Going to ride Yellowstone

I have had a philosophical problem paying $15 to ride through Yellowstone Park for a day or even a couple of hours when a motorhome can roam around in there for a week for $20, especially since the fee was just $5 not that long ago. So I generally avoid the park, especially Memorial Day-Labor Day when it's overrun by tourists who block traffic for miles in order to video a chipmunk. Just too many people and too many vehicles to be any fun.

However, I saw the other day that the park is waiving entrance fees this Saturday only - it's National Park Service Day or some such. Anyway, we've had no snow yet to speak of and temps are pointing toward a high in the mid-60s and a mere 20 percent chance of precip. So, Marilyn and I are heading to West Yellowstone Friday night and will ride a good loop in the park Saturday. We are meeting my brother on his spanking new '08 Bandit ABS, and my brother's boys, one riding brother's 2002 Bandit S, another riding brother's old '86 Fazer, and my sister's son riding my old XX Blackbird which he purchased from me last year. They will be coming in from the North Entrance at Gardiner and we will meet at Madison, then go to Old Faithful, West Thumb, Fishing Bridge, Tower, Mommoth then Gardiner.

Anyone else going to be in the park this weekend? Should be awesome: relatively few tourists, elk in full rut, aspens turning golden, no bugs...

Admittedly, I have not ridden in Yellowstone for several years, but my how things have changed! It used to be that after Labor Day you had the feeling that you "had the park to yourself." Not anymore! It was very crowded for this time of year. In West Yellowstone, many motels had "no vacancy" signs and there were waiting lines at restaurants at 8:30 at night. When we went to fuel in the morning, finding an available pump was difficult. Traffic was heavy and very slow.

The Park had free admission this weekend - it is now $20 for a motorcycle! - and the weather was fantastic - highs near 70 - so I would have expected to see quite a few locals from Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, and there were plenty of these folks. But many were from Washington, California, Utah and other places such as Nebraska, Iowa and Florida. I asked a Park Service staffer about this and she said indeed visitation patterns have changed markedly, with early and late seasons becoming much more popular. She said it is seniors with motorhomes, empty-nesters and young pre-family couples who now come after or before summer. I suppose the high traffic volumes in the summer have driven these demographics to seek alternatives. And maybe it is just the roadways that are crowded and backcountry trails are relatively quiet.

At any rate, getting into the park before Memorial Day or after Labor Day no longer yields the quality experience it used to.

We did have a decent ride, though. Saw plenty of elk and bison and a coyote, but no bears or wolves. And the quaking aspens are turning so the scenery was brilliant.

Big Sky,

Did they finish some of the road construction yet near the NE entrance? Took us a good hour to go 5 miles about 3 weeks ago. Ya, the $20 was a bit pricey but they told us it was good for a week at the park (this fee included pass access to the Grand Tetons Park also). The sights were very nice but your right... Don't go to Yellowstone thinking your gonna have a quick ride.

WW

Sometimes being older has it's advantages. I get into the National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands free with my Parks Senior Pass. Disadvantage is you have to be 62 to purchase one at a cost of $10. I purchased mine at Crater Lake National Park several years ago and the ten dollars purchase price was less than the entry fee for my wife and me. I used it twice this Summer entering Yellowstone with a Harley club from Boise, Idaho. Just two Japanese bikes, my 2007 FJR and my friends 2008 Kawasaki C14 in a group of 14 bikes.

Jer, an old guy

Big Sky said:

At any rate, getting into the park before Memorial Day or after Labor Day no longer yields the quality experience it used to.

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People just need to do more work to yield the quality experience. I read a Nat'l Park Service pamphlet that stated only 5% of Park visitors leave the pavement to explore (and, remember, most of the parks are unpaved). I have spent a good deal of time at Nat'l Parks over the last few years and have had great experiences ... and even peaceful moments of solitude. I just had to do a bit more work to obtain those experiences than just observing the parks from the main overlooks.

Jer said:

Sometimes being older has it's advantages. I get into the National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands free with my Parks Senior Pass. Disadvantage is you have to be 62 to purchase one at a cost of $10. I purchased mine at Crater Lake National Park several years ago and the ten dollars purchase price was less than the entry fee for my wife and me. I used it twice this Summer entering Yellowstone with a Harley club from Boise, Idaho. Just two Japanese bikes, my 2007 FJR and my friends 2008 Kawasaki C14 in a group of 14 bikes.
Jer, an old guy

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+1 on the old guy thing. I got my pass a while back. Like you say, if you are 62, then why not. Then you can gain entrance, and camp free at the National Parks from then until...you get to ride on that big FJR in the sky!

Ed

We didn't go from Mammoth east to Silver Gate/Cook City, which is the northeast entrance. I know there has been construction there outside the Park, east of Cook City. We went through there last year and it was pretty torn up.

I believe 95 percent stay on the roadways. We used to backpack on Labor Day weekend or the weekend after along Blacktail Deer Creek to the Yellowstone River (unbelievably fine fishing), then come out at Gardiner - about 14 miles of trails. Often only encountered one or two other hikers. It may still be that way. But judging from the much, much higher volume of visitors on the roads, I would venture that trails have seen a commensurate increase in traffic as well.

When we first started hiking in for the fishing, the fishing permits were free, the campsites free and it cost $5 to get a car in. We used to go in with Dad and a few of our kids - wonderful and very affordable. Now, it is $25 to get a car in, fishing permits are $10 and campsites are $10/nite. What used to cost five of us $5 for three nights, now costs $105. They are putting this out of reach for some folks and making it more for the elite. Trouble is, the Park Service used to be supported by general fund tax dollars. Now those same dollars are spent elsewhere while the parks are supposed to survive on "user fees."

The $20 for a bike: sure, that's not bad if you stay for a week, but us "locals" sometimes need to just pass through there to get from Point A to Point B. For example, he shortest - by far - route from here to Cody, Wyo, is through the park. Also, if starting in Livingston, it is a great one-day 300 mile loop to go in at Gardiner, out at Cooke City, then over the Beartooth Highway to Red Lodge and back to Livingston. You are in the park maybe 2.5 hours - for $20! My idea is they should charge by the hour, just like airport parking. If it was 25¢/hour it would cost $6/day. Stay a week, you pay $42; just pass through, you pay $1. It seems costs incurred by the park are related to how long people are there, so it seems fair to charge by the length of stay. Bikes deserve a better relative rate, too since we don't clog the roads like a 35-foot motorhome, we don't chew the pavement to bits, we alleviate parking congestions and add relatively little air pollution (especially us with the catalytics).

As far as the senior citizens passes, I can wait. Besides, there are so many other places to go in this region that are as wonderful but lack the masses of people.

My 2¢.

Big Sky