trip to Yellowstone from St. Louis, summer 2015

[NJCatalana]

not really sure where to post this, not really a wheeling trip, more of an overlanding trip. Mods feel free to move this if need be!

This summer, from May to August, I will be working for Xanterra parks services in Yellowstone. I'll coming from St. Louis, and will be taking my time getting up there, hitting various sites and national parks along the way.

on the way up there, I plan to hit:
Jesse James farm/grave
Chimney Rock
Scotts Bluff
Register Cliff
Independence Rock
Sacajawea Gravesite
Grand Tetons/Jacksonhole
and then arrive in Yellowstone

on the way back I plan to hit
Bighorn canyon
Little Bighorn Battlefield
Devil's tower
mount rushmoe
badlands national park

I have also been talking to Jason from Oregon Trail Offroad about potentially mapping a few parts of the route in Nebraska and Wyoming.

If anyone lives in these parts and wants to meet up for a day, or if anyone has suggestions as to routes, things to see, things to avoid, or anything else please post up! I'm looking forward to this trip, and will definitely be posting up along the way. Thanks in advance!

 

[MTgirl]

Someone say Yellowstone? :snacker:

Yelly is my backyard. I'm there about once a month, if not more. If you want any info on the park or the surrounding areas just let me know! Also could recommend some drives that would get you away from the tourist zone.

MTgirl's Yellowstone and Grand Teton travel thread - Tacoma World Forums

 

[MTgirl]

Do you know where in the park you will be working/living?
Keep an eye out for a silver Runner with a CVT RTT mounted on it - dat's me!
Just off the top of my head here are some places outside the park to look up. Would make for some nice day trips (or overnighters) while you're out here.
Working clockwise from Jackson (since that seems to be your 1st destination here):
Granite Hot Springs - SE of Jackson on Hwy 191. Natural hot springs at the end of a dirt forest service road. lots of locals, not so many tourists.
Curtis Canyon E of Jackson. "locals" camping hangout. nothing fancy just a nice view and not a lot of crowds. this tends to be very muddy/impassable so stop at the FS office and ask whats open.
River Road in Grand Teton. Dirt road between the park road and the Snake River. Not too rough but the park service doesn't open it until all of the snow/mud is gone. A busy day on this road means you might see 3 more vehicles.
Ashton-Flagg Rd. This connections the Cave Falls area and Ashton, ID to the main park road by Flagg Ranch. Rough dirt road but no problem for a Runner. Takes a bit for snow to melt up here so i usually opens mid summer.
Mesa Falls Scenic Byway/Cave Falls. Pretty area, mostly paved 2 lane highway in the SW corner of the park
Henry's Lake/Red Rocks Lake/Big Springs. In Idaho, just outside the west entrance of the park. Pretty area, not much wheeling but the road to Red Rocks can get nasty, muddy
Gallatin Canyon/ hwy 191. lots of hiking, camping, fishing to be done up here. eventually connects to Bozeman MT if you need a dose of city life.
Tom Miner Basin - N of Gardiner/north entrance
Outside of Cooke City/NE entrance check out Daisy and Lulu Passes, Morrison Jeep trail (not sure what your wheeling background is, don't attempt this one alone), Beartooth Highway, Glacier Lake Rd, Hellroaring Plateau...LOTS of cool scenery and roads to explore up here.
Chief Joseph highway is awesome - lots of roads to explore up here too.

On the way home at the end of the summer you might want to spend a couple of days exploring the Bighorn Mountains outside of Lovell, about a 2 or 3 hour drive from Bighorn Canyon. I made my first trip up there last summer and plan to go back this year. So beautiful. Was a little crowded with weekend campers from Sheridan, WY but on the week days it empties out. Lots of roads to check out up there.

 

[NJCatalana]

Do you know where in the park you will be working/living?
Keep an eye out for a silver Runner with a CVT RTT mounted on it - dat's me!
Just off the top of my head here are some places outside the park to look up. Would make for some nice day trips (or overnighters) while you're out here.
Working clockwise from Jackson (since that seems to be your 1st destination here):
Granite Hot Springs - SE of Jackson on Hwy 191. Natural hot springs at the end of a dirt forest service road. lots of locals, not so many tourists.
Curtis Canyon E of Jackson. "locals" camping hangout. nothing fancy just a nice view and not a lot of crowds. this tends to be very muddy/impassable so stop at the FS office and ask whats open.
River Road in Grand Teton. Dirt road between the park road and the Snake River. Not too rough but the park service doesn't open it until all of the snow/mud is gone. A busy day on this road means you might see 3 more vehicles.
Ashton-Flagg Rd. This connections the Cave Falls area and Ashton, ID to the main park road by Flagg Ranch. Rough dirt road but no problem for a Runner. Takes a bit for snow to melt up here so i usually opens mid summer.
Mesa Falls Scenic Byway/Cave Falls. Pretty area, mostly paved 2 lane highway in the SW corner of the park
Henry's Lake/Red Rocks Lake/Big Springs. In Idaho, just outside the west entrance of the park. Pretty area, not much wheeling but the road to Red Rocks can get nasty, muddy
Gallatin Canyon/ hwy 191. lots of hiking, camping, fishing to be done up here. eventually connects to Bozeman MT if you need a dose of city life.
Tom Miner Basin - N of Gardiner/north entrance
Outside of Cooke City/NE entrance check out Daisy and Lulu Passes, Morrison Jeep trail (not sure what your wheeling background is, don't attempt this one alone), Beartooth Highway, Glacier Lake Rd, Hellroaring Plateau...LOTS of cool scenery and roads to explore up here.
Chief Joseph highway is awesome - lots of roads to explore up here too.

On the way home at the end of the summer you might want to spend a couple of days exploring the Bighorn Mountains outside of Lovell, about a 2 or 3 hour drive from Bighorn Canyon. I made my first trip up there last summer and plan to go back this year. So beautiful. Was a little crowded with weekend campers from Sheridan, WY but on the week days it empties out. Lots of roads to check out up there.

thanks for the info! I'll be living in Canyon village
check your PMs!

 

[MTgirl]

thanks for the info! I'll be living in Canyon village
check your PMs!

Checked!
Canyon is pretty centrally located, easy to get around from there.
That list should keep you entertained when you need to get away from the crowds in the park. Go on all of the boardwalks, see the sights. Its an amazing place and I never tire of it.
If you're going to be out hiking anywhere other than the boardwalks I'd recommend investing in some bear spray. Do they offer any "bear aware" training to the summer staffers like yourself? The REI store here in Bozeman does a free class about once a month. Very informative and they fill up quickly.

 

[ToyotaDoodz]

Someone say Yellowstone? :snacker:

Yelly is my backyard. I'm there about once a month, if not more. If you want any info on the park or the surrounding areas just let me know! Also could recommend some drives that would get you away from the tourist zone.

MTgirl's Yellowstone and Grand Teton travel thread - Tacoma World Forums

MTgirl, you are a wealth of info on the Yellowstone area. I've been mesmerized by your thread on TacomaWorld. Anyone going to Yellowstone needs to read that thread. There's tons of great info sprinkled all through it. I've been going to YS since the mid 70's. (Yes, I know what it was like before the 1988 fire.)

I'll be there again this year around Sept 24th. That's about the latest I've been there, but September is by far my favorite time to be in YS.

 

[AZrunner11]

I'm headed to Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and Glacier this summer. Last time I was there in June 2009 snow was falling in Yellowstone and glacier's going to the sun road was limited to 9 and 12 miles on each side.

What's the nearest town to the Morrison **** trail? Looking forward to scouting trip of CO, WY, MT, UT, and ID for a possible future move. Nashville is awesome, but is a far cry from the awesomeness of the American West. Thanks MTGirl for the links to taco world and info for your neck of the woods.

 

[MTgirl]

MTgirl, you are a wealth of info on the Yellowstone area. I've been mesmerized by your thread on TacomaWorld. Anyone going to Yellowstone needs to read that thread. There's tons of great info sprinkled all through it. I've been going to YS since the mid 70's. (Yes, I know what it was like before the 1988 fire.)

I'll be there again this year around Sept 24th. That's about the latest I've been there, but September is by far my favorite time to be in YS.

Thanks! I appreciate the compliment.
I've been to the park at least once a year every year of my life and at least once a month for the last 6 years....been there literally over 100 times. Never gets old. I remember it before the fires too, and during, and after. Been interesting watching the transformation over the years.
September is an awesome time to visit. Family vacations are over so the crowds tend to thin out a little. Its also Aussie and Italian season in the park - that's when they take their "holiday". October can be even better if you don't mind taking a gamble on the weather.

Sounds like you already know your way around but if you have any questions or want any suggestions for your trip just let me know! happy to help if I can.

I'm headed to Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and Glacier this summer. Last time I was there in June 2009 snow was falling in Yellowstone and glacier's going to the sun road was limited to 9 and 12 miles on each side.

What's the nearest town to the Morrison **** trail? Looking forward to scouting trip of CO, WY, MT, UT, and ID for a possible future move. Nashville is awesome, but is a far cry from the awesomeness of the American West. Thanks MTGirl for the links to taco world and info for your neck of the woods.

I've been snowed on while camping every month throughout the summer. Just kinda goes with the territory.
You mean the Morrison Tacoma Trail?

Maybe I should just start a new thread for info on MT trails and such? I feel bad hijacking Nick's thread as it is...

 

[AZrunner11]

Thanks! I appreciate the compliment.
I've been to the park at least once a year every year of my life and at least once a month for the last 6 years....been there literally over 100 times. Never gets old. I remember it before the fires too, and during, and after. Been interesting watching the transformation over the years.
September is an awesome time to visit. Family vacations are over so the crowds tend to thin out a little. Its also Aussie and Italian season in the park - that's when they take their "holiday". October can be even better if you don't mind taking a gamble on the weather.

Sounds like you already know your way around but if you have any questions or want any suggestions for your trip just let me know! happy to help if I can.

I've been snowed on while camping every month throughout the summer. Just kinda goes with the territory.
You mean the Morrison Tacoma Trail?
http://i1119.photobucket.com/album

s/k635/mtgirl79/TW%20meets/Morrison%20-%20Goose%20Trip/mjt19_zpsef0850ec.jpg
Maybe I should just start a new thread for info on MT trails and such? I feel bad hijacking Nick's thread as it is...

I think you mean Morrison TOYOTA trail. If you think we should be start a new thread, but this does a great job of grabbing the attention of all interested in this area of the US.

 

[NJCatalana]

[MENTION=118909]MTgirl[/MENTION] ha no worries on hijacking, I don't mind all the info! Thanks for all the posts people, like I said if anyone is planning on being up there when I'll be there, it would be cool to plan a day to meet up and explore for a bit

 

[MTgirl]

I think you mean Morrison TOYOTA trail. If you think we should be start a new thread, but this does a great job of grabbing the attention of all interested in this area of the US.

Well then...
To run the Morrison from the south to the north - meaning you will be going UP the switchbacks first - you need to head for either Belfry, MT or Cody, WY or Powell, WY and then from there find Clark, WY. Its a town...or not...it has a church and a school. NO GAS STATIONS. Your last chance for gas will be in one of the aforementioned towns. Packing an extra few gallons would be wise too. Once you're at Clark head west-ish on Clark Fork Canyon Rd and you'll see the switchbacks looming over you to the north. From there its pretty easy to get around - there is only one other road that ties into the Morrison near the top of the switchbacks and its private and clearly marked. The Morrison is road # 119 and 120 on the attached MVUM. The north end of the Morrison joins up to the Beartooth Hwy near Long Lake. Heading right/NE will take you to Red Lodge, MT, heading left/W will take you to Cooke City, MT.

Once you're on the switchbacks there isn't a lot of room to maneuver, make sure there isn't anyone making their way down before you start up. Even ATV's meeting on the trail can cause a traffic jam.

These guys are idiots for doing this trail with a trailer and no experience - and I've told them so.
http://youtu.be/sAIUPl-L1ZY?list=PLxt6wON7_ZwTs860OfzxBPuxAzAfol0nd
This is a better idea of what you'll encounter
Morrison Jeep Trail short version 9 1 12 - YouTube
http://youtu.be/CQadwZpp0GY

Those videos are all from 2012 or earlier. In 2013 a local 4x4 club did some "maintenance" on the trail I was on the upper section - not the switchbacks - later that year and it wasn't all that bad. I had asked a couple of folks who have run the trail what I could expect and they has me scared out of my mind. Of course they know that I baby my vehicles and damage is not cool. I did surprisingly well and maybe just scraped my diff a couple of times - there's a couple rocky sections that you need to watch out for and a couple of sections that could get really muddy. And there's always the chance that there will be a downed tree across the trail. Two winters could be enough to undo all of the work that the club had done in 2013 so I have no idea what its like up there now.

 

[MTgirl]

Just posting this over here for more exposure. Anyone want a guided tour around the area?
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/mountain/190488-feeler-backroads-yellowstone-grand-teton-meet-2015-a.html