You are here

Reader Participation Day: What Brings You To Yellowstone, Wildlife Or Water Works?

Share

Does a successful Yellowstone vacation revolve around spotting wildlife, or counting geysers? NPS photo.

When you sit down to plan your vacation to Yellowstone National Park, do you think first of where best you can view wildlife, or strategize how best to visit all of the park's geothermal areas?

Does a successful visit depend on spotting the big five -- grizzlies, wolves, bison, elk, and moose -- or are you more interesting in seeing eruptions of Old Faithful, Riverside, Castle, and Steamboat, the Holy Grail of Yellowstone's geysers?

Comments

Our decisions are based solely on hiking, photography spots and maybe off-roading [but not a requirement].

AND - do I have a Passport stamp for that park?


Wildlife! For me, always, always the wildlife. Unless it's the geysers...no, definitely the wildlife!


Wildlife over waterworks, but hiking and landscape photo opps trump them all. Besides, you might get them all in a great photo.


Mostly the scenery, the waterfalls, the geysers.  But we'll be on the lookout for wildlife.


My first trip was about the water works....the next 3 trips focused completely on the wildlife.  Seeing 4 out of the big 5 ...in one sunny snow covered day....priceless!!!


I went to Yellowstone because it was a place where I could take my elderly parents and my toddler nephew to see some *guaranteed* spectacles, both geological and biological (and we never had to choose between the two). And like many of the more developed National Parks, the most spectacular sights were also very accessible, with easy trails and plenty of benches.

When I travel by myself, I prefer a lot more seclusion. But when taking my family (or anyone with more limited mobility), I look for accessibility.


I love to look at the landscapes, but have the camera ready for wildlife.


The wildlife, always the wildlife.  Spring for the new babies - elk and bison, fall for the bugling elk.  Always a new experience, and sometimes not at all what's expected.  Last fall we spent three days anticipating bugling elk, but only came across one.  Disappointing, but that's nature.    Yellowstone is only 3 hours away from where I live, so it's a place we visit often.


Add comment

CAPTCHA

This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.

The Essential RVing Guide

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

The National Parks RVing Guide, aka the Essential RVing Guide To The National Parks, is the definitive guide for RVers seeking information on campgrounds in the National Park System where they can park their rigs. It's available for free for both iPhones and Android models.

This app is packed with RVing specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 parks.

You'll also find stories about RVing in the parks, some tips if you've just recently turned into an RVer, and some planning suggestions. A bonus that wasn't in the previous eBook or PDF versions of this guide are feeds of Traveler content: you'll find our latest stories as well as our most recent podcasts just a click away.

So whether you have an iPhone or an Android, download this app and start exploring the campgrounds in the National Park System where you can park your rig.