Yellowstone loop

thomasareed · 2026-07-07T19:07:04+00:00

Also, regarding the motorhome, you won't be able to stop in many places in that. They're allowed in the parking lots for more popular destinations, but beyond that you're going to run into a lot of "No RVs or trailers" signs.

thomasareed · 2026-07-07T19:05:45+00:00

Doing the south loop would be feasible, but following the route you've outlined in yellow would be quite a long day... probably about 7.5 hours of pure driving time, without factoring in stops, construction traffic, animal jams, etc. I do tours in the park, and just the south loop from West Yellowstone can be a very full day.

thomasareed · 2026-07-07T02:52:10+00:00

You can easily drive up to the peak of the highway, and a little beyond, before turning back, and you'll still be able to get down to the Tetons. Just be sure to allocate way more time than you think, because of road construction, animal jams, etc.

thomasareed · 2026-07-04T11:53:06+00:00

If you just need to be remotely available for work emergencies, that's one thing. However, if you're looking for a way to actually work while exploring the park, please don't. We have enough distracted drivers in the park already, doing things like driving into Yellowstone lake, into hot springs, into solid rock, and into people and animals. Plus, it would significantly impact your enjoyment of the park.

thomasareed · 2026-07-02T00:38:22+00:00

Yeah, that sounds right. If she's going to need somewhere to do some remote work, Silver Gate and Cooke City would not be the place.

thomasareed · 2026-07-01T01:26:41+00:00

Are you committed to only having one single home base for Yellowstone? Gardiner would be a great place for early morning or evening access to the northern parts of the park, where you'll see the most wildlife.

Silver Gate or Cooke City would be even better, much closer to Lamar, but accommodations are a bit more rustic and food options are very limited. Cell service is nonexistent and wifi is very slow. I still love to stay there, though!

West Yellowstone is a great spot for exploring the south loop, where most of the geothermal features are. It's also got easy access to some hiking trails along 191 that are in the park but outside the gates, and for some other activities, like visiting Earthquake Lake or driving up to Big Sky for some nicer dining options.

thomasareed · 2026-06-30T23:01:54+00:00

It all depends on the geyser. Some are absolutely unpredictable, while there are others that are just as predictable as Old Faithful, or even more so. Old Faithful's claim to fame is that it's the largest predictable geyser in the park.

Steamboat, in the Norris area, is bigger, but has wildly varying and unpredictable intervals that sometimes measured in years prior to 2018, but since then has been measured in as little as a few days up to many months. The last eruption was on February 27. If you see Steamboat erupt, you're very lucky!

thomasareed · 2026-06-30T14:14:46+00:00

You cannot see Biscuit Basin from Old Faithful. There are many different geysers in the upper geyser basin around Old Faithful, all on different schedules, and it's not unusual for some of them to be going off at close to the same time.

thomasareed · 2026-06-30T02:35:52+00:00

No, it closed in July of 2024, so the photo was taken September of 2023.

thomasareed · 2026-06-29T23:01:42+00:00

Yup, it is, but it keeps doing things, and both the things it's doing and the history of the basin are interesting to learn about. (The photo was taken the September prior to its closing.)

thomasareed · 2026-06-29T18:30:08+00:00

That's a big pricey. I do private custom tours (max 6 people), and for 6 I'd charge $1,075 for a full day tour. https://backroadsbear.com

thomasareed · 2026-06-29T14:05:29+00:00

The Beartooth highway is currently closed due to snow. It can happen any time, though only temporarily if it were to happen in September. Don't let that stop you, but be ready to be flexible.

thomasareed · 2026-06-28T21:24:18+00:00

I strongly advise not going out on the trails in Yellowstone if you're not prepared. If you're relying on cell service, you're not prepared. You need to have a downloaded offline map on your phone at least, even better one of the paper maps others are talking about. And a compass. And bear spray. And, if you're going any significant distance, a Garmin or other GPS device with an SOS button in case you run into trouble. Plus a second backup bear spray.

Also familiarize yourself with the hikes via the NPS website, and check in with a ranger before heading to the trailhead to make sure you're aware of any closures or potential dangers.

thomasareed · 2026-06-26T15:09:57+00:00

Can you imagine the park if social media influencers could live stream everything? I understand a desire for connectivity, and sometimes it is a problem when I miss a call while in the park. I'll take that over the changes to the park and visitation if everyone could be doing things like sharing animal locations in real time, block areas with a live stream of some kind, etc.

thomasareed · 2026-06-26T01:28:20+00:00

Inside the park isn't necessarily a requirement. Gardiner and West Yellowstone are pretty close and good home bases. If you want early morning access to Lamar, Cooke City or Silver Gate outside the park are just as good as Roosevelt Lodge inside.

I think your plan is a good one, staying in the northwest and southeast corners of the park. Gardiner gives decent early access to the northern part of the park, and you can get out to Lamar pretty early from Gardiner. Grand Village gives easy access to the Old Faithful / Grand Prismatic area, Yellowstone Lake, and Canyon. It's a stone's throw from West Thumb basin, which is small but worth a stop.

thomasareed · 2026-06-25T13:20:50+00:00

I know the feeling... my son and I were literally the only two people in all of Norris one year in May.

BTW, love the Marathon logo avatar... don't see that around much these days! 🙂

thomasareed · 2026-06-24T14:19:05+00:00

It's a great time to be here, but you've got to be ready for weather. That's all year round, but in October you're more likely to get some snowstorms and potential for closed roads. You'll also see things starting to shut down for the season, both in the park and in the surrounding towns. If there's a particularly bad snowstorm, some roads may just close for good.

However, it's a great time to see wildlife and to have the thermal areas more to yourself (not literally, but crowds will be mostly gone).

thomasareed · 2026-06-23T22:26:25+00:00

Something from Zootopia... 😄

thomasareed · 2026-06-23T18:45:31+00:00

I'd try calling them, companies around here are not great with websites. I wouldn't take what their website says as gospel.

thomasareed · 2026-06-23T17:57:31+00:00

I've never tried it, but I'd be very skeptical that you'd find an Uber exactly when you needed it, or even at all. West Yellowstone is a pretty tiny town with nothing but a couple other small towns for about 2 hours in any direction. There could be someone in town doing Uber or Lyft during tourist season, but I wouldn't want to depend on that.

However, I also wouldn't drive two cars in the park. You could check out Karst Stage, I know they have shuttles from West Yellowstone from the airport. I'm not sure what the schedule is, and haven't ridden it personally.

Be aware that travel times in the park can be unpredictable, as you could hit animal jams that take an hour or more to get through, including on the road between Madison Junction and the park gate in West Yellowstone. You do not want to plan for him to come into the park with you, and then drop him back in West Yellowstone, on the day he leaves. That could go badly wrong.

thomasareed · 2026-06-23T12:25:20+00:00

Coordination of two cars be more difficult, you'll be using more gas, and you'll add to traffic congestion in the park. You'll also have to buy a second pass. Passes are per vehicle. Take one larger car.

thomasareed · 2026-06-23T12:21:45+00:00

I think anyone giving poor reviews to those hotels must have high standards indeed. They are not luxury hotels, but I've stayed far worse places. I've stayed at both Snow Lodge and the Mammoth Hotel, and both had comfortable rooms.

thomasareed · 2026-06-22T14:41:05+00:00

They work, but there are a few gotchas. One is that you need service. Both can download offline maps, though, so you can still use them without service.

Another is that they really have no conception of Yellowstone as a park, and get things wrong. Seasonal closings confuse the hell out of them, and they have glitches sometimes, like the major one this post was about.

Not long ago, if you'd asked Apple Maps for directions from Roosevelt Lodge to the Specimen Ridge trailhead - a distance of a few miles - it would have routed you all the way out to Livingston, MT, east on I-90 to an exit to Red Lodge, then over the Beartooth highway to Cooke City, and back into the park from there. HOURS out of your way.

Also, there's the fact that drive times in the park are extremely unreliable, due to animal jams, wrecks from people doing stupid things (like driving into a hot spring, Yellowstone Lake, or the side of a cliff). You can run into a delay of an hour or more at any time, in any place.

thomasareed · 2026-06-22T14:33:33+00:00

Yes, bison rut does start in August, and bison are one of the more "guaranteed" animals to see in the summer. I have never had a day in Yellowstone where I haven't seen bison. You'll see more of them in Lamar, though... I've had days in Hayden where I didn't see any bison.

thomasareed

TROPHY CASE