Becky Lomax - Moon Spotlight Yellowstone & Grand Teton Camping

SPOTLIGHT

BECKY LOMAX

The campgrounds are listed in a consistent, easy-to-read format to help you choose the ideal camping spot. If you already know the name of the specific campground you want to visit, or the name of the surrounding geological area or nearby feature (town, national or state park, forest, mountain, lake, river, etc.), look it up in the index and turn to the corresponding page. Here is a sample profile:

The icons in this book are designed to provide at-a-glance information on activities, facilities, and services available on-site or within walking distance of each campground.

	Hiking trails
	Biking trails
	Swimming
	Fishing
	Boating
	Canoeing and/or kayaking
	Hunting
	Winter sports
	Hot springs
	Pets permitted
	Playground
	Wheelchair accessible
	RV sites
	Tent sites

Each campground profile employs a scenic rating on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the least scenic and 10 being the most scenic. A scenic rating measures only the overall beauty of the campground and environs; it does not take into account noise level, facilities, maintenance, recreation options, or campground management. The setting of a campground with a lower scenic rating may simply not be as picturesque that of as a higher rated campground, however other factors that can influence a trip, such as noise or recreation access, can still affect or enhance your camping trip. Consider both the scenic rating and the profile description before deciding which campground is perfect for you.

When traveling the Northern Rockies of Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho, youre in big country with minimal roads: Interstates are few and far between. Dirt roads are as ubiquitous as pavement. Rough, narrow, paved two laners are common.

Only two interstate highways bisect the region. I-15 runs through Montana and Idaho, connecting Calgary with Salt Lake City, and I-90 crosses Montana en route from Seattle to Chicago and Boston. State highways crisscross the region, providing the main thoroughfares. Some can have four lanes, but most will be two laners. To navigate the area, use a current detailed map that shows pavement and gravel roads.

The Continental Divide skitters along the highest summits of the Rocky Mountains, making the division between water flowing to the Atlantic versus the Pacific. For campers, driving over the Continental Divide provides a challenge. In winter, some high passes are closed for several months, while others struggle with intermittent closures due to avalanches. The Beartooth Highway, Glacier National Parks Going-to-the-Sun Road, and much of Yellowstone National Park closes for winter, and remote Forest Service roads convert to snowmobile routes.

But even in summer, you can encounter snow on the higher passes through the mountains from Glacier to the Tetons. Wyomings Beartooth Pass tops out at 10,947 feet, and Togwotee Pass is 9,658 feet. Both have amassed snow in August. The most notorious is Teton Pass on the south end of Grand Teton National Park. Although it only touches 8,431 feet high, its 10 percent grade proves a grunt for RVs and those hauling camping trailers. Make a practice of downshifting into second gear for descents rather than burning your brakes.

Current pass conditions are available on each states Department of Transportation website. Some even have webcams on the summits to check the weather.

Many of the prized campgrounds in the Northern Rockies are accessed via dirt or gravel roads. The best roadswide, graveled, double laners with regular maintenancehold the washboards to a minimum. Others jounce along with large washboards, rocks, eroded streambeds, and small potholes. The worst contain monstrous chuckholes that can nearly swallow small cars and grab trailer hitches. Do not bring prized paint jobs on dirt roads! Take a hint from locals, who all drive rigs with dings and window chips. Rigs with four-wheel drive are helpful to get out of rough spots, but they are not required to reach any of the campgrounds in this book. If you are concerned about your vehicles ability to navigate a certain dirt road, call the appropriate national forest for status.

Many campers visiting the Northern Rockies for the first time expect to whiz between Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks in a few hours. The distance between the two is the same as driving from San Francisco to Los Angeles or from Boston to Baltimore, only without an interstate most of the way. To drive between the two parks, most campers take a full day without stopping or sightseeing.