Upcoming trip advice (Yellowstone & NV-CO)

drdoak

It's possible this should be two threads, but:

I've got almost a week out in Yellowstone at the end of May and am looking for any/all advice since this will be my first time out there.


In July, I'm at a Vegas conference and then driving to Colorado for a wedding a week later. I'm thinking of heading from Vegas down to Flag and the Canyon (which I love), then on up towards Canyonlands and Arches. From there to the wedding in the Grand Mesa, Colorado area. I doubt I'll have more than a day or two at any one place. Thoughts on that? Changes I should think about? I've spent lots of time at Grand Canyon, but none whatsoever at any of the other places.

With any luck we'll have a budget by then

Thanks as always.

WernerG

We've been to Yellowstone several times, summer and winter. In May/June you should see lots of bison males by themselves near the lake and around the Hayden Valley. There should be herds of bison females and calves in the Hayden Valley, maybe some elk. We were held up for 45 minutes in Hayden Valley waiting for the largest bison herd I've ever seen meander across the road, all females and calves. Grizzlies will still be in lower elevations until mid summer so you should see some easily,especially near Dunraven Pass. We also saw a grizzly near the Bridge Bay campground. The rangers were not happy to see him in a populated area. Some areas are likely to be closed because the bears are still at low elevations and very active. Waterfalls and stream flows will be near max. The Yellowstone river usually crests at the end of June. The upper and lower falls will be spectacular and there should be some snow in the canyon to make picture taking tricky. The trail along the north rim of the canyon is stunning, but then again Yellowstone is always stunning and amazingly diverse. Be sure to get to all the geyser basins, they are all different and amazing.

Yellowstone Album from end of June '09

I would also suggest trying to find a way to spend a couple of days in Teton National Park, a morning's drive south.

As for Utah/Az that's a lot of territory to cover. We did a trip across southern Utah from Zion/Bryce to Moab then returning via Page and the North Rim, stopping at, parks, monuments, ancient ruins, rock art sites. It's all there. What interests you?

You can see an album of that trip here.

drdoak

WernerG wrote: »

As for Utah/Az that's a lot of territory to cover. We did a trip across southern Utah from Zion/Bryce to Moab then returning via Page and the North Rim, stopping at, parks, monuments, ancient ruins, rock art sites. It's all there. What interests you?

I'm definately into the geology and the river, I've done three Grand Canyon rafting trips and I just love that terrain. Ruins are good, so is bare, red rock. The sedimentary rocks out there have some fantastic shapes to them. The Colorado is always welcome. I'm sure I'd absolutely love Lake Powell and what remains of Glen Canyon, but it's somewhat inconveniently located for where I need to get to (at least insofar as the roads in and out).

I hate breezing through the parks, but this is kind of a quickish trip, so I gotta focus .

Thanks for the Yellowstone tips!

WernerG

Here are a few ideas

Angel's Landing Trail - Zion NP - one of the most spectacular trails in the National Park system
Navaho Loop Trail - Bryce NP
Rt 12 to Escalante/Boulder - Hole-In-The-Rock Road to Lake Powell overview at Hole-In-The-Rock (High Clearance)
Horseshoe Canyon (East of Hanksville) - Trail to the Great Gallery (and other galleries) - The most stunning gallery of rock painting in North America; Be on the trail at sunrise, hot!
At Canyonlands NP do the loop, then, take Shafer Canyon Trail to Moab (high clearance cliff hanging road)
Arches NP
I 70 to your wedding

The roads between Zion and Canyonlands are among the most beautiful in the country, you can't go wrong.

I forgot to include;
Burr Trail (road) out of Boulder, UT to Capital Reefs NP (paved to park boundary, good but washboardy gravel in Park) to the the Waterpocket fold, follow park road back to Rt 12 and then take the Park's scenic road tour (paved). Also petroglyphs along the park's boardwalk along the highway.

CanonFan

I've been to Yellowstone three times and each one was rewarding . You might want to think about hiring a guide to put you on some wildlife. I did a half-day trip with Carl Swoboda and he really put me on some good stuff; a grizzly, saw a wolf pack take down a coyote, etc. I would have never seen these on my own.

dswfoto

I am so envious of your upcoming trip to Yellowstone. The best advice to visiting YNP is to not plan a darn thing. Get up before sunrise and drive and shoot what you see until sunset. Repeat for many days. I'm normally of n a Walt Disney World mindset, where every detail is planned to the tee. That's why visiting Yellowstone is so nice, because you don't need reservations and you don't know when you wake up in the morning, what that day will bring.