Yellowstone / Grand Tetons

So, just a trivia question . . . I don't know the answer. Does any other US national park have a commercial airport inside its boundries?
 
So, just a trivia question . . . I don't know the answer. Does any other US national park have a commercial airport inside its boundries?

Provincetown, MA Airport is located inside the boundaries of Cape Cod NP and Seashore. They are the only two.

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OK, so next question - I read somewhere that we should bring binoculars for viewing the wildlife from afar, way afar, lol. So DH looked some up on Amazon and he said the ones that got good reviews are almost $400 :scared1:! Seriously, how important are binoculars? Important enough to drop $400? I said there's got to be some that are less but not "cheap". I guess we have a year to save up and look, :rotfl:
 
Uh, more questions about flight and itineraries.... So if we go by price, it looks like Salt Lake is the winner. Also, there are direct flights from NYC, so that is good. All the other airports would require at least one connecting flights so if we have a choice of spending time on layovers or driving from Salt Lake to Jackson Hole, I think driving will probably win. So, if we drive to Jackson, spend 2 nights there, then spend a day at Jenny Lake, and the night at Signal Mountain, can we make it to Old Faithful the next day, or is that too much to drive in one day? I think we want to stay 2 nights each at Old Faithful, Mammoth, then Canyon, then head back for a night at Jackson Hole before returning to Salt Lake. That makes 10 nights... YIKES! Can we do one night at Mammoth? Is this itinerary doable? I stink at judging distances on maps, TIA!
 


Jackson to Signal Mt Lodge is 25-30 miles, from Signal Mt. Lodge to the YNP gate is another 25-30 miles. Old Faithful is a bit of a drive from the gate, but it isn't much more than another 25-30 miles. It's easy enough to go from Jackson to OF, with sightseeing stops, in one day.

ETA, I would consider staying in Jackson but spending my time touring the area including more time in GTNP. But whatever you do, you can't go wrong.
 
OK, so next question - I read somewhere that we should bring binoculars for viewing the wildlife from afar, way afar, lol. So DH looked some up on Amazon and he said the ones that got good reviews are almost $400 :scared1:! Seriously, how important are binoculars? Important enough to drop $400? I said there's got to be some that are less but not "cheap". I guess we have a year to save up and look, :rotfl:

Binoculars on a Yellowstone Trip don't have to be the best - they just have to give you good, clear maginification for viewing wildlife. And you WILL want a set. Sometimes you are looking at animals 200-500 yards away. If you get a chance to see grizzlies or wolves, it will most likely be at a good distance. I have this compact set of Tasco 8x21 binoculars. They have a little soft belt case. I use them hunting because they are very light, are water resistant - and inexpensive $15. I also don't care if I lose them or break them (But these have held up well for 5 years).

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=211117492&listingid=45083804&dcaid=17902

For stronger magnification , go to a 10x50 set. For viewing very close-up I don't use binoculars, but a spotting scope. You can get a good one for less than $100.
 
Also, there are many people that go to Yellowstone to watch wildlife and take their scopes. From what I have read and heard, if you happen to be driving and see a bunch of people by the side of the road, chances are they are watching some wildlife. If you stop and ask, most people will let you look through their scopes.
 


Also, there are many people that go to Yellowstone to watch wildlife and take their scopes. From what I have read and heard, if you happen to be driving and see a bunch of people by the side of the road, chances are they are watching some wildlife. If you stop and ask, most people will let you look through their scopes.

ITA! We have both scopes and binocculars since we're birders, but you know how often we used our scope in Yellowstone? Not at all! That's because it was quicker and easier to look through the one of many that were already set up than haul ours out. As far as binoccular prices, check Eagle Optics. My last pair of binocculars before I got these at a birding festival were good ones, about $150. Since we've researched binocculars a lot over the years, let me know if you have any more questions.
 
OK, we've made our itinerary for late July 2010:

Fly into Salt Lake City (direct flight)
Drive to Signal Mountain
One full day in the Tetons (Jenny Lake, etc.)
Second night at Signal Mountain
Drive to Old Faithfull Inn (we got a room with a bathroom - yay!)
Dinner reservation at the OFI dining room (first night)
2 nights at OFI
Drive to Mammoth - we got a cabin there for 2 nights
Drive to Lake Yellowstone Hotel - we got a room in the hotel there for 2 nights, and dinner at the dining room the first night
Drive to Jackson Hole for one night
Drive to Salt Lake City for direct flight home

9 nights!

I have not yet made the Signal Mountain hotel reservation yet, or Jackson Hole. Can anyone make a recommendation for a hotel in Jackson Hole? I looked at Trip Advisor briefly but there are like 40 to choose from - yikes!

Should we do the chuckwagon dinner at Roosevelt or the Bar J chuckwagon in Jackson Hole? Or both?

TIA
 
OK, we've made our itinerary for late July 2010:

Fly into Salt Lake City (direct flight)
Drive to Signal Mountain
One full day in the Tetons (Jenny Lake, etc.)
Second night at Signal Mountain
Drive to Old Faithfull Inn (we got a room with a bathroom - yay!)
Dinner reservation at the OFI dining room (first night)
2 nights at OFI
Drive to Mammoth - we got a cabin there for 2 nights
Drive to Lake Yellowstone Hotel - we got a room in the hotel there for 2 nights, and dinner at the dining room the first night
Drive to Jackson Hole for one night
Drive to Salt Lake City for direct flight home

9 nights!

I have not yet made the Signal Mountain hotel reservation yet, or Jackson Hole. Can anyone make a recommendation for a hotel in Jackson Hole? I looked at Trip Advisor briefly but there are like 40 to choose from - yikes!


TIA

Regarding Jackson hotels, I can help with 2. In 2007, we stayed at Cowboy Village. I loved the cabins, but DH wasn't as impressed. Our cabin had bunks, he got the top and he felt too close to the ceiling (but he didn't want me climbing the ladder because I'm a klutz)-

DSCF0656.jpg


But the cabins and views from them were great-

DSCF0659.jpg


Last year we stayed at Angler's Inn. No pictures and no recommendation. The only good thing was that it was within walking distance of the Bunnery Bakery. Otherwise, chintzy hotel with thin towels.

This year we stayed at the Mammoth Cabins and loved them. Our next door neighbors one night had stayed in cabins at 4 different locations at Yellowstone and these were their favorites. No coffee maker, but we quickly learned that it was a short walk to the main lobby for morning coffee. And the views were awesome-sorry this picture doesn't do it any justice!

PICT0182.jpg


PICT0180.jpg
 
OK, we've made our itinerary for late July 2010:

Fly into Salt Lake City (direct flight)
Drive to Signal Mountain
One full day in the Tetons (Jenny Lake, etc.)
Second night at Signal Mountain
Drive to Old Faithfull Inn (we got a room with a bathroom - yay!)
Dinner reservation at the OFI dining room (first night)
2 nights at OFI
Drive to Mammoth - we got a cabin there for 2 nights
Drive to Lake Yellowstone Hotel - we got a room in the hotel there for 2 nights, and dinner at the dining room the first night
Drive to Jackson Hole for one night
Drive to Salt Lake City for direct flight home
Sounds great - the Yellowstone portion is very similar to the trip we did last year - two nights at Mammoth, two nights at Lake Yellowstone, and three nights at OFI. The restaurants at Old Faithful Inn and the Lake Yellowstone Hotel are very good - make sure you get reservations as soon as you can otherwise you'll end up eating at 9:00 at night! If you don't eat at the restaurant at the Lake Yellowstone Hotel then you'll have to drive (or walk about a mile) to the cafeteria-type place at the Lake Yellowstone Lodge. The food was pretty good there, though. Also pretty good at the Old Faithful Lodge cafeteria, but the counter service place at the Snow Lodge was not very good, and neither was the counter service place at Mammoth. For breakfast we liked the little diner place that was inside the Hamilton Store - about a five minute walk from Old Faithful Inn.
 
OK, so next up is the flights. How soon should we book them? As soon as the airlines' schedules open up or should I try to wait for a better price later in the year?
 
OK, we've made our itinerary for late July 2010:

Fly into Salt Lake City (direct flight)
Drive to Signal Mountain
One full day in the Tetons (Jenny Lake, etc.)
Second night at Signal Mountain
Drive to Old Faithfull Inn (we got a room with a bathroom - yay!)
Dinner reservation at the OFI dining room (first night)
2 nights at OFI
Drive to Mammoth - we got a cabin there for 2 nights
Drive to Lake Yellowstone Hotel - we got a room in the hotel there for 2 nights, and dinner at the dining room the first night
Drive to Jackson Hole for one night
Drive to Salt Lake City for direct flight home

9 nights!

I have not yet made the Signal Mountain hotel reservation yet, or Jackson Hole. Can anyone make a recommendation for a hotel in Jackson Hole? I looked at Trip Advisor briefly but there are like 40 to choose from - yikes!

Should we do the chuckwagon dinner at Roosevelt or the Bar J chuckwagon in Jackson Hole? Or both?

TIA

Your itinerary looks very similar to ours. We are also flying directly into Salt Lake City. We are spending 1 night in Jackson, 2 nights in the Grand Tetons and 4 nights in Yellowstone (2 at the Canyon Cabins and 2 at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge Cabins) and then another night in Salt Lake City.

For binoculars, you might want to check out the Bass Pro Shop. Their "house" brand gets good reviews and is very reasonably priced.
 
OK, so next up is the flights. How soon should we book them? As soon as the airlines' schedules open up or should I try to wait for a better price later in the year?
For our trip last year (August 29-Sept 6) I booked our airfare in late April - the fares had been higher before that, and they went higher after that, so I seem to have picked the right time to book. I would recommend that you look at what the fares are currently to get an idea of how much it might be, and then just keep an eye on them.
 
We are also planning a trip to Yellowstone/Grand Tetons in June of next year. We are planning on flying into Salt Lake City and renting a car. It is about a 5 hour drive to Jackson where we plan to spend one night there. We are then planning on 2 nights in the Tetons and 3 nights in Yellowstone at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge. I already have my reservations there.

If you know which nights you plan on being in the park, I would make my reservations now. You can reserve a night or two extra just in case and always tweak them once you know your flights. Xanterra requires one night's deposit when making your reservations in Yellowstone.

We are going June 2010 as well... What are your exact dates? We are planning to be YNP/GTNP 6/19 - 6/28/2010. We have our YNP reservations (Snow Lodge, Mammoth Lodge and Canyon Lodge) but we are having a hard time deciding whether to spend 2 nights in Jackson or 2 nights in GTNP...
 
We are going June 2010 as well... What are your exact dates? We are planning to be YNP/GTNP 6/19 - 6/28/2010. We have our YNP reservations (Snow Lodge, Mammoth Lodge and Canyon Lodge) but we are having a hard time deciding whether to spend 2 nights in Jackson or 2 nights in GTNP...

Hi,

We are actually going earlier in June, so I guess we'll miss you. We have changed our plans slightly in that now, in addition to our 2 nights at GTNP, we are spending 2 nights at Canyon and 2 nights at Snow Lodge.

We haven't made any dinner reservations yet, but we are interested in the Roosevelt Cook Out.
 
We are going to the 18th to the 26th, considering taking off two nights at the end however. At this point we are doing the Yellowstone for Families package at Mammouth for four nights and then moving to Canyon for two and possibly Old Faithful. We are booked and have been for a few months.
 
You are right it seems like I am struggling trying to decide where to stay in Jackson or if we should stay in GTNP... I am leaning towards Jackson for 2 nights since we might need a break after being in YNP for 8 nights...

The 2 places in Jackson that I like are The Trapper Inn and Rustic Inn, in the new cabins... they are both more expensive than I would like but I figure since it is only for a couple of nights...

If we decide on staying in GTNP, we will stay at Jackson Lake Lodge, I think...

We are not sure where we are flying into/out of yet. Originally throught SLC but after I started comparing airfare, it was only about 75 more to fly into Jackson but we are also considering flying into Billings and taking the Beartooth HWY drive down to YNP and then returning via Jackson... Lots to consider.

Also I have been using Fodors.com forums, and they are very helpful there.

Happy planning,

Beth
 
The "water park" might have been the town of Thermopolis which is not far from Yellowstone. Thermopolis is famous for their hot springs and has a water park. They also have a rather famous dinosaur museum and dig site, so it's worth a day trip for those two items if you have time. -- Southeast of Yellowstone If you are flying into Denver or Casper, Thermopolis is going to be on your way to Yellowstone.
 
We stayed at Jackson Lake Lodge a few years ago, in one of the non-view "cabins." It was sooooooo gorgeous there that I was glad we didn't stay in Jackson proper. Mountains, blue sky, mama and baby moose, amazing wildflowers....

That trip we flew into SLC, did some SLC area stuff (I lived there in grade school), drove up to Yellowstone (had to stay in W. Yellowstone instead of in the parks as that was the year that the Old Faithful Lodge was being renovated) for a few days, then a few days in/around GTNP, across endless Wyoming to Colorado Springs, Arches NP in Utah, Mesa Verde NP, Petrified Forest NP, then a few days at Grand Canyon before flying home from Phoenix. I'd love to go back :)
 

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