Beartooth Pass/Yellowstone Park Day Trip Report

After a quick (450 miles, 12 1/2 hours) day trip over Beartooth Pass and through Yellowstone Park today I%26#39;m back to report how it went. My grandson and I left Billings and drove to Red Lodge and up over the pass. We entered the park through Cooke City, turned south at Roosevelt and basically went all around the loop ending up going out through Gardiner. Even though there is quite a bit of snow in the park it wasn%26#39;t as much as I thought there would be. Roads were perfect. The only stops we made on this trip were for animals and of course ice cream at Fishing Bridge.

1st- I got to see something that I%26#39;ve never seen in the 30+ years off going to the park at least once each year (lots of times more)- a frozen Yellowstone Lake! I%26#39;ve gone through the park many times in the spring (but its always been from Mammoth to Cooke City or down to Old Faithful and back) but never by the lake so it was quite the treat for me.

2nd- Beartooth Pass was spectacular. The roads were awesome- completely dry. Lots of snow banks. I%26#39;ll post a pic tomorrow of my grandson standing next to one that was about 15 feet high (it will take a few days to get approved tho). Lots of ';hardcore extreme skiers'; at the top of the pass- probably close to a 100. I got some cool pics of them going down a side of a cliff (crazyyyyyy!) and also a bunch that were para-skiing (cool!).

3rd- Animals! Saw 4 grizzly bears. The first was just of Dunraven Pass. It had cross the road about 1/2 hour before we got there. It was digging in the snow/dirt under a tree about 100 yds from the road in a draw. It was pretty active. Saw 2 on a ridge in Hayden Valley just south of Alum Creek. Saw the last one just off of where you turn at West THumb to go to Old Faithful. That one wasn%26#39;t too far off the road. Apparently, it is a female about 2 years old that is hurt pretty bad from a fight with another bear. Its been hanging around the area for a few days. Saw lots of bison with a few calves in Lamar Valley (not as much as I usually see in Hayden tho) along with 5 Big Horn Sheep just before the Yellowstone Bridge east of Roosevelt Junction. Also, saw 3 very young (probably last years) Big Horn Sheep between Mammoth and Gardiner. Not a whole lot of elk (I expected more) and no black bears. Also saw antelope and of course the 2 big herds of elk that hang out about 20 miles north of Gardiner.

All in all, it was a wonderful day trip. We%26#39;re already planning our next trip into the park. Hopefully, end of June where we%26#39;ll camp for 4-5 days.

Deb

Beartooth Pass/Yellowstone Park Day Trip Report

That sounds like a wonderful, loooong, day!! Thanks for writing about it. I get more excited to see this place every day.

Beartooth Pass/Yellowstone Park Day Trip Report

Thanks for the report Deb!

We%26#39;re going over to the Park tomorrow. My son and his wife left this morning to go camping for a couple of nights. We%26#39;re going to take my 4 yr-old granddaughter over in the morning so they can then all leave to go back to SLC from there on Tues.

I%26#39;ve never seen the Lake frozen either - that should be quite a sight! Maybe we%26#39;ll get lucky enough to see one or more of the bears too.

Thanks again,

Paula

Awesome report-thanks for sharing! I am jealous! You had a much cooler day today than I did! 2 months and we%26#39;re on our way there!

Sorry-too many exclamation points?

I posted some pics of the day trip in my profile. There are three from Beartooth Pass, one of frozen Yellowstone Lake and one of the grizzly we saw at West Thumb. I read some of the information we got at the entrance and it said that Yellowstone Lake can hold on to the ice til mid to late May. I%26#39;m still tickled to death that I got to see it frozen.

Deb

Great photos Deb - I agree about the Lake - it was quite a sight.

Thanks,Paula

Deb - Thanks for the report! We had an 8-bear day on Saturday too. Lots of bison and calves. And, some really pregnant elk. No elk calves yet. And, the most amazing sight were the visitors brave enough to wear shorts, t-shirts, and flipflops on top of Dunraven Pass where the snow is still deep. With all that snow, it is going to be an incredible year for wildflowers!

This for posting the trip report and the pictures. It%26#39;s so strange for me to see all the snow and ice there yet when it%26#39;s almost June! To think I was complaining about the ';cold'; (mid 60s) weather we%26#39;re having here in Iowa today;-)

To Yellowstonefan: Actually, I was quite surprised how warm it was. I%26#39;m a cold-blooded person (I%26#39;m always wrapped up in a blanket). I had a hooded sweatshirt on on top of Beartooth Pass but took it off after we did a short hike before Cooke City. The rest of the time I was fine in the long sleeve t-shirt I was wearing. My grandson was in shorts but he%26#39;s always warm. We watched the bear at Dunraven Pass for a little over a 1/2 hour and I wasn%26#39;t cold.

I was kind of surprised there weren%26#39;t more bison calves in Lamar. There were some herds on the other side of the river- maybe thats where most of them were. One of these days I need to break down and buy some binoculars.

Deb

Deb1741- Hope it stays warm, eh! Nice to not be having those snowstorms we did last May and early June. There are large groups of bison and calves in the Fountain Flats areas and around the Madison River, higher locations. The areas right next to Madison River are flooding because of the snow melt. The high melt this year may be affecting things. Old timers say that this is the highest the Gibbon has been for a long time, but the falls are just spectacular.

You lucky people - living close enough to take a day trip tp the park! - I%26#39;m green.

cute names for baby girl rats