MTgirl's Yellowstone and Grand Teton travel thread

This guy gets some awesome shots. I usually check his daily update before my trips so I can see what he's seeing and where.
https://www.bestofthetetons.com/2019/08/01/august-2019-daily-journal-for-gtnp-jh/

 

Lamar and Hayden will be the best places to see the buffalo that time of year. Lots of traffic and minimal parking so be prepared to be stuck in the car going nowhere. I haven't been through Hayden in at least 5 years just because its such a mess. And I'd rather stick to the west side where there's more thermal areas. I can see mountains and fluffy cows anytime.

Mammoth with be the best spot for elk sightings, and maybe along the Madison River between Madison Junction and the West entrance. Tower Junction is the best for bears.

If hiking solo is a worry just stick to the boardwalks and more popular trails. There's usually enough traffic that you can just tag along with another group. Or sign up for a Ranger guided hike. And bring bear spray.

Never done the horseback thing but just a word of caution - make sure you are checking out closing dates for the businesses as a lot of places start to close for the year after Labor Day. If you're coming in late September your choices could be pretty limited.

 

unfortunately the park is almost always crowded now. its unreal how visitation has spiked in the last few years. it used to be that memorial day to labor day was the busy season and before/after that it was much less crowded but now its just crazy all season from opening day in mid April to closing day in November.
As far as Hayden being a mess...if you go there in the late summer when the buffalo congregate there you'll find a whole swarm of traffic as well. seeing buffalo in Yellowstone is a big deal to most people (frankly, I could care less as they are just fuzzy cows to me. I'd rather find more majestic creatures like mooses and owls and bears) so everyone heads to the valley to see the herds of them. the road through the area has a limited number of pullouts and they will be full by sun up - double and triple parked, wedging as many cars in there as they can. there is no shoulder on the road so folks just park their cars,RVs, buses, etc IN the road once the pullouts fill up. traffic comes to a standstill as everyone has to weave into the oncoming lane to keep moving and its a disaster. the park service just doesn't have the staff to keep everyone in line.

The west side is mostly forest service access roads and not as accessible as the park/east side. lots of private land and farms on the west side too so you can get the views from a distance but not up close. there are plenty of smaller hotels in the Victor, Driggs areas and those towns are learning to cater to the overflow of visitors to the area. the drive over the pass from Victor to Jackson isn't too bad, definitly steep but it doesn't take all that long. I'd suggest finding a hotel in Victor and making the trek over the pass daily to get to the park if you can't find lodging in Jackson.

 

yes, PM incoming....I was off grid chasing mooses for 4 days and just got back to town

 

19 of them. Including the biggest bull I've seen outside of Alaska. I about fainted when I saw him...but instead I jumped into a river, waded across and took some shots of him