Yellowstone and Theodore Roosevelt National Park -- in April?

[mommymonster]

DH has an eight-week sabbatical that should happen around mid-April. Our current thinking is to drive to Michigan and stay at a family cottage for the majority of the time, allowing DH and the boys to spend their days fishing and, well, fishing. We would like to break up the 36 hour drive by spending a few days in national parks along the way. The "easiest" ones to hit would be Yellowstone and Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The park websites say that they are open year-round, but I was wondering if anyone has been to either park in mid-April (or early spring) and could let me know if it makes sense to go then? We tend to be people who enjoy less traffic and bustle, but... I'm a little concerned it could be "too early."

 

We could maybe do the trip backwards and hit Yellowstone and Roosevelt on the way back (first part of June)? But then where should we go in the mid-April timeframe? We're in central Oregon and heading to central Michigan.

 

Thanks in advance.

[TrixieB]

You may run into snow in Yellowstone in April.

 

The Yellowstone NPS website tells which roads are open when, and what the weather is typically like.

 

http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/spring.htm

 

[Amira]

Yellowstone officially opens around April 22nd IIRC, or at least part of it does. There will still be roads closed and areas you couldn't access. There would definitely be snow and it would be a more complicated and less predictable vacation because weather would be a major factor. It is technically open year-round because they allow winter access on snowmobiles, but that's not really available in mid-April and the roads aren't necessarily open for driving by then. It would almost certainly be quite cold.

 

I've been there in April and I love it but it isn't for everyone. I go for the geysers and there are always plenty to see even if a lot of the park isn't accessible.

[Ottakee]

The badlands was one of our favorites. Not sure though about April as we went early June. So much depends on weather that year.

 

Where in Michigan will you be? We are near Lake Michigan west of Grand Rapids. We can still have snow on the ground here in April as well.

[whitestavern]

I'm not sure what route you're traveling, but when we did our cross country trip, we spent several days in both Cody, WY, and Custer, SD. There is so much to do in both of those areas. Badlands was on our agenda as well, but bad weather prevented us from going. Rocky Mountain NP could be another option.