Donna19

My friend and I are planning to visit GT and YNP in August. We want to choose one resort/spa and stay there for 5 nights and travel from that resort to YNP and GT. (We do not want to move around in terms of our lodging) We are debating between Snake River Lodge and Spring Creek Ranch. Any opinions - in particular about the ease (and distance) of getting from each of these resorts to YNP and to GT? Any other opinions/suggestions are welcome! Thank you! Donna

Ike

I spent 3 nights at Snake River Lodge. It is very nice. I would prefer it over Spring Creek Ranch. We visited the ranch but did not stay there. If I went back though I would stay at Four Season Jackson Hole.

http://www.fourseasons.com/jacksonhole/

We walked in and looked around. I never stayed at a bad FS's. Youi can tour Yellowstone easily from Jackson. Also GT is just outside the city. I spent a couple of nights at Jenny Lake Lodge before we moved to Snake River Lodge. I was not impressed with the accomodations but the restaurant was really great. I would recommend it.

http://www.gtlc.com/lodgeJen.aspx

A better place IMO is in town. It's
Rusty Parrot Lodge. Check it out. I think it's the best place in the area.

http://www.rustyparrot.com/

Dayle

Hi Donna,

I must strongly disagree with Ike. From Jackson to the south entrance of Yellowstone is over an hour's drive. From there just to Old Faithful is another hour. All the other areas of Yellowstone will be much further. Do you really want to spend a minimum of 4 hours a day just driving to Yellowstone and back to your "resort"?

I would recommend spending 2 nights (max) in Jackson at one of your choices, and 3 nights in Yellowstone, or as close as you can get at this point. Lodging within the park fills about a year in advance. Keep trying for a cancellation.

Otherwise West Yellowstone outside the park would be your best bet.

Happy planning!

HowardR

I totally agree with Dayle about the impracticality of making daily drives from Jackson to Yellowstone.
While there is an advantage to staying in one place for 5 nights, I think the disadvantage of the travel distance outweighs that.

cd

I also agree with Dayle and Howard. You would spend so much of your valuable time in your car. We stayed two days in the Tetons, two days at Old Faithful Inn and two days at Canyon and found our driving to be at a mimimum.

RedRock

If you try to take in the Yellowstone experience from the Jackson area I hope you enjoy your drive. You will be driving the same road each day on a 2-3 hour commute. I don't believe you realize just how vast the distances are in that area of the country. In addition its slow going as well due to the mountain roads, traffic not to mention the lumbersome RV's. Its been mentioned that it is a good hours drive just to get to the south toll booth.

http://www.nps.gov/archive/yell/inte...emap/index.htm

wtm003

I agree with Dayle, Howard, cd and Red Rock. If you really want to see Yellowstone, you need to stay in the park (or very close) for part of your trip. On our last trip we spent two nights in GT and four nights in YNP and we still did quite a bit of driving each day.

I guess if you are going mainly for the lodge/spa experience, I think there are day long bus tours leaving from Jackson and GTNP that give you a taste of Yellowstone. Personally, these don't interest me, but maybe it is something that you might enjoy.

Ike

Dayle, Howard and CD....Here's Donna's question........

"We want to choose one resort/spa and stay there for 5 nights and travel from that resort to YNP and GT. (We do not want to move around in terms of our lodging)"

I simply replied to her question. She did not indicate she wanted to visit GT and YS every day which would be impractical driving for an hour/two each day each way. I went to Jackson for rest, food, good wine and good company. If you have ever been to a National Park once like GT or YS you have just about seen them all. One trip to OF is enough and I certainly would not base my trip out of OF Lodge. I don't know about Donna but she mentioned SRL and SCR of which both are very fine resorts. I assume she's going for good food, fun and good company also. She could certainly visit GT from Jackson each day without any driving strain and one day in YS should just about take care of anyone's NP desires. Of course there are some that like NP's and would rather stay there for the duration. Not me and I don't think it sounds like Donna either based on her question as worded. I thought it was always best to answer someone's question just as they stated it.

dfr4848

We've stayed at both Jenny Lake Lodge and Jackson Lake Lodge and used them as bases for GT and YNP and found them both very workable. Of the two, we much preferred Jenny Lake (but liked its more isolated and peaceful setting, and as mentioned above its restaurant was outstanding). Our accommodations and experience there left little to be desired, but we may have been lucky.

cd

Ike
Of course you are right about answering a poster's question and staying with the subject. However, I think we would be remiss in not telling of the distance in case she does not know. I know I was surprised at the vastness when we were there. And she did include that she would welcome opinions/suggestions.

wtm003

<<...and one day in YS should just about take care of anyone's NP desires.>>

I guess if anyone thinks Yellowstone is only about Old Faithful. Honestly, I don't know how it is possible to see Yellowstone in one day.

HowardR

Ike, the OP asked about "the ease (and distance) of getting from each of these resorts to YNP and to GT." Please tell us how we can offer meaningful answers to that question unless we tell her how long a drive she would have and how she could avoid it by staying closer?
I, too, will question Ike's comment about "...one day in YS should just about take care of anyone's NP desires."
Please, please, speak for yourself and not anyone else! We've been to both Yellowstone and the Teton twice and can't wait for trip #3!

marksfour

We spent 3 nights at Jackson Lake Lodge and then 3 nights at Jenny Lake Lodge and loved both. Jenny Lake was a nice way to enjoy the surroundings in more laid back manner. After seeing all of Yellowstone for several days in the car w/ the kids, we all welcomed the days at Jenny Lake to ride bikes and ride horses, fish and hike. We did however run into a bear across the street from the lodge down by the river. The workers at Jenny Lake told us it is a bear corridor linking String Lake to the larger lake.