Nature’s Beauty
RV Life Along The Yellowstone River
By Janice Adair, F479672
The Roosevelt Arch welcomes visitors at the North Entrance to Yellowstone National Park.
My husband, Steve, and I spent the last six summers working for Yellowstone General Stores in Yellowstone National Park. This retail chain has locations throughout the park, including at Mammoth Hot Springs, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Tower Fall, Old Faithful, Grant Village, Fishing Bridge, and Yellowstone Lake. We were stationed at the Mammoth General Store at Mammoth Hot Springs. Employees are either locals who have homes in Gardiner, Montana, and Mammoth, Wyoming, or, like us, people who travel to Yellowstone for the season and live in their own RVs.
It snows year-round in Yellowstone.
The photo on the cover of this month’s magazine shows our RV parked along the Yellowstone River at Yellowstone RV Park (rvparkyellowstone.com) near Gardiner. This campground is just minutes from the North Entrance of Yellowstone National Park. It has full hookups, laundry facilities, an incredible view of the scenery, and wildlife encounters. The sunsets are amazing. And every night, RV occupants are lulled to sleep by the sound of the river.
Elk and mule deer are frequent visitors. We have seen baby elk being born across the river and taking their first steps. We watched one mother elk kneel down and then stand back up with a baby beside her.
Many birds frequent the RV park, Canada geese among them. One goose made her nest under a tree where the waters of the Yellowstone River are pretty rough and break over many rocks. Two of her babies got separated from the rest of the goslings; they climbed back up the steep hill, looking for their mama. Sadly, she was long gone by the time they reached the top. The goslings were relocated to an area with many other Canada geese, so that story had a happy ending.
Two Canada goslings look for mama goose at Yellowstone RV Park.
Ospreys often visit the Yellowstone River as well. Almost every day, we observed them flying up and down the river. Other feathered visitors include western tanagers, magpies, eagles, mountain bluebirds, and meadowlarks.
Staying at the RV park gave us a great opportunity to enjoy many sights in the area north of Yellowstone, including the town of Gardiner. For example, each year during Memorial Day weekend, the Hell’s A-Roarin’ Horse Drive runs through town. Wranglers move horses from their winter grazing lands to a ranch in Jardine, Montana, for the summer season and horseback-riding operations.
There’s so much to do in the area: wildlife viewing, horseback riding, whitewater rafting, visiting historical sites, stargazing, hiking, camping, and more. The skies are amazingly clear at night. During the summer months, the Milky Way is visible in its entirety. Last summer, the northern lights appeared several times.
Colorful tepees light the night at Yellowstone RV Park.
Many types of camping are available in the area, from full-hookup RV sites to boondocking in national forests. There are even opportunities to stay overnight in a Conestoga wagon or a tepee.
Snow is possible any time of year in Yellowstone. We have experienced it every month of the year and have captured wintry scenes of our campground and snowcapped mountains in Paradise Valley.
Thank you for the opportunity to share just how wonderful the Yellowstone area is.
App File
RV Travel Planning
Making arrangements for your camping trips can be stressful, but using the power of technology can simplify the process.
Campendium: Created by campers for campers, Campendium helps you find places to camp — from RV parks, national parks, and state parks to free camping sites. These locations are vetted by a team of full-time travelers and reviewed by Campendium members. Just search for a location; filter your results by distance, type of facility, and other features; browse your camping options; and save your favorite spots for future reference. Campendium lists sites in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Free on iOS and Android, but in-app purchases are available. campendium.com
RV Life: RV Life is an RV-specific GPS and campground locator app that can be used offline by downloading the company’s campground knowledge base, which includes maps for GPS function. Filter campgrounds by different criteria, see what amenities are available, and even determine whether campgrounds offer special discounts. Free on iOS and Android, but in-app purchases are available. Pro membership provides access to RV Life Trip Wizard; FMCA members new to the program receive a discount (fmca.com/rvlifepro). rvlife.com
Allstays Camp And RV – Road Maps: With over 70 filters, the Allstays app can help RV travelers to pinpoint RV resorts, parking lots, fuel and rest stops, or even tunnels and inclines ahead. You can also search for shopping locations, casinos, national parks, service facilities, and more. Plus, check NOAA Weather by GPS straight from the app to save time and help plan your adventure. Free on iOS, but in-app purchases are available. allstays.com