Allow me to speak very highly in favor of the Grand Tetons hike that encompasses Jenny Lake/Hidden Falls/Inspiration Point and beyond into the canyon. No question it's a very popular hike, but there's a good reason for that. For starters, they don't call it Inspiration Point for nothing -- the view is splendid. If there are crowds, they'll tend to thin out as you continue beyond Inspiration Point.

Another good place to explore in Grand Teton is the Colter Bay area. I greatly enjoyed the Lakeshore Trail (nice mountain and lake views) and the Heron Pond/Swan Lake Loop (pleasant woods hike that opens out into pond and lake vistas). Plus there's a nice visitor center there with a surprisingly decent Native American artifacts museum, not to mention boat cruises.

Bachslunch,
Thank a lot - these are great suggestions, and I will really look into all of them. I spent most of the last few days researchign YS, so I can make the reservations. Right now, we have 3 nights in Canyon, 4 nights in Lake, and 3 nights OF, with overlaps on all sides, so I can adjust as needed. We'll cancel some reservations when the itinerary will be more defined.

Right now I'm thinking 3 nights in GT, the week before Labor Day. I don't thing we'll get to see the yellow aspens at that time

Oh well...should we be concerned about bears on the hikes you suggested? Thanks

The Jennylake/Hidden Falls/Inspiration Point is all one hike. You could see bears, but there is normally so many people on the trail, you will be safe. If you go past IP to the canyon there will be far fewer people. This is one hike that has way way to many people. But, do it anyway, its a nice hike. Colter Bay area is where we stayed at in the cabin.

I'm not sure why you want to stay at Canyon and Lake. They are fairly close to each other, and if you don't like moving around a lot, I would just book your nights at OF and Lake. Check periodically to see if a cabin with bath opens up at Roosevelt, my favorite area of the park--lots of wildlife and very quiet. If it does, change some of your nights to that area.

The Jenny Lake/Hidden Falls/Inspiration Point hike is beautiful, but on our last visit we did see a bear on the trail despite all the people. He climbed a tree to take a look at all of us and then scooted off. It was a little scary, but also a great memory!

Digbydog,
I will take your advice and check for a Roosevelt cabin with a private bathroom (only shared are available now). Location wise, that would be my preference, due to its proximity to better wildlife viewing areas. So, fingers crossed.

I would love to see a bear - close enough for a god picture, but...not too close. Thanks

I think you should keep any reservations you have but build a "like-to" plan. Then call for cancellations every couple of days and then twice a day as you get to within a month of the trip. I have always gotten rooms where I want by calling and calling.

I'm not a bit fan of the Lake area as it's very "lakeish". There sedemed to be a lot ofboating on the lake. Not for me. Also, Lake is close to Old Faithful area.

Some people (me included) wonder what there's to do at Old Faithful. After all, one geyser can't keep you busy. Well it's not one geyser.

The whole Upper Bain is worth several passes and at minimum Geyser Loop.

The Middle Basin has one of the real stars in Grand Prismatic Spring.

There are several hikes with waterfalls (Mystic & Fairy). We did Mystic and it was a very nice hike.

There are fice predicted geysers. Old Faithful is best viewed between 7AM and 10 when the sun is behind you. Best of course with no wind.

Canyon is a good distance from Old Faithful. You're close to Mt Washburn for an amazing hike, and of course the Lower Falls. You can see it from various vantage points. We hiked down to Red Rock Point and were treated to a beautiful rainbow. All this takes time.

Between Canyon and Hayden Valley we saw early morning and evening wildlife. Whenever you see cars on the side of the road you know someone spotted something.

The Tower Area would have also been a reasonable choice as it's also not far from Mt Washburn, Lamar Valley and it's wildlife and a couple of hikes we did (Yellowstone Picnic Area and Hellroaring Creek).

So that's three that I would go to again and haven't even brought in Grand Tetons. We stayed at Signal Mountain and I would do it again. A lot of early morning and evening scenery in the area.

Definately keep your current reservations. A lot of times, cancellations don't happen until the last minute. So, you could change things around a bit-even the week before you go. We did enjoy our one night at Lake Hotel. We did the Lake Sunset tour on an old Yellow Bus. We would do that again. Managed to get in, two bear sightings on the bus.

Myer and spiro,
I will not cancel the Canyon reservation – not until I can get a Roosevelt one to replace it. I think that would be the best choice, to allow us time in all park areas and keep us close to wildlife.

After comparing prices for Signal and Jenny Lake lodge (ouch), we also made reservations for Signal – room with a view. Still, not cheap, but nowhere like Jenny Lake.
Thanks for all the suggestions, I think we are all set I am getting very excited about this trip.

Hike Mt Washburn!

Digbydog brought up a point about your itinerary that was bothering me from the beginning of your post - Canyon and Lake are so close together that it almost seems pointless to move from one to the other. I'd spend 3 days at one of them (preferably Lake) at the most, then split the rest of my time between Roosevelt and Old Faithful, with the majority of that at OF.

Canyon has.....the Canyon, and it is the closest hotel area to Norris, and the Hayden Valley is just to the south, BUT how many times do you want to see the canyon? And once you've seen the Norris Geyser Basin, you've seen Norris. Lake has.... the lake. Are you going to do something on the lake? If not, then the only reason to stay there is the Lake Hotel (which is the better of the two compared to the Canyon Lodge), and it's proximity to the Hayden Valley & Canyon. Lake is NOT close to Old Faithful. I stayed at Fishing Bridge (2 miles from Lake) for a week last month and found the drive to OF to be tedious and long. On the days we drove from Fishing Bridge to Canyon, Roosevelt, Norris, and Mammoth, I found each early morning drive through the Hayden Valley to be delightful and filled with wildlife. I would love to stay at Roosevelt next time simply for the wildlife of the Lamar Valley

Instead of calling, I recommend using the Xanterra website and will repeat the link from above: http://www.yellowstonenationalparklodges.com/

Here are instructions on how to use the availability search function:
- select the lodging that you want from the dropdown list
- for arrival date, choose September 1, 2011
- for your stay, choose 1 night
- click Check Availability

The display is in three parts.

The left side shows your choices and also has a Select Room Choice dropdown. It defaults to the first choice on the list.

The middle part is a calendar showing availability from June to September or later.

The right side shows the availability for each room type.

Use the Select Room Choice dropdown to see the availability calendar for each room choice. When you get to this page you might get a popup saying that your selection was not available. That only means that the default room type is not available, so use that dropdown to check on the room types you are interested in.

Looking at the availability calendar lets you see when you can get multiple consecutive nights.

If you find the room type is available, then on the left side choose the available check-in day, number of nights, and click Update Search. Then click Reserve Now and you are on your way.

To look for a different lodge, click on the link in the top left corner Yellowstone ... That gets you back to the first page.

My brother and I visited Yellowstone & GTNP in the first week of September and absolutely loved it.

A couple years ago, we spent several nights at the Lake Hotel and absolutely loved it!

The very large conservatory is a trip back in time. Each evening, it's filled with guests relaxing by the large picture windows, glass of wine in hand, listening to the pianist. Great place to share your joy of travel with others or to just unwind from the day's activities.

The dining room does take reservations, and I'd highly recommend making dinner reservations as soon as you make your lodging reservation there. Just because you have a room DOES NOT guarantee you a table for dinner. We always try to get a time around sunset, to enjoy the view before it gets dark.

And each morning and evening, the bison seem to make their camp in the immediate vicinity. We've seen dozens of them there at any one time.

Love Yellowstone and the Tetons!

Yes, Canyon has the Canyon. But there are about half a dozen vantage points.

We hiked down to Red Rock Point which is aboiut 20 minutes down below. Was winded.

We met a couple just hanging around. It turns out they read about a rainbow.

Well, it was worth the wait!!!

You can see the photos at: www.travelwalks.com

The rainbow was worth 2 hours of waiting.

Also, Canyon is near Hayden and its wildlife and the Mt Washburn hike.

= = = =
The problem with the Xanterra web site is that cancellation don't get on the site because people call and snap them up.

Do the same.

furledleader,
I agree with you and with Digbydog – I’ve been trying to change the Canyon reservation for Roosevelt, but they have nothing available for our dates (well, nothing with a private bath, which is not negotiable). I will keep checking, hoping for a cancelation.

mrwunrfl,
This is what I’ve been doing – daily. I hope one day I will get lucky

Myer,
Did not realize cancellations do not make it on the web site. Hmm, need to start calling. Since wildlife is a big reason for us visiting Yellowstone, I guess in the end we’ll be happy with either choice. We have enough time in the park to allow us to take is slow, and not get impatient over the drive. Your pictures are fantastic!

We have had a home for 6 years in Jackson.

Stay at OF in YS for several days. Stay at either Jenny Lake(great restaurant) or Jackson Lake Lodge in GT. Stay at Snake River lodge in Jackson Hole(ski resort) or the Wort Hotel in Jackson.

Glacier is beautiful but do it another time and fly into Whitefish and drive up the Canadian Rockies to Banff.

I have found things available a couple of times by calling, then the website didn't show anything.