Planning a trip to Yellowstone N.P. August 2024

[jeffnles1]

Marco,
Sounds like a wonderful trip. Your 17 year old son and wife may enjoy Jackson Wyoming which is the town just south of Tetons. Lots of shopping, restaurants and nightlife type things to do there. Pricy but lots of shopping and eating type stuff if they enjoy that.

I don't have a whole lot to suggest other than what has already been posted. Oner thing I will say is don't overlook some short hiking opportunities. 3-5 mile ( 5-7km) hikes are plentiful in both Yellowstone and Tetons. Most tourists never leave the comfort of their automobiles so you will find less crowds on the trails especially when you get a couple Km away from the trail heads.

Beautiful landscape opportunities in both parks. The mountains in Tetons are majestic.

As for the crowds, that's just part of the experience. If you take it as just something to deal with and don't get overly anxious then all will be fine. Someone suggested checking the road closures and construction (should be available on the National Parks website (https://www.nps.gov/yell/index.htm). Also, the ranger stations at the entrances to the park will have the most up to date info. Also, don't get too caught up on "being a tourist" (everyone else there is too).

I hope you and your family have a wonderful time and enjoy your trip.

Jeff

 

[Marco74]

It will take about three hours to drive from Yellowstone to the Tetons, depending on where you are staying, then 8 to 9 hours to Moab, then 6 to 7 hours to Vegas. So conservatively say 3 out of your 13 days, that leaves 10 days. I've been to Yellowstone and the Tetons multiple times and also to Arches, Canyon Lands and Vegas 3 times.

If you can, maybe stay at two different locations in Yellowstone to cut down the driving. I really liked the Lake Hotel and Lodge and then the Old Faithful area. Say 2 days at each location. My favorites locations in YS are Lamar Valley, Grand Canyon of YS, Mammoth (the Beaver Ponds hike is my favorite) and the Old Faithful Geyser Basin. Don't miss the Grand Prismatic Pool.

Then two days at the Tetons. It's a fairly small park and you can cover it in two days if you don't do much hiking. I'd suggest a day at Jenny Lake and hiking up to Inspiration Point and on your way, on the south side of the lake are the Moose Ponds where one can often see Moose. I saw 5 there at the same time in the fall of 2022. I also suggest driving Moose Wilson Road, there are often black bear and moose along the road. Then on the east side of the park, across the highway (close to Moose) is Morman Row where one sees the classic view of the Tetons and the old barns.

Then two days in Moab. You can cover Arches in one day if you don't do any long hikes. Get there early to hike to Delicate Arch, it will be very warm in the summer. Most of the notable arches are just a short walk from the park road.

Canyonlands can also be done in one day if you just drive through and look at the overlooks and the short hike sites. If you have time on your way out, stop by Dead Horse point, its a very beautiful area.

It takes a little more time to drive, but my suggestion is to go north from Moab to Interstate 70 and then take highway 24 to highway 12 for your trip to Vegas. You will pass through Capitol Reef National Park and even if you don't stop, there are some incredible sights right on the highway. Then route 12 goes through Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument and that route is an Utah Scenic Byway, a very nice drive. And if you start really early you could stop at Bryce Canyon NP for a couple of hours, it's enough to walk the main part of the rim trail. Lots to see in Utah.

That leave 2 days for Vegas, one day to drive to Valley of Fire State Park (yes it's worth it) and another day to walk the Vegas strip and see the sights. Maybe catch a show at night. I have lots of photos on my web page if you want to see each of the areas.

https://markburgess.zenfolio.com

Dear Mark,
You wrote me a lot of very helpful information. I printed your post to bring with me during my trip to be sure not to forget something.
I hope to have enough time before my holiday to study all the details. When I return, I will let you know what I have done and my favourite places. A thousand thanks.

 

[Marco74]

It will take about three hours to drive from Yellowstone to the Tetons, depending on where you are staying, then 8 to 9 hours to Moab, then 6 to 7 hours to Vegas. So conservatively say 3 out of your 13 days, that leaves 10 days. I've been to Yellowstone and the Tetons multiple times and also to Arches, Canyon Lands and Vegas 3 times.

If you can, maybe stay at two different locations in Yellowstone to cut down the driving. I really liked the Lake Hotel and Lodge and then the Old Faithful area. Say 2 days at each location. My favorites locations in YS are Lamar Valley, Grand Canyon of YS, Mammoth (the Beaver Ponds hike is my favorite) and the Old Faithful Geyser Basin. Don't miss the Grand Prismatic Pool.

Then two days at the Tetons. It's a fairly small park and you can cover it in two days if you don't do much hiking. I'd suggest a day at Jenny Lake and hiking up to Inspiration Point and on your way, on the south side of the lake are the Moose Ponds where one can often see Moose. I saw 5 there at the same time in the fall of 2022. I also suggest driving Moose Wilson Road, there are often black bear and moose along the road. Then on the east side of the park, across the highway (close to Moose) is Morman Row where one sees the classic view of the Tetons and the old barns.

Then two days in Moab. You can cover Arches in one day if you don't do any long hikes. Get there early to hike to Delicate Arch, it will be very warm in the summer. Most of the notable arches are just a short walk from the park road.

Canyonlands can also be done in one day if you just drive through and look at the overlooks and the short hike sites. If you have time on your way out, stop by Dead Horse point, its a very beautiful area.

It takes a little more time to drive, but my suggestion is to go north from Moab to Interstate 70 and then take highway 24 to highway 12 for your trip to Vegas. You will pass through Capitol Reef National Park and even if you don't stop, there are some incredible sights right on the highway. Then route 12 goes through Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument and that route is an Utah Scenic Byway, a very nice drive. And if you start really early you could stop at Bryce Canyon NP for a couple of hours, it's enough to walk the main part of the rim trail. Lots to see in Utah.

That leave 2 days for Vegas, one day to drive to Valley of Fire State Park (yes it's worth it) and another day to walk the Vegas strip and see the sights. Maybe catch a show at night. I have lots of photos on my web page if you want to see each of the areas.

https://markburgess.zenfolio.com

Amazing Photos.....

 

[Marco74]

I like Yellowstone less than most people on this forum. I like Grand Teton a lot more (and for landscapes it is FAR better). August is crowded but that can also be a good thing because crowds accumulate when there is a good wildlife sighting like a bear, so you can look for groups of cars pulled over to help find wildlife.

Moab is a great place to visit both Arches and Canyonlands and I would spend two or three nights there. Bryce Canyon is nice if you can fit it in your schedule. Zion I do not like as much because it is too crowded and the photo opportunities are limited (it's a beautiful spot, just hard to frame good photos in the narrow canyon). Just outside Las Vegas is Boulder City and there is a small city park (Hemenway Park) where desert bighorn sheep come from the surrounding rocks and graze on the lawn daily. If you go at sunset you can get photos of them going back up onto the rocky terrain.

Thanks for the information; I don't really like mixing with crowds but travelling in August, I won't have many alternatives. I take note of your advice and will treasure it when I'm there. Thank you

 

[Marco74]

If you're in charge of the itinerary inside the park in YS and GT, my advice is leave early from your hotel, maybe as early as 4:30AM, to see wildlife. If most of your people won't get up that early, then go by yourself and cruise the roads in one part of the park (a different one each day) and get back by 9-10 to eat breakfast with your family. Then, in the afternoon, pick one place and stay there, like Norris or Old Faithful or wherever, someplace you can hike out of and picnic, etc... Don't drive at all between 10-4 if you can help it. Then, in the evening, take your family out for wildlife viewing between 5-8 or so.

Thanks,
I will try to get up early; maybe my wife will join me while my son will remain asleep. I will probably also have to deal with the hot air, making it difficult to take clear photos during the day. Unfortunately, having little time available, we will try to make the most of all the hours, even those less suitable photographically. Technically, it is counterproductive, but it is a family holiday rather than a photographic trip so that the rhythms will differ slightly.

 

[Marco74]

Marco,

My suggestion for lodging would be Gardiner and Canyon Village. To me West Yellowstone and the west entrance gets a little too crowded and busy. Gardiner/North Gate is the original entrance with the arch. Arch would make a nice foreground for the Milky Way. Canyon Village is a convenient location to tour the park, also the view of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone is a Great place to visit. My favorite view is from Artist Point, also another option for shooting the Milky Way.

Thanks Fultimewanderer,

 

[Marco74]

Camera with short focal length lens and tripod can get some nice pics, in 2016 I even used a pillow and two pieces of wood to hold the camera because I didn't have a tripod with me. For Comet Neowise in 2020 I used an old Nikon D3300 with 18-55 kit lens and small GorillaPod and set it on the hood of my truck. I was down at the lake, spotted it with binoculars had that camera laying in the tuck and didn't want to run back up to the house, you don't have to have expensive equipment sometimes.
View attachment 79262

Here is what i use around the house for Astro.

View attachment 79265

Impressive equipment.
I will bring the Z8 and the 24-120 Z, which is not very bright but an excellent lens.
If I can spare some space, I will also bring my old 14-24 2.8 F that I kept explicitly for night photography.

 

[Marco74]

Marco,
Sounds like a wonderful trip. Your 17 year old son and wife may enjoy Jackson Wyoming which is the town just south of Tetons. Lots of shopping, restaurants and nightlife type things to do there. Pricy but lots of shopping and eating type stuff if they enjoy that.

I don't have a whole lot to suggest other than what has already been posted. Oner thing I will say is don't overlook some short hiking opportunities. 3-5 mile ( 5-7km) hikes are plentiful in both Yellowstone and Tetons. Most tourists never leave the comfort of their automobiles so you will find less crowds on the trails especially when you get a couple Km away from the trail heads.

Beautiful landscape opportunities in both parks. The mountains in Tetons are majestic.

As for the crowds, that's just part of the experience. If you take it as just something to deal with and don't get overly anxious then all will be fine. Someone suggested checking the road closures and construction (should be available on the National Parks website (https://www.nps.gov/yell/index.htm). Also, the ranger stations at the entrances to the park will have the most up to date info. Also, don't get too caught up on "being a tourist" (everyone else there is too).

I hope you and your family have a wonderful time and enjoy your trip.

Jeff

Dear Jeff,
I'm like an old bear. I don't like crowds very much, but I can survive them; I have to take it in the right spirit, more as a tourist than a photographer.

Interesting indications of places to visit. I will summarize all the excellent advice received on this forum so you can use it later. Thanks, Jeff.

 

[jeffnles1]

Dear Jeff,
I'm like an old bear. I don't like crowds very much, but I can survive them; I have to take it in the right spirit, more as a tourist than a photographer.

Interesting indications of places to visit. I will summarize all the excellent advice received on this forum so you can use it later. Thanks, Jeff.

I don't like crowds but sometimes we just have to smile and go along. One thing to keep in mind is if you can walk back on some of the trails a couple miles, the crowds thin out considerably.

I hope you and your family have a wonderful time. We went to Colorado the year my son graduated from high school before he started college. One of the best family trips we ever took. Enjoy making life long memories with your wife and son.

Jeff

 

[MarkB]

Does anyone know of a reliable spot to find great grays in Yellowstone? Most good locations can be found online but haven't gotten any good locations for GGO in Yellowstone.

I can't vouch for reliability. My last time in YNP I photographed a GGO on the one-way road leading from the north side of the Grand Canyon of YS are to Canyon village. It was right behind one of the buildings, but closer to the road. I never saw it, but there were people along the road between Fishing Bridge and YS Lake Hotel, apparently they had spotted one in that area.

 

[Marco74]

I don't like crowds but sometimes we just have to smile and go along. One thing to keep in mind is if you can walk back on some of the trails a couple miles, the crowds thin out considerably.

I hope you and your family have a wonderful time. We went to Colorado the year my son graduated from high school before he started college. One of the best family trips we ever took. Enjoy making life long memories with your wife and son.

Jeff

Dear Jeff,
I like walking in nature, especially alone or with a few select friends. I will venture into some path. The tricky part will be convincing my son to follow me, like all young people today he is lazy. I'll have to find something exciting or hope to meet some beautiful American who will distract him.

You're right; it's essential to create good memories. Time passes inevitably, and it's not always peaceful.

Good evening, thank you, Ciao

 

[raptor photo]

I can't vouch for reliability. My last time in YNP I photographed a GGO on the one-way road leading from the north side of the Grand Canyon of YS are to Canyon village. It was right behind one of the buildings, but closer to the road. I never saw it, but there were people along the road between Fishing Bridge and YS Lake Hotel, apparently they had spotted one in that area.

Thanks! The main area to see them seems to be Bay bridge campground and the fishing bridge area.

 

[nmerc_photos]

haven't read all of the thread yet but will copy and paste what I wrote on FM and then come back to edit as necessary. I do not shoot landscape, so this is purely from a wildlife perspective.

I've been going to YNP/Tetons 1-4x a year for probably the last decade or so.

I have previously been a Canon shooter, and from my experience, 500mm was often too short. I enjoyed having the RF 800 f11 (sometimes with 2x!) and the RF 600 F4. Using Nikon now, I will bring my 400 f2.8 TC, 800 f6.3, and a zoom - either the 100-400 f4.5 - f5.6 or the 180-600 f5.6 - f6.3

1) in my experience, the majority of wildlife will be shot from the vehicle. bears and wolves ALWAYS have a ton of park service around them, unless you're the first person to come up on the animals. for that reason, you are always encouraged to be in the vehicle. sunroofs and truck beds are great for access, but limit that ground level POV everyone loves

2) in my most recent trip, we spent the majority of time driving around Lamar Valley and Slough Creek. at the time (May 2022) Slough creek had several wolf dens, as well as a Golden Eagle nest. we saw many grizzly and black bears around there

3) Jackson Hole is great for moose. The only place I've seen Moose in YNP was around the Pebble Creek Campground, but in Jackson Hole you can see them just about anywhere

4) Oxbow Bend is my favorite place in tetons. great for otters, osprey, eagles, and many other birds

5) get as much reach as you can. seriously. teleconverters, be able to stack them, invest in a good pair of Vortex 12x50 or bigger binoculars or equivalent spotting scope. your goal each morning should be to be one of the first people in the park, and one of the last people to leave the park. the first and last 30-90 minutes of the day are the best. drive slow, look around, allow others to pass you. stop if you see a big crowd (usually an indicator of a wolf, bear, moose, etc.) always look at where other guys with big lenses and scopes are looking. talk to everyone you can, especially rangers - oftentimes the rangers know the most and can tell you where active kills are

when I was younger (10 years ago) YNP was my preference every day of the week. it was mainly other wildlife photographers or esteemed tour guides.

with the advent of social media, increased communication in the parks (with Verizon there are very few spots without cell service, and with starlink there are zero spots without service), etc. I have now switched and almost always prefer GTNP.

Yellowstone just feels too much like a petting zoo these days. Traffic everywhere. Screaming kids. "Tourons" (tourist morons) trying to pet bison. Fights between tourons and park rangers about safe viewing distances for bears. Fights over "stolen" parking spots. the list goes on.

GTNP offers a lot more in terms of landscape, hiking, and even wildlife if you know where to go

and obviously a lot less people

Either way, they are both fantastic parks and you won't be disappointed no matter what you do

good luck!

 

[raptor photo]

haven't read all of the thread yet but will copy and paste what I wrote on FM and then come back to edit as necessary. I do not shoot landscape, so this is purely from a wildlife perspective.

I've been going to YNP/Tetons 1-4x a year for probably the last decade or so.

I have previously been a Canon shooter, and from my experience, 500mm was often too short. I enjoyed having the RF 800 f11 (sometimes with 2x!) and the RF 600 F4. Using Nikon now, I will bring my 400 f2.8 TC, 800 f6.3, and a zoom - either the 100-400 f4.5 - f5.6 or the 180-600 f5.6 - f6.3

1) in my experience, the majority of wildlife will be shot from the vehicle. bears and wolves ALWAYS have a ton of park service around them, unless you're the first person to come up on the animals. for that reason, you are always encouraged to be in the vehicle. sunroofs and truck beds are great for access, but limit that ground level POV everyone loves

2) in my most recent trip, we spent the majority of time driving around Lamar Valley and Slough Creek. at the time (May 2022) Slough creek had several wolf dens, as well as a Golden Eagle nest. we saw many grizzly and black bears around there

3) Jackson Hole is great for moose. The only place I've seen Moose in YNP was around the Pebble Creek Campground, but in Jackson Hole you can see them just about anywhere

4) Oxbow Bend is my favorite place in tetons. great for otters, osprey, eagles, and many other birds

5) get as much reach as you can. seriously. teleconverters, be able to stack them, invest in a good pair of Vortex 12x50 or bigger binoculars or equivalent spotting scope. your goal each morning should be to be one of the first people in the park, and one of the last people to leave the park. the first and last 30-90 minutes of the day are the best. drive slow, look around, allow others to pass you. stop if you see a big crowd (usually an indicator of a wolf, bear, moose, etc.) always look at where other guys with big lenses and scopes are looking. talk to everyone you can, especially rangers - oftentimes the rangers know the most and can tell you where active kills are

when I was younger (10 years ago) YNP was my preference every day of the week. it was mainly other wildlife photographers or esteemed tour guides.

with the advent of social media, increased communication in the parks (with Verizon there are very few spots without cell service, and with starlink there are zero spots without service), etc. I have now switched and almost always prefer GTNP.

Yellowstone just feels too much like a petting zoo these days. Traffic everywhere. Screaming kids. "Tourons" (tourist morons) trying to pet bison. Fights between tourons and park rangers about safe viewing distances for bears. Fights over "stolen" parking spots. the list goes on.

GTNP offers a lot more in terms of landscape, hiking, and even wildlife if you know where to go

and obviously a lot less people

Either way, they are both fantastic parks and you won't be disappointed no matter what you do

good luck!

Was the golden eagle nest close enough for good photos?

 

[nmerc_photos]

Was the golden eagle nest close enough for good photos?

Nothing like the quality of your IG pics lol.

I was using the 600 + 2x and still didn't get anything I found worthy of posting. You could get closer, but the issue was that it was so high up the angle made it difficult

 

[raptor photo]

Nothing like the quality of your IG pics lol.

I was using the 600 + 2x and still didn't get anything I found worthy of posting. You could get closer, but the issue was that it was so high up the angle made it difficult

haha Thanks!

I found out about a local golden eagle nest in a relatively photogenic spot (super close, but some branches covering up good views) and I'm excited to check it out this spring!