Yellowstone??

[01XJ]

Neither i or my wife have been to Yellowstone before so we have decided we are going to go for sure this year and take the kids. What we are looking for is the best time to go? Im sure a few of you on here have been? We would like a good time to see wildlife ( I know no matter when we go we will see some) but we would like to see it all. Bears, new babies etc. We want it to be warmer so everything is open and not sub zero at night we will be in a tent (Not sure how that will fly with the wife and there being bears around) Any suggestions on a good campground? I have searched the net but not coming up with much on a good time to visit so i would like to get the info from peoples personal experience. Im guessing somewhere between the end of May and first of June for a good date? That early may still be pretty cold up there??

 

[gijohn40]

If I remember right they do not allow tents in the campgrounds due to the animals... even the tent trailer have been turned around.... You might check on this before you go...

I love Madison junction campgrounds which is about 14 miles in from the West Yellowstone Montana gates... but you can always stay in West Yellowstone as well its a great little tourist town and has a few things to do to include the bear park with the wolves and bears out in the yards!!!

best bet would be a small trailer and go from one campground to another... there is a road that goes all the way around the park and campgrounds everywhere....

Winter time is a great time to go on the guided tours up there tooo!

 

[del0075]

winter is far better than summer, but you dont get the babies or warm weather, it was 48 below one year i went, but so much more fun, and not all the people.......

 

[hambone]

the last time i went was in august and we still needed jackets at night. as far as tenting it i know most of the camp grounds on the east side of the park are hard side trailer only but they use to have some tent only sites by the west entrance dont know if they still exist. when you go take the time to check out lamar valley up by roosevelt I have seen more bears and wolfs in that valley then anywhere else in the park. when I go I will pick a couple of days that i make sure I am sitting in hayden valley when the sun comes up with a good spotting scope to see the grizzlies heading back up into the trees. if you know when and where to look you will see every animal the park has to offer dont be affraid to ask the rangers alot of them are willing to point you in the right direction.

here are some pics from my last trip
http://www.rme4x4.com/showthread.php?t=57496&highlight=yellowstone

 

[Bart]

I lived in West for a short time and spent a lot of time there, but that was a while ago. You might luck out with the weather at the time you are talking about, but we got snowed in in West Y on May 30th. Over a foot of snow dropped in a few hours and it was COLD. You're be better off going toward the end of June, but stay away from the July holidays because it's so crowded.

 

[ID Bronco]

We are lucky enough to live very close and we go once or twice a year. The spring is the best time for sure with babies and critters coming out of winter. They are out looking for food so you see more of them. The predators are out more too looking for babies to eat. I don't think you can go when you will see the most wildlife and not fight the cold. It's not really warm there very long. The advice of Lamar and Hayden valleys is right on! I really like going around the lake and hanging around the east entrance near Cody. It is usually less busy and very pretty. There are some really big fish in Yellystone lake if you are into fishing.

 

[JoeT]

Check out YellowStone Bear World on your up to Yellowstone. http://www.yellowstonebearworld.com/ Great place to go, and you gotta do the drive through tour of the park. If you do, make sure your behind the truck they take through to feed the bears. I have a pic with 7-8 bears around my JK.

 

[cannoncrawler]

Yellowstone park=Awesomeness!

Go when they first open the roads. not many people and tons of animals out.

Bear world= Not so awesome.

They would rather pay a lobbyist to get the rules changed than pay minimum wage. I can't give money to that kind of business:

Over the past few years YBW has been cited for several minimum wage violations, based on complaints filed by employees. The FLSA paragraph noted above doesn’t seem to fit well with the YBW business model.

According to KIDK last February, “Yellowstone Bear World says it can’t stay afloat amid the economic downturn if it must pay its 35-to-40-member staff of mostly high school students the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.” So YBW hired lobbyist Stan Boyd to draft a bill. Mr. Boyd then solicited Rexburg Senator Brent hill to support the bill (SB 1347) and push it on Idaho lawmakers. The bill would allow YBW to cut its workers’ minimum pay to $6.50 an hour. Anyone care to guess how much it costs to hire a lobbyist to do all this leg work? Way more than the 75 cent/hour wage increase YBW was required by law to pay.

In March Stan Boyd was quoted saying, “It’s just very critical that (Yellowstone Bear World) employ the exemption at the earliest possible period.” Mr. Boyd also stated “the amusement park would not be able to stay in business if it were required to pay its 35 to 40 part-time workers, who are mainly high school students, more than $6.50 per hour this season.” Oh my yes, it was just like the bank bail out of 2008, the economy will collapse if YBW has to pay a fair wage.

I wish I could report that Idaho lawmakers saw this bill for the self-indulgent piece of shit that it was, told Stan Boyd to get lost and scolded Senator Brent Hill for wasting Idaho tax payers time. I wish I could say that …but that is not what happened.

SB 1347 easily passed the Senate, and the House State Affairs Committee made slight changes before sending it to the House floor without much opposition. But the legislation died in that chamber when House Majority Leader Mike Moyle, R-Star, chose it as a target for retaliation after a bill backed by Moyle was killed in a Senate committee led by … Senator Brent Hill, R-Rexburg.

So it wasn’t about doing the right thing for our hard-working young folks, it was defeated due to a petty cat fight between a couple of smarmy Idaho state senators. You gotta love a politician; they make crack dealers seem wholesome.

More:
http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/bois...orld-wage-dispute-among-late-session-hangups/

Here’s a news item from the Idaho Falls Post Register, via the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — An eastern Idaho bear and wildlife zoo wants to pay its workers less than federal minimum wage this summer, so it’s asking the Legislature for help. Yellowstone Bear World, located in Rexburg, says it can’t stay afloat amid the economic downturn if it must pay its 35- to 40-member staff of mostly high school students the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. So the Idaho Falls Post Register reports it’s asking lawmakers to allow it to cut its workers’ minimum to $6.50 an hour. Admission at Yellowstone Bear World is $16.95 for adult tickets — or $75 for a carload of up to seven visitors. Over objections from Democrats, the Senate passed the bill in February. But it’s being modified in the House, after Department of Labor Director Roger Madsen raised concerns the first version could affect up to 20,000 workers.

sorry for the hijack, carry on with YP awesomeness!

 

[Cody]

I've been to yellowstone probably a dozen times over the years and I've never seen a bear

I've camped in tents before, but I think only certain campgrounds allow them. We used to camp by Fishing Bridge when I was a kid, but I don't think that campground is still open. Definitely spend a few days and do a lot of the hikes--especially the ones that are a little off of the beaten path.

 

[JoeT]

Wow thanks for the info canyoncrawler on Bear World, I never heard about that.

 

[OrvisKrawler]

I grew up around yellowstone, still go up there a lot and fly fish in the park and the surrounding areas and have never seen a bear or wolves, chances are you wont either, dont get your hopes up for those, things you will see without a doubt though will be: elk, deer, bison, chipmunks, squirrels, maybe a coyote, and tour busses FULL of asians taking pictures of EVERYTHING. Its beautiful up there though, you will have an awesome time as long as you dont go in July (million people)

 

[RockMonkey]

Lots of good advice in here already. I won't repeat it. Check the road construction before you go. Last year the road between Norris and Canyon Village was closed. If you stayed in Madison and wanted to visit the falls (and you do), it would be a hell of a drive all the way around. For that reason we stayed in Grant Village which allowed us access to both sides of the park.

FWIW, we saw a lot more bears in Glacier last year than we did in Yellowstone.

FWIW 2, Yellowstone is awesome and you will love it.

 

[01XJ]

Thanks for all the awesome input and info its very helpful! We are very excited and can not wait to go,sounds like we are going to have a lot to go see