Yellowstone in October advice needed

Have at least one nice meal at Bullwinkle's. You could get by easily with just the the 12-24, 50 and 80-400. It could be snowy and cold, or clear and just chilly. When you are in town... you can walk from anything in West Yellowstone to anything else in West Yellowstone. It's not a big place.

I do not know enough about the tour operators to recommend (or recommend against) any, sorry. My family was there in early August last year, and we had a rental vehicle in which to manage our own transportation.

The Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman is much, much, MUCH better than you might expect for a museum in a town of maybe thirty-mumble thousand people. The university provides good volunteer horsepower for it. Anthropology, archaeology, geology, paleontology, astronomy. If your flight schedule gives you any time in Bozeman, consider using it to check the museum out.

You can go see the Tetons if you like, assuming the roads are clear, and get back to West Yellowstone at the end of a long day trip.

If you're an eastern sort of southerner, you might be surprised by the scale of things in Montana and Wyoming. If the southWEST is your home, you're already used to the concept of fifty miles of lovely but essentially empty land in all directions.

Have a wonderful adventure.

When we were in Yellowstone in the first couple of weeks of October several years ago, we just missed an early season snowstorm, and some days were pretty cold. We're from Southern California so we'd come from some very hot end of summer weather to early winter weather so our version of really cold may not match up with much of the country's. There were some cloudy almost snowy days that were pretty cold (say around freezing tops?) and some very pretty crisp sunny days as well. You might like having the gloves and flexible clothing plans.

One thing we found that time of year is that it's after the main summer tourism season and before snow tourism/ski season, so a lot of the usual lodging places are closed or closing. I'd check as soon as possible on arriving to see if the Inn at Old Faithful is still open. It's an architectural masterpiece and is adjacent to the Old Faithful geyser area so I'd say it's a must see and it would be too bad to miss seeing the interior by a day or two if you could have arranged your schedule a bit differently. (This by itself might make the flash worthwhile!)

We didn't take any established tours and it's not all that busy. You would likely have some fall colors and the elk were very active, sparring between dominant males, bugling, etc. Saw lots of bison as well, plenty of other animals like deer, moose; pronghorns and bighorn sheep near Mammoth Hot Springs. Get down to Grand Tetons as well. I'm not sure about the fish-eye, you'd know if you like that or not. The others will certainly be useful.

If you're driving, I don't see why you wouldn't take the two cameras, probably suggest just the one heavier tripod.

One body or two? Wedding photographers need two bodies in case one breaks. Film photographers need two bodies so that they can have ISO 100 chrome in one and ISO 400 B&W in the other. I wouldn't want to lug the extra weight of a second digital body.

Hi Jim, you forgot to mention a fly rod. Gotta have that. As far a camera stuff, here is what I would take from what you mentioned:

Best tripod you have 50mm 1.8 (great grab it and shoot lens) 12-24 zoom (will get those great landscapes) 80-400 VR (wildlife man, wildlife) polarizer (you may get the perfect sky and early snow)

If you're not too cold natured you won't need gloves for picture taking but have some for just hiking around. Also a good walking stick/monopod would be nice. As a transplanted Texan now living in Washington I only use gloves when I'm not doing stuff. When standing around they come in handy.

I've never come into Yellowstone from the west, always from the North entrance. One of the things for you to really capture on film or sensor will be the Firehole river on a cold morning. What happens is the geyser fed river actually produces beautiful images of steam rising. That should be a must see for anyone going to Yellowstone during the colder months.

You didn't mention a macro lens but one may come in handy if any cool looking ice formations show up along the many rivers. Also a remote shutter release for the D70s is pretty cheap and small and you'll be amazed at the night-time star.landscape shots you can get.

I have the same camera set up as you including the SB600. I shoot film mostly and am torn about reccommending taking the flash. I guess if you have room take it, you never know. For a camera bag I really like the Lowepro Slinger bags. You can get in them quick and they don't take up alot of room.

One thing I forgot to mention about the 50mm 1.8 is that it will be great in West Yellowstone around dusk for people shooting, sort of small town America at it's best. Rain gear and a fly rod, that's all I need. Hope at least some of this helps.

Michael Harris

Bring a split grad filter to balance out the sky versus ground. Yes, it can be cold in October, with frost on the deck outside of Old Faithful. Bring a jacket, hat and gloves because it can and does snow. Do not take this jokingly.

Bring the fisheye, 50mm, 12-24 and 80-400. Take a backup body, why not? Keep the 80-400 on one for wildlife moments and use the other to switch lenses.

Any basic guide book/pamphlet will give you the info you need for this place. You can do just fine without tour guides. Just don't be dumb and get close to bison/bufallo and other big animals. Don't become a statistic. If you want to see elk real up close, Mamoth Hot Springs can have them lounging on the lawns. They almost look like ornaments.

Also, do not underestimate the altitude in Yellowstone. Unless you're in shape, you'll be sucking wind if you're running around since most of the park is at 7,500'.

I always carry a space blanket in my kit. It is silver on one side and gold on the other. It is essential survival gear and a very handy portable reflector.

Thanks all for your suggestions. Everyone has helped from David with a space blanket to do extra duty as a reflector to all preferring the 80-400 to the 28-300. Reason for the two bodies is to have a long zoom on one body and use the other for switching lenses. Not that much of a time saver but it sure cuts down on the chances for getting dust bunnies on the sensor. Being a Southeasterner the tip about being prepared for the vista's made me put down the 12-24 as a must.

I will be traveling via air so am desirable of cutting out what really will not be used. Is a good pair of binnoculars worthwhile to bring along or just use the long zoom for viewing??

Thanks again. Al

I'll be in Yellowstone for the first week in October. From 13 years of experince in the park at this time of year, I recommend that you prepare for extremely cold and wet (snow and rain) weather. You might, of course, experience an Indian summer, but it's quite likely you will experience some heavy weather.

Try to make it to Lamar Valley a little before dawn - look for parked vehicles, and people standing around w/ spottings scopes and radios. These are the wolf watchers (you'll become one, too). Radio communication along the road means if wolves are spotted, everyone will be able to drive to the location to view them. Will you see them? Autumn is the worst time to see them, but there's a good chance you will. Can you photograph them? Usually too far off, but it's an amazing experience.

Hmmmm....Lamar Valley is a long way from W. Yellowstone to make it by dawn. I'd consider spending a night in Gardiner, just n. of the park. Lots of inexpensive motels to choose from. It's about an hour from Gardiner to the Lamar Valley.

Can you hike (probably not with all that camera gear!). Park at the Grand Prismatic Pool, walk across the road, and look for the steep trail leading up the hill in front of you, leadind toward your right. It takes about ten minutes for a fit person with a moderately heavy camera bag to make it to the top. There's an awesome view of the pool from here.

Keep in mind that when it's cold, there's usually too much steam from the geysers to photograph anything but the steam. If it's warm, there is no steam. Temps in the 50s-60s seem to be ideal; you want some steam, but you want to see some color in the water, too.

As for geysers, I really like Castle Geyser, near Old Faithful. It goes off every 11.5 hours or so. Try to find out the predicted time, if you are there, it goes off for about 40 minutes, with a lot of roaring. Often, depending on where you stand, there's a rainbow in the spray. (Wipe any spray off your camera lens, a chemical preciptate, sinter, can damage your lens).

I like to wake early when I stay in the Upper Geyser Basin, near Old Faithful - I walk out to the bridge that's beyond Castle Geyser, and photograph dawn over the Firehole River. In the early a.m., there's a lot of steam when it's cold, and the scene is unreal. As the morning warms - if it does warm - the steam dissipates.

Keep back from wildlife. If the visitor center is open at the Canyon junction, look for the looped tape at the buffalo (bison) exhibit - there are scenes of people being gored/trampled/tossed into trees by the bison because they got too close.

Buffalo? - Usually in Hayden Valley. Elk? Mammoth Hot Springs - where you will want to take the little side trail to Canary Springs. However, the trails shifts because the springs shift over time.

Ice cream? Try the general store at Mammoth.

T-shirts? Lots of them in W. Yellowstone, many of them with wilder and crazier artwork than you'll find in the park. Go into Gardiner, just past the north entrance to the park.

And while you're headed into Gardiner, watch the cliffs, particularly on the east side of the road, for Bighorn sheep, and antelope on the flats near the park exit.