***Official Yellowstone thread*** (1 Viewer)

I am planning a family vacation to Yellowstone in July. I've been there several times before, but would love to hear from others about their favorite stuff there - favorite geothermal sites, wildlife viewing, fishing, hiking, camping, good places to eat, etc.

Also interested in any input in any other cool stuff in the immediate area, including Jackson Hole, Tetons, Cody, Thermopolis, etc.

can't believe this post got no replies.

i am planning a family trip to Yellowstone for 2014, and have the same questions as moleculo, plus any input on best places to stay for a family of 5 (traditional hotel rooms typically don't have enough bed space).

we have never been there, so all helpful advice welcomed.

p.s. if it makes a difference, our kids will be 16(f), 14(m), and 8(m)

The Old Faithful Inn is literally right next to Old Faithful. The rooms are spartan and the food is HORRIBLE, but it has a tremendous lobby and bar, and might be worth staying at for one night as a novelty. I believe there are other lodges run by the NPS in the park, but I can't speak to them. West Yellowstone, Montana is right beside the west entrance to the park, and full of motels and motor lodges, restaurants and otherwise is a slice of 1950s tourist America. That's where I would stay with kids.

On a side note, we went in early October, right at the end of the season, and the park was spectacular. Snow-covered, very few people there, amazing contrast with the bubbling pools and ice and so on. You do risk getting snowed in, but it is an amazing time to see the park, and there are zero crowds, which is an issue in the summer.

Make sure you go down to Grand Tetons too. The Jenny Lake Lodge is an amazing, special occasion type of experience if you want to splurge on accommodations. Purple Mountain Majesty, indeed. Jackson is also a good spot for some good food (Breakfast at the Bunnery!) and some old West type saloons.

As far as what to do in Yellowstone, well, everything. It's all incredible. On the drive from West Yellowstone to Old Faithful, there are plenty of stops where you can check out amazing thermal features and you'll see all kinds of wildlife throughout the park. We got to see the Grand Fountain Geyser, which was memorable like everything else in the park - here's a good list of the geysers. Make sure to see the "Grand Canyon of Yellowstone" from Artist Point, too.

It's hard to believe, but Yellowstone is truly impossible to overhype.

wow...a blast from the past.Here's how our trip worked - we spent about a week tent camping at the Canyon campground. Family of 5 - a 12 year old, a 2 yr old, and a 3 month old . We checked out a few other campgrounds, and this one is the best - tree cover, not just an RV parking lot, great amenities (i.e. showers/clean bathrooms), close to the general store, and centrally located.

food in the park isn't spectacular. There may be better dining options than what we found, but even the table-service places we tried were underwhelming.

It gets cold at night...literally freezing, even in July. That makes the mornings a little uncomfortable and a hot shower even more important.

As far as breakfast - what we found was the most pleasant was to pack up our food and portable camp-stove and drive around until we found a nice picnic spot and ate there. Maybe somewhere overlooking Hayden Valley or a beaver pond or something more scenic than the campground. In fact, I'd suggest trying to make as many meals as you can picnic style somewhere like that. Yellowstone is one of the most amazing places on earth due to the geothermals. Even without the geothermals, it has some of the most unique scenery and wildlife watching in North America, so to me, you want to maximize your time outside.

we loved the Grand Canyon, but the hike to the bottom and back up is a killer if you aren't used to the altitude and have to carry small children. If your kids are teens, this would be a good way for them to burn off some steam. Same with the climb up Mt Washburn.

Almost everything worth seeing is on the loop between Old Faithful, West Thumb, Fishing Bridge, Canyon Village, Norris, and Madison. Mammoth is not what it once was - its was drying up and not nearly as awesome as it was when I was a kid. Of course, that was in 2009 and Yellowstone has a way of changing, so YMMV. The Roosevelt lodge area is pretty meh.

Right by Madison is a little detour road called Firehole Canyon Drive. Highly recommend.

next time we go to Yellowstone, I'm renting a supertelephoto lens for my camera for the week. If you are into fishing, they say Yellowstone has some of the best fly fishing in the area.

I don't know that I'd suggest staying outside the park. It's a long damn drive to get to the loop, especially given that traffic in the park seems to go at 35 mph., and I don't know how safe I would feel driving those roads at night - no lights, lots of wildlife, no cell signal kinda freaks me a little. West Yellowstone, as SB suggested, might be your best bet as it's closest to the loop. I know that it's at least an hour from the southern or eastern entrance just to get to the loop.

Cody is a few hours away. When we left the park, we stayed there and it's a great little touristy western town. Nightly rodeo, a re-enactment of a shootout, a fantastic Buffalo Bill museum.

south of Cody is Thermopolis. It's been decades since I've been there, but I understand they have some great dinosaur digs you can see, plus natural hot springs.

of course, immediately south of Yellowstone is the Tetons and Jackson hole. probably the most spectacular mountain range in North America. I've never really found anything to do in the Tetons besides taking pictures of the mountains.

one other tip: if you like music in the car, don't count on being able to receive radio stations. I think there is one station that we could get in some parts. Doubtful that you will have cell-phone signals, much less data, everywhere you go also. Keep a fully stocked MP3 player and/or satellite radio for the trip.

I forget how far away it was, but if you can, I highly recommend checking out Glacier National Park. Yellowstone was nice, Glacier blew my mind.

Not sure how you plan on arriving at the park - but if you can go from Red Lodge, MT in from the NE side - the drive over the Beartooths is great and you enter into the NE at Cooke City - it's US212. When we come from Denver we drive up I-25 to Sheridan or Buffalo and go over the Big Horns and then take some side roads up to MT.

Firehole River Canyon is great - get a float and go down the river.

In Madison campground - there are some pools along the river marked with rock rims - hot water comes up through the river bed and you get natural hottubs

Look for the swans between Madison and West Yellowstone

If you have bikes you can ride to here - Lone Star Geyser or walk - If you have a hard working family hike 18 miles to Shoshone Geyser basin - get a camping permit and camp in the backcountry

First thing to do at Old Faithful is go to ranger station and get predicted times for geysers - Grand Geyser is the best - Riverside is good as well. Great Fountain is a great place to pack a lunch and wait for it - watch hiking in the area - ground is fragile and you can fall in if you do not pay attention.

Something like 95% of visitors never leave the paved roads. Find some hiking!

Prepare for bison traffic jams. At some point your car won't move for 10-20 minutes

And I believe your entry fee is good for 7 days if you wanted to see any other NP during your vacation.

Have fun and don't feed the wildlife.

Sigmund Bloom said:

As far as what to do in Yellowstone, well, everything. It's all incredible. On the drive from West Yellowstone to Old Faithful, there are plenty of stops where you can check out amazing thermal features and you'll see all kinds of wildlife throughout the park. We got to see the Grand Fountain Geyser, which was memorable like everything else in the park - here's a good list of the geysers. Make sure to see the "Grand Canyon of Yellowstone" from Artist Point, too.

It's hard to believe, but Yellowstone is truly impossible to overhype.

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that's what makes it hard to plan. there's just so much to choose from that all sound fantastic. That, plus the huge amount of acreage to cover (almost 3x bigger than Rhode Island).

thanks for all the tips, everyone.

The park is laid out as a figure 8. There's a north loop and a south loop. Plan on spending 1-2 days for each loop, more if possible. Since the park is so large, this works the best.

South Loop: Geyser basins (they are all good!), Lake Yellowstone

North loop: Mammoth Terraces, Grand Canyon of The Yellowstone, waterfalls

Just driving around the sights are beautiful - meadows, streams, etc.

now considering a night or two in Grand Tetons area. would like to take the kids on a rafting trip on the Snake River.

moleculo said:

we loved the Grand Canyon, but the hike to the bottom and back up is a killer if you aren't used to the altitude and have to carry small children. If your kids are teens, this would be a good way for them to burn off some steam. Same with the climb up Mt Washburn.

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Brink of the Lower Falls trail was great, but you need good knees. It's 500-600 vertical feet of switchback trail.

Almost everything worth seeing is on the loop between Old Faithful, West Thumb, Fishing Bridge, Canyon Village, Norris, and Madison. Mammoth is not what it once was - its was drying up and not nearly as awesome as it was when I was a kid. Of course, that was in 2009 and Yellowstone has a way of changing, so YMMV. The Roosevelt lodge area is pretty meh.

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True, but the road north from Canyon to Roosevelt is supposed to be a good area for bear sightings. And then the road east from Roosevelt takes you into the Lamar Valley, one of the prime wildlife areas of the park.

Check out Yellowstone.net (especially the board) for up to date info on where to find the animals.

I don't know that I'd suggest staying outside the park. It's a long damn drive to get to the loop, especially given that traffic in the park seems to go at 35 mph., and I don't know how safe I would feel driving those roads at night - no lights, lots of wildlife, no cell signal kinda freaks me a little. West Yellowstone, as SB suggested, might be your best bet as it's closest to the loop. I know that it's at least an hour from the southern or eastern entrance just to get to the loop.

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I remember a 90 minute drive back to the motel in West, at night, during a storm. Night there is a lot darker than most city-dwellers are used to, and the large animals do not wear orange vests.

Add to that a few a-holes who had to ride my bumper cause they wanted to go fast and there were few places to pull over.

planning this trip for next june with the family. kids will be 6 and 8. looking at 4 nights in gardiner and 2 nights in teton somewhere.

have not looked at a gateway town on the west side yet but will although Gardiner looks closer to the north loop than west yellowstone. west yellowstone looks more centralized.

oso did you book anything yet?

just thinking how bent I would be if I was there right now and the park was closed due to gvmt shutdown

Kenny Powers said:

I forget how far away it was, but if you can, I highly recommend checking out Glacier National Park. Yellowstone was nice, Glacier blew my mind.

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Very Was coming in to recommend the same thing. Smaller crowds and phenomenal vistas abound in the U.S. and Canadian sections. Yellowstone and Grand Teton are okay, but I don't think they are in the same league as Glacier.

Fiddles said:

planning this trip for next june with the family. kids will be 6 and 8. looking at 4 nights in gardiner and 2 nights in teton somewhere.

have not looked at a gateway town on the west side yet but will although Gardiner looks closer to the north loop than west yellowstone. west yellowstone looks more centralized.

oso did you book anything yet?

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not yet. all of the cabins we were looking at got booked solid for the weeks we were targeting. we may wait a year, for the 8yo to get a little older.

decided to go ahead and visit this August. booked a vrbo cabin near West Yellowstone (Henrys Lake, ID) for 4 nights. Have all the top YNP sights mapped out, but haven't really figured out yet the most efficient way to see them all. We plan to pack picnic lunches each day, and spend all day in the park.

Tentative Plan (days in no particular order)

Day 1 - Madison to Old Faithful, including Firehold Canyon Rd, Grand Prismatic Spring, Midway Geyser Basin, Biscuit Basin, Mystic Falls, Upper Geyser Basin, OF, and Lone Star Geyser (in general, the caldera sights)

Day 2 - Lamar Valley, Grand Canyon, Artist Point, Lower Falls, Uncle Toms Point

Day 3 - Y'stone Lake, Hayden Valley

Day 4 - stuff outside YNP - Earthquake Lake, grizzly/wolf center in West YS

About to start research on best short hikes to get off the beaten paths.

still working on finding a place nearer to Grand Teton/Jackson for 1-2 more nights. we will likely do one of those combo scenic floats / whitewater rapids boat trips.

Don't go to Yellowstone. There's a giant volcano underneath it that's going to blow any day now, taking half the country with it.

oso diablo said:

decided to go ahead and visit this August. booked a vrbo cabin near West Yellowstone (Henrys Lake, ID) for 4 nights. Have all the top YNP sights mapped out, but haven't really figured out yet the most efficient way to see them all. We plan to pack picnic lunches each day, and spend all day in the park.

Tentative Plan (days in no particular order)

Day 1 - Madison to Old Faithful, including Firehold Canyon Rd, Grand Prismatic Spring, Midway Geyser Basin, Biscuit Basin, Mystic Falls, Upper Geyser Basin, OF, and Lone Star Geyser (in general, the caldera sights)

Day 2 - Lamar Valley, Grand Canyon, Artist Point, Lower Falls, Uncle Toms Point

Day 3 - Y'stone Lake, Hayden Valley

Day 4 - stuff outside YNP - Earthquake Lake, grizzly/wolf center in West YS

About to start research on best short hikes to get off the beaten paths.

still working on finding a place nearer to Grand Teton/Jackson for 1-2 more nights. we will likely do one of those combo scenic floats / whitewater rapids boat trips.

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Look for the Fairy Falls trail - it takes you above Grand Prismatic for a nice view - also there is a hike above Biscuist Basin/Mystic Falls - that is a cool view of the Old Faithful complex

oso diablo said:

decided to go ahead and visit this August. booked a vrbo cabin near West Yellowstone (Henrys Lake, ID) for 4 nights. Have all the top YNP sights mapped out, but haven't really figured out yet the most efficient way to see them all. We plan to pack picnic lunches each day, and spend all day in the park.

Tentative Plan (days in no particular order)

Day 1 - Madison to Old Faithful, including Firehold Canyon Rd, Grand Prismatic Spring, Midway Geyser Basin, Biscuit Basin, Mystic Falls, Upper Geyser Basin, OF, and Lone Star Geyser (in general, the caldera sights)

Day 2 - Lamar Valley, Grand Canyon, Artist Point, Lower Falls, Uncle Toms Point

Day 3 - Y'stone Lake, Hayden Valley

Day 4 - stuff outside YNP - Earthquake Lake, grizzly/wolf center in West YS

About to start research on best short hikes to get off the beaten paths.

still working on finding a place nearer to Grand Teton/Jackson for 1-2 more nights. we will likely do one of those combo scenic floats / whitewater rapids boat trips.

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I want to offer you another thought.

Our family visited last August. We stayed outside Gardiner with a VRBO. One morning, around 5:00, my wife could not sleep and forced us all to get in the car for an early morning drive. I was initially reluctant, but relented.

That was the best morning of the 8 days in the area, by far. Very few people were on the road, so it was perfect. We entered Mammoth Hot Springs and were greeted with a herd of elk in the town at the break of dawn. We headed east to Lamar Valley, and saw a bear next to the road. Not five minutes later, we pull right into the middle of a gigantic herd of bison that are on both sides of the road. We just stopped the car and watched them for 30 minutes, listening to the grunts less than 15 feet away at times. It was awesome. We continued on and came upon a German couple with a telescope next to the road, who showed us a nest full of baby ospreys. We ended up going all the way to and through Bear Tooth Pass - what an awesome morning/early afternoon.

My point - the north part of the park is awesome, too. Don't miss it.

EDIT - OH OH OH - do NOT miss the swimming in the river/hot springs in the river north of Mammoth. Your kids and you will LOVE it.

buck naked said:

oso diablo said:

decided to go ahead and visit this August. booked a vrbo cabin near West Yellowstone (Henrys Lake, ID) for 4 nights. Have all the top YNP sights mapped out, but haven't really figured out yet the most efficient way to see them all. We plan to pack picnic lunches each day, and spend all day in the park.

Tentative Plan (days in no particular order)

Day 1 - Madison to Old Faithful, including Firehold Canyon Rd, Grand Prismatic Spring, Midway Geyser Basin, Biscuit Basin, Mystic Falls, Upper Geyser Basin, OF, and Lone Star Geyser (in general, the caldera sights)

Day 2 - Lamar Valley, Grand Canyon, Artist Point, Lower Falls, Uncle Toms Point

Day 3 - Y'stone Lake, Hayden Valley

Day 4 - stuff outside YNP - Earthquake Lake, grizzly/wolf center in West YS

About to start research on best short hikes to get off the beaten paths.

still working on finding a place nearer to Grand Teton/Jackson for 1-2 more nights. we will likely do one of those combo scenic floats / whitewater rapids boat trips.

Click to expand...

I want to offer you another thought.

Our family visited last August. We stayed outside Gardiner with a VRBO. One morning, around 5:00, my wife could not sleep and forced us all to get in the car for an early morning drive. I was initially reluctant, but relented.

That was the best morning of the 8 days in the area, by far. Very few people were on the road, so it was perfect. We entered Mammoth Hot Springs and were greeted with a herd of elk in the town at the break of dawn. We headed east to Lamar Valley, and saw a bear next to the road. Not five minutes later, we pull right into the middle of a gigantic herd of bison that are on both sides of the road. We just stopped the car and watched them for 30 minutes, listening to the grunts less than 15 feet away at times. It was awesome. We continued on and came upon a German couple with a telescope next to the road, who showed us a nest full of baby ospreys. We ended up going all the way to and through Bear Tooth Pass - what an awesome morning/early afternoon.

My point - the north part of the park is awesome, too. Don't miss it.

EDIT - OH OH OH - do NOT miss the swimming in the river/hot springs in the river north of Mammoth. Your kids and you will LOVE it.

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Like you, my very favorite Yellowstone experience was a very early morning sunrise trip from Mammoth Hot Springs through Lamar Valley. The wildlife in the northeastern part of the park during the early morning hours is absolutely unbelievable. I had close encounters with grizzly bears, black bears, bison, pronghorns, elk, and numerous other animals. I'm so glad that I listened to the park ranger who encouraged me to drive through Lamar Valley early in the morning to see wildlife. Definitely do not miss that experience.

butcher boy said:

Don't go to Yellowstone. There's a giant volcano underneath it that's going to blow any day now, taking half the country with it.

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i'd be in that half anyway, so we might as well go. :quickerdeath:

this is possibly on the horizon for my family with the inlaws and their 2 kids as well kids are 8,8 and 7 2 girls and a boy.

any more insight?

Just booked a week in Yellowstone in June.( well actually a cabin just outside the east entrance) My kids 14,11,6 are so excited. Would love to her some more from people who have been.

- lots of windshield time.

- wish we would have spent more time going backcountry, or at least some more off the beaten paths with day hikes (was constrained by extended family members who went with us, and very rainy weather)

- go early in the morning at least one day, if not every day

- we had picnic lunches each day in different picnic areas. that was cool

- we really enjoyed the whitewater rafting trip on the Snake River down in Jackson, WY

is the east entrance Cody? if so, i hear there are some cool things there for kids, but we never went to Cody.

yes its Cody, we are staying just 3 miles out of park which is 40 miles or so from Cody, planning to go to Cody at least one day. We are planning to go white water rafting on Shoshone river as well.

so the inlaws are going for sure, now i need to decide if we're going. the plan is yellowstone for 3-4 days and then the tetons for 4-5 days. one of the inlaws is a pretty serious photographer, so more time in the tetons

for those that have been, what's the best route into the park. we are flying in from CA.

SLC and drive up? easily the cheapest, i'm not thrilled by the prospect of a 5 hour car ride, although i assume it's beautiful?

fly to a montana city? bozeman or helena

fly to jackson hole?

fly to the east side?

fly into yellowstone?

DA RAIDERS said:

so the inlaws are going for sure, now i need to decide if we're going. the plan is yellowstone for 3-4 days and then the tetons for 4-5 days. one of the inlaws is a pretty serious photographer, so more time in the tetons

for those that have been, what's the best route into the park. we are flying in from CA.

SLC and drive up? easily the cheapest, i'm not thrilled by the prospect of a 5 hour car ride, although i assume it's beautiful?

fly to a montana city? bozeman or helena

fly to jackson hole?

fly to the east side?

fly into yellowstone?

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I've only done the SLC route but yes, it is a pretty drive.

Wasatch front -> Logan Canyon -> Bear Lake -> Star Valley -> Snake River Gorge. It's pretty much all scenic.

4-5 days in the Tetons is a long time unless you're planning several hikes and other adventures in there. The driving part can be done in a day or less. Definitely a great spot for a photographer though. If you can pull it off, I strongly recommend kayaking the String Lake -> Leigh Lake route. It's pretty amazing.

plenty to photograph in YS. i would at least flip the schedule to spend more time in YS than the GT.

Spent five days in Yellowstone via Jackson Hole, and would have happily spent more. Everything lives up to its rep IMO. And you can safari from the car or from the valley overlooks any time you want to as well. Or just head out on a trail -- they're all over the place.

Highlights...

Grand Prismatic (and really any of the geyser/spring complexes)

Mammoth Hot Springs (hotel not that great -- but there was a herd of wild elk there)

Lake Yellowstone + hotel

Old Faithful + lodge

Yellowstone Canyon + Artists Point

Wildlife

We also hiked up Mount Washburn, but it's not all that great -- the hikes through the valleys or hills were better.

It's probably the most photogenic place I've ever been too. There's always something worth shooting. Agree with oso that you might want to flip the itinerary.

thanks for the info. i'm not the photographer. my inlaw is a pro. ansel adams type stuff. the guy is amazing. it's his itinerary. maybe we stay a couple extra days in YS and meet him in the tetons later.

pm me for a link to his stuff is anyone is interested.

Looking through this thread as we are considering a Yellowstone trip this summer.  I think we're mainly interested in some hiking trails, vs sitting in the car driving around all day.  Anyone have some favorites or recomendations?  Kids are 18, 14, and 12 so anything with moderate difficulty and 3-4 hours round trip would work to wear them out.

Also hoping to get a hotel vs camping.  Are there economical options?

for next year.

Anyone stay near the east entrance? I found a nice accommodation there, but I'm not sure if we'd be too far from the good stuff and would spend too much time in the car.

Went there once, 9 years ago, so not a Yellowstone expert, but I'll put my 2c in.

Stayed in West Yellowstone MT, tourist town with lots of motels, prices weren't outrageous.

Anywhere you stay outside will be a long drive to where you want to go. It is a big park and you can't drive fast. 

Lots of info here, including a board if you want to ask questions of locals and frequent visitors.

I've only been there once, a couple summers ago.  As I recall, the east entrance is the furthest one away from the "cool" parts of the park.  We stayed in West Yellowstone, and it's much closer to the "loop" road. Like Cheese and Crackers said, it's a big park, but it wasn't too bad a drive in from the west.

For Dozier, there's a pretty long trail around the Old Faithful area with some cool geysers - most of the geyser basins have long trail loops.  The hike down (or up if you're a masochist) the Mammoth Hot Springs terraces is good, too.

As much as my wife is going to hate this realization, it looks like our procrastination style is not going to work out for this.  It looks like nothing inside the park is available for our time frame, so we are obviously way to late to start planning this.  More like we should be planning this for summer 2017 and needing to book stuff now for that, or else we are spending half the day in the car (not my goal when we are driving from Minnesota just to get there.  The kids aren't going to like it if we have to do that, and then spend all day in the car while we are there).

I live in Montana and usually go to the park once a year, so here are my opinions on the park area.  Being that I have been there many times I will say that I generally avoid the Old Faithful area due to the crowds.  The best time to visit the park is either early spring when it opens or late fall.  There are a lot less people and you will see a ton more animals.  The east entrance, Cody area, is the furthest from Old Faithful, but it also what I would say is the most scenic part of the park in my opinion.  Plus, there are several other things to do in Cody.  The north entrance around Mammoth / Gardner is probably my least favorite area of the park.  The Northeast entrance Silver Gate/ Cooke City is a very cool entrance with all of the mountains and is very scenic.  This is also the closest entrance to the Lamar Valley which is the best place to try and see wolves.  The west entrance, West Yellowstone, is the closest to Old Faithful and generally the most crowded.  The south entrance has few services, but this is the entrance to take to go to Jackson Hole and Grand Tetons, also very scenic. 

If you want to stay in the park my favorite place to stay in the park is around the lake.  If you are staying outside the park West Yellowstone will be the most convenient and offer the most options, but it will also be the most crowded.  If you want to get away from the crowds and still be by the west entrance I would suggest Island Park, Idaho.  If I’m staying down there this is where I stay.  It’s 15 to 20 minutes from West Yellowstone and there are a ton of cabins available to rent in this area.  There is also some amazing fishing and great ATV trails if you are into that.  There are a few different places that rent ATV’s there and I have seen moose, bears, etc. while out riding.

As far as hiking there are a ton of great trails to hike in Yellowstone.  This will greatly depend on your experience.  If you are an inexperienced hiker stay on the crowded trails.  If you are more experienced you will have a lot more options.  The biggest thing with hiking in Yellowstone is to be prepared for bears and the weather.  The weather can change very quickly, especially at higher elevations.  Bear spray is a must when hiking in the park or any areas around the park.  Every year hikers are killed by bears in the park and often they are experienced hikers.  If you want to hike in the park my advice is to talk to the park rangers.  They can tell you where to go and where bears have been spotted recently.

Bull Dozier said:

As much as my wife is going to hate this realization, it looks like our procrastination style is not going to work out for this.  It looks like nothing inside the park is available for our time frame, so we are obviously way to late to start planning this.  More like we should be planning this for summer 2017 and needing to book stuff now for that, or else we are spending half the day in the car (not my goal when we are driving from Minnesota just to get there.  The kids aren't going to like it if we have to do that, and then spend all day in the car while we are there).

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usually, reservations begin on 5/1 for the following year. So, here in a few weeks, you can start booking rooms for 2017

hey here is something probably no one expected but the ole swcer loves him some yellostone and teton nps i say do the lamar valley for a whole day that is my favorite part of the park stop at the pullout east of the yellowstone institute near the low end of soda butt creek you can cross the river there and hike up the valley there are two creeks up there that you get to and the view back is flat gorgeous they say that only one percent of the good people that visit ynp ever go more than a hondo yards off a paved surface so i encourage you to be in the one percent bam there is a little knowledge for your brain take that to the bank bromigiosos

SWC said:

hey here is something probably no one expected but the ole swcer loves him some yellostone and teton nps i say do the lamar valley for a whole day that is my favorite part of the park stop at the pullout east of the yellowstone institute near the low end of soda butt creek you can cross the river there and hike up the valley there are two creeks up there that you get to and the view back is flat gorgeous they say that only one percent of the good people that visit ynp ever go more than a hondo yards off a paved surface so i encourage you to be in the one percent bam there is a little knowledge for your brain take that to the bank bromigiosos

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Where do you suggest staying?

i assume you are talking in the park well old faithful is the place you should stay just to say you did and also it is really cool building you want to be in the original lodge and not the newer buildings they put up next to it i also like at the lake village nice housing there those would be my top two in ynp in teton i like jenny lake lodge but you pay for all three of those that i mentioned if you are a camper you should stay at slough creek in the lamar you need to just get there bright and early like 4 and wait in line and hope that you can get a spot the competition is pretty fierce as i recall been a while on that one but up on slough there are some great spots that are right on the river although i understand that some of them actually do not exist now because hey the river moved and they are no more take that to the bank bromigos 

Bull Dozier said:

As much as my wife is going to hate this realization, it looks like our procrastination style is not going to work out for this.  It looks like nothing inside the park is available for our time frame, so we are obviously way to late to start planning this.  More like we should be planning this for summer 2017 and needing to book stuff now for that, or else we are spending half the day in the car (not my goal when we are driving from Minnesota just to get there.  The kids aren't going to like it if we have to do that, and then spend all day in the car while we are there).

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What were you trying to book?  Were you going to go this summer?

I was planning on making the trek from MN in early June (hockey tournament in rapid city one weekend and then going to Yellowstone from there) and haven't booked anything yet, maybe I'm too late!   We were going to tent it so I was assuming I would be good there? Regardless I better get on this.

mozzy84 said:

What were you trying to book?  Were you going to go this summer?

I was planning on making the trek from MN in early June (hockey tournament in rapid city one weekend and then going to Yellowstone from there) and haven't booked anything yet, maybe I'm too late!   We were going to tent it so I was assuming I would be good there? Regardless I better get on this.

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I was looking in April 2016 for June 2016 reservations.  Yes, I would get on your research.  I was looking for a cabin with decent accommodations.  I never looked into tent camping, so I don't know what the lead time is for those.

We 86'd our Yellowstone plans and flew to DC for a long weekend instead.  We no longer have a "road trip" vehicle so Yellowstone is off the table for us for the time being.

So I 'have' to be in Jackson, WY for a week in mid May for work.   

Looking to take the wife with me and head to Jackson on Friday before and spend the weekend playing around before I have to work starting on Monday.  Will have a rental car.  How much of Grand Tetons and Yellowstone can we expect to see from Jackson in 2.5 days?  Should we try to stay in the park over the weekend?  Would that even be possible?

Since we'll be in the town of Jackson all week, I want to see as much outside of the town as possible over the weekend.  

Poke_4_Life said:

So I 'have' to be in Jackson, WY for a week in mid May for work.   

Looking to take the wife with me and head to Jackson on Friday before and spend the weekend playing around before I have to work starting on Monday.  Will have a rental car.  How much of Grand Tetons and Yellowstone can we expect to see from Jackson in 2.5 days?  Should we try to stay in the park over the weekend?  Would that even be possible?

Since we'll be in the town of Jackson all week, I want to see as much outside of the town as possible over the weekend.  

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Reservations that time of year might be doable in the Park.  I would focus on Yellowstone and not worry about the Tetons with that time frame.  And thank you for saying you are going to Jackson without that other word at the end of it.

So wife and I leave for Jackson on Friday morning.  

Decided just to stay in Jackson for the weekend as I have enough points for a free hotel room.  We're going to see Grand Tetons and primarily Mormon Row and the barn Friday, also get provisions and get settled into the hotel.  Then early Saturday we're heading through the Grand Tetons to Yellowstone.  The South Entrance of Yellowstone doesn't even open until Friday, so should be interesting crossing over the pass and heading into the park from the south side.  

I'm pretty excited about the weekend.  We plan to drive most of the Yellowstone in 2 days and also do as many short (<3 mile) hikes as we can.  The weather won't be the greatest, highs in the low 50's and chance of rain everyday but that may keep the crowds down as well.  A lot of the park stuff isn't even going to be open this weekend because of the high snowfall this year, Grant's village isn't open yet and most of the lodges are still closed as well.  Many of the short hiking trails are also closed because they are in bear conservation/preservation areas and won't open for a few more weeks.

Found this buffalo pic on Reddit from a visitor at Yellowstone over the weekend, that was from the car.

Crap, Yellowstone is supposed to get 15-20" of snow Friday-Saturday.  

No idea what kind of rental car we will have a don't really want to haul a bunch of heavy winter gear on a plane.  

May have to spend Saturday in Jackson just  .