Backcountry Camping Advice (YellowStone N.P., Grand Teton N.P., Glacier N.P.)

[wyosteve]

About a mile south of the South entrance to Yellowstone is Scheffield Creek(there's a sign). You can take the trail from there to an old Forest Service fire tower. About 5 miles in, but all uphill. You can spend the night in the tower (when I say tower, it's not 80 ft. in the air, but rather an elevated cabin, about 8 ft. off the ground). On a clear day you can see 60 miles or more in any direction. Take a bottle of wine and enjoy the sunset over the Tetons!!

 

[Tlr155]

If you want a remote area without a lot of crowds, try the Shoshone Lake trail. Its in the southwest corner of Yellowstone, about 11 Miles in, and beautiful country.
Firearms are forbidden in all National Parks, so definitely keep this plan to yourself.
The pistol you are going to carry should do the job.
I went in this same trail many years ago with a group of Boy Scouts. We stopped on a sandbar in a creek about halfway in, and when I went to the upstream end of the sandbar, there were several HUGE grizzly prints there with the water still running back in them.
We never saw a bear, but were very careful about not eating or having food within 100 feet of our tents, and not allowing things like chap stick or toothpaste to end up in the tents. Evidently, "scout" was not on the menu.
We saw elk, mule deer, a badger, eagles, osprey fishing in the lake, al sorts of stuff. And lots of footprints, bear poop, both black and grizzly. The bears probably saw us, but we never saw them.

Wrong you can now carry in national parks
I carry in Yellowstone and glacier every time we go and that's 3-4 times a year

 

[J man]

We just showed up to Yellowstone, no reservations. The backcountry office was pretty accommodating. They gave us a pass for a "handicap accessible" spot that nobody reserved. It was about a mile hike on a very well paved road/trail, had a lake to ourselves. I can't remember the name of the place but just wanted to share that if you don't have reservations you might still be in luck for some good camp sites.