athens, ga to yellowstone

[hunter]

My roommates and I are planning on going on a trip to yellowstone over spring break. We have 8 days to do it and was wondering on the best routes and things to do along the way. Any advice or routes would be very much appreciated. Thanks.

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

Its about 2200 Miles from Athens to Yellowstone, or about 40 hours of driving one way. That's using the fastest route, taking I-75 to Chattanooga, then I-24, I-64, and I-57 over towards St. Louis, I-70 to Kansas City, I-29 to Sioux Falls, and I-90 into Wyoming.

Since you're looking at an 80 hour trip round trip, you're looking at 13-14 hour days on the road just to spend 2 days in the park. That really won't give you any time to do much anything else along the way. (although I'd bet you'd love the Glore Psychiatric Museum in St. Joseph, Missouri - still one of my favorite odd roadside stops.)

Be sure to take the RoadTrip Compatibility Quiz as you plan for this kind of trip to make sure both you and your roommates are prepared for this hard driving journey.

[Mark Sedenquist]

Any advice

Like Midwest Michael says, you are going to need to keep that pedal planted on the floor for most of those six days, so be sure to read our tips for a fast speed run here. One audio book I would suggest you get for the in-bound trip trip is Lost in my own backyard by Tim Cahill. -- He describes some places in Yellowstone you won't find elsewhere.

Weather in Yellowstone is always unpredictable -- but you need to be ready for snow. I don't know how late your spring break is this year, but be prepared for daytime temps that rarely pass 0.0 (F) -- you could be lucky and be there when the "chinook" winds are present ( then temps will reach into the mid-40's) but it will be brisk. Nighttime temps will dip below zero and temps as low as -66 have been recorded in February (back in 1933) Brrrrrr!

The rangers use radar and will enforce the speed limits -- even if no one seems to be around.

But there will be many. many fewer people around And if you woud like to try snow-mobiling -- most of the park roads are closed to normal vehicles and you can snowmobile -- one of our frequent posters on this forum just came home from doing that.

Carry this number with you -- 307-344-7381 -- it is the local weather and road condition report for Yellowstone. Check it -- frequently, you will not believe how fast weather can change here.

There are so many geysers and hot springs in the park -- it's gonna be awesome.

Mark

[knip]

Be aware the only road open into the park at that time of year is the northern road through Gardiner, Missouri.

[hunter]

Does anyone know which roads in the park are open? I saw one website that showed only a stretch in the northern part of the park open. Anyone that has any information on the road openings in Yellowstone for the week of March 12 would be really appreciated. Thanks.

[AZBuck]

It seems to me that you can't do much better than the official park website for info on when the roads will open.

AZBuck