On route to Yellowstone, we stayed a night in the town of Cody, Wyoming to break up the camping. We booked an apartment at the Big Bear Lodge. What we didn’t understand until we arrived was that our apartment was not at the location with the large wooden bear sculpture out front (also where the free pony rides are offered), but about 3 miles away, which happened to be much closer to the town center. As a group, we had mixed feelings about this. On one hand, we were happy to be closer to bars and restaurants. And on the other hand, the hotel location did have laundry, pony rides, and live music at night. So while I would recommend staying at Big Bear, I would make sure you know which location you will be at (and which one you prefer).
From Cody, we drove to Yellowstone and took the scenic tour down from the northwest entrance towards Tower Junction and down the main road. There wasn’t a lot of traffic but there was a lot more wildlife in the north of the park than we saw in the southern part of the park. Had we known this, we would have taken more time in the north.
We camped in Grant Village for two nights which we had to book one year in advance. When you book your campsites at Yellowstone, they do not assign them until a few days ahead of time. Also, as we needed three camping sites, our sites were not next to each other but were in the same loop.
We spent most of our time in Yellowstone driving around and visiting the scenic overlooks and taking small hikes. One day, a few of us hiked the 10-mile loop hike of Dogshead Channel and Lewis Lake. The trail was relatively flat and mostly well marked. We visited two lakes, Shoshone Lake and Lewis Lake, and hiked along the river that connected the two lakes for a while. The day we were on the trail, we saw more kayaks and canoes than other hikers.
One thing I would recommend is talking a park ranger about less visited sites like geysers and thermal pools. We visited the Grand Prismatic Spring. And while it was beautiful, it was also very crowded and parking was a nightmare.
We also visited the Upper and Lower Falls of Yellowstone. We stopped to see the Big waterfalls and wanted to get a better look by doing that staircase hike, but it was closed.
Below is a link that helped us plan our trip. There’s also a link to an amazing company selling t-shirts and other National Park inspired items. They donate 4% of their proceeds to support “America’s most wild and historic places.” Check them out. I bought a t-shirt and have been very happy with my purchase.
https://www.trailguidesyellowstone.com/yellowstone_hikes/yellowstone_day_hikes.php
frugaltravelbug 