The campground was convenient for exploring Cody and the area. Our site was right next to the office and pancake area, which was nice. The angle to get our big rig out when we left was a little hairy, however. The trailers and smaller rigs in the site next to us usually backed out of their site to avoid the hard left turn around the dump station and propane fill area. Some of the turns in the park were also a bit difficult in a big rig, especially when folks at the ends parked their big trucks into the road. The site itself was level, and all the hookups worked. We camped at Cody KOA Holiday in a Motorhome.
Tip for Other Campers: Buffalo Bill Center of the West is a must-do. Head over to the Bighorn Canyon and Chief Joseph Scenic Highway for some amazing scenery. The Buffalo Bill Dam is also pretty cool.
The campground map:
Our site:
We went out for a scenic drive one day (see forthcoming post), but as we arrived back in town it started to rain heavily, with lightning in the area. When we arrived back at our site, we waited in our truck for several minutes while it rained and hailed heavily, before making a run for it when it eased up briefly:
The campground experienced some ground flooding:
Video of heavy rain, campground flooding, and lightning:
A screenshot of several nearby lightning strikes via the handy LightningMaps.org website:
Flooding:
All that water washed away the landscaping gravel:
Hail residue:
The campground entrance:
Gazebo by the entrance:
Office:
Pools:
Playground:
Jump pad:
Family room:
A nice feature of this KOA is free pancakes for breakfast every day, with sausages and other food available for purchase:
Speaking of food, some samples of other places we patronized in Cody; first up, More Burgers and Shakes:
A close-up of that bear decoration:
There are bears on the back of the bear:
Not overly impressive:
We had a lot of BBQ in Texas, so it was interesting to try Wyoming’s edition at Bubba’s Bar-B-Que; a bit different, but not bad:
Finally, some pizza at Tossers Pizza and Beer; decent pan-style pizza, but not the best:
We were planning to attend the famous Cody Nite Rodeo, but after reading the reviews on Yelp and elsewhere, we decided it wasn’t for us — overly religious, political jokes, sexist jokes, etc. It would have been painful. And apparently not good rodeo anyway.
But they kept trying to drum up customers, driving though the campground every day offering discount coupons:
And a bus to pick up people:
One of several occupants of our driver-side neighboring site, a small toy hauler trailer:
One section of the park has tight buddy sites:
Other sites:
A newer section, where it looked like a couple was shoveling the gravel to make it somewhat level for parking after the flooding:
We drove our coach 80 miles, about 2.5 hours of very scenic driving, from Yellowstone, Wyoming to Cody, Wyoming.
Here’s the map route, heading east:
An interactive map, with potential stops; we had lunch at Newton Spring Picnic Site, and got some fuel at the Sinclair station:
We paused bringing in the slide to let the pooled rain drain off:
A GIF of checking the brake controller; the air brakes of the coach triggers this piston that pushes the brake pedal in our truck for proportional braking assistance:
Checking the truck lights:
Another check, moving the coach forward a couple of feet to engage the tow bar and make sure the truck wheels turn freely (reversing GIF):
Leaving the campground; starting the Bluefire app for coach info:
The coach GPS mistakenly said “No Recreational Vehicles Allowed” again inside the park:
Yellowstone Lake:
One of the last glimpses of a geyser:
And a bison:
And deer:
A very scenic drive on the way out of the park:
Leaving from the east entrance of Yellowstone National Park:
The scenic drive continues outside the park; rather Utah-like:
We stopped at Newton Spring Picnic Area for lunch:
A fuel stop at a Sinclair station; not needed, since only down a third of a tank, but gives us peace of mind, since there are no truck stops along this route, other than stations like this:
Unexpectedly, the fuel pump stopped at $75; 16 gallons doesn’t help much. So we did two of these to get mostly full:
When we park our coach on an unlevel site, typically high in the back, our front hydraulic jacks sometimes can’t cope, so we need to add extra blocks between the jacks and jack pad:
To help with that, I purchased a couple of SnapPads, just for the front jacks. We can’t get them for the back jacks, as the jacks are too close to the rear wheels. SnapPads are permanently-attached pads that expand the footprint of the jack a little, and add an extra inch of height, so I hoped that’d help with unlevel sites.
(If you’re in the market for them, you can save 10% off SnapPads with the discount code: DAVID08638.)
Here’s a SnapPad before installation:
It’s simple to install a SnapPad; just squirt a little dish soap around the inner rim, to make it easier to get it on, then line it up below the jack, and lower the jack into place (it helps to have two people, one to control the jack, one to tweak the alignment. Here’s a SnapPad after attaching and lifting up a bit:
Two SnapPads:
Retracted jacks (fun fact: that big box between the jacks is our 150 gallon fuel tank):
The jacks on top of my usual jack pads, which I use on all surfaces other than concrete:
Our third stay in Yellowstone, though the first in our coach; our first stay was in a cabin back in 2011, and our previous stay was in a rented trailer in 2021 (while our coach sat back at our homestead, as the campground we stayed at, Madison, wasn’t big enough; a trip planned before we bought our coach). See the Yellowstone trip posts for details. That’s for the two of us; Jenn practically grew up in Yellowstone, visiting several times as a kid.
The Fishing Bridge campground (at 7,790 feet elevation) is the only one big enough for us in Yellowstone, and was recently significantly overhauled to include nice big paved sites in the E loop.
Dates:
Check in: 2023-07-22
Check out: 2023-08-05
14 nights
Weather:
Mostly sunny for most of the time, drizzly and thunder storms the last few days
High temps ranging between 58-80°F, lows around 48-52°F
Some wind, up to 28 MPH gusts
Noise:
No road noise
No train noise
Not much neighbor noise (kids)
Site:
#E302, pull-through, concrete
Didn’t need to disconnect toad; parked in front of coach
Level
Concrete pad about 70 feet long by about 12 feet wide
Grass between sites about 12 feet wide
Mature trees around campground, few within
Concrete patio with picnic table
No fire pit
Utilities:
50 amp power, conveniently located
75 PSI water, conveniently located
Good sewer connection, conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)
Internet (in usage priority order):
Starlink: 105-122 Mbps down, 2-10 Mbps up, 75 ms ping
I’ve been coming to Yellowstone since before I could walk. I’ve camped in the rustic campgrounds and stayed in lodges. The only other option if you have a big rig and need full hookups is to stay outside the park and wait in traffic every day to get in, so for for my money, this is the best option around. We had a nice pull-through site in the new section and were very impressed with the concrete pads. The site was level and had excellent hookups, even if the water spigot was a bit weird. There are few trees around the campsites, so there was a good Starlink connection if you need to stay connected. We camped at Fishing Bridge RV Park in a Motorhome.
The campground map:
An interactive map, still showing the old layout of the campground as I write this:
Our site:
On a non-rainy day:
We were very glad for our Starlink dish and flagpole, as there was little cellular coverage:
Check in area:
Other sites:
A nice campground, and with a park the size of Yellowstone, certainly beneficial to be able to stay within the park. We’ll definitely stay here again in the future.
Jenn didn’t like the bathroom faucets and soap dispensers that came with our coach, as the faucets were rather splashy, and the dispensers let water into them, diluting the soap.
So we bought replacements from Home Depot, and I installed them.
Looking under the sink, one can see manifolds of hoses to various parts of the bathroom (sink, toilet, shower, and washing machine); the sink hot and cold connectors are on the top:
This being an RV, of course the hose for the faucet was non-standard, so I needed to get a “hex nipple” to adapt the 1/2 inch MIP hose connectors:
Disconnected:
The old and new faucets:
A new hose, with the hex nipple adapter on the left, and the adapter that came with the faucet on the right:
Holes in the counter for the faucet and dispenser:
Similarly, the old soap dispenser and faucet in the half bath:
Hoses under the half bath sink, nicely labeled:
Disconnected hoses:
The new faucet mounted:
Connected hoses under the half bath sink:
The installed new soap dispenser and faucet in the half bath:
Finally, I also replaced the soap dispenser in the kitchen. That was the most difficult to get to. I accessed it by removing the drawers:
A peek of the old soap bottle:
To install the new one, I reached back through the drawers space and poked the assembled soap bottle and tube up through the hole, before screwing the top on:
This is a very nice, new park that definitely has had a lot of care and attention put into it. Sites were immaculate, with spacious grassy areas and concrete patios. When the trees grow up a bit, they’ll provide nice shade, but for now, you get really nice views of the surrounding mountains. At check-in, we were escorted to our site and guided in, which is always a nice touch. When folks checked out, each site was cleaned and prepped for the next arrival. Not every place does this, but the best ones do. Another small thing that makes a huge difference is the frequent trash pickup from your site. My only regret was not getting a back-in site so we’d have fewer neighbors and better views, but that gives me something to aspire to for next time. We camped at Alpine Valley RV Resort in a Motorhome.
Tip for Other Campers: Book a whitewater rafting trip with Dave Hansen with pickup from the resort. You basically get concierge service between the resort and the river, which makes for a fantastic experience. Broulim’s is a nice grocery store within walking distance from the resort. Good coffee at Punkins, also within walking distance.
The campground map:
Our site:
Interesting water faucet; looks like they can remove the tap for winterizing:
Adding the Teton sticker to our coach:
Other sites:
A path to a river overlook:
Snake River (no access from the campground; there’s a steep bank):
The park is still under construction; they have a temporary building for the office currently:
A white-water rafting water feature also under construction:
Playground:
Bathrooms:
Nearby gas station:
A nice nearby grocery store; it was very convenient to walk to get groceries:
Nearby Subway etc, also in walking distance:
Nearby mercantile:
Nearby coffee shop:
A nice park. We’d stay here again, though would choose a back-in site next time, for an un-obstructed view over the river to the mountains.
