Stop #32: Fox Den RV & Campground, West Yellowstone, Montana
- Denisse Storti
- Feb 21, 2024
- 5 min read
We had a long travel day from Park City to West Yellowstone, Montana but we left early and made it in before sunset. The campground had advised that their pipes were frozen after someone left the door to the laundry room open in minus degree weather. We'd have no water hookups but this was the only option we had and didn't want to postpone. We filled our tanks before leaving and would figure out where to fill up again during our stay.
We had never done school on the road but since we had to leave early we gave it a go and it worked pretty well. I sat in the back seat with the kids till they were done and took pauses on windy roads to avoid getting car sick.
West Yellowstone is a small town and Fox Den RV & Campground was easy to get to even in the snow covered roads (they don't plow in West Yellowstone!). We had the snowmobile company we had booked with right next to us and restaurants and grocery stores a short drive away. We chose our site so our living room would be facing the sun. We were right next to the fence which didn't give us much room for our truck with all the snow there was on the ground but we managed. The owners were very helpful during our stay and the kids enjoyed all the snow we had on site.
The day after our arrival, we woke up to a puddle in front of our washer/dryer. Paul had to take everything out to discover that the washer's hot and cold water valves had frozen during our drive and cracked. Thankfully, he is great at figuring these things out and fixing whatever needs fixing, which is a constant when traveling full time in an RV. He ordered the parts but we wouldn't be getting them till our next stop so we were now stuck with no working washer at a campground with a non working laundry room. When it rains it pours.
On the following days, we drove around West Yellowstone and did some sledding at the local playground. Then it was time for our Yellowstone Park snowmobile tour with Two Top Snowmobiles. Exploring this park in the winter is quite the experience! During this time of year, you can only enter the park with a snowmobile or snowcoach (big tire bus) tour. We loved the idea of doing this by snowmobile and it didn't disappoint. Our guide was great and the park was stunning this time of year (not that we've seen it at any other time! lol). Two Top offers suits and boots for rent in addition to the helmets include with the tour. I highly recommend using the suits if you tend to get cold. My daughter and I did get a bit chilly even though we were wearing all our winter gear as we did last time we snowmobiled.
We booked the full day tour with stops throughout including, Old Faithful, Moose Falls, West Thumb Geyser Basin, and Fountain Pots.The tour stops for lunch at Old Faithful, where there's shops, restaurants, and a lodge. We brought our own food which we had at a warming hut assigned to Two Top. When we arrived to this spot we were advised that Old Faithful would erupt in 15 minutes which would be our only opportunity to see it. However, as soon as we arrived our daughter begged to go to the bathroom and while the rest of us also had to go as well we could've waited to go after. Thinking we had time, we rushed on over to the nearest bathroom and by the time we got out (all the winter layers makes this a challenge) we found Paul outside also needing to go. We waited for him and by the time he he was done the geyser had started to erupt. We ran over and caught the tail end of it. Huge bummer! But we'll survive. lol Thankfully we saw some other geysers erupting at Fountain Paint Pots which made up for it. :) The colors of some of these pools are amazing, specially in contrast with the surrounding snow. Some of them looked so inviting with their crystal blue waters - how amazing would it be to jump right in if only they weren't too hot to kill us. lol In addition to all the natural wonders we also saw a ton of bison during our tour which was amazing.
There's not much to do at West Yellowstone other than visiting the park (by tour), snowmobiling on the many trails in the area, and sleigh rides (which seem overrated to us). We decided to rent a couple of snowmobiles to explore some of the many trails on our own. The folks at Two Top provide trail maps and our guide from the tour we did a few days before had some great recommendations regarding where to go. Per his recommendation, we followed Two Top Loop to Twin Creek, and then Meadow Creek to a restaurant operated by two ladies and their families. You can only get there by snowmobile this time of year which made it that much more exciting. The menu is simple but the experience of arriving to a restaurant in the middle of the wintery woods was so unique and fun. We went back towards Two Top via Rail Road Trail. The scenery we saw along the way was breathtaking. No better way to see the backcountry. We then went on the other side of town towards Hebgen Lake on Madison Arm trail which while not among the woods was also beautiful. This time around I did rent the snow jumpsuit (our daughter refused but dressed with more layers) and I stayed warm throughout. What a difference!
Our daughter and I were done with snowmobiling but Paul and our son were up for more so we kept one of them for an extra day. Paul went out in the morning while we did school and then returned to grab our son for some fun together. They had the best time.
During our stay, the campground owners were working on defrosting the pipes and were able to open the laundry room towards the end of our stay which allowed us to get a few loads done. While the water hookups weren't working yet, they were able to fill our tank a couple of times without us having to move. Great customer service!
We loved our winter experience in West Yellowstone but will need to return to explore more of the beautiful state of Montana (in the spring or fall!).
Comentários