Yellowstone National Park

Why this park

Yellowstone is the oldest national park in the world and still one of the most overwhelming: more than half of all the geysers on earth, hot springs in improbable colours, a canyon with two waterfalls and wide valleys where bison cross the road as if you were the guest. The park is enormous — the Grand Loop Road alone is around 230 kilometres — and has five entrances spread across Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. Try to 'do' it in a day and you mostly see the road.

That is exactly why Yellowstone works so well with an RV. You sleep in the middle of the park, you are at Old Faithful or in Lamar Valley early before the day visitors arrive, and you drive short hops between geyser basins instead of an hour from a hotel outside the gate every morning. With three nights you can split the park into parts: a day of geysers and hot springs, a day of canyon and lakes, a day of wildlife in the valleys. Count on at least three nights; with more time, nobody gets bored here.

With kids

The boardwalks are the big win for families. Around Old Faithful there is a network of flat boardwalks past Castle Geyser, Grand Geyser and Morning Glory Pool, and the predicted time of the next eruption is simply posted in the visitor centre. Grand Prismatic Spring in Midway Geyser Basin and the bubbling mud pots of Fountain Paint Pot and Mud Volcano are short loops that also work with a stroller. At Mammoth Hot Springs you climb stairs and boardwalks past the travertine terraces. Pick up the Junior Ranger booklet at a visitor centre: kids work through activities and receive their badge from a real ranger at the end.

Two rules to agree on as a family beforehand. One: always stay on the boardwalks — the ground around hot springs is thin and the water is boiling. Two: distance from wildlife. The park requires at least 25 yards (over 20 metres) from bison, elk and other animals, and 100 yards (over 90 metres) from bears and wolves; a bison grazing quietly looks tame, but is not. Bring binoculars so 'closer' never has to be an option. Most of Yellowstone sits above 2,000 metres: keep the first day light, get everyone drinking more than usual and pack warm layers, because mornings are chilly even in July.

Camping and reservations

Yellowstone has around a dozen campgrounds inside the park, in two groups. The large ones — Madison, Grant Village, Bridge Bay, Canyon and Fishing Bridge RV Park — are run by the concessioner Yellowstone National Park Lodges and are reserved through their own site, usually very far in advance. Fishing Bridge RV Park is the only one with full hookups and is restricted to hard-sided vehicles, which makes it the logical choice for rental RVs. The smaller National Park Service campgrounds — Mammoth, Slough Creek, Pebble Creek, Indian Creek, Lewis Lake and Tower Fall — are booked on Recreation.gov; they are simpler, without electricity, and the maximum vehicle length is listed per site.

The pattern is the same everywhere: the season is short, demand is high and sites go on the day the booking window opens. Create your account in advance, look up the opening dates for your travel dates and put them in your calendar with the time zone (Mountain Time). If the park is full, the gateway towns are good alternatives: West Yellowstone has several large RV parks with full hookups five minutes from the west entrance, Gardiner sits at the north entrance and to the south Grand Teton connects directly with campgrounds such as Colter Bay and Gros Ventre. Do allow for longer drives into the park, because distances inside Yellowstone are big.

Driving an RV

The main roads of the Grand Loop are two-lane, paved and easy in a rental RV; on the main routes there are no tunnels or low bridges to worry about. What does matter: passes such as Dunraven Pass and Sylvan Pass are steep and close in early or late snow, car parks at popular stops such as Grand Prismatic are full by ten, and a few narrow side loops are not intended for large vehicles. Check nps.gov for the current road status and vehicle advice on the day you drive. Yellowstone has no park-wide shuttle system; you drive yourself, so plan one part of the park per day.

Wildlife jams are part of driving here. If the car in front stops for a bison on the road, you wait calmly; park only in marked pullouts, never half on the carriageway. Fuel up in the gateway towns or at the larger service areas in the park, because stops in between are scarce, and keep your speed down at dusk — that is when most animals cross.

Frequently asked questions