Sharon

Planning 10 day trip for third week of August or first week of September. Would Sept. be less crowded?
Itinerary:
Day 1: Fly into Billings and go to Little Big Horn. Stay somewhere?
Day 2: Sheriden, Medicine Wheel, Cody for the evening rodeo. Spend the night in Cody.
Day 3: See museum and Cody sights and
head to Red Lodge via Beartooth Hwy. Spend the night at Red Lodge.
Day 4: See Red Lodge and head for NE park entrance. Spend the night at Roosevelt Lodge
Day 5: See Towers and Canyon area, spend night at Roosevelt Lodge.
Day 6: Do Mommouth Area and work way down to Old Faithful Inn. Spend the night there.
Day 7: see Old Faithful area, spend night
Day 8: See Lake area. Head to Teton's and Signal mtn. for the night
Day 9: See Teton area and on to Jackson Hole
Day 10: See Jackson Hole
Day 11: Fly home from there.
Are we spending too much time in one area and not enough in another? Roosevelt Lodge and Old Faithful Inn good park lodging or should we try Snow Lodge? Yellowstone Hotel too expensive. Where should we stay in Cody, Red Lodge and Jackson and what are must sees?
Not sure about drive time for first 3 days.
Thanks for your help.

travellyn

I think your itenerary looks pretty relaxed overall. It sounds like a nice trip. I'd probaly spend another day in the Tetons instead of exploring Jackson. I can't tell from the itenerary if you'll be staying in Jackson. I'd stay at Signal Mountain 3 days if possible.

You might check on when the rodeo ends in Cody; that might affect the timing of your trip. There is a cowboy chuckwagon dinner and show in Jackson, I think. I loved the Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody. It's worth a few hours.

Connie

You've done some good planning. Be sure to be gassed up and have snacks and water before you head west out of Sheridan to Cody. You won't find any businesses that I can think of.

You will have to take a fairly easy hike to Medicine Wheel. If you can't, ask and they will let you drive fairly close to it.

Laura

We went to Yellowstone last August and loved it! Your itinerary sounds good. We drove the Beartooth Pass and it was stunning -- very scenic with much of the drive above the treeline. If you don't mind rustic accommodations, you'll love the Roosevelt Lodge. We stayed there 3 days in one of their cabins -- nice wood floors, 1-2 beds, a desk and table, "woodsy" decor, and a small stove with complimentary
"sawdust" logs. The stove is tricky -- you can wake up freezing if the fire burns out at 3 or 4 a.m. On the other hand, if you build a huge fire before you go to bed, you'll sweat to death. Linens and towels are provided, and clean bathhouses for men and women are 25-75 feet away, depending on your cabin location. The food in the lodge is surprisingly good and reasonably-priced for Yellowstone. The best part is the lodge's remote location. Get a drink at the bar and relax in one of the many rocking chairs lining the long front porch. Also, if you're interested, there's a nice hike up the hill directly behind the lodge that leads to a small lake. Also offered there are horseback rides (we went and it was slow, but nice) and chuckwagon dinners where they take everyone by wagon to Pleasant Valley and provide a cowboy singer and all-you-can-eat buffet with delicious ribeyes. It's fun if you have kids.

inchy

Make sure you have reservations and confirmation number. Do not try to wing it, especially the closer you get to Yellowstone.
We had a problem like that once. Travelled with family who supposedly had arrangements made, but lost the confirmation number - got lucky to be in the hotel lobby at the time of a cancellation.
Could've been a disaster!

Dave

Sheridan is probably your best bet for lodging between Little Big Horn and Cody, but it's a bit out of your way if you're going to the Medicine Wheel. Billings to Little Big Horn and some time at the battlefield should still get you to Sheridan in early to mid-afternoon. Sheridan has a nice historic downtown - check out the shaddle shop.

As for Day 2:
Once you leave the interstate to head into the Big Horn Mountains on HWY14, there's a great climb up switchbacks - stop at Sand Turn for a great view of the Powder River Basin (and maybe some hang-gliders if you're lucky).

Just beyond is Fallen City, a jumble of boulders on the mountainside across the valley.

Eventually, as you get close to the top, you'll see Steamboat Rock - very distinctive.

There's a clean, new rest area and visitor's center at Burgess Junction, just beyond which you'll take the turnoff for US14A - the Medicine Wheel Scenic Byway.

Watch for moose (and sheep) along US14A. This is one of my favorite stretches of highway - like driving on top of the world at 65mph.

The drive up to the Medicine Wheel parking lot is a narrow gravel road - passable for passenger cars - watch for the radome on top of Bald Mountain.

Unless you have disabled plates, you'll have to park and walk about 1.5miles to the actual site. The path is smooth and views are great, but it's at 10,000 feet so take some water and take your time since you won't be acclimated yet.

After you return to US14A, the descent into the Bighorn Basin is one of the steepest, windingest paved roads you'll ever experience. Lots of fun and great views.

Just NE of Lovell is the Bighorn Canyon NRA. If you have time, consider driving up to Devil's Canyon Overlook. The canyon at this point is about 1000ft down, and quite a sight. You may also see wild mustangs along the road - this is part of the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse range.

The Bighorn Mountains are one of my favorite parts of the West. I have some photos of this area at "http://pages.prodigy.net/drsawyers" under "Rocky Mountains"

(Also, just a note: the Beartooth Highway is between Red Lodge and Y'Stone, not between RL and Cody.)

Sharon

Thanks everyone for your great responses. We will have reservations made in advance. Laura - glad to hear about Roosevelt. Sound like a fun place to stay and a hike to the lake sounds good. Will check out the chuckwagon dinners too. Dave - Really appreciate all the things to stop and see enroute days 1-3. These are the extras that usually make a vacation memorable.If we spend the first night in Sheridan could we get by without reservations and do you have any recommendations? Could not open your web page to see pictures.

Connie

Yes, the Beartooth is between Red Lodge and Yellowstone's northeast entrance but nearly all of the fabulous scenery is between Red Lodge and the turn off to Cody.

Dave

Sharon,

Sheridan has a fair number of motels for a town of its size, so at that time of year reservations might not be necessary. I prefer camping so I've only stayed in Sheridan once, several years ago. Expedia lists a Comfort Inn, Holiday Inn, Super 8, Days Inn, Best Western ...

An alternative would be to stay at Bear Lodge which is located up in the Bighorn Mountains at Burgess Junction, where US14Alt branches off from US14 (www.bearlodgeresort.com). This would avoid detouring to Sheridan, since Bear Lodge is right on your route to the Medicine Wheel. If you want to stay here, I would recommend reservations since there aren't many other options nearby.

This place is big with hunters and snowmobilers, so don't expect 4-star luxury. I've only stayed in their (primitive) cabins, but the Lodge itself seemed to have been recently renovated when I was there in 2001. Also, whether you stay there or not, there is a decent little restaurant, saloon, and a gas pump in the lodge.

Arrowhead Lodge is another option, just east of Burgess Junction, but I've only driven past, so have no first-hand info.

Dave

PS: My photo website seems to be working ok; note that the address doesn't include "www".

sharon

Dave - thanks for more info on hotels/lodges. Did think Beartooth was Cody-Red Lodge, so knowing it's RL-YS will help in planning. Web site pictures are great, can't wait to go. Checked out GCanyon also as we were there 10/01. We also did Mounument Valley and Canyon d'chelley which ended up being the highlight of our trip. May have more questions later.