Road trip from south bay , CA to Yellowstone National Park towards May end!!

[want_to_travel]

Dear Members,

We are a bunch of friends planning a road trip to Yellowstone national park from San Jose, CA... we have 4 days in total.... 2.5 days on road + 1.5 days at Yellowstone park

Time: may 30th long weekend ( + 1 more day)

I looked up this site which gives some good info about what-to-do in Yellowstone....
www.yellowstone-bearman.com

could you suggest what route should we take to maximize the adventure/wow-factor while driving our way up to Yellowstone? I see I-80 covers the major part of the distance...

any information/advice would be of a great help!!

thanks a lot,
manish

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !

For detailed info and up to date conditions etc, you can't beat the National park Website. May in Yellowstone can still be in 'Winter mode' and although nice without the crowds can affect accessibility. The other thing to consider is that with only 4 days, would it be best to leave Yellowstone this time and wait until you have a little more time? In reality, a minimum of 3 of those are going to be spent in the car and they will be long days with no "Wow factor". We would normally recommend 3.5 days for the drive alone. [I am presuming your drive time includes 'and back again' ? ] Getting there in less than 2 days is going to need a lot of driving and you might just arrive a little too tired and aggravated to enjoy it.

Have you considered Utah, Arizona or just chilling out closer to home ? Zion NP, Grand canyon or Yosemite and Sequoia would all make good alternatives, but with a little more time to enjoy it.

[want_to_travel]

thanks a lot Dave for the response!! Yeah a 4-day road trip plan to Yellowstone doesn't seem to be a good idea....

actually a few of us already have been to places like Grand canyon, Zion/Bryce canyon, Sequoia NP...so the most people in our group are voting for Yellowstone....July/Sep long weekends are already booked for some other trips....

it seems the direct flight to yellowstone is the only prudent choice....

do u have any suggestions as in to which nearest destination to fly to enjoy a beautiful entry to the yellowstone NP? could you also suggest what are the must-see things over there on a 3 day trip.... meanwhile i am browsing through other sites to gather more info....

thanks a bunch again for the help!
much appreciated!
manish

ps: isn't there a way to get notified of the response to one's posts...?:(

[Southwest Dave]

This link provides info on nearby airports and much more Yellowstone info. Jackson Hole would make for a nice drive through the Tetons and perhaps create a loop, but you will have to keep an eye on road conditions. The Beartooth Highway out to Red Lodge is scheduled to open around May 27th, weather permitting. That info you can find on the NPS link in my earlier post.

ps: isn't there a way to get notified of the response to one's posts...?:(

Just click on 'Thread tools' in the grey tool bar above this thread and click on 'Subscribe'. Click on 'Notification type' box and select 'e-mail notification', job done !

[want_to_travel]

wonderful!! much thanks!