Colorado - Wyoming Fall 2016

[longhorn1]

We are looking at visiting Rocky Mountain National Park, Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone in late September / early October for a couple of weeks. Our tentative plan is to spend 3 days in each park and then head into Montana to visit relatives.

RMNP: Recommendations for camp sites in the park, things to do, typical temperatures for mountains in late September. Any other thoughts.

Grand Teton's: Gros Ventre and Signal Mountain campsites. Frank, I know you just stayed in Gros Ventre. Any comments on both of these sites. We might consider spending time at both. Weather information for late September. Things to do

Yellowstone: We want to stay in the park so recommendations for a couple of campgrounds. Early October for this park.

Typical Weather, crowds for this time of year, places to camp, things to do.

I've got a whole year to plan.

jd

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

JD a spring or fall time is good for YNP/GTNP. The weather is nice.
Spring has some rainy days but you get to see all the new born animals,a great sight.
Fall the temps start to lower.We have been there as early as beginning of Sept to as late as the beginning of Oct.
Fall days can be warm and nights can be around freezing,but nice otherwise.
Camp grounds. GTNP we have only stayed at Gros Ventre out favorite. Signal Mt.never stayed but some campers weren't thrilled about it. There are about 5 different camps along the Grassy Lk.road at the Flagg Ranch area of the park.I think you have to get a permit to stay there no other fee though,I think.They are right along the bank of the Snake River and only have 2 or 3 sites per campground.
They are only a few miles along the Grassy Lk road from the Flagg Ranch area.

YNP campgrounds.You need to check the opening/closing dates to plan your trip.
This spring we stayed at 3,Canyon (reservation),Norris (FCFS),Madison (reservation).
We were a week or two early for our other favorites are Slough,Pebble ,& Indian Creek.
Very nice out of the way sites but Slough & Pebble fill early in the day.
We always start with a reserved spot at Madison or Canyon that head out early to the others and try to get a spot.

Crowds,well there always people around but mid May or mid Sept early Oct not as many. But there cam also be less campgrounds open.

I think you should give yourself,if possible more time. Not so much for GTNP 3 nights is about right,but for YNP there is so much to see and do. There is a lot of driving there.We usually cover 500/800 miles around the park while there for a week/week and a half.

If you want more "talk" about your plans for your trip PM me to phone talk.
Frank

 

[longhorn1]

JD a spring or fall time is good for YNP/GTNP. The weather is nice.
Spring has some rainy days but you get to see all the new born animals,a great sight.
Fall the temps start to lower.We have been there as early as beginning of Sept to as late as the beginning of Oct.
Fall days can be warm and nights can be around freezing,but nice otherwise.
Camp grounds. GTNP we have only stayed at Gros Ventre out favorite. Signal Mt.never stayed but some campers weren't thrilled about it. There are about 5 different camps along the Grassy Lk.road at the Flagg Ranch area of the park.I think you have to get a permit to stay there no other fee though,I think.They are right along the bank of the Snake River and only have 2 or 3 sites per campground.
They are only a few miles along the Grassy Lk road from the Flagg Ranch area.

YNP campgrounds.You need to check the opening/closing dates to plan your trip.
This spring we stayed at 3,Canyon (reservation),Norris (FCFS),Madison (reservation).
We were a week or two early for our other favorites are Slough,Pebble ,& Indian Creek.
Very nice out of the way sites but Slough & Pebble fill early in the day.
We always start with a reserved spot at Madison or Canyon that head out early to the others and try to get a spot.

Crowds,well there always people around but mid May or mid Sept early Oct not as many. But there cam also be less campgrounds open.

I think you should give yourself,if possible more time. Not so much for GTNP 3 nights is about right,but for YNP there is so much to see and do. There is a lot of driving there.We usually cover 500/800 miles around the park while there for a week/week and a half.

If you want more "talk" about your plans for your trip PM me to phone talk.
Frank

JD a spring or fall time is good for YNP/GTNP. The weather is nice.
Spring has some rainy days but you get to see all the new born animals,a great sight.
Fall the temps start to lower.We have been there as early as beginning of Sept to as late as the beginning of Oct.
Fall days can be warm and nights can be around freezing,but nice otherwise.
Camp grounds. GTNP we have only stayed at Gros Ventre out favorite. Signal Mt.never stayed but some campers weren't thrilled about it. There are about 5 different camps along the Grassy Lk.road at the Flagg Ranch area of the park.I think you have to get a permit to stay there no other fee though,I think.They are right along the bank of the Snake River and only have 2 or 3 sites per campground.
They are only a few miles along the Grassy Lk road from the Flagg Ranch area.

YNP campgrounds.You need to check the opening/closing dates to plan your trip.
This spring we stayed at 3,Canyon (reservation),Norris (FCFS),Madison (reservation).
We were a week or two early for our other favorites are Slough,Pebble ,& Indian Creek.
Very nice out of the way sites but Slough & Pebble fill early in the day.
We always start with a reserved spot at Madison or Canyon that head out early to the others and try to get a spot.

Crowds,well there always people around but mid May or mid Sept early Oct not as many. But there cam also be less campgrounds open.

I think you should give yourself,if possible more time. Not so much for GTNP 3 nights is about right,but for YNP there is so much to see and do. There is a lot of driving there.We usually cover 500/800 miles around the park while there for a week/week and a half.

If you want more "talk" about your plans for your trip PM me to phone talk.
Frank

Frank, thanks. I will PM you when we get into 2016. I want to get everything laid out. You are right about YNP. We ill probably add more days. jd

 

[Foy]

JD,
I've only overnighted in any of the 3 in a backpacking tent 35 to 40 years ago so have nothing to offer in terms of campground suggestions.

As to RMNP weather, in late Sept-early Oct you can and may well see snow high up along Trail Ridge Rd and elsewhere. It's possible to leave one side of the park in the morning with the intent to go over the top, only to be barred from doing so due so a sudden snow squall closing the road. You will, however, be in great position to see some brilliant aspens and hear the elk bugleing. My wife and I honeymooned in the RMNP backcountry at the end of September 1978 and it was a terrific experience.

Depending on where in Montana you're headed once you leave YNP, have a look at departing to the west from West Yellowstone on US 20, cross in to ID, turn west at Henry's Lake, cross Red Rock Pass (easy-peasy gravel road), and travel the length of the Centennial Valley to I-15 at Monida. From pavement to pavement it's about 60 miles of splendor. You may also turn north part-way across the Centennial and pass up to Virginia City down the Ruby River or up to Dillon through the Blacktail.

Foy

 

[iowahiker]

Our last visit was three years ago:

Yellowstone: During our last visit, they said all reservable campsites were taken for the entire season (NP visitation has since increased 10-30%). Europeans in rented RV's will reserve the first open site and then buy their plane ticket. Look online to see how to make a reservations since Yellowstone NP is different (concessionaire). Make your reservations as soon as allowed. Madison CG (all reservable) on the west side is our choice to see the thermal/geyser features both north and south. Visiting thermal/geyser things as early in the day as possible avoided crowds as afternoons are very busy. Canyon CG (all reservable) is a good base to see wildlife (and crowds) by driving both north and south as well as seeing the Canyon. The northern non-reservable campgrounds (wolves) and Norris CG (geysers) fill mid to late morning or sooner. The other non-reservable campgrounds fill early afternoon or sooner. My pick for a short stay would be Madison CG with a reservation and explore thermal stuff north and south from there if you have never seen the thermal features.

Grand Tetons: Gros Ventre CG is huge and fills less often and is not reservable (on our visit). Arriving no later than mid-afternoon is safe. The west side (right as you enter the cluster of camping loops) is quiet and no generators (ask to get a site in that direction if you do not have a generator). The east side (left as you enter the cluster of camping loops) has lots of generators. One no-generator loop is east (left) and is between two generator loops which makes "no generator" meaningless. Signal Hill is tougher to get into, try in the morning.

Rocky Mountain : Moraine CG on the east side is the most central to then drive the road over the top and then explore the dead end road to Glacier Basin. Good chance to hear Elk bugle at this campground in the fall. Very popular campground with tourists and the many locals living below the front range so I would make a reservation if possible.

 

[Dughlas Stiubhart]

Hi JD,

All the comments above seem to hit the spot. This summer we stayed in Madison CG in Yellowstone because that was the only CG where we could get a reservation a month before the trip. It worked out ok because it is more or less central and we would get up early and head out to visit the sights. There were some traffic jams but they were caused by animals near the roads or bison on the road. I would have preferred to have stayed in some of the smaller, first-come, first-served campgrounds but we put morning animal viewing above campground searching and stayed all five nights at Madison. By the way, Canyon Canyon CG is the most central but that area is also super crowded!

As for RCMP, I have often been there in the fall. I've stayed in smaller Glacier Basin CG most often but larger Moraine is also central. I can usually get a spot there just by showing up early as others are leaving but reservations can be had too. GBCG is in the most often visited section of the park and is near many trailheads to the many glacier lakes that attract the tourists. If the shuttle bus is running, you can do point-to-point hikes by riding to one trailhead and getting picked up at another or hiking back to the CG. We have even taken it into super crowded, super touristy Estes Park for shopping because it can be very hard to find a parking spot. The bus stops right in the campground!

On you way from CO to WY you might check out campgrounds in the Snowy Range or Windrivers on your way to the Tetons. PM me if you have any questions.

 

[Flyer]

We have been to both RMNP and Yellowstone many times. Mostly in the summer, sometimes in the spring.

First in the summer its a zoo. After labor day things calm down at RMNP and you should have no trouble with finding a campsite. The key is when things close down. You may want to see when the campgrounds are closing down this year to get an idea. We were through the area about a month ago and in RMNP things seem wide open on the east side. The best campgrounds are on the east side. The westside has been devastated by beetles and there are no trees to speak of.

Again with Yellowstone, its crowded in the summer, we have been able to get reservations a day or so out because of having a small rig and reservations being cancelled. Even going into the park you can find places to camp on the day, if you are early and maybe lucky. In the fall things close early in Yellowstone. Check it out.

As backup we will use Flagg Ranch and Lewis Lake Campground. There are other campgrounds in Yellowstone that do not take reservations that are first come first server, those are an option. The question for you is will they be open. Out of Flagg Ranch there is Grassy Lake Road. There are plenty of campsites there even in the summer.

If you can stop in Cody. They have probably the best museum between St. Louis and the West Coast. I know that is saying a lot, but an original Remington or two or three and a vast collection of firearms goes a long way. The Cody museum also has some interesting dioramas.

The temperatures at the highest will be in the 50's to 70's in September. About 10 degrees lower in October. night time/ morning lowes will easily be in the low to mid 30's. That is the way it is in Colorado and I would expect about the same in Wyoming.

Fall colors are very hard to estimate. They seemed to be later this year, well in October. It depends on rain, snow cloud cover etc. Last half of September is a good estimate.

BTW, I have enjoyed your trip reports, they very good. Thanks.

Have a good trip.

 

[longhorn1]

Flyer, thanks for the ideas and your kind comments. Jd

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