bcala

What parts of the Yellowstone figure 8 would you enjoy driving more than once? Any that you could skip altogether? Our hurried schedule and road closures are going to cause us to skip some areas and backtrack in others. We are already planning to see as much of the lower loop as possible, but
will only drive the section from Mammoth to Norris on the upper loop. We're interested in areas you can see from the car with minimal walking.
Thanks!

Connie

How long will you be in Yellowstone and what is your starting point?

If you're not there long, I'd skip the drive to Mammoth and just do the lower loop.

You are going to have to do a little walking to see most everything in Yellowstone. The good thing is most are accessible by boardwalks or sidewalks.

utahtea

If you are going this year, you can't do the figure 8. A section of road between the Canyon and Tower are closed for road reconstruction.


http://www.nps.gov/yell/planvisit/or...l/roadclos.htm

Utahtea

utahtea

oops, didn't completely read your post before posting.

You will see most of what there is to see in the lower loop with a side trip to Mammoth.

Utahtea

bcala

We're approaching from Butte Montana and decided that the drive through Paradise Valley and Gardiner to Mammoth would be pretty. We're staying in Gardiner (unless I change my mind). We have two nights scheduled in the Old Faithful and Canyon areas before heading toward Jackson. It looks like we will have to backtrack through Hayden Valley and will need to skip either the area between Old Faithful and West Thumb, or the area between Lake Village and West Thumb (is this confusing enough?). We're traveling with parents and are trying not to pressure them too terribly much with driving or hiking (3 of us may do some evening or early morning hiking in the the areas we're lodging in). Thanks for the replies!

Connie

IMO, the drive from Bozeman to West Yellowstone through the Gallatin Canyon is a prettier drive than Paradise Valley. I also like W.Y. better than Gardiner.

If you come in from the north, I'd drive south to Old Faithful through Madison. Then I'd go over to Canyon by way of the lake.

You may miss the center of the 8 or you could drive over and back, one day.

Then I'd drive back by the lake (not a bad piece of scenery to see twice) and then south to Jackson.

The lake area is the prettiest part of the park, IMO. I'd skip other parts when planning your route.

bcala

Thanks for the itinerary. I copied it to my trip list. Any ideas on how long it would take to get from Canyon to the south entrance? It appears that there will be some road construction delay beween Canyon and Lake.

obxgirl

Ten days ago that delay between Canyon and Lake was about 20-25 minutes each way.

utahtea

Hayden Valley is an excellent place to spot wildlife!

Utahtea

bcala

Thanks so much for all of the help!

Chatters

We just returned from Yellowstone and found the bears pretty active alongside the stretch Fishing Bridge-East Entrance! My absolute favorite stretch though is Northeast Entrance-Tower. Love, love, love the Lamar Valley and was blessed to see quite a bit a wildlife on that stretch. We stayed in Cooke City, MT (northeast entrance)-- the Alpine Motel with clean, comfortable, huge rooms at $70/night is a great deal and we get to do our favorite route early in the AM, which is when the wildlife starts getting active. Least favorite stretch is Old Faithful-West Thumb-Lake Village. The Beartooth Highway is open; huge warning is ONE SCARY DRIVE (IMHO). There are countless picture-perfect scenery--- Twin Lakes pullout offers an opportunity to stare at a majestic sight. We stayed one night at the Snow Lodge-- beautiful, but I do not recommend it whatsoever; we heard our neighbors (upper floor and side rooms)all night long and I am sure they weren't even doing anything noisy, just walking around their room! We cancelled three nights at Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel after that first night at the snow lodge. IMHO, staying at the park is way overrated; next time we eaither will stay at Cooke City (fave), West Yellowstone, or Gardinier. As far as Grand Teton, it is an amazing sight, but don't count on Grand Teton for a lot of wildlife watching, nowhere near Yellowstone. Have a great time and fun time!! Be safe!!

Connie

The Travel Channel named Grand Tetons N.P. as the number one national park to see wildlife!!

Surprised us too.

bcala

Great insights. I've got my map out again to look at the options. We are bringing earplugs, since one of us snores, but it sounds like we should pass them around to our neighbors at the Snow Lodge! Thanks again. This board makes the planning phase almost as fun as the actual trip.

ronkala

Last year, even tho there were road closures during the day, they opened up after the workday was completed.

If you have a chance to drive on Beartooth Highway, do it. Some areas are a little hairy, but take your time and if traffic builds up behind you, pull over so they can pass. It's a fantastic drive.