Aborigine80

I'm planning on going camping for a week in Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, and Gallitan National Forest. My camping will include backcountry camping in the National Parks away from the crowds and cars. Does anyone have any ideas or good advice for someone who has never been to these parks before? Good camping areas, terrain or weather (it'll be raining part of the time) advice, or stories of their own camping trips. I'll be leaving at the end of this month...June.

Thanks everyone! MJ

taitai

Do you have permits? Backcountry camping, at least in Yellowstone, requires permits. So, I would work on that first. If you are going the first week of July, that is the busiest time of year in Yellowstone, so I would work on those asap. Where you can camp is going to be directed by what is available, if anything. They begin to process permit applications in April so you are a bit behind the curve if you don't have those yet. If you do have them, then let us know what areas you are going to and maybe people here can help.

Have a great trip!

Bill_H

Make sure you know how to hike and camp around bears without getting into trouble. Big, mean grizzlies that will mostly leave you alone if they hear you coming and if you don't entice them into camp with food odors.

Good starter trips in Y-stone might include the DeLacy creek hike to Shoshone Lake, and/or the hike into Heart Lake. DeLacy hike is relatively short and with little elevation change, so a nice way to start. Heart Lake is a bit longer but also not much elevation change. You can camp right by the lakes on either one.

http://www.epinions.com/review/park-...nt_70843928196 (Heart Lake)

http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/300087 (DeLacy Creek)

Lots of other great hikes but watch the elevation change, which can make hiking with a backpack tough.

Placename

You are really going to have to be bear aware in that area. Those are grizzlies which as a rule are larger, more persistent, and more intimidating than brown or black bears.

Aborigine80

THanks for the advice so far.

It sounds like Yellowstone might be off my list as far as camping goes. I haven't gotten a camping permit. I had a feeling camping in the parks would be tough, so my backup the entire time was Gallitan NF. We'll be there the last week of June (no July days and no July crowds...whew).

As far as the bears go I'm pretty "bear aware" (spent time with them in Alaska). Even with that said I'm taking precautions anyway. I'd rather see them from my car than my tent opening.

Bill_H

It sounds like Yellowstone might be off my list as far as camping goes. I haven't gotten a camping permit.

You can likely still score backcountry permits in Y-stone since a big portion of them are not made available for early reservation. To quote from their site:

Because only a portion of the approximately 300 backcountry campsites are available for advance reservations, you may choose to wait until you arrive in the park to reserve your site(s) and obtain your permit.

http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisi...ntryhiking.htm

It's been a lot of years, but I worked in Y-stone two summers while in college and never had a problem getting a backcountry permit a couple days ahead of time. So many people are afraid of bears that the backcountry is pretty sparsely populated, I thought.

As far as the bears go I'm pretty "bear aware" (spent time with them in Alaska).

Should be fine then ... go and have a great trip!

RedRock

If you want to stay away from the crowds inside the Park you could plan on staying at one of the National Forest CG just east of Cooke City near the NE entrance. We have camped at the Soda Butte CG many times over the years. Its not back country but its a nice place to stay with large shady sites. We think the area is much nicer than the CG's inside the park.

Placename

I've been camping in Yellowstone before. Lamar Valley, gorgeous place.

Actually, it was the moose and bison that were more of an immediate threat. As huge as they are, they are rather silent sentinels always watching you and it is rather shocking to realize an animal the size of the side of a house, with a rather small brain, has been silently tailing you.