Yellowstone Holiday RV, West Yellowstone, MT
It’s interesting that we have to go through the park, including the entry stations, to get to our campground just north of West Yellowstone, by Hebgen Lake. And to get to Buffalo Bill State Park in Cody, our stop after Yellowstone, we do the same - right through Hayden Valley.
We left Colter Bay and drove north to the South Entry of Yellowstone, then west along Madison River to West Yellowstone (locals seem to call it just “West”) and north to the campground. After arriving, we settled in and Anthony arrived a bit later. We went to the Visitor Center in town, got some information on the park and other activities but Tom was really bothered by his knee problem.
Next day we decided to go to Big Sky, so he can get some help at the local hospital. It was nice to return to Big Sky, I recall it from our ski trip in 2022. It has a lot of summer activities, especially mountain biking event, which seem to be going on that weekend. Since we had to wait for Tom, Anthony and I hiked in the town’s park. Nice place for families to enjoy outdoors, with walking trails, soccer and baseball fields and a track for kids to learn mountain biking. Return to West Yellowstone is through Gallatin National Forest, bordering Yellowstone NP. It’s beautiful, with mountains and meadows with streams running through them and lots of fly fishing.
Yellowstone is challenging since you need to drive fair amount and we were not ready for the summer crowds and “animal” jams. We got caught in one along Madison River, elk were crossing the stream and people were pulling off to the side without much concern about the traffic behind them.
A neighbor in the campground suggested an app that helps guide you through the park. I got “Just Ahead” app, it has guides for number of National Parks and it did help a lot. It points our features, pullouts and history as you drive along. For example, as you go north towards Norris Geyser Basin, you can see the caldera rim on the west side of the road. You also see the new growth of lodgepole pines in the same area after the 1988 fire. That’s just a quick sample of information provided by the app.
We visited Gibbon Falls (busy action in the parking lot), the waterfall was worth the look. Then we proceeded north towards Mammoth Springs. We stopped at Artists’ Paintpots, with short trail along some interesting thermal features, mostly mud pots which have limited water, so it’s mostly mud. Another interesting spot is the Roaring Mountain, though now it should be called Whispering Mountain, since the number and power of vents has reduced over time. We also visited the Norris Geyser Basin, named after Philetus Norris, second superintendent of the park, who was apparently very fond of naming park features after himself (Norris Basin, Mount Norris).
There’s so many features you can see and explore, but nothing beats the wildlife encounters. For that, I love Lamar Valley. As we made our way there to explore Slough Creek, there was a young bison right by the parking lot, so close. We did a short hike, same as we did with the group back in 2016 and similarly, got attacked by mosquitos.
Back in the valley, we found a great little pullout for lunch with a view (at safe distance) of a bison and more in the distance. Sitting there, watching them do their thing was amazing. As we were driving back, there was mule deer and then a fox just walking along the road.
When we were leaving for Cody, WY through Hayden Valley, there was more bison action, even catching some bulls head butting, what a sight!
Our road back was along the Madison River, so almost every afternoon, there was an elk herd in the meadows. Once we saw young calf feeding and more hiding in the grass. We hiked a bit along the Madison River on the Gneiss Creek trail, holding on to our bear sprays, it was not busy at all.
Our visit included a stop at the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, starting at Artist Point and a hike to Upper Falls viewpoints. The trail has couple of overlooks with amazing views. The crowds at Artist Point were not something I enjoyed. We chatted with a ranger and she said mid June to mid August are the busiest (Labor Day as well), so shoulder season is the best for a visit.
There’s so much to do and see in this park, I would love to come back in the fall, staying close to Lamar Valley and enjoying the wildlife.
