Yellowstone , Recommendations

[wytetale]

Will be headed out west for a vacation last week of June , planning on stopping in Yellowstone for 3 days for camping and hiking , never been there , were would be the best place to go in the park too shoot a variety of Wildlife ,

 

[Bobby49]

You really need a variety of lenses. When you are standing at an overlook, you need a semi-wide lens to cover a large herd of bison in a valley. Then you need progressively longer focal lengths to cover groups of bison and then eventually one single animal. I went to 800mm a lot. Similarly for osprey nests, I went to 800mm or even 1200mm. For a variety of wildlife like grizzly bears, they move around, so you need a good zoom lens like 100-400mm. When I was moving by car, I used the longer lenses on big tripods. When I was moving on foot, I would use 100-400mm or 150-600mm for portability. You get the idea.

 

[Bill Ferris]

Will be headed out west for a vacation last week of June , planning on stopping in Yellowstone for 3 days for camping and hiking , never been there , were would be the best place to go in the park too shoot a variety of Wildlife ,

Have you made lodging arrangements or secured a campsite reservation? If not, I'll suggest Norris campground as an option to consider. It's located in north-central Yellowstone and relatively equidistant to many areas of the park. Sites are available on a first-come, first-served basis. You'll want to arrive early in the morning to get a good spot in line. Also, it's not uncommon for campers to share a site (and the cost) with strangers met in line while waiting for sites to become available.

Lamar Valley (northeast Yellowstone) is a great place to view bison in June. There are wolf dens in the Slough Creek area, though these are best viewed from a distance and in the other side of the creek. I saw a grizzly sow and two cubs along the road from Norris Geyser to Mammoth Hot Springs near Indian Creek. Black bear sightings were numerous at a variety of spots along the loop connecting Norris Geyser-Mammoth Hot Springs-Tower-Roosevelt-Canyon Village. I saw bison and elk at several locations and the road from Canyon Village to Fishing Bridge.

I'm not nearly as knowledgeable about Yellowstone and its attractions as some on this board. If your travels will take your to Grand Canyon, I'm your guy. It's my local national park.

--
Bill Ferris Photography
Flagstaff, AZ
http://www.billferris.photoshelter.com

 

[wytetale]

Thank for the info, I shoot mostly with my Nikon 200-500 bit will also have a couple smaller lens , plan on camping so that sounds like a great place , I do plan on seeing the Grand Canyon, We will also be traveling to Oregon , St Helens for 3 or 4 days then hitting Grand Canyon on the way back

 

[bflood]

Be prepared to deal with crowding. Yellowstone is so successful that it will see 1 million visitors in July alone. Interestingly, the crowds like to sleep in. Getting up early and getting out there (pre-dawn) works in your favor everywhere in the park. And lots of people head for dinner rather than hang around for sunset.

By early June, everything that's going to be born that spring will be born. So calves and kits and the other various young-uns will be out learning to walk/run, and everything that hibernated will be out feeding - they'll still be hungry in a big way.

Bears - some trails may be closed due to bear activity (can be very disappointing in some cases). You'll need to check at the ranger stations for recent sightings. Bears, elk, moose are creatures of habit - if they find a place with food to their liking, they will come back to it day after day. That makes ranger knowledge of recent sightings a valuable resource. You can encounter bears anywhere in the park.

Expect a buffalo herd and an elk herd to live along the Madison River between Madison Junction and West Yellowstone. Look for eagles along that river, too.

The Lamar Valley is a popular area for wildlife. In addition to a buffalo herd, you have a good chance of seeing wolves (mostly likely at a distance, though), coyotes, and pronghorn. Elk often wander around the buildings at Mammoth Hot Springs, and I've watched rangers chase off a black bear that was grazing on the lawn of the hotel there.

The Hayden Valley (south of Tower Junction) is another good location to find bison and sometimes bears. The road east of Lake Yellowstone (east of Fishing Bridge) may offer sighting of bighorn sheep. A better area in my experience would be between Mammoth and the gate at Gardiner, MT - the bighorn are usually out feeding in the hills. It's also the only area in the park where I've seen a moose in my 7 or 8 visits to the park.

Non-wildlife stuff: the hot springs at Mammoth are interesting any time, and shooting there keeps changing as the light changes all day. Early morning at Grand Prismatic Spring is great - the steam fog on the surface of the water takes on the colors of the color underneath - low angle shots can be really cool. There's a trail that goes behind the hill on the back side of Grand Prismatic - that hill is the only elevated spot that offers a view of the spring. If you go around Old Faithful (away from the visitor center) and climb the hill, you can find a vantage point where you can shoot down on the geyser and include as much or as little of the buildings in the image. If you are there mid-morning and get the right angle, you can get a rainbow in the geyser spray. Every morning there's a rainbow in the spray at the bottom of the lower falls on the Yellowstone River - it happens around 800-930 AM depending on the time of year. Ask at the canyon visitor center for the best time and location for viewing it - the viewing location changes with the seasons, too.

Do a Google search on Yellowstone waterfalls. You can find a website that will show where to find those closest to roads (easiest to get to) along with more remote ones.

yellowstone.net is a good resource - you'll be able to get good info from people who live there and who visit frequently. An excellent resource.

 

[TomS53]

I can't add much. Its a big park, travel is rather slow - unless someone is in a rush & then they will miss something. If traffic is stopped, its for a reason - not just traffic. As Bill said above, wolves are in the Lamar valley area - I think at least 2 packs. There are groups of wolf pack watchers out and about & if you come across one of these groups, several will have scopes on the wolves - and in my experience, they will let you have a look through a scope to see the wolf/wolves. A gray wolf on gray granite is not the easiest thing to see, even when centered in the scope - the wolf moved for me and that made all the difference - then could outline the wolf on the granite.

Have a GREAT trip!

 

[Lynn876]

Will be headed out west for a vacation last week of June , planning on stopping in Yellowstone for 3 days for camping and hiking , never been there , were would be the best place to go in the park too shoot a variety of Wildlife ,

I might be there at the same time. If you and your wife might be interested in going for a shoot or sharing a campsite with me and my rottweiler mix PM me when you get there. I have a D7200 as well.

Take Grizzly bear cautions seriously when camping especially when outside the main campgrounds.

 

[Lynn876]

By early June, everything that's going to be born that spring will be born. So calves and kits and the other various young-uns will be out learning to walk/run, and everything that hibernated will be out feeding - they'll still be hungry in a big way.

The Lamar Valley is a popular area for wildlife. In addition to a buffalo herd, you have a good chance of seeing wolves (mostly likely at a distance, though), coyotes, and pronghorn. Elk often wander around the buildings at Mammoth Hot Springs, and I've watched rangers chase off a black bear that was grazing on the lawn of the hotel there.

The Hayden Valley (south of Tower Junction) is another good location to find bison and sometimes bears. The road east of Lake Yellowstone (east of Fishing Bridge) may offer sighting of bighorn sheep. A better area in my experience would be between Mammoth and the gate at Gardiner, MT - the bighorn are usually out feeding in the hills. It's also the only area in the park where I've seen a moose in my 7 or 8 visits to the

yellowstone.net is a good resource - you'll be able to get good info from people who live there and who visit frequently. An excellent resource.

Bflood, I may be out there for a while from the third/fourth week in May. Any recommendations specifically for that time? I'd particularly like to know any places where coyotes den or elk calf if you know of any.

 

[Bobby49]

A few years ago there was the famous fox den within eyesight from the Yellowstone Picnic Area. Every wildlife photographer within miles was found right there in a line at the parking lot. There must have been hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of cameras, long lenses, and tripods right there, all in a row with orange safety cones so that nobody would cross the line with Mister Ranger watching.

Mr. and Mrs. Fox were not amused.

 

[Bill Ferris]

By early June, everything that's going to be born that spring will be born. So calves and kits and the other various young-uns will be out learning to walk/run, and everything that hibernated will be out feeding - they'll still be hungry in a big way.

The Lamar Valley is a popular area for wildlife. In addition to a buffalo herd, you have a good chance of seeing wolves (mostly likely at a distance, though), coyotes, and pronghorn. Elk often wander around the buildings at Mammoth Hot Springs, and I've watched rangers chase off a black bear that was grazing on the lawn of the hotel there.

The Hayden Valley (south of Tower Junction) is another good location to find bison and sometimes bears. The road east of Lake Yellowstone (east of Fishing Bridge) may offer sighting of bighorn sheep. A better area in my experience would be between Mammoth and the gate at Gardiner, MT - the bighorn are usually out feeding in the hills. It's also the only area in the park where I've seen a moose in my 7 or 8 visits to the

yellowstone.net is a good resource - you'll be able to get good info from people who live there and who visit frequently. An excellent resource.

Bflood, I may be out there for a while from the third/fourth week in May. Any recommendations specifically for that time? I'd particularly like to know any places where coyotes den or elk calf if you know of any.

There's a fairly well-known coyote den near a roadside stop in the Slough Creek area. Ask around and you'll get more specific directions. Or just drive the road until you get to the paparazzi. Here's a link to a post I made a couple of summers ago when I was there: https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/57914078

 

[kayaker353]

There is a one day tour by bus that may be helpful your first day. It is 12 hours or a little more. The guide can give you current conditions and locations. It is a good overview. Bring bear spray to save renting it at the park.

 

[bflood]

Bflood, I may be out there for a while from the third/fourth week in May. Any recommendations specifically for that time? I'd particularly like to know any places where coyotes den or elk calf if you know of any.

My wife gave me a winter trip to Yellowstone as a Christmas gift a decade ago. While we were out on a snow coach tour, I asked the driver/guide his recommendation for the absolute best time to visit Yellowstone. With zero hesitation, he replied the third week in May. The hibernators are all out and feeding, almost everything due to be born has been born or will be soon, which means calves and kits etc everywhere, the chances of a trip-ruining snowfall have become really small, and it's before Memorial Day, which keeps crowding down, especially on weekdays.

He was as right as a person can be. When I retired at the end of April, 2012, I packed up and was in Yellowstone by the middle of May. I photographed more bears than I'd seen in the previous half dozen trips there, saw a 1 hour old elk calf, coyotes all over the park, etc.

The elk calf was born on the Madison River, between Madison Junction and West Yellowstone, MT. There are islands in the river that get almost covered with water during the spring snow melt. Elk cows will wade across to one of these islands to give birth - a defensive move. The water depth is such that an elk can walk over to the island, but a predator like a wolf or bear has to swim, which means climbing up out of the water onto the island. The elk has the advantage in that situation, able to kick severely with her back legs at the predator as it reaches the island and tries to climb out of the water. I happened along such a birth place when the calf was an hour old (according to a couple already there who witnessed the birth). I got shots of it walking, nursing, etc, and then swimming (!) to the bank of the river when only about 2 hours old.

I can't hike enough to find dens - the animals don't build them near roads, and I'm partially disabled, so I don't get into den country. I've seen coyote just passing through in the Lamar and Hayden Valleys, at Midway Geyser Basin, along the Madison River, including some of them hunting (got the diving from above shot). There's an abundance of small critters (mice, voles) in the park,which makes for an abundance of coyotes.

Hope you have a sensational trip - I'm jealous.

 

[Krusty79]

You have already received enough good advice to keep you busy ☺ I'll just add that elk and bison will be everywhere, including on the roads, so those will be the easiest to shoot. I think you could get some cool morning mist shots around the main geothermal attractions.

One thing I will make sure I do next time - ALWAYS have the camera ready. While driving along the road one time, we saw something in the middle of the road. We couldn't tell if it was an animal or not. As we got closer, it started moving and walked off the road to our side. We still didn't recognize it, as it was low to the ground and looked like it had stripes. As we drove past it and it walked further away from the road, we realized it was a badger. The only time I have ever seen one! It was wet, which gave it a strange appearance. And my camera was safely tucked away in my pack.

 

[TomS53]

+1 on that mid May time,

 

[Bobby49]

Krusty79 wrote

One thing I will make sure I do next time - ALWAYS have the camera ready.

Absolutely. When driving in Yellowstone, I keep my camera ready to go with a 150-600mm lens on it. My sedan has a center console, so I've constructed a temporary camera cradle for it over the console in order to keep it handier. Yet, emergency stops in Yellowstone are common, so I have to keep it partly locked down. I would hate to see the camera and lens bouncing around the car. You will be driving along the loop ride and maintaining a normal following distance. Suddenly the car in front of you will do something insane, like do an emergency stop right in the middle of the pavement, so you have to be prepared. Their emergency stop seldom has a valid reason. I keep my tripod legs extended, and it is thrown across the back seat. I can pull it out in an instant for that far away wildlife.

 

[Scott Vail]

Will be headed out west for a vacation last week of June , planning on stopping in Yellowstone for 3 days for camping and hiking , never been there , were would be the best place to go in the park too shoot a variety of Wildlife ,

I might be there at the same time. If you and your wife might be interested in going for a shoot or sharing a campsite with me and my rottweiler mix PM me when you get there. I have a D7200 as well.

Take Grizzly bear cautions seriously when camping especially when outside the main campgrounds.

Heed also, the bison. Cautions about approaching should be taken seriously. YNP is a magical place.

+1 about Lamar Valley. Spent three nights at Mammoth Hot Springs, and another three nights at Jackson Lake Lodge. This was in September/October, 2012. A little late in the season, but still.. photo opportunities and few less tourists.

Scott

 

[Lynn876]

A few years ago there was the famous fox den within eyesight from the Yellowstone Picnic Area. Every wildlife photographer within miles was found right there in a line at the parking lot. There must have been hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of cameras, long lenses, and tripods right there, all in a row with orange safety cones so that nobody would cross the line with Mister Ranger watching.

Mr. and Mrs. Fox were not amused.

That's pretty funny. I can't even imagine a fox being that used to people that they'd tolerate that.

Which picnic area? Who knows, someone might be using the same spot.

 

[Lynn876]

There's a fairly well-known coyote den near a roadside stop in the Slough Creek area. Ask around and you'll get more specific directions. Or just drive the road until you get to the paparazzi. Here's a link to a post I made a couple of summers ago when I was there: https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/57914078

 

[Lynn876]

Bflood, I may be out there for a while from the third/fourth week in May. Any recommendations specifically for that time? I'd particularly like to know any places where coyotes den or elk calf if you know of any.

My wife gave me a winter trip to Yellowstone as a Christmas gift a decade ago. While we were out on a snow coach tour, I asked the driver/guide his recommendation for the absolute best time to visit Yellowstone. With zero hesitation, he replied the third week in May. The hibernators are all out and feeding, almost everything due to be born has been born or will be soon, which means calves and kits etc everywhere, the chances of a trip-ruining snowfall have become really small, and it's before Memorial Day, which keeps crowding down, especially on weekdays.

He was as right as a person can be. When I retired at the end of April, 2012, I packed up and was in Yellowstone by the middle of May. I photographed more bears than I'd seen in the previous half dozen trips there, saw a 1 hour old elk calf, coyotes all over the park, etc.

The elk calf was born on the Madison River, between Madison Junction and West Yellowstone, MT. There are islands in the river that get almost covered with water during the spring snow melt. Elk cows will wade across to one of these islands to give birth - a defensive move. The water depth is such that an elk can walk over to the island, but a predator like a wolf or bear has to swim, which means climbing up out of the water onto the island. The elk has the advantage in that situation, able to kick severely with her back legs at the predator as it reaches the island and tries to climb out of the water. I happened along such a birth place when the calf was an hour old (according to a couple already there who witnessed the birth). I got shots of it walking, nursing, etc, and then swimming (!) to the bank of the river when only about 2 hours old.

Thank you for that information!

I can't hike enough to find dens - the animals don't build them near roads, and I'm partially disabled, so I don't get into den country. I've seen coyote just passing through in the Lamar and Hayden Valleys, at Midway Geyser Basin, along the Madison River, including some of them hunting (got the diving from above shot). There's an abundance of small critters (mice, voles) in the park,which makes for an abundance of coyotes.

Hope you have a sensational trip - I'm jealous.

That sounds like it was a wonderful trip. I can't hike very far either, and would consider it a small miracle to find a den, but within the general area of dens there should be more activity.

I'm actually sorry I didn't plan to leave earlier. I thought there'd be some snow on the valley floor in mid May. And, I was planning on stopping in several places before I got there- now I may not have time or might have to backtrack. It kind of looks like they may be having an earlier spring this year. At least I think Elk births are by time of year, not weather, so I may have a chance on bears. But the elk may be up in Yellowstone rather than the Tetons which might be harder to see- more brush. IDK.

At any rate I'm very happy. I'm just having nightmares with a new 600mm zoom lens and tripod- it's a huge learning curve for me. I'm practicing with my dog and a ball and I hope I don't miss as many action shots as I did today. I'm finding I don't get perfectly clear shots till 1/2000 of a second even with stationary objects. With my 300mm it only took 1/500 or less.

 

[Lynn876]

Will be headed out west for a vacation last week of June , planning on stopping in Yellowstone for 3 days for camping and hiking , never been there , were would be the best place to go in the park too shoot a variety of Wildlife ,

Just a couple suggestions not specifically about photography that I found searching the web;

"Take the free gondola up from Jackson Hole Mountain Resort to the Couloir, the

best view for happy hour drinks and eats."

" visiting the Dornan's area in Tetons for a pizza and a drink on the deck as you watch the sun set over the Tetons to the west. In Moose. Dornan's rd west side of the snake river"

Also, found info on free WIFI, although it may be outdated, IDK;

"There is free WiFi available at the Colter Bay laundromat/showers, the Moose

Visitor Center and in the Jackson Lake Lodge parlor that anyone can use without a

secret code."

& supposedly free WIFI in Jackson, if you're down that far;

jackson library



North Mini Mart

395 W Broadway

Jackson, WY 83001

(307) 733-7947



(Free Wifi Fast Food)

Hard Drive Cafe

520 S US Hwy 89

Jackson, WY 83001

(307) 733-5282



McDonald's

1110 W Broadway

Jackson, WY 83001

(307) 733-7444



Albertson's

105 Buffalo Way

Jackson, WY 83001

(307) 733-5950



Bits n PCs

265 Broadway

Jackson, WY 83001

(307) 733-4514