Yellowstone Is a World Wide Draw

Cheyenne Wyoming Tribune-Eagle ^ | 06-21-05 | Eastwood, Cara

[Theodore R.]

The author Owen Wister tried to spend three months of every year in the Yellowstone country to recharge his creativity.

[reagan_fanatic]

My family and I drove out west to Yellowstone Park from Illinois in 1990. We camped the whole way. Yellowstone is one of the most magnificent parks I have ever been to, and the scenery and wildlife is breathtaking.

We went in August, and the daytime temps were in the upper 80's to the low 90's, but at night, it dropped down to 38 degrees (enough to chill you good in a tent!)

One of the coolest experiences we had was waking up one morning, unzipping the tent flap and finding a huge Bison grazing not 20 feet from my tent, and upon looking around, I could see our whole campground was filled with grazing Bison!

I look foward with great anticipation to my next trip, and I strongly recommend roughing it in a tent - it is fantastic!

[Theodore R.]

Even more difficult for many city-bred tourists than the camping itself is finding an available campsite during the peak summer season.

[dsmatuska]

One of the best pieces of advice I received before going to Yellowstone was "ignore the CAMPGROUND FULL signs."

[Minn]

I look foward with great anticipation to my next trip, and I strongly recommend roughing it in a tent - it is fantastic!

Been there. Done that. The RV is reserved in Billings for Aug 6.

[No Blue States]

Someday I hope to visit Yellowstone. What an awesome place.

[HOYA97]

I was just there two weeks ago and the one interesting thing I noticed was that many of the geysers and mud pots were not as active as they were two years ago. The park has got to be one of the most beautiful places on earth.

[over3Owithabrain]

Hate to say it, but I was disappointed with my Yellowstone trip back in 1999. The ravages from the big fire (that the enviros let burn) were everywhere. It looked like a bad littered neighborhood everywhere, nothing but felled and charred trees and barenness. Every place that I dared to explore had huge signs warning me to stay away. The lodges were old, dirty and the food sucked.
Now I'm sure an intrepid hiker who knows all the ropes can enjoy some natural beauty there. But for me it was a huge letdown.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Been there. Loved it. Going back before it goes volcanic. ;)

[goodnesswins]

I worked at Yellowstone as a 17 year old (waitress) for nearly 3 months in 1968......we hitchhiked everywhere on days off....longest trip was when 4 of us girls hitchiked TOGETHER to Grand Teton......went skinny dipping in the West Yellowstone River at night, swimming by day....and this was when there were more bears around. Celebrated Christmas in July there......Went back a few years ago...and now it's mostly older folks who work there.

[stylin19a]

Yellowstone...too bad we gave it to the UN(UNESCO) as a Biosphere.

[GunnyHartman]

Yellowstone is indeed beautiful, but Glacier Park and the Going to the Sun Highway is even more spectacular.

[The Electrician]

as its passengers pressed their faces to the windows to ogle an elk

Hmmm... Ogling elks... Is that even legal in a national park?

[fr_freak]

Hate to say it, but I was disappointed with my Yellowstone trip back in 1999.

Go back, if you get the chance. On my way back to CA from North Dakota in 2003, I stopped in Yellowstone and slept in my car. I spent the whole next day touring around and hit the Grand Tetons just at sunset. The forests have not yet fully recovered from the fire, but they're well on their way, and the scenery was incredible.

[Theodore R.]

How can one ignore the "Campground Full" signs? Please explain.

[Theodore R.]

I was there in 1999 and 2001; I did not find the charred areas to be an obstacle. There were so many areas untouched by fire to see anyway. But one must get off the main road to see what is there.

[Our man in washington]

If you're ever in Yellowstone and the ground starts to shake and eruptions start pouring forth from the entire caldera, get in your car and floor it.

On second thought, don't bother.

[Theodore R.]

Isn't it illegal to sleep in a car in Yellowstone unless you are parked in a designated campground? Where may I ask did you park your car, perhaps in the parking lots of one of the resorts? Some vans and SUVs are perfect for sleeping in Yellowstone, but the authorities make it very hard to find parking overnight.

[fr_freak]

I parked my car at one of the out-of-the-way campsites by the Lamar Valley - not actually in a designated camping spot, but in a little dirt parking lot that was at the entrance to the campground (I think there was also a trialhead there). I don't know if that was against park rules or not, but it was after dark by the time I parked there and soon after, I was joined by two other cars who did the same thing. I was up with the dawn and drove out onto the main road just in time to see a herd of bison crossing the road in front of me. Very impressive.

[dsmatuska]

Campgrounds have a slight turnover everyday so the "No Vacancy" sign, in theory, could go up and down all day long. Solution: leave it up all the time. We'd go in, get on a waiting list, sit around for an hour or two, and we'd eventually get a spot.