Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Yellowstone Trip

Hey guys,
Need help and input planning a Trip to Yellowstone for June.
Wanna take the kids (4 kids ages 7 to 14) to Yellowstone.
We will have to fly and plan to then rent an RV, as that seems the best option at this point.
High points would be Old Faithful, thermophile pools, wildlife.

Any recs on where to start reading/researching? Wat to avoid. There are plenty of websites, but I trust the experience here.

The entire northwest will still be covered in a 2 mile thick sheet of solid clear ice in June. Sorry.

North end of park around Gardiner is the best. Cody Wy is worth a trip. Jackson is basically an extension of California.

If you have not got your camping reservations yet you are to late by about 2 months.

You can't beat Old Faithful. The entire park is a wonderland. It is mighty crowded, I mean 2-hour backups in the traffic, in June, July and August.
I could spend a whole week in that park.

I flew into Bozeman and stayed in Gardiner; good park access from there.

The Lamar Valley is the place to see if wildlife is a priority. I have been there 3 times and each time we have seen bears and wolves. Two of those encounters were with grizzly bears guarding a elk/deer kill from wolves.

What is it you want to do there? Drive from parking lot to parking lot in your rented RV, to see the sights?

Bring bear spray griz like spice when they snack, bison like to be hand fed oats!

River rafting on the Snake River outside of Jackson is a ton of fun but the water level may high in June.

Lots of hiking.

Lot of traffic jams on the roads with people stopping to walk among the buffalo.

West Yellowstone area is probably your best bet. Get going yesterday to find a place to camp tho. Also, be up and in the park at opening. It gets full quick. If you go down to the lodge, the parking lot will be a zoo if you don’t get there early. Lots and lots of things to do and see but be a bit wary too. Some gal got et by one of the bears there last summer.

We went last June. Drove instead of flying - 4 kids here as well. Went to Badlands, Mt. Rushmore, Cody, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and Rocky Mountain NP over 14 days. Did a VRBO on the Madison River in Cameron MT for the Yellowstone days. Yellowstone will be a ton of driving any way you slice it, so having something other than an RV was nice there. We basically did Yellowstone Lake on the way through from Cody to Cameron, then spent a day on the lower thermal features (Old Faithful, Grand Prismatic, etc.) and then a day on the northern side of the park (Mammoth Hot Springs mainly), ending at Artist's Point in the middle of the park. We took a day off in the middle of the Yellowstone days and stayed at the VRBO except for a short trip to the Earthquake Lake visitors center to enjoy the local scenery and give everyone a break from the van.

We did raft the Snake River in Jackson - that was definitely a high point. An unexpected surprise was the scenery driving through Bighorn NF from Sheridan to Cody. The Buffalo Bill Dam was a neat stop on the way into the park from Cody.

I stayed in my travel trailer @ Gardiner in July. It made me never ever ever ever want to go back. If you live in a huge city it might be ok....if you live in a rural town, it'll seem crowded and rude.

We spent a week there and hit everything. We would leave by 4 to beat the traffic.

Have a brother that lives very close. We spent some time out there a few years ago. I was surprised at how busy the sites are and how far apart the stuff was. We saw them all, but you will spend a solid day driving and not see everything. Keep that in mind

We got lucky. We pulled up at old faithful, parked and walked over. The thing erupted right away so not much time spent there. Over to the ice cream stand and on our way to the next haha

Grand prismatic was one of my favorite areas

The grand canyon there is bad ass too. Very nice country

Right down in front of my brothers house

Start here: https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/index.htm

Campground info (with one reference to RV stuff) is here: https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/campgrounds.htm

For Grand Teton National Park, start here: https://www.nps.gov/grte/planyourvisit/index.htm There is a little bit of RV parking there, too. Colter Bay Village has some.

This is pretty late notice to plan such an adventure. In any event, there is no way I would want to drive an RV around Yellowstone Park. I would want to to have the use of a car and stay as close to the park as possible (assuming no reservations are available inside the park at this point in time, which may be incorrect), so I could drive in and out. The speed limits in the park are around 45 mph, and there is a lot of traffic and stoppages for critters, so moving around is slow, plus the drive time to and from the park. If you can get some rooms inside the park, so much the better. Call or search right now if you want to try for rooms.

This^^

Get up and out early! Get to where you want to be before first light. You will see a lot of critters and not a lot of tourists. Bring a few sets of binoculars and a spotting scope if you have one.

A few years back, if you were a certain age you could buy a lifetime pass to the National Parks for like 10 bucks. The pass could be used for a carload of people. I think the park service discontinued that but I would look into what pass discounts might be available.

Unfortunately, trips like this require reservations way in advance, like a year.

Sonxx: Don't let ANYONE talk you out of the short sojourn to Jackson Hole, Wyoming from Yellowstone!
It is one of my most favorite scenic places on erf! If you do stop in town (Jackson) hold onto your wallet as everything there is expensive - including the tram ride up a mountain for an even more incredible view/vista of Jackson Hole and the Grand Tetons. Even if pricey those tram rides are well worth the money.
Be sure to plan one of your days in Yellowstone to arrive at "Artists Point" right about high noon as there will be no/fewer shadows to interrupt your viewing/photography of the world class vista from there.
Also a trip up Beartooth Pass (just north of Yellowstone Park) is incredible if the road is open in your part of June.
I have one of the current National park Passes and mine is/has been good forever and was $20.00 about 12 years ago when I qualified for it (age wise).
If you have youngsters you may NOT be old enough for that money saving pass.
Enjoy your time in the Rockies.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Me and a buddy went last August, drove out, managed to get 4 nights at a cabin in the lake village. Booked that a month in advance and was lucky to get it. Day one drove the lower loop, up the east side to the falls and canyon. Hiked several boardwalks around thermals. Afternoon headed west to Norris geyser basin, couldn’t get in for the traffic jam, same at Grand Prismatic. Went down along the Madison river and took the Firehole falls side trail. Headed on to Old Faithful, plenty of parking to handle the crowds. Be sure to see the lodge and hike the other thermal features, not just see the geyser blow then go.
Day two we left early and were at Grand Prismatic at dawn with two other cars. Be sure to hike the boardwalk. We then hiked Artist Paint Pots, it’s a good one. On to Norris, do the hike. On north to Mammoth Springs and the crowds were unbelievable. Found parking and took a short hike then headed south on the east side. Drove up Lamar valley but construction to repair road damage from the 2022 flood turned us back. Ate at the Canyon village and on south to our cabin. Spent the evening watching elk east of fisherman’s bridge.
Day three we hit visitor centers at the bridge, canyon and Old Faithfull. Took a big hike at OF. Ate dinner on the lake at Grant village. Next morning headed to Cody.
Pack lunch and drinks and be ready for crowds and traffic jams due to buffaloes. I would not drive an RV.

THIS, in spades.

Yellowstone does reservations inside the park with link shown...not Rec.Gov

Don't wait any longer to try to book what you're looking for

I made reservations in Teton NP for June...receipt shows booked/paid for Dec 30th

Along with Yellowstone..........camping both spots


https://secure.yellowstonenationalparklodges.com/booking/lodging

Here ya go......

$530/night

https://secure.yellowstonenationalparklodges.com/booking/lodging-review

Plus one on the river rafting.

The kids will love it. We did it as an afterthought because my son was begging to do it. The river guides were great and it was well worth the extra few hours after leaving the park.

As some have alluded to, you may have missed the raft for this year. If you start right now, you MIGHT be able to get decent reservations (for the RV and the park) for 2025. This June? nope.

Go ahead and try, but don't make any payments you can't cancel because everything else is impossible.

It is something everyone should see, for sure. The problem is that it will seem like everyone on the planet is in line just to get in to the place. Thirty years ago, you could just drive in. Not now. And that's true for all the great parks out west. Some even have time slots you have to reserve. You get a slot of a few hours starting at X and that is it. No kidding.

There are camping/RV spots available at Cave Falls. Plenty of hiking, lots to enjoy, catch and release fishing, beautiful river and falls, but no geysers. Cave Falls is very disconnected from the rest of the park. You have to drive far out around to get to the rest of the park, so it doesn't get so many visitors.

By all means enjoy Teton National Park while you are there. It's not far.

In Jackson, there are dinner shows available. I've heard of Bar T 5, which is a chuckwagon kind of thing.

DO NOT skip a trip over Beartooth Pass.

And if possible include Sunlight Basin and a stop at the Buffalo Bill museum in Cody.

My favorite part of Yellowstone was the Cody firearms museum.

Yellowstone still needs no reservation to get in, but the line is several blocks long, choking traffic in West Yellowstone. It is best to start late in the day or before 6:00 AM if you don’t want to be held up in a real long line.

Then when you do get into the Park, you will have to wait again on the road for the idiots that won’t drive around a buffalo…

This.....

referred to as 'Timed Entries'

Arches & Zion start April 1st

Buy your time slots at Rec.gov'

$2 a pop (vehicle)

https://www.recreation.gov/

It won't be long before Yellerrocks goes that way, too. Inevitable with so much pressure. They may even be forced to go to a drawing some day. My prediction.

If you're lucky the whole sumbitch may blow up while you're there!

LMAO !!!!!!!!

If someone from New York City sees a chipmunk on the side of the road expect a instant traffic jam and back up or miles. Course if you are from New York, you will be used to it. I would advise to always have your cameras handy to take pictures,videos of people ignoring the keep your distance from the animals and stay on walkways signs. Also if you walk out closer to get a close up picture of a grizzly, always take a friend along that runs slower then you. Have fun, you will enjoy the park.

THIS^^^,Stay in or around Cody,Be prepared to be hammered with people in June.

It will be crowded. We typically go for extended stays post Labor Day when one rarely needs to make reservations in or out of the park. If one wants to do the park without jumping from the rig to snap a photo and then rushing off again, spend about 4 to 5 days in the park taking time to walk about and smell the roses around the various loops. Yes, do get out as early as possible if wildlife is of interest. Pack your own lunches and drinks to avoid being forced back into mob zones midday. There are a few dead-end side road runs that are worth doing too, with a few being rather tight. Typically, they are signed such that one should not attempt with a huge rig or trailer. Lots of places to escape the crowds too if one will just do a little hiking.

Around a few of the larger facilities there are some evening presentations on things like geology, wildlife, wolves, fire history, etc that are interesting and informative. Fishing can be quite good, but it's a bit challenging as the trout are extremely educated in the roadside runs.

Also, some warm clothing as one will be out at 5 to 8,000 ft of elevation.

For sure bring your cameras with both wide angle, long glass, binos, and a spotting scope if possible. If one does not own big glass, there are companies that will rent out long lenses.

Sometime around Jackson, the Tetons, and a ride up the lift are also worthwhile.

Yes, on the golden age passports. Gets the whole carload in for free.

Last year we rented a house in Idaho visited the park and the Hole a few times , hiked a bit , fished the Henry Fork, horseback rode in Harriman. Pretty country and would visit the north and Cody on another trip.

Don’t feed the bears.😆


I was lucky enough to see a grizzly my first time there. It was less than 50 yards.

That is well worth seeing if the OP has the time.

I was stuck in a bear jam once and finally decided to get out in my chair and follow the crowd. At the head of the jamb I was straining to see past the mob when suddenly the ranger yells, whoa wait folks, we have a man in a wheelchair, let him up front.
As they let me by I could see a bear sow with cub very close, under 100 ft and felt uneasy like they were offering me up for the decoy.
Next jam I stayed in the truck.
Also saw a man get gored by buffalo, got copter ride and lived.
A man in camp wandered off trail at hot springs, sinking in mud to knees and got 2nd deg burns.
Three people went past sign at canyon, one slipped off rock face and died.
I was amazed at how many vacations I saw ruined out of stupidity.
Summer is nice but water can still freeze at night with the high elevation.