Hi All,

My husband and I are planning to drive my parents to see Yellowstone and Grand Tetons NPs somewhere in mid to late September.

We plan on mostly sightseeing and doing easy walks---my parents love to walk; usually doing a 1-hour walk daily, but inclines are out of the question. If time permits and its easy enough to coordinate, we may consider splitting up so that my husband and I could do a few hikes, too.

Here's what I have so far, and wanted to know a) if this sounds relaxing and b) what are some of the must-see/must-do's at each place:

Day 1 : Drive from SLC to Grand Teton Natl Park - plan to arrive at GTNP around 2 or 3pm.

Day 2: Sightseeing in Grand Tetons NP (incl Jenny Lake walk/shuttle boat)

Day 3: Drive to Yellowstone via South Entrance - Check out some sights in South End of Park incl Old Faithful, and stay at Old Faithful Inn.

Day 4 : Yellowstone - more sightseeing driving north (Mammoth Hot Springs); stay at Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel

Day 5 : Yellowstone - more sightseeing in East part of park(Canyon, Lake); stay at Lake Yellowstone Hotel

Day 6 : Exit South Entrance back to Salt Lake City

Thanks so much!

ttt

I think I may have answered my own question after seeing this link:

http://www.yellowstone.net/topten.htm

I think we'll try to see most items on that top ten list except for 7.

So for day 3: see #10 and 1
Day 4: 9, 6 and 4
Day 5: 8, 2 ,3 and 5

If you have never seen the plains of Wyoming (like the ones in 'Dances With Wolves') you really might find the ride to #7 worthwhile. I found the overlook there breathtaking. It is not hard driving to get there and the section of the park between #s 7 & 8 is where we saw grizzlies, dahl sheep and...one other...senior moment...sigh!...that we did not see in other parts of the park.

On your way to GTNP be sure to drive through Jackson Hole to see the town square with arched entrances made of elk/deer (I forget) antlers. There is also a cutsy little 'dinner (?)' theatre between Jackson Hole and GTNP that we enjoyed. I can find the weblink if you are interested.

I like the Cowboy Bar in Jackson - where you "mount up" on saddles at the bar.

SammyCat,

I agree with pollyw about #7. You will be rewarded if you fit it in. That's the only place in Yellowstone were we saw bull elk right by the roadside. As in roll down the window and you could hear him breathing. That close. Also where we saw a wolf for the brief time it took him to cross the road, pause, and look at us looking at him, then melt into the underbrush. Since the road in Yellowstone is a big figure 8 you could easily fit it in on the day you drive from Mammouth to Canyon area. Since you won't be doing tons of hiking you'll probably have more time for wildlife viewing via auto.

My best advice is to get up early and head out and also to stay out for early evening. Those are the times when the animals are most active. If you or your parents get tired in the middle of the day due to rising early, you can go back to your cabin/room and catch a few zzzs. YOu'll also see fewer people by following this timing although crowds should be thinned a lot by September.

You'll love Yellowstone. It's our favorite Park.

Enjoy.

Fran

Oh Fran...I love this thread. Causes me to relive that entire trip. We actually saw the Dahl sheep JUST as close as you saw the bull elk!

So glad to see someone's plans coming together so well!!! We are going the third week in Sept, and I am having the hardest time getting my itinerary settled. I thought it'd be hard to plan last year's vacation to Alaska, but this one is the toughest yet and I have been reading and planning on and off for months.

We are spending nights 1 & 2 (9/15 & 16) at Canyon, because it closes on 17th and we know we want as much time in that area as we can get for wildlife viewing and seeing the canyon/falls.

From there, we want to drive the Beartooth, but not sure if we should split it into 2 days or not. BUT coming back in East entrance sounds like it could be a MAJOR delay with the construction and limited gates times. Not sure which direction to go in (or overnight)in the park after the Beartooth/Chief Joseph Drive.

Would like to spend at least one night (do we need 2?) at Old Faithful (but all booked the night of 20th, available the 19th) and also maybe one night at Mammouth Hot Springs (1 or 2 nights here?).

We want to swim in Boiling River, do some hikes, and lots of wildlife viewing.

Finally, we'll spend the last 2 nights (7 & 8) in GTNP, and fly home from Jackson.

I hate to jump into your thread like this, but you seem to be having great luck getting responses, and I'd definitely appreciate any advice I could get.

Thanks--pulling my hair out and hoping for help!

ok, ok, we WILL do #7!

i think my husband and I would like to do an early morning float trip when in GTNP.

thanks for the advice everyone!

You'll have a great time in the park. I took my parents there recently - they seem more frail than yours (no 1 hour walks!). I was interested in your note that only you and your husband would do the float trip in GTNP. My parents went on it and really enjoyed it. It is not strenuous, you don't get wet, etc. So if your parents aren't interested in getting up early, leave them behind. But don't think the trip is beyond them.

BayouGal,

I'll give what help I can without my Yellowstone notebook (it's packed away since we're still repairing our house from hurricane IVAN). I'll try to dig it out if I can locate the correct box. Anyway....

When we went to Yellowstone we split our nights between Canyon and Mammouth. That worked well for us. I don't think the traffic will be as heavy for you in Sept as it was for us in early August and we didn't find it all that bad. The key I is to get up and out really early, as I told SammyCat. You'll see far more animals that way and far fewer people.

When you get there, ask a ranger to tell you how to do the loop hike along the canyon rim that takes you past Clear Lake. You can either leave and return via the loop to Artist Point or Uncle Tom's parking lot. We really enjoyed this hike. Very few people and great scenery. Once you get away from the canyon rim you'll see an Alpine type forest, a fumerole thermal area, and an Alpine meadow. (Depending on which direction you hike it may be in reverse order.)

I can't recall the name of the meadow between Norris Basin and Prismatic, but it had several bull elk in it late in the day. Norris is a great place for sunset. It's also amazing to get there about dawn and listen to the geysers down in the basin. We were the only people there one morning. Also watched Old Faithful erupt with a maybe a dozen or so others, again, very early in the mporning. By late morning there were easily 200 there.

Have a wonderful trip.

Fran

Thank you, Fran! I understand perfectly trying to recover from Ivan. Escaping the chaos created by Katrina is exactly the reason we are taking this trip despite our workloads. We've worked to exhaustion, and we still face months and months of more work.

I appreciate the Yellowstone advice. I have printed out this thread so I can plan accordingly. Thanks again, and God bless you during your recovery efforts!

Is the first week of October too cold to see YNP? It seems like a lot of the lodging options could be closed by then, any recommendations?