I am a rookie at this area of the US. I will be flying to Denver & renting a car. I want to take a scenic route to see the area of Grand Teton & Yellowstone. Going in Sept. Any suggestions on routes, places to stay, weather, etc? I love the mountains & hiking. I only have 5 days so I am a bit limited. Honestly I know NOTHING about this area. Please help. Oh yes - no children. All grown and gone

I've posted a couple of times here that my husband and I took a nice route one year through the Snowy Range, west of Laramie. The route passes through some very beautiful and lightly visited alpine scenery, great for hiking. We camped there on our first night, and we liked it so much that we changed our plans at the end of the trip to spend our last night there, too.

You'll be tight on time with only 5 days. It takes a VERY full day to drive from Denver to the Tetons. Is there any way to extend your trip by a couple of days?

Not really. Job won't allow! Wish I could!!!

In that case, you might want to look into a United Express flight from Denver to Jackson, in order to spend more time at the parks than in your car. I really loved driving across Wyoming, but I'm not sure it's worth the road trip if you can't stay a couple of days in each park. No matter what you do, you'll really enjoy the area if you love the outdoors.

Hi again. Having never been to this part of the US...do you think the Grand Teton area is the best?? Some people recommend the South Dakota/Custer area. What do you think for outdoor beauty??

Hello,

Although the Black Hills area is beautiful and interesting, the Grand Tetons are stunning. I would opt for them.

The idea of a flight to Jackson seems to be a good one. The drive is very long, but I am never bored with it. The scenery is so varied, if you like road trips, it is great. But then, I'm not the best to ask, since I enjoy almost everywhere I go--even some places that others consider ugly. Whichever you choose, you will enjoy, I think.

I haven't been to the Dakotas, but I'm assuming that the Tetons should win out for your first destination. If you want something very scenic and convenient to Denver, you might consider Rocky Mountain National Park, which is easily doable in 5 days. I think you could enjoy a visit to Yellowstone and the Tetons in that time as well, it would just be a little frustrating and you would feel that you had to go back for a longer visit.

jamcat, We flew into Denver a couple of weeks ago for a visit to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone. Drove from Ft. Collins to Jackson in a day, a long one, about 9 hours. We took Rt 287 to Laramie, I-80 across WY to Rock Springs and 191 N. to Jackson. We drove back to Denver via Cody and Cheyenne.

I was a rookie to the area too and found both the GTs and YS unspeakably beautiful. With only five days it seems you would really maximize your experience if you could fly into Jackson. But if you can't and don't miind a couple of really big road trips, the scenery is well worth the drive.

I booked by tickets last night flying into Jackson. Now can you help with places to stay. I would like to spend one night in the Grand Teton National Park and a couple in Yellowstone. Also is it close enough to try to travel to the Big Horn for a day excursion? Any other words of wisdom would be appreciated!! Thanks!

Congrats on getting those flights! I think you should start another thread asking about lodging in or near Grand Tetons/Yellowstone. There's been a lot of discussion on this board about this question, so maybe a search would be sufficient. I've stayed at the Lake Lodge at Yellowstone once (liked it), but everything else has been camping.

jamcat, Congrats on getting those tickets. If you haven't already spotted it, here's the url for Yellowstone's lodging reservations:

http://www.xanterra.com/properties/yellowstone.htm

Since I've only been once and stayed inside the park, I can't argue the merits of staying in or out. We stayed in the Old Faithful Snow Lodge Cabins and the Canyon Lodge Cabins.

Have fun planning your trip!

Thanks for your reponses. I have taken your advice Travellyn and posted another message on lodging. I am really getting excited about going to Wyoming. So many people in Houston say "WHY WYOMING???" I tell them to read the postings on Fodors! Thanks again!

Jamcat, the last time I went to Wyoming was also from Houston (in July). My goal was to get cold, but non-Houstonians didn't quite believe me when I said that. I loved it when there was frost on our tent in the morning, when we could cool our cokes in a snowbank or a stream, and when we got soaked while rafting. I hope you have a great trip!