Yellowstone

mustangla

Earning My Ears
Joined
Aug 14, 2013
Yellowstone
Recommendations on places to stay?
Going for one week. Would you stay in more than one location?
Anything advice recommendations in general?
thanks
 
The park is huge . . . Stay in two or three places. If you can get ressie's inside the park great! We stayed in Old Faithful area, Lake and Mammoth. Do you driving sightseeing on move days and do your walks/hikes on the "stay" days.
 
The park is huge . . . Stay in two or three places. If you can get ressie's inside the park great! We stayed in Old Faithful area, Lake and Mammoth. Do you driving sightseeing on move days and do your walks/hikes on the "stay" days.

:thumbsup2
 
I hope you're spending part of the time in Jackson, WY as well, and stay at Jenny's Lake Lodge. (Unless you're on a budget, then never mind!)

In addition to hotels in the park, check out West Yellowstone.
 


We spent a wonderful week in Yellowstone a few years ago. The link to my trip report is in my siggie. We stayed in the both Grand Teton (Jackson Lake Lodge) and Yellowstone (Canyon and Old Faithful) and moved around every couple of nights. It is best to reserve in-park accommodations a year out.

I would also recommend the Yellowstone discussion forum, it was very informational: http://forums.yellowstone.net/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=192

Yellowstone is magnificent. You'll have a great time.
 
What do you mean by move days and stay days?

Yellowstone is a huge park. It is not very convenient to stay in one place and go back and forth to the various parts of the park. It is set up in a huge figure 8 with a major visitor centers and accommodations set up at various parts of the park.

We stayed 2 nights at 2 different locations in Yellowstone and then toured the areas around where we stayed. Then we moved to the next place and did the same thing.

Stay days would be the days that you are not moving hotels and move days would be when you move to your next hotel.
 


tent camp at the tetons at the lake jenny (i think thats what it is called) tent only site! we did that a few years ago. drove to yellowstone each day. it was amazing. my DD said it was better than disney. the wildlife was unreal
 
The geysers are smelly like rotten eggs.:sick: It smells like a volcano when you could the boardwalk to see the geysers and take some bug repellent in some areas. Stay on the boardwalk because of thin surface and in different areas where it has heated water underground.
 
tent camp at the tetons at the lake jenny (i think thats what it is called) tent only site! we did that a few years ago. drove to yellowstone each day. it was amazing. my DD said it was better than disney. the wildlife was unreal

That's a lot of driving everyday . . .
 
I love staying in west Yellowstone And drivin in. (Montana girl here). Hubby and I also stayed at a KOA in Livingston for our honeymoon in 2007. The camping cabins are great! I don't mind the drive because everything in Montana is a drive anyways.
 
I've been to Yellowstone twice. The first trip was in mid-September and we camped in the park in a pop-up camper. The second trip was in early August and we stayed in an RV park in West Yellowstone, MT in an RV trailer. Both places were good - just different. Camping in Yellowstone itself was more of a "camping" experience, and staying in the RV park we had more amenities.

I definitely recommend going in the "shoulder" seasons (spring or fall) to avoid the summer crowds if you can. It was so packed on our Aug trip that we often had a hard time finding a place to park to get out and do the hikes to see everything. There were several times that we wanted to stop, but the parking lots were a mess with people parking in no-parking zones and all kinds of craziness. Crowds were horrible.

September was much nicer - fewer people, and we saw a lot more wildlife. The August trip we saw 3 bison, maybe a dozen elk, a bald eagle, and a few chipmunks. On the September trip we saw more bison, elk and deer than we could count.

Either way, it's a lot of driving and a lot of walking to see everything. It's amazing and beautiful, but be prepared for a lot of travel to get from one area to another.
 
Recommendations on places to stay? - We went for a week and split our stay between Signal Mountain Lodge at the Grand Teton National Park & the Old Faithful Inn at Yellowstone. Signal Mtn Lodge was really quaint and is right on the water facing the Tetons. To see the sunrise & sunset with the Tetons was incredible!! The Old Faithful Inn was like walking up to and into the Wilderness Lodge! AMAZING!!! Be aware though that not all of the rooms have bathrooms attached. Those that don't have a bathroom, there is a community one at the end of the halls.

Going for one week. Would you stay in more than one location? We spent a few days at the Tetons and the remainder in Yellowstone. This gave us time to enjoy both at a relaxing pace. We also went the first week of October, so there was nothing like the heavy crowds during the summer. We saw so many animals!

Anything advice recommendations in general? - At the Tetons, we spent time walking around the bases, as well as going out to Mormon Row and getting some incredible pictures. In Yellowstone, we hot 3 of the 4 entrances (one was already closed) and spent plenty of time visiting all of the springs, giesers, paint pots, and animals. The bison are beautiful, especially early in the morning. We also made sure to get to the Roosevelt Arch in Montana. It's a site to see. There are also many waterfalls to see too. Don't forget to see "the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone."

One other suggestion. Please DO NOT get out of your vehicle to get a closer shot of the bears, moose or elk. Can't tell you how many silly people were getting way too close to the black & brown bears that we saw. Also, the Elk take over Mammoth Springs during that time and the male elk are looking for the females and can be incredibly aggressive. Those poor rangers were constantly yelling at people to get back.

Frommer's Guide to Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks guide was great and we used it quite often. Everything we did was free. Let me know if you have any questions or would like to see some pictures of the lodges.
 
I'm not sure when you are going, but we loved staying at the Old Faithful Inn. I know they book up far in advance for the summer, but we were lucky and got a cancellation.

We also stayed at Curry Village in a regular cabin. Staying in two different locations in the park allowed us to experience more without doing toomuch driving (but like others said, it's a huge park, so we were in our car more than we thought we would.

Hope you have a good trip!
 
We went to Yellowstone and Grand Teton in June 2011. It was a perfect time of year to go! The crowds were not bad yet. There was still snow, especially in the higher elevations. That kept the wildlife down lower. We saw brown bears, black bears, hundreds of bison, coyotes, elk, and bighorn sheep. We saw moose in GTNP. There were a lot of babies too!

We stayed 2 nights at Old Faithful Inn. It felt so much like the Wilderness Lodge, except for bison walking across the parking lot while we ate in the dining room! We then stayed 2 nights at Lake Yellowstone Hotel. The food there was great, and the common room/lobby was nice. However, we were sorely disappointed in the room. Not just the size, but the disrepair. The wallpaper was peeling; the carpet was stained; the beds looked like they were about to fall apart. We should've booked one of the little yellow cabins or stayed in the annex for less than half the price! Our last night in YNP, we stayed in a little cabin at Roosevelt Lodge. We did the cowboy cookout. This was a perfect location for accessing Lamar Valley.

In GTNP, we stayed 2 night at Jackson Lake Lodge. Amazing!! We loved it. Definitely get a room with a view there. We stayed in a cabin instead of the main lodge. We had a balcony with an amazing view.

Ahhhh. Reminiscing and writing this makes me want to go back!! Enjoy your trip!
 
last June (3rd week) we stayed 3 nights in Grand Teton tent cabins :cool1:
2 nights in Old Faithful Cabins (basic) LOVED THESE MORE THAN WORDS CAN SAY:cool1:
1 night at Mammoth hotel (hot,and hot)
3 nights at Canyon cabins (these were pretty ok,nice hiking):cool1:
And one night in w. Yellowstone on our way back out, so we started in the south, thru Tetons, drove north,and headed counterclockwise,touring and hiking near where we were staying. All I can say is I WANT TO GO BACK!!!!! we all agreed the budget Old Faithful
 
oops...forgot to finish...:rotfl: we all agreed that our time in the O.F. budget cabins were THE BEST VACATION SPOT EVER. I think it was about 72.00 per night, bathroom was down the street(think camping cabins) but we were right near the river:thumbsup2 wandering bison:thumbsup2 the big hotel cafeteria:thumbsup2 and OldFaithful going off every 93 minutes:thumbsup2 We enjoyed seeing al the rest of the place,it was incredible, but these cabins were PERFECT.
Mammoth is just as described, don't plan on more than a few hours seeing this,at best. (no,it's true) we had spent the day driving up/sightseeing,then walked around at Mammoth,had a nice dinner,and stayed in the hotel on our way counterclockwise around the big loop drive, but the actual sites are fairly minimal in this section.
The next day we drove thru Tower (ack,construction!) and down to Canyon,which is a vibrant area with too much to see in a few days!
None of our rooms/tents/cabins had tv,or even 3g service, that was fine with us. I want to go back someday!
Also we had nice weather in mid-late June,between 35- 90 degrees, depending on the place,and time of day. But sunny,and while there were plenty of people, no overcrowding like I'd read about other times of year...
 
also wanted to add...if you can stand 'roughing it' a little bit (we tent camp all the time anyway) you can find some excelent choices right within the parks, and it is SO worth staying right there! You feel like you are in a different world.....
 
Yellowstone
Recommendations on places to stay?
Going for one week. Would you stay in more than one location?
Anything advice recommendations in general?
thanks

You've gotten some great advice.

On our last trip we flew into Bozeman, stayed at Mammoth, then at Canyon, and then at Old Faithful Inn.

I usually like to stay in one place the whole time on vacation, but Yellowstone is so vast and huge, I make an exception for that. One stay I stayed in West Yellowstone and it was just soo much driving. This time even with no back tracking and staying at three locations, it was much better, but still quite a bit of driving. Stay multiple places to spend more time out vs. in your car.

At Canyon we camped. It was a lot of work. Due to not wanting bears to ever smell anything and associate people with food, unless you are preparing meals you need to keep all food in your car or in a bear box (extra work on top of everything you already have to do.) // It gets cold at night. We were there in August. It was in the mid to upper 70s during the day, but burr got into the low 30s at night. (Cold for me in a tent. Fine for me in a lodge.) // The roads and short tourist boardwalks, etc. are really busy in the summer. Although just go on a hike and you won't see many people at all. I would have liked lighter crowds, but am tied to the school schedule. Ranger programs are great and well worth doing if they fit in with your schedule and where you are going to be. And they are free -- or should I say paid for by our tax dollars.
 
You've gotten some great advice.

On our last trip we flew into Bozeman, stayed at Mammoth, then at Canyon, and then at Old Faithful Inn.

I usually like to stay in one place the whole time on vacation, but Yellowstone is so vast and huge, I make an exception for that. One stay I stayed in West Yellowstone and it was just soo much driving. This time even with no back tracking and staying at three locations, it was much better, but still quite a bit of driving. Stay multiple places to spend more time out vs. in your car.

At Canyon we camped. It was a lot of work. Due to not wanting bears to ever smell anything and associate people with food, unless you are preparing meals you need to keep all food in your car or in a bear box (extra work on top of everything you already have to do.) // It gets cold at night. We were there in August. It was in the mid to upper 70s during the day, but burr got into the low 30s at night. (Cold for me in a tent. Fine for me in a lodge.) // The roads and short tourist boardwalks, etc. are really busy in the summer. Although just go on a hike and you won't see many people at all. I would have liked lighter crowds, but am tied to the school schedule. Ranger programs are great and well worth doing if they fit in with your schedule and where you are going to be. And they are free -- or should I say paid for by our tax dollars.
It freaked me out a few years back on a visit to the area because they didn't universally have bear boxes. When I was looking into camping or tent cabins, I was told it was perfectly acceptable to store food in the trunk of a car. I'm used to visiting parts of the Sierra Nevada where bears are notorious for breaking into cars. Heck - I remember visiting the PNW in areas with bears, and was told that it was perfectly acceptable to just store stuff locked in the car. Apparently they had no worries about bears - just squirrels or birds. At one campground our neighbor didn't feel like packing everything back in the car and left it on their site's picnic table. In the morning that table was surrounded by birds looking for a way into their cooler and other containers.

In our neck of the woods, bears have learned how to peel back door frames with the claws until the window shatters and they can climb in. If you've seen video, they're actually quite agile. They might also look bigger than they are because it's a lot of fur.

bear+in+car.jpg


http://www.backpacker.com/ask-a-bear-destroy-can/survival/15498

Q: While in Lake Tahoe, I woke up at 5:30 or so to my minivan's hazard lights flashing. After rallying the troops out the door, we were greeted with one big black bear crawling out the driver side window with two little ones in tow. There were two other vehicles explored in the drive way, but their doors were unlocked and therefore not pawed open Why in the hell did you have to destroy my minivan?? Eryka Thorley, via email

A: Let's take a look at the damage:

bearvan1.jpg


bearvan2.jpg


bearvan3.jpg


Eep. Sorry about that, Eryka. The fact is, in certain places (California, especially) I've learned to associate minivans with food. While it's true that if you left your car unlocked, I probably would've left without causing more damage, that's not really an practical solution, for obvious reasons.

If you plan to park your car overnight in places that have a history of vehicular bear break-ins, the only real preventative measure is to leave your car in civilization and get a ride to the trailhead. That's often not an option, so unless you've got a clunker with nothing to steal, you'll just be taking a chance. Try and find alternate trailheads with less bear activity, and never, ever leave food out in the car. (If you've got too much food to pack, store it in the trunk.)

Even after taking these preventative measures, it's still possible I could go grand theft auto on your minivan. What can I say? I'm smarter (and stronger) than your average thief.

BEAR
 

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