photocraft Loc: Wyoming

Over the years I have found that I like having a guided tour of a new or foreign place on my first visit. It gives me the "lay of the land" and a jumping off point for return visits. It also helps me cull out places I do not want to spend time in again.

We live close to Yellowstone and took a Teton Science School tour of Grand Teton and Yellowstone parks for our first multi-day visit a couple of years ago (I don't see multi-day tours offered on their website this morning but that may change as COVID restrictions ease). Our guide was excellent. She provided a wealth of information everywhere we went and knew her way around the parks which saved us time and got us to the best locations most efficiently. Additionally, the guides keep in touch with each other by radio, etc. and alert each other to wildlife sitings. Tours generally offer the use of spotting equipment and may even make cameras available.

While the tours are not cheap, if you have a limited amount of time to get to do the things you want to accomplish, consider enlisting the help of a guide. Our Teton Science School tour was excellent and there was the added bonus of knowing part of the fees went back to the non-profit school.

Gerald Edwards Loc: Fulshear, TX

Checkout this company: https://backcountryjourneys.com/

JBRIII

Check your timing, I have heard of snow as early as labor day closing the park.

Gilkar

If you are driving in your car you cannot beat Gypsey tours. You download the tour directly to your cell phone, (in my case through the google play store), and you get a self guided tour of the entire park along with Grand Teton as well, at every stop you get history, geology, and a complete explanation of what you are seeing. Want to spend more time in a area? just pause the tour. You will see a plethora of flora and fauna along the way, (we shared the road with Bison and I do mean shared). We played the tour over two days, by that time you'll have a good knowledge where you are going and may want to go back to revisit places. We played the tour over blue tooth through our car's radio. Once the tour is on your phone it does not use any of your internet time. In my opinion it was the best $15 I spent.

David Conrad Loc: Sacramento, CA

Gad, all your shots are great. Biscuit is great, but prismatic is a knock out!

kcooke Loc: Alabama

We went for a 3 week Camping (RV) trip August 25th – Septemeber 15, 2020. Spent 6 nights in Yellowstone and 5 nights in the Tetons plus various other points of interest going out and coming back from Alabama. The last time I was there was 1976.

Download brochures from the Yellowstone and Grand Tetons Park Service Web Sites.
Plan on what to see from their information. You have to dig a little on their website but there are explanations of each area of the park and what to see there. For instance there is a section on the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone. You can make decisions from this information. If you can’t find it let me know and i’ll try to find the page links. The National Park maps at their websites are at a high level showing the main roads and the points of interest. Another good resource is National Geographic. They make waterproof maps of both parks. These are extrememly detailed and show roads, dirt roads , hiking/biking trails and all the points of interest. Part of the fun for us is planning the trip but I know others would rather have a tour company plan their itinerary. I think the tour companies there probably do a really good job.

If doing your own tour of the area by car, Gypsy is the best thing to use. Download the App while you still have cell phone coverage before entering the park. It is absolutely awesome and will explain each thing you are approaching and tell you where to turn. It will also make recommendations to stop or not. Cell phone (ours is AT&T) will likely not work except at major points of interest in the park proper. Don’t know about the other carriers. You can look at a cell coverage map online.

If you are old enough (I think 60+) buy a Senior pass if going on your own. The tours may cover entry fees. Not sure.

One of the things you have to decide is this trip for photography only or a mix of photography and site seeing. Mine was the latter as my wife is impatient even though she is an amatuer photographer like me. There are single places there where you can stay several hours easily doing photography. I took my 6D MKII and 7D MKII and using a 100-400 L lens with 1.4x converter I was wanting more reach on Elk, Grizzly Bears, Deer, Pronghorn and Sheep. Bison will be everywhere so not a big deal there. Do take a good pair of binoculars if you have them.

If you are going with the intent to take wildlife photographs, then be prepared to wait. Also be prepared for long distances from you to where the game is located if taking photographs from the road. We did some backcountry hikes in Yellowstone and the Tetons and this will put you closer to the animals there in the parks if they are out and about. Early morning and early evening are the best time in my experience. If you do this please take bear spray and know how to use it. Some of the wildlife is hit or miss depending on the time of year. We saw Elk, Grizzly Bears, Deer, Pronghorn, Bighorn Sheep, Bison and Coyote. Also a variety of birds. All the grizzlys we saw were in the Tetons. We did not see moose or wolves. If you are a landscape photographer you will be in paradise for sure.

Our next trip there will probably be in the winter and we will use a tour company since they have the correct equipment for traveling in the snow. Have a great time however you decide to do your trip. Its a real experience for sure.

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UTMike Loc: South Jordan, UT

Thanks to everyone for responding and your helpful tips!