as possible), and it'll cool off quickly as soon as the sun goes below the horizon and everything is in shadows.

(the website should assist you on appropriate seasonal attire.)

Also, if you're into fishing, two words: lake trout.

There are some damn big fish in Lake Yellowstone, and you can purchase a fishing permit (although they'll most likely sock you a horrible price, but if you can keep what you catch, you might not need to bring much food with you, long as you can grill...)

There are scores of walkways around the various geothermal attractions, do stay on them.

The late summer/early fall temps might've reduced the bug population to more tolerable levels (mosquitos, gnats, and black flies are horrible at the peak of summer, but the fish seem to love them).

Be very wary of stray bison especially: the Park is their house, you're visiting.

So don't expect the wildlife to stay off the roads, trails, or out of your camping area.

In 4 trips thru the park since 1977, I've never seen a live bear.

Everything else though (the pelicans, eagles, and osprey preying on fish at the bridge along Route 14 if you come in thru the East Gate is quite a sight).

Coming into the Park via any entrance, don't be alarmed at the signs that read something to the effect of "Don't Feed or Molest the Animals".

(I shudder to think why they needed to include that word for lack of a better one...)

For however much filming you plan on doing,

please be sure you have a good film camera (some lower-quality digitals just don't do justice for the myriad of colors you'll see in so many of the geothermal water pools).

Postal facilities are available in the Park, but you might get better full postal service (and better mailing rates if you desire to send souvenirs home) at one of the towns just outside the Park.

Hope some of this helps...

Quote Reply

Ispose Custer Battlefield 8/12/2008 4:20:33 PM

You're not too far away from Custer Battlefield and that's a pretty cool tour as well.

Quote Reply

Barca Yellowstone 8/12/2008 4:25:14 PM

Specifically, I've got five days in the region and I want to maximise my chance of getting some happy snaps of Grizzlies in the wild. The main parameters for the trip are;

I go there every summer. There is no guarantee that you will see a bear - black or grizzley. But 5 days in the park helps your chances. The best way to see the park is by car. You may also consider visiting the Grand Tetons to the south.

Unfortunately the Mammouth Springs are not very active this year. You will want to spend a day waiting for the geysers in (or just north of) the Old Faithful basin.

You will want to travel the road between Rosevelt and Fishing Bridge. There is a momma bear with two cubs that hasn't yet seemed to mind tourists.

1. I'm travelling budget, so I'm thinking backpackers hostel or camping. Is the weather ok for camping in mid September and can you hire gear for a decent price? Where are the best camping grounds?

Hostel? The US is short on those in general and you won't find anything like that around the park. The best experience is to stay inside the park. Check the US parks web site and plan now. Any camping site with a Visitor Center will be of high quality. But it sounds like you may try an overnight hike into the center area. Highly reccomended, just obey the rules. The prices for camping gear are what they are. If you are spending all that money to go there, you might as well visit the REI in Jaskson Hole or find a Wal-Mart on the way.

Weather is always touchy. It has been known to snow on the fourth of July. But it looks like you are going at a good time for camping.

2. If I was to stay in a hostel, what is the best town in the region to hang in. Cody? Bozeman? Jackson?

Cody is an hour away, the others more so. Jackson is definitely a nicer, but more expensive place to stay. Renting a tent with sleeping gear and staying in the park is definitely cheaper.

3. I want the best chance at finding some bears and want to to avoid getting eaten, so I figure it might be best to get a guided tour. Can anybody recommend tours? Is it best to book or can you usually get a spot if you just rock up? Are the ranger guided tours ok or is it best to go on a commerical tour?

It is popular to ride the Red Coach. Eventhough they can't avoid Bison, Moose, Antelope, Deer, or maybe even a fox, they don't want to be around any Bears. They are also not cheap, but yes you can get a spot if you just walk up.

I find the free Ranger series/hikes to be far more interesting, but a lot of visitors aren't into that.

It is possible to find bears on the side of the road. I had 4 different bear sightings this year, even one that was eating a carcass. That Grizzley stayed there for about 30 hours, so talking to the Rangers to find out where they are will be an aid.

To avoid being eaten/mauled there are some rules. Among them are:

1) Stay over 100 feet away from all bears.

2) Use the bear safe containers to store food and trash.

3) Don't feed any animals.

4) Make lots of noise.

Of course if you make lots of noise, it will scare away all the bears and the rest of the wildlife. So the best way and most dangerous, to find a bear is to hike in a ways where there are not as many visitors. You will quickly learn to spot bear sign and figure out what routes they are likely to take.

The Huckleberries should still be out and they are a bear magnet. Of course, that means the Rangers will probably declare them off limits (and with good reason.)

Quote Reply

Nanheyangrouchuan 8/12/2008 10:26:36 PM

"Renting a tent with sleeping gear and staying in the park is definitely cheaper"

Besides wildlife, stay out of low elevations, the park is an active caldera and sleeping animals have been found dead by park rangers because a cloud of hydrogen sulfide or CO2 belched out of a vent and suffocated them. Jackson is horribly expensive and is getting more so because the ultra-wealthy are looking for another remote area to cut themselves off from "commoners".

You'll want to bring rain and cold weather gear as the weather can be brutal and changes fast. The best experience would be to get a cabin, you'd have to know the area to know where to pitch a tent that won't bring bears, raccoons, get swept away in a flash flood, etc. Be sure to ask the rangers about the Yellowstone caldera and the doomsday scenario for the US.

Quote Reply

doggtag 8/13/2008 7:06:12 AM

Be sure to ask the rangers about the Yellowstone caldera and the doomsday scenario for the US.

Always with them negative waves, N.

;-)

Quote Reply

Aussiegunneragain 8/16/2008 4:17:05 AM

Thanks Gents, thats very helpful. I'm feeling inspired to hire a car and stay in both Yellowstone and Grand Teton, and I may then shoot up to the Custer battlefield and check out Cody on the way back to Jackson on the way out. Nan, if the Caldera goes up in mid to late September and it gets reported that an Aussie bloke in his mid-30's was one of the victims, be sure to write to Speilberg for me and as him to cast somebody decent as me in the movie he makes about it ;-).

Quote Reply

CJH 8/16/2008 1:54:29 PM

When we went to Yellowstone in 1985 and wanted to go to a town, we went to West Yellowstone, Montana on the west edge of the park. It was a laid back place. You might ask about Cooke City on the northeast side too. Gardiner, Montana is close by to the north.

IIRC, we rented from a outfitter in West Yellowstone. I see there's a West Yellowstone link outfitter online.

Red Lodge, Montana is a ways past Cooke City. It's a (possibly year round) ski area. Beartooth Pass on the way there is almost 11,000 ft of altitude.

We were a group of two so we were sent off to backpack in the Hell Roaring Creek series of trails.

We were told that we would have to be in a group 4 (or 8?) to get a permit to backpack in bear country.

Hayden Valley is a site for parking on the road side and watching for bears. We never saw any the whole time in the park, darn it.

An outfitter had told us before we left home that we simply must hike Lamar Valley to see the bears. As it was, this was where only groups of 4 (or 8?) could get ranger station issued hiking permits. When I got home, the outfitter told me I should have gone back in there without the permit.

Another place we had been advised to hike was closed because there was still 18 inches of (wet) snow there. This was in the middle of June.

The caldera is actually Yellowstone Lake from which the river of that name flows northest. The geyser basins do have some sulfurous gases present.

Our permit issuing ranger had a sense of humor. He had to give us a health and safety talk. Discussing giardia, he gave us that warning about untreated water and then mentioned how he had drunk water from a creek. He told us that after drinking out of the creek, he had wandered upstream a little where he saw a dead elk lying in the water.

One thing that impressed me about the backcountry was seeing all the bleached animal bones lying around on the ground in places.

Quote Reply

Aussiegunneragain 8/16/2008 10:36:33 PM

Thanks CJH. I'm actually thinking of putting West Yellowstone on my itinary as a back-up in case I don't see any bears in Yellowtone, as they have some sort of bear sanctury there, but I'll consider it as a stop for other reasons too.

Quote Reply

Ashley-the-man also Craters of the Moon park 8/17/2008 11:46:48 AM

The west side of the park, West Yellowstone and Island Park are to me more interesting than Cody.

A trip down to Craters of the Moon SW of West Yellowstone and outside the town of Arco (world?s first town powered by nuclear generated electricity) is a nice compliment to the geology of Yellowstone. Around Island Park is the Henrys Lake area that is world renowned for trout fishing.

The Snake River plane starts SW of the park and continues for around 300 miles to the Idaho Oregon border. The Yellowstone caldera that blew up 650,000 years was just one of a significant series of events that helped form the Snake River plane. About 14 million years ago a Yellowstone size caldera was created in the region bounded by the borders of Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and California. Then about every 2-3 million years a new caldera was former generally in a EEN direction heading toward Yellowstone and the North American plate moving WWS came over a hot spot.

Craters of the Moon is the site of an eruption most recently about 2,000 years ago that has seen virtually no erosion in the high desert climate. The lava flows have diverted the course of a couple of rivers draining mountain valleys. The rivers no longer have a course to a larger river or lake so just come to an end, sink into the ground and become a source of an aquifer that erupts along the Snake River near Twin Falls.

Check a wiki page and a Google earth search to see some very interesting images of the lava flows and the effect on the local area. It?s fun to do a Google Earth search do a slow ?fly? over the mountain areas to get a 3D view of mountains and valleys. Two weeks ago I flew over the area (in a real plane) and had a fascinating view of the lava flows.

The wildlife of Yellowstone is always worthwhile to view, and the geologic features are equally inspiring.

Quote Reply

Barca 8/17/2008 11:02:47 PM

Cody is fine. They have a sort of Wild West Museum and show, Rodeo when it is in town. But unless you need to go shopping (there is a Wal-Mart there, internet connection at the McDonalds), I wouldn't spend one of my only 5 days there. Jackson, Cody, and West Yellowstone are 3 different directions, so you should just pick one. You haven't indicated how you were getting there.

Custer's last stand is a full day away (2 days there and back to Yellowstone) and not much there.

What is this about sleeping on the Caldera? I suspect that you are smart enough to sleep at approved campsites.

Quote Reply

doggtag 8/18/2008 9:21:25 AM

What is this about sleeping on the Caldera? I suspect that you are smart enough to sleep at approved campsites.

According to our buddy Mr Negativelambkabob there,

(and a dozen other doom-and-gloom prophesizers and shows on the Discovery Channel and NatGeo),

the entire Park is one giant caldera...

Shucks, we let Californians live along major fault lines, and millions of others in the US live in prime flood zones or in Hurricane Alley, so what's all the fuss over sleeping inside a semi-dormant geothermal region?

Welcome to Earth. Live here at your own risk.

Quote Reply

longrifle 8/18/2008 10:06:53 PM

Assiegunneragain,

Suggestion: if you camp in late Sept./early Oct., camp in Grant Teton or Yellowstone National Parks, not on the National Forest areas adjacent to the parks. Hunting season will opening on the National Forest at about that time, so those campgrounds will see heavier use.

Regarding bears: they?re there; however, you just see them, or you just don?t. There is really no way to predict if you will see one or not. Spring can be a little better for bear watching than fall because of buffalo and elk that have died during the winter. If there?s a carcass anywhere near the road, it stands a good chance of being visited by a bear. In spite of seeing numerous bear tracks and scat throughout the region, I?ve only seen grizzlies in the wild twice since 1990.

If you want to rent a car ? and you want to see Grand Teton National Park - consider flying into the Jackson Hole airport. From there, you can drive north to Grand Teton National Park if you want to camp right away, or south, if you want to stay a night in Jackson.

From Jackson, you can go north to Grand Teton, Yellowstone, Cody, West Yellowstone, and back to down to the Jackson Hole airport to turn your car in a fly out. That?s not a one day trip, you will want to camp (or stay) in Yellowstone along the way.

There is one hostel in Jackson. It?s in the basement of the Anvil Motel. It?s $25 per night and first come-first serve, so you can?t count on it being available. A regular room at the Anvil Motel is $128.00 for a single until Sept. 23 and $87.00 for a single after Sept. 23. Other motels in Jackson also drop their prices in late Sept./early Oct. The Anvil is neither the best or worst place to stay in Jackson. I just mention it because it?s easy to find if you come into Jackson from the airport and they have the hostel available at times. It?s also a two block walk from the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar and Steakhouse.

I know that Teton Mountaineering rents equipment in Jackson. I don?t know what their rates are, but I would expect them to be expensive. Go to: tetonmtn.org

The Buffalo Bill Historical Center is the most interesting thing in Cody. The firearms museum is fantastic. Go to: bbhc.org

The Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center is the most interesting thing in West Yellowstone. Go to grizzlydiscoveryctr.org

The Little Bighorn National Monument Battlefield is about a half-day drive from Cody. With the current price of gas, I?d skip it, unless you?re just really into the history of that particular battle. You might enjoy yourself more if you plan on seeing a few things at your leisure rather than driving all over trying to cram too much into a short time span.

Remember that campsites in Grand Teton and Yellowstone need to be reserved in advance. You should go to their websites for information on fees and reservations.

I hope this helps a little.

Quote Reply

Aussiegunneragain Dogtag 8/19/2008 5:49:17 AM

What is this about sleeping on the Caldera? I suspect that you are smart enough to sleep at approved campsites.

According to our buddy Mr Negativelambkabob there,

(and a dozen other doom-and-gloom prophesizers and shows on the Discovery Channel and NatGeo),

the entire Park is one giant caldera...

Welcome to Earth. Live here at your own risk.

Now now, I take any warnings about the potential dangers of travelling the US very seriously. As well as exploding caldera's, I'm also worried about getting tasared by highway patrolmen when I get caught speeding (don't tell me it won't happen, I saw "Meet the Fockers"), getting a wire around my neck in Little Italy, being in the way of a Russian missile strike on Washington and getting arse-raped by ET in the Arizona Desert (as well as by a member of the majority in San Fransisco) ;-).

	News As History - December 1, 2008
	Home News How to Make War Wars Around the World Austin Bay's On Point Dirty Little Secrets Features Al Nofi's CIC Prediction Market Wargames Measure of Respect On War and Warfare Videos Photos Jokes Community Military Discussion Boards Military Jokes Military Photos Military Book Reviews Military Movie Reviews Military Links Wargame Store StrategyPage Subscribe Login Feedback About Us Search Account Manager Advertise With Us