I've reviewed most of the other Yellowstone threads, but I have some questions that I didn't find on them. My wife and I and another couple are hoping to go to Yellowstone the week of August 22 of next year. I know that is far away, but we would like to get lots of info so we can make some decisions. We have never been to any national park at all.
We chose that week because we figure that alot of schools start back that week, so that should eliminate some possible visitors and result in shorter lines everywhere. It's 1500 miles from central Ohio to Casper, and because of that distance it would have to be 3 days out and back if we ride or drive/trailer. We're considering shipping our bikes to Casper and flying there and picking them up and then heading to Yellowstone, which will save a total of four days of travel but will cost lots more.
What is the best schedule for seeing everything, or at least most everything? Do people coming from the east stay at the eastern edge of the park for a few days, ride and see the sights, and then ride through and stay a few days in the western or northwestern areas? Assuming co-operative weather, can you see all the cool stuff in 5 days, including doing Beartooth? Would we need cool weather gear during that week of August?
As to lodging, we are not campers, so we will go the motel or park lodge route, whatever is cheaper. Any recommendations?
For us, most probably this will be our only trip out there, and we want to do it right. We hope to see at least one bear, a wolf or two, and a few bison.
Any thoughts and ideas will be greatly appreciated. Thanks to all in advance.

 

5 days is plenty of time to see the sights. Wildlife sight seeing will not be a problem, you'll encounter plenty of elk and bison. For moose and bear you might want to try and be in the park as early in the morning as possible, these animals tend to get pushed back into the forrest once the traffic picks up. If you see a bear you'll be doing great, I haven't seen a bear up there for years, and I go yearly. Not saying people don't, they're just not nearly as common as they were say 20-30 years ago.

Lodging. I would recommend staying in West Yellowstone, Jackson or Cody. There are hotels in the park but they are a bit pricey. You'll want to check with the park once the trip gets closer to see what roads may be under construction which may help influence your decision. From Cody you can do the Chief Joseph / Beartooth loop which can be comfortably done in a day. The Bighorn's are also not too far from Cody and is a great ride.

Old Faithful geyser is the most popular sight within Yellowstone, that is where you'll encounter the largest crowds. Yellowstone Falls is also a big one. Just grab a map from the ranger's station, it will guide you to all the hot spots (no pun intended). The north west end of the park is Mammoth Hot Springs, they are quite a sight and there are also tons of elk in this area. The north west has tons of bison.

I could go on and on, but I'll let some others chime in.

Oh, and you're right, most schools nearby do start the end of August.

 

Having just gone through there, I can give you my .02 on some of your questions.

Our itinerary took us from Jackson WY...through Yellowstone and up Beartooth Hwy ending in Red Lodge MT. We did this ride all in a day...including going to Old Faithful, eating lunch and waiting for it to "go off". It spews about every 90 minutes or so BTW. This only gave us time to ride along the east loop...coming up into the park from the South Entrance leaving out the North Entrance. One day in the Park didn't leave a whole lot of time for sightseeing other than stopping for photo ops.

We left Jackson about 8:30 am and got into Red Lodge before dark.
The construction in Yellowstone slowed us down more than the crowds. Construction for next year is anyone's guess...you might try contacting the park or the WY Hwy dept to see what, if anything, they have scheduled. Beartooth Hwy was undergoing a good bit of construction in various spots. The crews do not work on weekends/holidays so that helped us since we were doing the ride on a Saturday.

Traffic/crowds: Nowhere NEAR as bad as I'd anticipated based on what I'd heard. Simply wasn't an issue in our case (We were even going through on a Saturday, Aug 1). My guess is the economy had a lot to do with that.

Time to go through: Depending on how much you like to chill and hang out, I'd think 2 days would be minimum for seeing the park. Esp if you stay in the Park.

Animals: You should have no problem seeing something...we saw an Elk, several bison and some donkeys. No bears though.

Coming in from which Entrance: People come in from all over. I had heard from another forum member the winds coming in from and out of the east entrance can sometimes get dangerous with a tunnel affect so we avoided that altogether. We DID experience some dangerous and terrifying wind between Cody and Greybull (blew windshields off 3 harleys that we knew of!). We were heading to Sheridan, but parked our wet and frightened butts at the first motel in Greybull...along with throngs of other riders not willing to go further.

Where to stay: There is lodging in the park...probably pricey, but certainly convenient.

Weather: Take Rain Gear! and be prepared for cool/cold weather. I cranked up the heated gear a couple of times (I'm a wuss from TX though!) The weather in the mountains can change in a hearbeat...this I knew from 20+ years going to Colorado every summer.

Do I think you can do it in 5 days? Sure! Wish I'd have had 5 days in the area...we did it in 2 and 3 more would've been great. You have 5 days? Perhaps 1 day in Jackson/Tetons; 2 in Yellowstone and 2 doing Beartooth/Chief Joseph/Cody. That's what I'd do anyway. I'm sure others have different ideas.

My other .02: I highly recommend checking out Grand Teton Nat'l Park/Jackson...extremely beautiful and a nice, easy day trip out of Yellowstone. The Teton mountains are worth seeing. Teton N.P. pretty much blends right into Yellowstone N.P. Jackson is a fun town...staying there is expensive though. We paid $220 for a room at the Best Western 49'er (recommend it +great location btw)...easily twice the $$ of every other place on our trip for comparable rooms.

Definitely do Beartooth Hwy...both directions if you have time since it seems to be an entirely different road in the other direction. Also, I recommend Chief Joseph Hwy too. We rode up Beartooth, spent the night in Red Lodge. Next morning we came back down Beartooth...caught Chief Joseph and hung out in Cody awhile. VERY worthwhile roads and of the 2300 miles on the trip, I'd easily say were in my top 3 as far as "fun" and beautiful.

I don't know much about Casper, but I can definitely vouch for Cody. The Museum there is a big hit with everyone I've ever spoken with and can easily take a full day (or 2) to check out. If I were you, think about shipping your bikes there before Casper. The wind in WY is legendary...as we experienced. It's a beautiful state, but I'm not so sure about the area between Casper and Cody...i'm sure other forum members can tell you.

If you start in Cody, I recommend you spend a full day there...leave next a.m catching Chief Joseph Hwy & Beartooth up to Red Lodge, MT...have lunch or spend the night there...head back down Beartooth and into Yellowstone N.P. from the Northeast Entrance. You can either stay up there, or somewhere more centrally located. There's a ton of ways to skin that cat. Beartooth Hwy is about 65 miles long coming out of the NE Entrance, but because it's quite twisty, will take 2 - 2 1/2 hours...stopping for pics included. Chief Joseph isn't as technical.

My favorite part of WY was Yellowstone/Teton N.P./Cody/Chief Joseph Hwy and the ride between Shell and Dalton...rest of it was not as "thrilling" in comparison. Remember, the wind in WY can be epic...esp in the open plains...my brother rode from Cody to Casper and reported horrendous wind for most of the ride. Guess it's a crap-shoot.

Sounds like you have a fantastic trip planned!

 

Monstead is correct, I've never been through Wyoming without experiencing high winds. Not so much in Yellowston / Beartooth, but central to eastern Wyo can be a mess.

 

Some terrific advice from the folks posting above! I have been to the Yellowstone area several times, and can't think of a thing to add - it's a terrific area. Spend as much time as you can in the area - virtually every part of it is fantastic!

 

(get your map handy...)

If you start from Casper with your bikes......

head to Shoshoni, then Riverton. Ride US 287 towards Moran Junction in Grand Teton NP. You'll be riding by the Wind River Range, which most Yellowstone tourists miss. Well worth it.

Plan to spend the night in either Jackson (a bit south of Moran Jct) or in GTNP at Jenney Lake Lodge or Jackson Lake Lodge.

Next day...head north into Yellowstone. At West Thumb, head left/west. See Old Faithful, Mid Geyser Basin (Grand Prismatic Spring!), ride along the Firehole R., see the Firehole Falls, pass Madison Jct, ride along the Gibbon R. (construction should be done next year), see Gibbon Falls, go to Norris Geyser Basin (spend time there--it's the most impressive geyser basin), then push on to Mammoth. Spend the night at Mammoth or just outside the Park in Gardiner. If you're so inclined, just a little north of Mammoth going towards Gardiner is the Boiling River (geothermal features in the Gardiner River)--it's like a natural jacuzzi and a fun place to take a soak. Pretty cool!

(your park admission is good to both YNP and GTNP for five days, re-entry permitted.)

Next day.....from Mammoth, head east towards the Lamar Valley. If you're a fly fisherman, spend a couple of hours at Slough Creek. It's the best fly fishing in the Park within a quarter-mile walk from a parking area. (the best stuff is hike-to). The Lamar Valley is usually full of multiple herds of bison, elk, antelope, and you'll likely see otters in the Lamar R. Bring some good binos and you'll see the wolves up Druid Peak. Continue east to Cooke City (which isn't much of a muchness), and go down the Beartooth Hwy to Red Lodge. Spend the night there. Cool little town.

From Red Lodge, head back up the Beartooth Hwy (it looks totally different coming back up), take the turn to Cooke City, go back in the Park. Backtrack through the Lamar Valley to Tower Jct. Go south towards Canyon. This will take you over the highest point in the park, Dunraven Pass, one of the more reliable places to see grizz. Stop at Artist's Point, look at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Ride south towards Fishing Bridge. This will take you through the Hayden Valley, one of the most beautiful parts of the park. Lots of wildlife. At Fishing Bridge, you'll see Yellowstone Lake. Enjoy it. From there you can go east towards East Entrance and go down to Cody.

Spend the night in Cody. See the Cody Nite Rodeo. It's good rodeo (PRCA) and it's every night.

Next day give a couple of hours to the Buffalo Bill Historic Center. It will surprise you. It's five little museums in one.

Then head east from Cody towards the Bighorns. Wet your line up there if you can. Cross the Bighorns and end up in either Sheridan or Buffalo. Pick up I-90, then take I-25 down to Casper.

If you have any questions, just ask. I live just down the road from Yellowstone and know the area well.

 

didnt read all the long replies so sorry if i repeat.uncle said there are the little shed cabins in the park and their only 60 ish a night.have to reserve them a year in advance.all of yellowstone rocks.theres also a place called moran jct 30 miles s of yellowstone.between jackson and the south entrance.grand tetton rv park was the resort.they have cabins also for 60 ish a night with heaters in them.little park style charcole grills.we rolled in week of sturgis and there were plenty open .beds in them you bring you sheets and pillows.hope this helps some

 

Wow, lots of good stuff in only a few hours, thanks to all! If my friends can get just one more day off from work, we can leave on Friday and hit the interstates and get there by Sunday night, see the sights Monday through Thursday, get back on Sunday, and all go back to work on Monday, thus saving lots of $$$ by not flying and shipping the bikes. Might lose some tourist time due to bad weather while we're there, but that's what rain gear is for.
Nice to know the animals should be around to see, except for the grizzlies. Maybe we'll get lucky.
Forgive me if I need to revive this thread in the future with more questions. Thanks again.

 

All of the above is very good advice, Faber though gave you what I would consider to be the allmost perfect plan for a first time, maybe one time vist, don't think I could improve that plan a bit, no knock on the Doc or Monstead, either of those would be an excellent plan also. Might be worth checking on renting bikes instead of shipping would be the only thing I'd recomend, rent them from the area your going to isn't too bad a deal when your pressed for time and can't squeeze in the ride.

 

As a past Casper resident I will venture to say the winds can be wicked; and the temperatures can be in the 100's or in the 30's in August. Entering Yellowstone from Cody the road quickly climbs to the 8500 foot level and last week when I went thru it was snowing at the 9500 foot level. The towns just outside the park are interesting, Cody and Jackson being my favorites. Beartooth is worth every mile that you will ride to get to it. The trip from Casper to Cody will take you between 6 and 8 hours depending on where and how often you stop. Dont forget to stop for a drink at the Irma hotel in Cody: how often can you say you had a drink in Buffalo Bills' bar? The museum in Cody is worth a day long stay, with my favorite section being the firearms museum. Traffic in the park can be a problem with every RV traveling at speeds only a grandmother could appreciate. Also, when in Wyoming be aware that wildlife on the highway is a common occurance and I wont ride at night unless I have to. With that said, I think Yellowstone is the ultimate destination.