Yelowstone and Glacier trip

[waltx4]

I am planning a trip to Yellowstone and Glacier this year with my family. Any "must see's" that some one can tell me. I have never beenso am very excited. we are going in Early July...
Thanks
Darin

[Buddha]

Start with NPS.gov and read every word. Then read the links that are in those sites.
Make reservations for rooms NOW. Tonight! Those parks fill up fast. You can try AMFAC Resvns at 307-344-7311 first. They are a concessionaire at other parks with reasonable rates that are controlled by government contract. Otherwise, the sites themselves might list some places to stay.
Plan on the weather getting cold at night and dress accordingly.
Enjoy. I'm envious of you.

[mccls1030]

I am totally jealous also. Was there 4 years ago July and will definitely go back! We stayed in West Yellowstone. We stayed at Gray Wolf Inn & Suites which I highly recommend if you want some good amenities off campus. Or great hotels within the park too but they were not in our budget at the time. Had started our at another hotel which was the pits and were able to make a move. Very close to park entrance. The park is just awesome and I only wish I had been able to spend more time there and to spend it with another photographer. My next trip back will be totally for photography and with other photographers. And of course check out the websites listed above. Always good to have as much knowledge as possible going in. Have fun!

[venchka]

Stay inside Yellowstone. It's too far to the towns on the edge of the park. You'll spend all your time driving back and forth. Plan on staying at different places in the park. Yellowstone is HUGE. Find a place in the south and another in the north. Camping is very possible. DO NOT STAY at the Snow Lodge at Old Faithful. Trust me. We tried one night. NEVER again.

Some of my favorite places: Norris Geyser Basin, Lower Falls of the Yellowstone & Artist Point, Can't remember the name, the geyser basin between Old Faithful & Madison junction on the east side of the highway. Hike up to the overlook at Old Faithful. When I've been up there I was all alone. The view is great.

Include the Tetons. You're too close not to go to the Tetons. The tent cabins at Colter Bay are affordable. Bring your own sleeping bags. Actually, Colter Bay is close to the south side of Yellowstone. Flagg Ranch is an option too. Halfway between the Tetons & Yellowstone.

You need to see both sides of Glacier too. Plan on staying on both sides. It's a long way across the park. Plan on getting to Logan Pass Summit early and hiking away from the car. If you can swing it and get reservations, the backcountry chalets are well worth the hike. You'll see things car bound tourists never see. I don't have a map in front of me, but there is a trail though old growth forest on the wst side just off Going to the Sun Highway. Very nice. The trail continues up to Surprise Lake. Very beautiful.

In all three parks if you will venture 1 mile away from parking lots you will leave the crowds behind. Sometimes it only takes a few hundred yards.

Take a 4x5 or larger camera.

[MikeyG1965]

We have stayed in West Yellowstone past couple of times and it has worked out pretty good. This past year we stay at the Holiday Inn. Nothing spectacular, but it was a room with a bed. We usually were out by 7:00 AM and not back before 9:00 PM (exhausted). We would have stayed in the park, but we enjoy the drive back and forth from West Yellowstone to Madison Junction. There was a couple of Eagle nesting areas along that drive and always saw the herd of elk each evening.

We always go in middle of September (Saturday after Labor Day). We drive from Central Texas, up thru New Mexico, Western Colorado, Utah and into Western Wyoming to get there. We take two weeks to get there and back.

[JamesB]

We went to Glacier NP earlier this year. We had pretty lousy weather and half of the park was still closed due to snow and that was in June From what I read the park is usually only fully open from about the first of July to November.

We stayed in Some small cabins inside the park which were nice comfy

I forgot the names of the hikes we did but there were some really nices ones there

James

[huttophoto]

We did a very similar trip two years ago (7/14-25). Flew in/out of Salt Lake, drove through Tetons, Yellowstone for 4 days, Glacier for 5 days. Yes, it was a lot of driving, but we're used to road trips.

Yellowstone:: So many sights, so little time. The cliche stories are true - so many visitors hit Old Faithful, "oooh" and "aaah" and leave. While at Old Faithful, make sure that you check the geyser predictions at the ranger station. Grand and Great Fountain are two regular and very tall geysers. Slightly off the beaten path is the trail to Fairy Falls/Empire geyser. Fairy is one of the tallest in the park. Along the way back, climb one of the hills for a terrific overlook of Grand Prismatic Springs. Unfortunately, the water flow at Mammoth has been low in recent years (it's still worth a visit, especially the Upper Terrace Loop). Sadly, the trail to the base of Tower Falls was washed out a few years ago and hasn't been repaired. If you have the stamina, you have to take all of the viewpoint trails in the Yellowstone Grand Canyon - north and south sides. And on and on and on.... Our lodging was in West Yellowstone (lots of options, and yes you do have to plan for the extra drive time into the far reaches of the vast park)

Glacier: We did a workshop with exposure36 (highly recommended!). Sunrises, sunsets, waterfalls, wildlife, and wildflowers are abundant in July. Keep an eye out for the road conditions and construction on the Going to the Sun Road (main east/west route). Venchka was right, get an early start to Logan's Pass since the parking lot fills up early. From Logan Pass, it's a short hike to view Hidden Lake. This trail usually has plenty of mountain goats and the occasional big horn. Also, from the pass give High Line trail a try (think twice if you have a fear of heights).
On the east side: Sun Point is popular for sunsets, Sunrift Gorge and Baring Falls are short walks, Sadly, during our visit the trail to Iceberg Lake was closed due to bear activity. Running Eagle Falls (aka Trick Falls), near Two Medicine, is quite a sight. On the west side, Lake McDonald is a must-do for the postcard view. Avalance Creek/Lake is a great short hike. Remember, thanks to the latitude, summer sunrises come early and sunsets are late. We stayed in a little motel in St. Mary (Red Eagle Motel, inexpensive). Notes: It can get hot in the lower levels in Glacier (99 during our trip). And, air conditioning isn't always installed.

Recommended travel/trail books: Top Trails Yellowstone & Grand Teton (Nystrom) hard to find in local stores; Lonly Planet Yellowstone & Grand Teton; and Glacier-Waterton International Peace Park (Spring)

Edit: Ha! I just realized that my avatar is at the Hidden Lake overlook.

[venchka]

Something I forgot: If you have time drive up to Waterton Lakes N.P. in Alberta. Take the boat ride to the end of the lake. Schedule permitting, get off the boat, wander around and catch a later boat back to town.

It's really a summer long trip & continue up to Banff/Jasper/Yoho/Kootney in Alberta & British Columbia. Boy am I off topic.

[Peruna]

I made a half dozen trips to both Yellowstone & Glacier over the summer while living in Missoula. From those trips, here are my suggestions.

Yellowstone
It's an all day (long days too in July) photographing place, which can be brutal on your mind & body so if you are willing to camp or rough it a bit with accomodations I would stay in Canyon. It's the most central location, being a only a few minute drive down to Hayden, less than an hour to Lamar, and also less than an hour to Old Faithful. Therefore you can sleep a little later, can swing over for a mid-day nap, and also get to bed a little earlier than if you were staying in Gardiner or West Yellowstone.

Wildlife - Best wildlife photography is the first few hours of the day and the last few hours of the day, but in Yellowstone you can see anything at anytime of the day. Bears (black & grizzly) up close are best seen along the road between Canyon & Tower Junction. If you really want to see a bear drive back & forth along this road and look for jams. Grizzlies from a distance are best seen in Lamar and Antelope Creek (along the Canyon - Tower road). Wolves are best seen from a distance along the stretch between Tower Junction and the Eastern side of Lamar. Simply look for the spotting scope army. Getting them close enough for a photograph is simply random luck, but odds are better early morning before too many cars are out. Lamar Valley and Hayden Valley. The Hayden pack was less human shy but were wiped out during the autumn. Moose are best seen in Grand Tetons. Moose-Wilson Road and around Jackson Lake Lodge and Jenny Lake. Otters at the Fishing Bridge or better yet Trout Lake (eastern end of Lamar), but will require a lot of luck and patience. Elk, Bison, Mule Deer & Coyotes are everywhere. Coyotes are not shy and very photogenic when they hunt for voles. Bald Eagles can be seen in Lamar Valley, Hayden Valley, and Lake Yellowstone (Gull Point Drive),

Geysers & Thermals - Best late morning, early afternoon when you have nice blue skies. Cold mornings produce too much steam. If you send me an email I can send you some fairly detailed notes on what to photograph and when.


Waterfalls - Lower Falls of the Yellowstone is the classic shot and is best mid morning (9 to 11) when the sun hits the spray and creates rainbows. Inspiration point and artist point are the best vantage points, but be prepared for tourist hell. Undine Falls is pretty good but difficult to photograph unless overcast. Gibbon Falls is difficult to reach to a good photographic point because you have to ford the river twice and probably too high in July. Moose Falls is a nice little waterfall too - on the south end of the park.

Sunrise & Sunset - No real classic spots. I like sunrise in Hayden because there is always fog on the Yellowstone and can make some nice macro landscape shots.



I'll write one for Glacier this evening.

[Peruna]

Early July is a great time to be in Glacier. The snow melt will be still going on therefore waterfalls everywhere. By August everything drops down a trickle which isn't terribly impressive. Likewise, the mountains will be emerald green and hopefully the fire season will not have started yet. Lake McDonald is azure blue at this time and if you get lucky on clear conditions (usual a fair amount of haze due to the traffic) you can get some nice photos of the lake with the mountains in the background. Also on the east side of the park is Avalanche Creek/Lake which has some beautiful gorges but it's contrast hell if it isn't overcast. The trail of cedars at Avalanche Creek is also beautiful but you need go right after a rainfall with overcast conditions to get the greens to really pop. Also watch for moose all along McDonald Creek. Black bears also around here.

On Logan Pass you have the highline trail which is fantastic. It looks a bit intimidating, but it is actually very level so if you have any non-hikers you can maybe convince them to try it. You should see mountain goats up close along this trail. And sometimes bighorn sheep. At Logan Pass you also have the hike to Hidden Lake, which is not to be missed. Bighorns will be in the alpine meadow on the lower end and lots of mountain goats on the upper end. The hike to the overlook in July may require traversing some snow fields. The hike down to Hidden Lake from the overlook is pretty steep coming back up, but worth it.

On the west side of the park you have Wild Goose Island which is one of the classic shots of Glacier. It's a sunrise spot. And you have the Many Glacier area which is really beautiful and the best place to see grizzlies in the park. Tons of hikes leave from this area, but the must-do one is to Grinnell Glacier. Be bear aware on this one. Also just a half mile in on the Swiftcurrent trail is a small lake that is an excellent spot for moose.

As far as where to stay, I'd choose the Many Glacier Lodge or Swiftcurrent campground. Sunrise is early so you'll save some time on being on the east side and bear watching at the Swiftcurrent motor inn is a good way to end the day.

[waltx4]

this has all been great info, THANK YOU!!!!!!
The only problem is that I will be with my family, they all are good at letting me shoot what, when, and where, but there are still limitations. Oh well, I wouldn't want to share the time we will have out there with anyone else so I'll take the bad with the good...
Thank again
Darin

[MikeyG1965]

Originally Posted by waltx4

this has all been great info, THANK YOU!!!!!!
The only problem is that I will be with my family, they all are good at letting me shoot what, when, and where, but there are still limitations. Oh well, I wouldn't want to share the time we will have out there with anyone else so I'll take the bad with the good...
Thank again
Darin

Exactly my point and the problem I ran into. There were many times I wish I could have pulled over, set up a lawn chair, break out the tri-pod and sit and wait for great shots. I saw several folks doing this (a lot of older couples) and thought it would be neat to do this and visit at the same time to learn more....since I am very new to photography.

However, I had family members with me who wanted to see as much as possible in the time we were there, so I did a lot of "drive-by" photography. See something....pull to side of road...jump out....take picture and then back in car again.

[huttophoto]

Yellowstone: I almost forgot - the "geyser gazers"!

While in the geyser basins (especially in the Upper Geyser Basin - Old Faithful), you might spot some people with notebooks, radios, etc. These folks are known as the geyser gazers. They are volunteers that track and predict the geyer eruptions and, in a way, provide education for visitors. For example, the gazers will point out most of the geyser eruption "hints". Also, most are pretty talkative (wink, wink).

[SCone]

We drove the park South to North on our way to Montana a few years ago. And then West to East on the way home. S-N took us almost 11 hours, W-E another 9. And we were just driving through, stopping along the way to take snapshots. The entire place is incredible. I promised myself that when we go back that we're spending an entire week in Yellowstone.

The drives are totally different. S-N was lots of mountains, valleys & rivers. W-E had huge prairie expanses. Definitely plan where you want to go BEFORE you get there.

Don't miss Yellowstone Lake. The water is so blue, it's huge, & was just simply awesome.

[venchka]

A bicycle is my choice for travel through the Tetons & Yellowstone.