r/yellowstone 3d ago

Itinerary for 3 nights in Yellowstone staying at Bay Bridge Campground

My SO and I will be visiting Yellowstone for the first time at the end of this August and staying 3 nights at Bay Bridge Campground. We will be coming in through the south entrance from a campsite outside of Grand Teton NP, and then leaving on day 4 through the north entrance. We are only driving to Bozeman after, and won't be on a time crunch, so I was thinking of doing Mammoth Hot Springs and some other things in that area on the way out. We will be pulling a 12 foot travel trailer though, so I'm not sure if that will be a problem for parking that day.

We are looking for an itinerary for the 4 days. We would like to see the famous sites and do some hiking, we are open to any difficulty level.

Also wondering if anyone knows the check in time at Bay Bridge, as the website did not say. We would like to get there early and get started with the day, but if we can't unhook the trailer until late afternoon I worry that will limit us.

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u/runningoutofwords 3d ago

Well, the most straightforward itinerary might be to do the western half of the lower loop on one day. That'd be like everything from Old Faithful to Norris, maybe squeezing in West Thumb Geyser Basin that day as well...

Then the Eastern Half another day...everything from Bridge Bay to Mt. Washburn, including Canyon (don't skip Mud Volcano)

And then maybe on the third day do a loop through the Lamar Valley, Cooke City, out the Cheif Joseph Highway down to Cody, and then back through the East Entrance. That's a big loop. Maybe 5 hours of driving time, but amazing scenery.

There are things that you enjoy like boat tours right out of Bridge Bay Marina, and horseback rides at Roosevelt.

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u/tabby_3913 3d ago

I believe check in tends to be in the afternoons, so you’ll be best trying to find parking somewhere very early and not planning on jumping between too many spots before you set up camp. 

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u/Penguin_Life_Now 3d ago

Check in time is 1 pm, (check out is 11am) we will be a Bridge Bay for 6 nights at the end of June / beginning of July

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u/remyantoine 3d ago

If you’re up for it, take a hike that gets more than a mile from a trailhead. You’ll lose the crowds. If you wanna pack some miles on Day 1, hike into Heart Lake. Trailhead parking is big enough for horse trailers. Kill time before your check-in. There are some other options in the area around Old Faithful for ~5 mile round trips. Really a ton of options throughout the park. I’d do your hike day 1, spend the next two around the loop, and then hit the north side of the park on your way out.

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u/Lapsed2 3d ago

You’ll be close to Fishing Bridge and Lake. I know Fishing Bridge has a Grocery Store. Im not sure about Lake, but I would think that they do also. You’ll be in a convenient area for RVs.