Hey All!

I am planning a trip to Yellowstone for next fall (I'm thinking early to mid September) and would like any suggestions on planning my trip.

I have an 03 F350 7.3, a 28' 5th wheel that weighs about 6000lbs loaded. The trip will include my wife and 2 daughters, aged 10 and 12. We may or may not travel with another family of 6 if we can get our schedules to line up and all the camping plans can be worked out, they do not have a trailer and intend to do the trip in tents. We will be leaving from Sarnia, Ontario, Canada.
We plan to visit Mount Rushmore either on the way there or back and any other major attractions (looking for ideas) that should be seen while on the way. I'm not sure yet but I'm thinking 3 or 4 weeks heading to Glacier National Park for a few days, then down to Yellowstone for about a week and maybe some time in the Grand Tetons before heading home.

We are looking to experience nature and not a crowded touristy type of getaway so feed back in regards to camp locations out of the way with scenic, private or boondocking are ideal. Natural "secret" hot springs where you can go into the hot spring like a hot tub would be nice to find somewhere along the route. I understand that Yellowstone itself does not allow boondocking.

Pretty much what Scraprat is doing would be perfect, private, quiet, and very scenic.

We have plenty of experience camping but this will be the furthest/longest trip so far. We went to eastern Canada this summer and had a great time.

Any suggestions are much appreciated.

 

I'd advise against the tent camping, except you cats are already from Canada. Nothing you haven't dealt with in the past camping I am sure.
Chilly nights with occasional hail is my forecast for them.

Griz

 

I haven't been to Glacier so I can't say anything about it. Yellowstone/Grand Teton area and Mt Rushmore area can easily spend over a week just seeing the well beaten path/close to the road stuff. Yellowstone is huge with much to see just on the regular figure eight loop road. Mt Rushmore has many cool things "nearby"...Custer State Park, Devils Tower, Crazy Horse, Bad Lands...just to name a few. Hope you can have 4 full weeks. Sarnia to Glacier to Yellowstone to Mt Rushmore and back to Sarnia will be around 60 hours driving. If Glacier is half as cool as Yellowstone or the Mt Rushmore area you'll have just 3 weeks to visit all three.

Sorry, can't help you with the boondocking. We like to find campgrounds close to the attractions to go site seeing. For us, campgrounds are where we shower and sleep and that's about it.

Yellowstone had one unexpected feature that I didn't expect...and that was the mosquitos. Dang gone those suckers were out biting even at 40 degrees Fahrenheit. If the wind slowed down the mosquitos were unbelievable...they literally swarmed the truck windows waiting for us to open a door. Luckily for us it was too windy most of the time for mosquitos to bother us. The campground where we stayed fogged for mosquitos after dark so they didn't bother us there.

 

Cody WY is definitely worth a visit. This town is the gateway to the eastern entrance of the park.

Buffalo Bill Historical Center encompasses three museums: Winchester Firearms, Plains Indians, Buffalo Bill Cody.

Irma Hotel, erected by Buffalo Bill in 1905 also located there. The back bar was a gift to Bill by Queen Victoria.

Just west of Cody is Coulter's Hell, a roadside attraction. Old Trail Town located in the area, "Liver Eating" Johnson is buried there.

 

Roostercrows when by Glacier NP you might want to check out Many Glacier it's on the east side of Glacier NP by Babb, Mt. If you have spotting scope or a long range camera the Grizzlies maybe feeding on the slopes above and along the road going in.
Great places you're planning to see.

 

I went to Yellowstone this past summer. Make your reservations for a campground NOW! I suggest Headwaters at Flagg Ranch. Actually in Grand Teton NP, but only 3 miles south of the South entrance to Yellowstone. Very nice campground, but no internet or cell service. Colter Bay has internet and cell, but smaller sites and closer to each other.

So much to see in Yellowstone, give yourself at least three days to see some of it. If you hike, then even more time.

The drive over to Custer State Park is incredible. Stay outside the park at Fort Welikit in Custer. Dumb name but great campground!

I;ve been to Custer State Park 5 times. Absolutely amazing. Mount Rushmore was OK but Crazy Horse Memorial was incredible. Lots to do and see in Custer State Park.

Lots of information on line. But make your reservations now for Yellowstone next year. I was towing a 38 foot 5th wheel toy hauler. Make sure you tell reservation people what you are towing. Good luck.

 

With in a 30 minute drive there is boondocking from north or west entrance.

 

Thanks for all the feedback guys, that's the kind of info I'm looking for.
I need to relay this to the other family and get their thoughts but I'm going to strongly recommend a trailer, whether they borrow or rent, after more reading I see that some campgrounds don't even let you stay in tents because of the threat of bears...

 

That is grizzly country. I know I wouldn't want to be in a tent or soft sided camper. Even some of the NF campgrounds that allow soft sided campers/ tents close them down and will post a sign like this.

 

Seriously, reservations ASAP as mentioned above. I bet every site they have every day during summer is already booked. May want to check out dinosaur national park or the mammoth springs if you have time. Maybe the minute man missile silos too

 

It's good to see Crazy Horse Memorial has been brought up.Don't miss it.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...l#post17511321

 

I take my horses to Yellowstone every summer. There is no campground in the park that allows horses. ( You can camp in the back country with horses, But nowhere with a trailer)
So we primarily boondock outside the park and enter each day to access the various trailheads that we want to ride.

Anything on the Grand Loop will be crowded Memorial Day to Labor Day. It's such a zoo , I almost hate to drive into the park. We access the trails we want mostly from trail heads outside the park and ride into what ever we want to see. Since we are on horses ( or you could hike) we see areas of the park that visitors in cars will never see. I have packed into Hawks Rest ( 2 miles south of the Yellowstone Boundary ) This is supposedly " The Most Remote Spot in the Lower 48 states" It is 28 miles in from the parking area. We camped in tents for a week. We saw signs of grizzlies several times. Showing that they had passed near our camp during the night, But never actually saw a live bear. If you camp in tents. Absolutely NO FOOD in the tents. Kids can't sneek a candy bar or piece of jerky into bed. Don't cook or keep your food near your tents.

Since I've been going thru the park since I was a small child, I don't have much interest in the kind of stuff first timers want to see. Old Faithful, The Greater Falls on the Yellowstone River, Hot pots etc. So I'm looking to see remote areas where I rarely bump into others. This year we rode into the Chain Lakes, Which is a trail just north of Canyon, We also rode up Pelican Creek. Bottom line, There are some terrific areas to hike if you want to get out of your truck and hike. Also there is plenty of primitive dispersed camping outside the park if you do not need hook ups.

Pelican Creek

Pelican Creek Ranger cabin

On the Chain Lake Trail.

Crossing the Falls River in SW Yellowstone

Union Falls

This year we were riding in Yellowstone on Sept 24-25th and we had snow each morning and occassional flurries during the day. So dress warm if you come in September.

 

Awesome pics, Painted Horse. Some remined me of my youth. My first time crossing a creek with a horse... Do you keep the horses in the trailer over night?

 

No we just put a highline up between a couple trees and tie the horses to the highline.

This is over in the Gros Ventre by Jackson Hole.


This is just outside Yellowstone near Bechler Ranger Station.


This is looking up the Thurofare Creek from on top of Hawks Rest


This is the Forest Service Cabin at Hawks Rest. ( which is the mountain directly behind the cabin.) What ever employee of the forest service who is working the are stays in the cabin and his horses are in the corral.


We would hobble our horses in the morning and turn them out in the meadows to eat. They would hobble back into camp when it warmed up and the bugs started to bite.


This is Parting of the Waters. This stream comes down and splits. One side becomes Atlantic creek that runs down into the Yellowstone River and out into the Missouri and Mississippi and eventually the Gulf of Mexico. The other Pacific Creek runs out into the Snake River and then the Columbia River and into the Pacific.




Hawks Rest is a 28 mile ride in from Turpin Meadows Trailhead near Moran Junction Wyo. Supposedly the "Most Remote Spot" in the lower 48 states.

 

Beautiful country and awesome pics, Painted Horse. You are leading a blessed life for sure. Do you guys pack some bear protection devices whenever you are out in the boonies like that? I love the west and definitely plan to do more traveling in that area soon. We (my wife) hate flying so we drove to Yellowstone a couple of years ago. 5400 miles round trip, but well worth it. Take care.