I spent two months in YS 2018. Here are my recommendations:
Pick up Bear Spray off Amazon before you go. I think its important and the Forest Service will scare you into having it but charge you 2x+ to rent or buy it from inside the park. Do not bring plastic bottles. You'll get the stink eye from staff. Easy to find water filling stations for Yeti's and such.
ALWAYS drive the speed limit. Animals are everywhere and the FS will pull you over for 3mph over. At the gas station in Canyon there were 3-4 vehicles towed there after hitting a large animal. Not good.
Visit the ranger station in Gardiner (which is easiest to access from Alberta. Far less busy than the West entrance (tourist hell). Ask about road closures and alternatives first. They change weekly. Construction, wolves, weather. Grab a paper map. Trust me. Cell and GPS service is minimal. East entrance has bighorn sheep and Cody, Wyoming with some western history, but that's about it.
Check the Forest Fire Report every day. Each campground has them. Ranger stations at the major areas are a terrific resource for where animals are, fire report, travel time, closures. Views get obstructed by smoke and roads close regularly especially ay Glacier. In 9 weeks, I never saw the Milky Way. Smoke was omnipresent. Glacier closed early Sept due to fires. The entire park.
If you want some peace and to avoid most travelers, be up before dawn and on the road to your destination. Majority of douchey tourists sleep in, grab breakfast and hit the road around 10am. If the map says 45 mins t your destination, double it. Bison jams are real and regular. The #tourons (tourist morons, a term used by the YS IG social team) are countless. Stopping in the middle of the road for a selfie with bison is aggravating.
PLEASE PICK UP hitchhikers. Seasonal park staff is encouraged to hitchhike on days off to see the park. Few domestic and none of the international staff have cars and Xtera, their employer encourages it daily. They all bus into Gardiner and then to their workplace. I met countless people from all over the world. Some speak zero english, only hello, their destination and thank you. Great experiences. I always had stickers of Texas I handed out to intl people. They loved it. " OOOHHH TEXAS??? OOHHHH!!!
So much to see. Pick the important things and learn where they are. For animals Bison are always within 10 minutes of Canyon in Hayden Valley. Great campground. August should allow you to see every animal nearby except wolves and moose. Black and grizzly bear, bison, elk, coyotes, red/gray fox, pronghorn, bald and golden eagles, osprey, falcon, swans, otter, beaver, and more.
For wolves and countless bison, and usually bear head to Lamar Valley. If you see someone with a tripod and scouting scope, stop. People are friendly and want to share with you what they found. Moose are scarce in summer and are usually heading towards Jackson Hole where they winter.
My favorite part of the park was the NE entrance. 15 mins outside the NE entrance is Cook City. It is an amazing little town with good food (except the big hotel in the center of town). From there spend the day going to Red Lodge via Beartooth Pass. Easily it is my favorite road I have ever driven. At 11k', its stunning. Drop into Red Lodge, stay the night. Its a very dark and long drive back. I camped at the top of the pass. Woke up to 14°F and snow. A grizzly bear nearly killed two guys two days after I was there less than a mile from where I camped. On the way back rams and bighorn sheep can be seen in the mountains above Lamar Valley.
MINNEAPOLIS — As Tom Therrien and Todd Green half-ran recently through the rugged Beartooth Mountains that divide Wyoming and Montana, they prayed for help. Their friend Brad Johnson had been
billingsgazette.com
The big must see stops like Mammoth Falls, Old Faithful, Yellowstone lake... I saw when I got around to it. Endless traffic sucks. Avoid it by going early and late. Pussy tourist don't want to miss their meals.
Speaking of meals... Gardiner has some great restaurants and supplies. Do not attempt to eat at Old Faithful, Canyon, YS Lake, Mammoth at 9, noon or 6. Monumental waste of time for subpar/premium priced food.
For camping, make a plan for travel and make reservations soon. Camping is available but first come (in person), first served. Weekends close by 8am. Do not travel on a holiday weekend. Between Lamar Valley and Cook City there are lotd of semi and primitive campgrounds that seemed less full thanthrough the major touristy parts. Lots of peace and quiet out there.
