A Summer of Audibles - Camping in Yellowstone National Park

Since the epic flood of June 13th, how people enjoy and recreate in Yellowstone has been dramatically impacted.  Businesses in the entrance communities of Gardiner (where I live at the North Entrance) and Silver Gate (at the NE Entrance) have been hit especially hard financially without direct access into the park for visitors and locals.

So my whining about how it has impacted me is really something I try to avoid.  But no doubt, when you're a photographer seeking opportunities to observe wildlife, the time to be in the park is around daybreak and sunset.  I feel fortunate that starting the July 4th weekend, employees of the park and concessionaires serving the park had access into Yellowstone over the "Old Gardiner Road" . . . a dirt stagecoach road dating back more than 100 years.  That access however, is still very restrictive, with "convoys" allowed to cross over in a one-way direction based on a very limited schedule.

For me, I was initially just happy to have access and with the long hours of daylight, heading over at 5am allowed me some early morning photography as the animals got active.  But as the summer went on and days got shorter, the times were not really conducive for my interests and use.  I decided that it would be better to take the last convoy into the park after work on Saturdays at 5:30p, and then overnight camp Saturday and Sunday (for my "weekend off" on Sunday and Monday) so I would be in the park until dark . . . and then get up before sunrise the next day.

This was a generally good plan in early August, but as the summer went on and the temperatures rose, many of the animals I sought were at higher altitudes and inaccessible without hiking (which isn't something I would consider doing alone, especially with gimpy knees and asthma).

I did enjoy "car camping" (a warm and comfy bedroll in the back of my SUV) over several weekends at Canyon, Grant and Bridge Bay campgrounds inside the park.  I was fortunate to get sites very close to the bathrooms (for the early morning, pre-dawn potty needs) so the inconvenience was really minimal.  It was sort of a frivolous expense for a campsite when I was also paying for an apartment roughly 50 miles away . . . but well worth it if I wanted to have greater time inside the park.

About the campsites in Yellowstone . . . most are managed by concessionaire Xanterra.  They have a pretty efficient registration system online and with my NPS/BLM "Access" Pass, I can get most campsites at half price ($16-20).  (Seniors with a lifetime NPS Pass can also get half-priced campsites.)  For the campgrounds that have shower facilities, you pay a little more because you get two showers per night per person.  The other campgrounds without showers are a little less, but if you save your unused shower cards from other stays, you can still access showers if you book and stay in a campground without showers (like Bridge Bay).

With many of the park concessionaires still having employee issues since COVID, the food options in Yellowstone are pretty limited.  As an employee myself, I do have access to the "EDRs" - Employee Dining Rooms - but even those are rather inconvenient.  I generally took a small picnic size cooler of food items plus a bag of dry goods for my two or three days in the park.  I also supplemented my food needs with trips outside the park to Cody (East Entrance) or W. Yellowstone (West Entrance) for a midday meal.  NOTE:  I found Jackson to be WAY TOO BUSY to find suitable dining options!  The last time I was there, I was told by my favorite breakfast spot "We don't seat singles at our tables when we have a waiting list."  And on that day, the wait was nearly an hour.

In August and September, I car camped six nights total.  It was a nice way to maximize my time in the park at a relatively minimal expense.

Here is a few of the other campsites I had this summer!

And with that, I'll say GOOD NIGHT!