To find the current locations for the best YNP animal viewing, go to some of the Yellowstone forums on the internet. There are a few that keep up with animal movement and sightings.

Great information
booking

This is a great thread! Bookmarking as I begin plans for next year.

I love the lists. Thanks much. Wifey & I are doing Sept in YNP & made 2 missteps. First, did not plan on GTNP & second, flying into Jackson at 6pm but driving to Mammoth. We have 4 nights in YNP. Should we take a day for GTNP? And should we drive thru YNP to get to Mammoth or drive into the W entrance to get to Mammoth (which looks farther). Thanks much.

That will put you there very late that night. Are you sure you don't want to try to get a reservation closer to the airport? Are you renting a car? We rented off airport (unknown to us at the time) but going back into Jackson and then to Mammouth will eat up a lot of your time.

Thank you for your roadmap.

Hi BG

It's so good to see this thread come back to life. Wonderful info!

We're heading back that way this fall. I look forward to re-reading everything, especially swimming in the geyser-heated Firehole River. Never done that before. Sounds great!

Kopp, you've got to do the firehole! We forgot our water shoes at home and picked up some tennis at the WalMart in Cody when were there. Don't forget to pack yours! ;-)

Monitor that Yellowstone forum about animal sightings prior to your trip. It really helped us a lot. We even saw the white wolf (alpha male), not far from the road. It was about dusk and he was just north of Fishing Bridge. We seemed to be the only car on the road. It was cold and rainy, but he was a sight to behold!

Oops, we didn't do the Firehole. We went to Boiling River. The water level was too high at the Firehole.

Topping for future. Thanks for the great info!

We are in the very beginning stages of planning a Yellowstone and GTNP trip for the summer of 2009. I'm a planner! I teach elementary school and we have two girls that will be 10 and 6 in '09. Due to my profession our vacations are always during the high season. We love the National Parks but want to try to avoid the heaviest crowds. Is June a good time to visit both of these parks? I'm thinking around father's day weekend or the following week. My hope is that it will be late enough in June for some warmer weather but before the crowds of July and August. Thanks for your help. I'm enjoying reading all the postings on both parks.

This is a great thread..if we can't get our act together for 2008 (I already did a thread about this) then we may be looking at 2009 too!!

DH and I have done YNP twice. We much prefer June to July. We saw more variety of animals in June than July as well as more baby animals. Just be prepared for any kind of weather. As a kid, I remember watching Old Faithful through snowflakes on June 21.

smmccurry,
We've been snowed on quite a few times in YNP in June. The snow is often still banked pretty high in early June, and on our last June visit it snowed 7 out of 10 days. Travel with layered clothing and you'll be fine. Lots of babies to see in June. Watch out for moose, they don't take kindly to humans near their calves, even if it happens to be outside your cabin. ;-)

bookmarking

As it looks like this still has some interest going, I thought I would jump in. I can definitely recommend LoneStar Geyser. It doesn't get a ton of high traffic and it has a great eruption. I was able to witness it many times as I built the footbridge there. (MANY years ago) Also, once you have hiked out the FLAT track (part of it is an old road) go a bit beyond the geyser. Not many people do, and they are missing out. There are several hot pots just sitting in the trees, etc. Very nice area and so quiet.
Another great place to go that is not on many tourist stops is Huckleberry Hot Springs. I don't remember exactly where it was, but I know it was on our map. Hot waterfalls (not Niagara mind you, but the water comes over the edge hot-like a shower...very nice after working for a week building a foot bridge.) ;-)
For those of you that really want a HIKING experience, I would reccommend Heart Lake (We packed in on the fourth of July weekend and we were alone!) Beautiful lake and surrounding areas. Another hike in, and this is a ways, is HooDoo peak. It is into the interior of the park.
I haven't been to Yellowstone in a few years...young kids at the moment, but soon I'll be back!! Hope someone finds this helpful.

One suggestion for the Lone Star Geyser hike--bring bug spray! We hiked it in early July last year, and the mosquitos made the walk miserable. Luckily, the geyser went off just as we arrived, and we could hightail it back.

topping for Lorraine

BayouGal, little did you know you were topping for me too! ...and to think you posted this 2 years ago!

Many thanks! This will help for our upcoming trip end of August.

Maria (another Bayou Gal ;-) )

Topping for my trip...in 5 days wahoo!!!