If you are a boondocker, you have probably wondered if you can get close enough to Yellowstone to see the park that way. The answer is yes! We recently spent a week near West Yellowstone, putting us just 30 minutes from this insanely beautiful and unique National Park.
We use the FreeRoam app to find almost all of our boondocking spots. This app will show several options near almost all the Yellowstone National Park entrances, but after scoping them out virtually and asking people that are familiar with the areas, it seemed our best shot at finding good internet near the park would be to head over to West Yellowstone. So that is what we did. West Yellowstone is probably one of the least used entrances to the park. The town itself is bit strange, nothing fancy or overly touristy about it like you would expect from a town that sits right at the entrance to one of the most visited places in the world. Personally, I didn’t find anything charming about it. However it does have a good, local feel and everything needed to keep you in groceries & fuel.
The spot we chose to park was actually south and west of the town of West Yellowstone. Technically in Island Park, Idaho, we parked at Henry’s Lake. OMG! What a find! This is probably one of my favorite spots we have ever parked. There isa state park on Henrys Lake but where we parked was on the other side of the lake. On your way from highway 20 to Henrys Lake, you will see all kinds of boondockers. The road to the lake is mostly on public land and allows parking for up to 14 nights. When you get to the lake, there are many more parking options. You can be down by the boat access right on the water and near the vault toilets or you can be further up the hill, with great views of the lake but no direct water access. We chose a spot up on the hill for several reasons: less bugs, more privacy & better internet signal. Our views were amazing on all sides and we found barely used water access and a mini beach just a couple minutes away. We went down there almost every afternoon with the stand up paddle boards and sand toys. Honestly, Jon never even left the entire week. He had to work all week and preferred to spend his free time swimming in the lake or checking out the nearby roads on the dirtbike. He had already seen Yellowstone and knew I had wanted to take the kids for years.
Our spot had no shade, but we don’t usually choose shady spots anyways because we need the solar. It was only a couple minute walk to the restrooms or the beach. Doesn’t get much better than that!
It’s June 2021, so the weather in Yellowstone is hot and the crowds are plenty! Even being one of the least used park entrances there was still a consistent line that took 15-30 minutes just to get into the park. Once in the park, there was several places where we had to sit in traffic for a long time. Especially near the most popular attractions. The first time we entered, we went South at Madison Junction and headed down to Old Faithful, stopping only at one of the geyser basin boardwalks along the way.
We parked at Old Faithful lodge and checked out the old famous Inn while we waited for the Geyser. This geyser is predictable so you can plan for approximately what time you need to be out there waiting for it. We also checked out the Visitor’s Center and got our Junior Ranger books while we waited. Then we headed over for a front row seat to watch this huge geyser go.
Totally amazing but it’s over in just a couple minutes and you are fighting the crows to get out of the parking lot. Getting back to the lower loop road took FOREVER. We were originally planning on doing the entire lower loop that day but with the traffic it took so long we decided just to go back north to Madison Junction and call it a day. We made one more stop on the way out to get a good picture of a bison. With only those 3 stops, it still took 5 hours from the time we left “home” on Henry’s lake and the time we returned.
Now that I knew what I was getting in to, I could plan better. We took the next day off of driving, just enjoying our next spot and hanging out on our little beach. The next day, we left nice and early and headed to the park once again to try to get around the lower loop. We wanted to get a good view of the lower falls. This time I went North at Madison Junction and made my way East over to Canyon Village. We stopped at Artist’s Point and did the short loop hike to see more of Yellowstone’s amazing Hydrothermal features.
From there I took the road to the falls. There are several overlook opportunities as well as hikes you can take for a better viewpoint. We headed to the Brink of the Lower Falls and did the short hike to a fantastic view. This hike is steep switchbacks and stairs so although it’s not a long trail, the way up is a bit more strenuous. That being said, I did it in flip flops with an almost 2 year old on my back and Joshua (4) did it himself. So it’s not too bad. I was here 15 years ago when I was pregnant with my oldest daughter (Loriann). I have pictures of myself at this very viewpoint, it was super cool to go back.
You may be wondering why all the good pictures only have Joshua in them…it’s because the baby is on my back most of the time and the big kids usually leave me in the dust. So Joshua it is is. From the falls we headed south towards Fishing Bridge and then on to West Thumb. The drive along the lake is absolutely beautiful. We stopped at the geyser basin along the lake. This was one of my favorites stops because it was so cool to see these thermal features in the clear water of Yellowstone Lake.
We headed back towards West Yellowstone from here. I was hoping to stop at the Great Prismatic Spring on our way through but the parking was a nightmare there so I just let the girls out to run up and check it out and take some pictures.
That was our final stop in Yellowstone. We didn’t attempt the upper loop on this trip. But I know we will be back. Even the drive through the park is so spectacular it is beyond words!
Our last full day here, we went into West Yellowstone and stopped at the IMAX theater for the educational Yellowstone video they play every hour on the hour. I didn’t get to see it because I didn’t think my two youngest son would sit well for it. I sent my older kids in and they said it was really good. The IMAX theater is definitely a worthy stop, if nothing else than for the 50 cent huckleberry ice cream cones! They also have a lot of great stuff in their gift shop.
Right next door to the IMAX is Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center. This place is really cool! It is home to Grizzlys & Grey Wolves as well as other birds, fish & river otters that cannot live in the wild due to various reasons. This is an excellent educational facility that does their best to make these animals feel in their natural habitat. We watched as a giant Grizzly tried to break into a dumpster for a long time! Apparently they are also a testing facility for various “bear proof” containers. It was so cool. We also got to see a wolf catch a fish and eat it. That was one of my daughter’s favorite parts although I found it rather grusome. It was really neat to observe a pack of wolves up close. One of my favorite things was the River Otters. I loved watching them dive and swim under water through the glass. This place is small, but you can spend quite some time here and it is well worth the visit.
That concludes what we did and saw during our visit to Yellowstone/West Yellowstone. We loved it, but the best part, as it often is was our great boondocking spot and spending all the fun family time on the beach and in the lake.
We will be back, hopefully in May or September next time when the crowds are less!