Heading to Yellowstone - Questions

[alidbond]

Heading to Yellowstone in mid October. Driving up from Utah and will go into the West Entrance. Staying at Madison. I have two questions. 1) is there a place on the way I can fill my water tank? Id rather not tow the weight. 2) I'm not going to get there until dusk, maybe dark. Does the entrance close so I won't be able to get to the campground?

[Raspy]

There are water faucets in Madison Campground. Not at every site, but along the road that runs through the campsites. I don't think they have threads to screw a hose onto, but there is water easily available to fill containers, etc.

There is no closable gate that I saw, so if the rangers are gone for the night, I don't see why you could not stop just inside the gate, along the fence, and wait till morning. You would not be blocking anyone.

Why not call and ask what the policy is for after hours arrival? That would get you the best answer.

[Mike Magee]

When I went to Glacier, coming out late one evening I noted that the kiosk was unmanned for the night and some vehicles were entering. The next morning I asked and the ranger explained that there are no consequences to entering after hours; it's basically free entry.

[julmar]

There is a dump station at Madison with potable water near the entrance to cg.

[Lee Senn]

You may have to hurry . Significant snow predicted ( weatherpersons are often wrong but never in doubt ) for Idaho mountains above 6500 ft. Lee and Norma

[Gerry]

I would think that all water will be shut down very soon in that area due to freeze ups.

[Jann Todd]

Originally Posted by alidbond

Heading to Yellowstone in mid October. Driving up from Utah and will go into the West Entrance. Staying at Madison. I have two questions. 1) is there a place on the way I can fill my water tank? Id rather not tow the weight. 2) I'm not going to get there until dusk, maybe dark. Does the entrance close so I won't be able to get to the campground?

You should be able to just go to the campground if it is open, find a vacant site and set up camp. You'll just need to stop at the entrance of the campground and get an envelope to pay for the campsite after you find one. Don't think you can reserve sites this time of year. Look on line on the National Parks site and you can find all the info you need.

[Carol H]

Madison is the only campground open in October and it closes on the 20th or sooner due to weather conditions. You will need a Water Theft for your hose in order to fill your tanks as the water supply locations around the campground have no threads on them. That is if they still have the water stations up and running. Temps will commonly be below freezing at that time of year and elevation.

Make sure you have snow tires and good trailer tires. Keep your eye on the weather forecast.

Yellow stone weather

[tjs]

The campground at Mammoth Hot Springs is at a lower elevation, warmer, and open all year.

[kdhanso]

Originally Posted by alidbond

Heading to Yellowstone in mid October. Driving up from Utah and will go into the West Entrance. Staying at Madison. I have two questions. 1) is there a place on the way I can fill my water tank? Id rather not tow the weight. 2) I'm not going to get there until dusk, maybe dark. Does the entrance close so I won't be able to get to the campground?

I am a campground host at Madison CG. I’m here until 10/20 when Madison closes. The park gates will be open until 11/15. The campground is reservation only not first come for serve. The water trees have been shut down but there is water available at the dump station. You can also fill water containers from the sink inside comfort station. This time of year the dump station is closed at night until the temps go above freezing which is typically mid morning.

[Richard S.]

Originally Posted by kdhanso

I am a campground host at Madison CG. I’m here until 10/20 when Madison closes. The park gates will be open until 11/15. The campground is reservation only not first come for serve. The water trees have been shut down but there is water available at the dump station. You can also fill water containers from the sink inside comfort station. This time of year the dump station is closed at night until the temps go above freezing which is typically mid morning.

I finally was able to get reservations for Madison for late August 2020. I have a hard time finding a 40' site which my 16' Scamp and 18' Dodge Ram requires. I always reserve 10 days of camping in the fall for the late summer of next year. This will be our 5th trip in our 2005 Scamp to Yellowstone. I can't get my wife to go to any other national park. It's the bison and the geysers. :-)

[montanasuzy]

I would come with a sense of adventure and be prepared to change plans. We live just N of YNP and used to run a guiding service in the park. Typically mid September to mid October is gorgeous in YNP, with all bets being off after that...we can get two or three more glorious weeks or it can get very wintry. This fall has been unseasonably cold and wet. I got chased home from a camping trip a week ago due to that blizzard warning! And Yellowstone has been having almost daily snow. I subscribe to a YNP road conditions app and three or four times a day I get alerts about roads closing and opening back up again due to snowy conditions. Mammoth campground is definitely your best bet for being warmer and dryer. And it is an easier exit from the park (lower elevation and shorter distance to a town) if the weather gets rotten. I’m not trying to discourage you…this is SUCH a cool time of year to visit the park...I would just suggest watching the weather patterns and being prepared to make an alternate plan.

[montanasuzy]

Ha...I just noticed “kdhanso”’s reply. There’s your best source of information right there. Happy camping!

[montanasuzy]

Here is the link to make campground reservations in YNP:
https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/campgrounds.htm

[montanasuzy]

Whups...one more thing. I would plan to arrive in daylight. The road all the way from Ashton Idaho to wherever you go in the park have lots of wildlife, especially this time of year when animals are moving around more. We try to not travel after dark and we know the roads and where we are most likely to encounter animals. If after dark is the only time you can travel, go for it, but just be super aware.

[ZachO]

I'm going to be at a conference in Red Lodge the 8-11th of October, staying in my camper to save money. Did the same thing at the same conference last October in West Yellowstone. This year...man the weather report just got a little discouraging. I'm still going for it, but now it's calling for snow, lows in the teens and highs in the twenties. Not my favorite camper weather.

You've already gotten great advice from people who know. But yeah, be aware that the latest weather report means burning a lot of propane!