Texas to Yellowstone West

[L884593]

wife/I heading to Yellowstone West entrance, next July. Looking for feedback on 'routes taken'. Google maps is pretty consistent thru Laramie, WY, then it kind give 3 options, 1)to jackson , 2)thru Tetons Jackson Hole, and 3)thru Yellowstone itself(which seems to me might be a very slow route). Not that we're in any hurry, although, my recenlty transplanted son to Salt Lake city will be driving up to meet us. Let me know your travels-look forward to hearing back, and as always, THANK YOU for your comments..

 

[Kevin D Pem]

I really don't like hauling a heavy load through the Rockies. If you do the small town of Lander has a city park you can spend a night or two in. I am more inclined to go through Nevada and into Idaho. Then back track to the west entrance. Keep in mind that in a normal year going through the park is stop and go. The Tetons national park has a nice RV park in it. reserve a space a lot in advance.

 

[L884593]

Thank you Sir--i'd prefer not to go thru STOP-GO travel, myself, so will definitely
look to go 'around'.

 

[L884593]

by that i mean around outside Yellowstone--not too stressed about the Rockies.....yet.

 

[NWIP]

Yes I would avoid going thru the YNP due to traffic. I do think if your traveling that far you should/would enjoy the Jackson Hole area.

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

There are some RV parks outside the South Entrance of YNP. Staying there allows easy access to both YNP and Grand Tetons NP plus the Jackson Hole area. As @NWIP pointed out, don't miss Jackson Hole and the Grand Tetons.

TJ

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Yah, we were going to drive the bike through Yellowstone and were told we might not want to do that because of the Bears. So we went with my brother in his car. I then understood why it was not a good idea to drive the bike through. It was bumper to bumper in both directions. had I wanted to escape on the bike traffic would not allow.

 

[Rich-MLsRV]

Like others have mentioned there will be lots of traffic in the areas of Jackson Hole, Grand Tetons NP and southern Yellowstone NP for good reasons. There is lots to do (bicycling, hiking, fishing, floating the Snake River, wildlife etc.). If you plan to visit this area then you'll need to have the mindset there will be lots of traffic and travel times will be slow. I would not recommend, when hauling heavy loads, taking route 22 out of Jackson Hole to West Yellowstone. This will take you over Teton Pass which is very steep. I can't recall the grade but it might be 8%.

 

[L884593]

Like others have mentioned there will be lots of traffic in the areas of Jackson Hole, Grand Tetons NP and southern Yellowstone NP for good reasons. There is lots to do (bicycling, hiking, fishing, floating the Snake River, wildlife etc.). If you plan to visit this area then you'll need to have the mindset there will be lots of traffic and travel times will be slow. I would not recommend, when hauling heavy loads, taking route 22 out of Jackson Hole to West Yellowstone. This will take you over Teton Pass which is very steep. I can't recall the grade but it might be 8%.

Interesting-it appears thy only options, from Jackson-to-Yellowstone west is via 22 ....unless i'm missing it, which is possible. the trailer is a 6400# trailer-not sure what someone considers heavy--my cousin(Idaho) drives a huge motorhome and thinks i shouldve bought a particular 5th wheel(12,500#)....so is 6400# consider 'too heavy" coming thru 22?

 

[L884593]

BTW-thank you to ALL of you--we have our reservations for late July at Yellowstone west, and were definitely going to take in Grand Tetons, before heading to Idaho(yeah,kinda backwards)....

 

[Rich-MLsRV]

Interesting-it appears thy only options, from Jackson-to-Yellowstone west is via 22 ....unless i'm missing it, which is possible. the trailer is a 6400# trailer-not sure what someone considers heavy--my cousin(Idaho) drives a huge motorhome and thinks i shouldve bought a particular 5th wheel(12,500#)....so is 6400# consider 'too heavy" coming thru 22?

In the end it's up to you. I'd do some additional investigation and make a decision. You could take 191 North out of Jackson Hole to West Yellowstone.

Good decision to take in Grand Tetons. If you are into bicycling there's a bike trail from Jackson Hole to Jenny Lake. Beautiful ride as you are looking at the Tetons the entire route. For a shorter ride you could start at Moose Junction and head to Jenny Lake.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Interesting-it appears thy only options, from Jackson-to-Yellowstone west is via 22 ....unless i'm missing it, which is possible. the trailer is a 6400# trailer-not sure what someone considers heavy--my cousin(Idaho) drives a huge motorhome and thinks i shouldve bought a particular 5th wheel(12,500#)....so is 6400# consider 'too heavy" coming thru 22?

Depends on what you are pulling it with.

 

[L884593]

Depends on what you are pulling it with.

F150 CrewCab....

 

[L884593]

The total GVWCR is ~17,700#.....i'm loaded at 11,000 to 11,200# vehicle to trailer.....

 

[Kevin D Pem]

F150 CrewCab....

That is far from enough information. Let me explain. The truck manufacturer may say a 6 cyl engine with 2 turbos can haul the load. That may be true as far as pulling it, but engine braking is far from sufficient. This means the down hill runs make things a little more questionable. The reason diesel is so popular is the braking power of the diesel engine. So more information than F-150 is needed for your question.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Oh, I see you already gave more info. But what is your drive train.

 

[L884593]

3.55 rearend- the 3.5Ltwin turbo

 

[Kevin D Pem]

3.55 rearend- the 3.5Ltwin turbo

Worry about downhill grades

 

[L884593]

i did a 'virtual' drive on line....22 form jackson made 'lil queasy'.... appreciate everyones feedback/discussion...look forward to hearing more info/responses/suggestions..

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Here is my story. I was born and raised in Wyo. The family left Wyo in 64' and big RVs were not. But I went back to visit my childhood memories in my then 95' adventurer. We also visited Jackson hole. We went up over the Great divide. On the way down going west I found what small gas engines(454) were not. they were not good for engine braking. Although I had good control of the rig, the unexpected encounter of a grazing dear was almost impossible to negotiate. The brakes had faded from the long downhill run, and we almost had to call the insurance agent. Luckily it did not dart in front of the RV. encounters of the 4 legged kind are not uncommon in Wyo.