Denver - Yellowstone in 10 days
 

Hi all,
After much time we have finally booked our flights from Europe for a three week trip in September. The first half will be based on a trip starting/finishing in Denver and would greatly appreciate your opinions.
By the way the only reservations are the flights and four nights at Lake Yellowstone- everything else is flexible

Sept 10 arrive 7.30pm Denver airport
Sept 11 Cheyenne
Sept 12 Cody
Sept 13-16 Lake Yellowstone cabins
Sept 17 leave via NE exit, travel Beartooth, Chief Joseph to Cody
Sept 17-18 Cody
Sept 19 Cheyenne
Sept 20 Denver airport
Sept 21 am flight toAtlanta for warmer weather!
A few questions
Is four nights in one place in YS too much? Would three and one night elsewhere such as Cooke City or Red Lodge be a better balance?
Thanks

I think that itinerary is very do-able. You've alloted enough travel time, which is important. I'd spend as much time in the park as possible if you can. There is so much to see in the park. Besides, the real attraction is the park itself, not Cooke City or Red Lodge (unless, of course, there is something that is attracting you to those particular places).

I would suggest varying your drive to/from Denver to include Thermopolis. Whatever route you take, coming back a different way is well worth it for the scenery (e.g., southwestern and central Wyoming, 287 in Colorado, rather than I25 each way).

Four nights in one place in YS is not too much. We spent a week in one place and still didn't do everything we wanted.

I'd suggest more time in Yellowstone and time in the Tetons instead of all those days in Cody and Cheyenne. You might consider 2 nights in Mammoth or Gardiner to give you easier access to the northern areas of YNP. Plus you'll be there during the elk rut and watching the bulls strut around and hearing them bugling is highly entertaining. We did 6 nights in YNP and 2 in Tetons and it wasn't nearly enough.

We spent 9 nights in Yellowstone and 2 at the Grand Tetons the last time we went. I'm with everyone else..spend as much time in Yellowstone as you can!

Utahtea

I'm not clear - are you flying from Denver to Cheyenne (and back) or driving?

We did this a few years ago and flew to Jackson Hole and back from Denver which worked fine.

We stayed 4 nights in each location on our trip and thought it about right in terms of number of days. We mainly hiked so if that is your bag it should work.

But we stayed in lodges in Yellowstone and Grand Tetons parks which cuts down (we felt) on some of the driving time. Some of the lodges are better than others - to put it mildly - but it isn't quick driving on the park roads and some of the distances are big so do factor this in.

Diz01

I would think that 4 nights in Yellowstone was about right. (We only spent 2 nights there when we visited and, although we saw all we wanted to see, we could've done with longer!)
Cody is a great little town and I can highly recommend Cody Cowboy Village (http://www.codycowboyvillage.com/) - it's very close (easy walking distance) to the rodeo ground and Old Town Trail is just behind the hotel; I would recommend both. But I think, if I were you, I'd go for a circular route, rather than retracing my steps. You could possibly leave Yellowstone by the southern exit, towards Rock Springs, WY and then you could go further south into Utah, possibly take in Arches National Park, before taking the very scenic I-70 back to Denver?

Whatever, have a lovely time!

Hi all,
Thanks for the replies.
As we have only ten days it is a choice between exiting the north or south . Reading all the posts here the Beartooth/CJ Highways seem to be highly rated. Cody we would like to see as well.
Maybe we should enter the park from the south? What is the route from Denver to the Tetons like. How does it compare to Denver/Cheyenne/Cody ?

I might suggest doing at least one way down through Salt Lake City and through the mountains. BEAUTIFUL drive to SLC, and then the Rockies.
I am not the biggest fan of Yellowstone, so I might cut a day out of it all together. You will get to see the Tetons by going south. They are a "not to be missed" sight.

I know that it won't affect the person who took a trip in 2008, but if you are going from Denver to Yellowstone and back, a very nice place to stopover is Saratoga, WY.