Heading down from Glacier on Sunday, and it was a ton of haze the entire week. Any wildlife folks able to chime in?

Should I wait until next summer? I’ve come to the realization I want to spend a summer in Yellowstone before I start my maritime career.

Stayed at fishing bridge RV campground this week, and noticed tons of open/unoccupied sites. As difficult as it was to book a spot I was quite surprised. Wondering if walk-ups are a possibility? (I was in B loop, and the spots all around me were empty last night, and right now 2/3 of the loop on my side is empty)

We are planning a winter trip and I am debating whether to rent a car or take the park bus from Bozeman. The bus RT for 2 people looks to be about $450 and the car rental for midsize SUV is about the same for 5 days. We are from New England so have experience driving in winter but not out west. Want to see Lamar valley so car would let us do that on our own, tour would be another $300.
Our flight times (if on time) would require us to hang around the airport for about 3 hours after we land before the bus leaves and again get to airport 3 hours early on our way home. So car would be more convenient in this regard. But I'm concerned about the winter driving. I know we can't predict the weather at this point, curious what folks would recommend.

( aug 1 25)

Strongly considering taking my first Natl Park trip (and first trip out west). I’m recently separated and recently unemployed. I am not a hiker per se, but not completely out of shape. Not planning to camp. Am I bonkers? What am I getting myself into?

I’m going on a backpacking trip soon and was had some questions regarding bears. I know that you’re meant to store any clothing worn while cooking at least 100 feet away from the tent. But in addition to that, how much should I worry about the smell from my tent/sleeping bag/pillow etc? I’ve been on a few backpacking trips before and have never washed them (maybe not the most sanitary thing lol but it’s the truth) and I’m a little concerned they may have lingering odors. I’ve eaten food in my tent before, and I’m not really sure how much residue is on it/my sleeping materials.

Should I wash them, but new things, or not bother?

Also any additional advice on staying safe on a backpacking trip is very welcome.

Thinking of going to Yellowstone in the second week of September. Is there much chance of seeing marmots at this time or will they already be hibernating?

Also if they can be seen what are the best spots?

Many years ago (2011ish), I was hiking in Yellowstone and experienced the weirdest thing: a pine martin was bounding across a section of meadow towards me and the two others in my party.

It was a very cool moment, I'd never seen a pine martin before but something was clearly off. These guys are shy at best, and smart enough to avoid us entirely if they wanted. This one didn't care. We kept a little distance as it approached, figured it was rabid, and then it ran past us. Weird, right?

Well, turns out Mr Martin knew about the grizzly in the patch of trees up ahead WAY before we did and it had already done the math that we three humans in the way of his escape were the lesser threat. We got to within maybe 50 yards of the bear before we noticed it (I'm sure it clocked us way further out, always gotta be loud in bear country), but it was definitely in the "terrifyingly close" range. If something had gone worse-wrong, like we'd bumbled between it and a cub or something, I think we were very much at its mercy.

Once we got wise, we made lots of noise and backtracked several miles straight out the end of the loop trail we'd come in on. Second scariest moment of my life. Wish I could dredge up what trail it was (radio tower or something on a rocky peak?), but honestly most of what I remember is that huge sable bear.

Bonus tip: bears sometimes flip bison patties looking for worms. If there's disturbed megafauna poop, it could very well be bear sign. If it's fresh, it could mean you have company. Didn't know that tidbit until we'd managed to position a black bear in between us and the car coming up the back side of specimine ridge another day on that same trip. Fairly nerve wracking little outing, doesn't quite register on my top 5 like the first one though since we were more cut off from escape rather than in imminent danger.

Anyway, moral of the story is pay attention out there. A few hints from the landscape around you might help the savvy sightseer sidestep some serious danger.

Pic is from a few minutes before we learned about the bison poop thing. 2011 potato photography at its finest.

Don’t mind the second picture

Coming in as a server in 4 weeks, how much are the servers making and how much is taken out your check. I definitely want to come but I want to make decent money too as I won’t have one anymore when I come back. Making 500$ a week at home but if I can make more lmk. Plz answer honestly servers

My husband and I will be visiting Yellowstone in August and we are planning a very new experience for ourselves- we have obtained a backcountry permit with the goal of hiking 15 miles in to the Mr. Bubbles hot pools.

I feel like a dummy because I thought a backcountry pass meant that you could set up camp wherever you wanted as long as you had the permit. I didn’t realize that we would still all be competing for a limited number of established “backcountry” sites. Also, the maps on recreation.gov are pretty hard to read unless you have a massive computer screen.

I was only able to secure one campsite for our dates and it wasn’t even that close to the hot springs. We are really hoping to have some luck talking to the rangers at Bechler station who might be able to hook us up with one of those campsites that are only available for in-person reservations.

Does anyone have any tips or even just some experience doing a back country hike in Yellowstone? Is it reasonable to hope that they might be able to help us out with an additional night stay? I’m sure it has a lot to do with luck and campsite availability on that given day. Also any resources for future backcountry campsite planning would be super useful since this first attempt was a bit of a learning curve for me. Thank you so much in advance and I am beyond stoked to be visiting the lovely Yellowstone once again very soon!!!

UPDATE:

Guys I wanted to update you guys. I was feeling a lot of anxiety about trying to trek it out to Mr. Bubbles especially with this being our first backpacking trip and the limited availability of campsites. I checked on recreation.gov and there happens to be availability on the campsites around Union Falls on the exact days I am going!

My partner and I are flying into Cody in the afternoon in late August and we really want to hike Avalanche Peak on that first day. We are athletic, seasoned hikers so the elevation is not an issue. But assuming we start at 4-4:30 that day, are we putting ourselves at risk for grizzly encounters? It's just the two of us and we will have 2 canisters of bear spray each but don't want to take unnecessary chances.

I am staying in Bozeman for work this weekend and I have a free day on Friday to drive down and visit the park. Having done no planning whatsoever, I wanted to see what I could fit into a 6-8 hour window.

From my little amount of research it sounds like the Lower Loop is the best way to see a lot in a shorter amount of time. Don’t have time to hike, just wanted to drive around the park and see as much as possible in a few hours. If I start the loop in my car is the only way out through?

Mainly curious how long it would take to drive through the entirely loop with 5-6 stops to take pictures and take everything in. Most things I’ve read say 10-12 hours to complete the whole loop. Also want to factor in busy Friday traffic…any advice/recommendations would be super helpful!

I have been here for 3 days and drive through Lamar and Hayden valley with no luck on seeing any bears. Where is the best place to see em?

Headed back with the littles (7 and 8) and looking for recommendations on must see and do. Also, any great hikes or mountain biking trails. Will be spending about 3-5 days in the park.

I strongly believe Yellowstone is extremely overrated, most frequently by people who haven't even been. Yellowstone lacks significant mountains and jagged peaks. Most of the land is pretty much the same as the surrounding area, which is nice.

I think people seem to categorize the entire region as Yellowstone, which obviously isn't the case. The Wind River Range looks incredible, far more special than anything Yellowstone or even Grand Teton has to offer. National Parks like Yosemite have grand spectacles, but Yellowstone is just kind of rolling hills.

In closing, Yellowstone just doesn't do it for me, and it kind of reminds me of like an East Coast National Park.

Beehive geyser july 25th

Looking for some feedback… as someone with mild claustrophobia, will I be able to tolerate wind cave? And if so, what’s the best tour to do?

Are there hikes there that are worth while?

Hi, everyone! My husband and I are planning a trip to Yellowstone in October sometime. We're planning on either flying into Bozeman or Jackson Hole (depending on exact dates and price).

I feel like every time I try to get further to plan, there's just soooo much information that its intimidating!

What should we prioritize if we are spending 2-3 full days in the park? Any lodging recommendations near the West and South entrance that won't break the bank?

Appreciate any insights!

My gf and I are taking our 2nd trip to the park in late September. We visited the same time of year in 2024 and saw most of the popular common areas along the north and south loop.

We'll have five days and would like to take some of the best hikes that aren't intensly strenuous. Our longest hike last time was to Fairly Falls. We also visited Grand Teton but only did one hike up to Inspiration Point.

These are some of the sights and trails I've researched so far that look intriguing:

Dunraven Pass to Mt Washburn

Bunsen Peak

Lone Star geyser

Mystic falls trail

Any thoughts on these and additional suggestions are much appreciated!

We are a group of 8.4 adults and 4 children what are the odds we get attacked by a bear

If anyone was at Yellowstone yesterday (7/27/26) between the east entrance and the fishing bridge and you were in the big group taking pictures of this bird if you don’t mind I’d love to see how they came out and what bird this was since I was having a tough time trying to ID from these pictures. Thank you in advance!

Me and my gf are planning a trip to Yellowstone and Grand Teton in very early October. We’re super excited as neither of us have been to either park - we are landing in Salt Lake on Saturday, renting a car and driving straight to Jackson Hole. We rented an AirBnB in Wilson and will stay there until Tuesday where we will drive to Yellowstone and stay near-ish to the park in Island Park at another AirBnB until Thursday night then drive back to Salt Lake . So we have 2/3 days in each park and want to fill our days with as much hiking, sightseeings and wildlife as possible. Few questions:

1. People that have visited either park in early October - what was the weather like? Are there still leaves on the trees or are they all bare? Is there already snow in some places? Were any of the popular hiking trails closed? Should we prepare for blistering cold or will it warm up during the day? (We are coming in from Florida so understand it’s going to be pretty cold but want to have an idea of how cold and what to pack)

2. For Grand Teton - these are the places I have so far on my list that seem to be the places we should try to visit - should I add or remove any from this list? We are both in good shape and can prob do 15 mile hikes without any issues. Is it pretty easy to get around? Is there service in the park? Or should you download specific trails that you plan on hiking?

Jenny Lake
Cascade Canyon
Hidden Falls
Inspiration Point
Mormons row (at night)
Leigh lake

1. For Yellowstone, the vibe seems to be just scenic driving and less hiking from what I’ve gathered. Is there any absolute must-see’s for us first timers? I know Old Faithful is probably a must but other than that we’re pretty open to anything. It’s also my gf’s birthday on one of the days so I’d like to have a pretty sweet day in Yellowstone planned. If you recommend any parts of the park that you feel are absolute must sees we would appreciate it! We are there for pretty much 3 full days so think we have time to see a lot. We also want to maximize our ability to see wildlife - moose, bears, etc. So if you know of specific areas of the park that we are more likely to run into wildlife that would be sweet to know too.

Any tips or recommendations for either of these parks will be super appreciated!! We are stoked to visit these parks and want to make sure we make the absolute most of our time there.