Erin

Ok, because of some of your suggestions in various posts, I have changed plans. My friend and I are no longer staying in Jackson, WY. We will be traveling throughout Wyoming, but our Grand Teton-Yellowstone lodging is now lined up as follows: 3 nights in a rustic cabin with fireplace at Signal Mountain Lodge, 2 nights in a High Range room at Old Faithful Snow Lodge (bathroom in room!!) and 2 nights in a lake-view Premium room at Yellowstone Lake Hotel. I chose the Snow Lodge over the Old Faithful Inn because it's newer and I HAVE to have a bathroom in the room. Besides it's literally just steps away from Old Faithful Inn, which is where I'll go to eat and to wind down with a drink in the evening. Thanks to all who gave advice in various posts on this subject!

Nancy

Erin,
We are planning your same trip - next year, be sure to post how your trip went-so we can follow in your footsteps.
Have fun!

Bob Brown

I suggest you make your dinner reservatons at Old Faithful soon.
The dining room books up fast.
If you ask a week ahead, you might not be able to get your preferred time.
I remember eating once at 10 PM.
Should have called earlier!!

jpm

Personally, the food service at Old Faithful Inn, Lake Lodge, etc. is overpriced, the service poor, and the food is tasteless. Even the "atmosphere" of the place is hardly unique.

Saying that, DO GO to the Inn late in the evening and enjoy a drink in the bar or even better, sitting by the huge fireplace.

There are two companies that run food service in Yellowstone: AMFAC and the Hamilton Stores. Avoid AMFAC facilities like the plague - the Hamilton Stores, staffed mostly be retired seniors, offers basic food at a decent price.

Just my two cents.

jpm

Personally, the food service at Old Faithful Inn, Lake Lodge, etc. is overpriced, the service poor, and the food is tasteless. Even the "atmosphere" of the place is hardly unique.

Saying that, DO GO to the Inn late in the evening and enjoy a drink in the bar or even better, sitting by the huge fireplace.

There are two companies that run food service in Yellowstone: AMFAC and the Hamilton Stores. Avoid AMFAC facilities like the plague - the Hamilton Stores, staffed mostly be retired seniors, offers basic food at a decent price.

Just my two cents.

Erin, I have a trip report posted at www.appleberryroad.com of our Yellowstone trip last year if you are interested.

amy

Sounds like a good plan. Hint: At the Old Faithful Inn, ask to be seated in the old section of the dining room - they have a newer addition, but it isn't as charming. The people in charge of seating/reservations get a lot of crap from the visitors (in the 2 nights I stayed there, I can't tell you the kind of abuse people heaped on these poor workers), so a little kindness and understanding goes a long way.

Erin

Thanks for all the suggestions. I am going to call tomorrow to make advance reservations for dinner at the Old Faithful Inn and I will also ask to be seated in the "older section." We'll be there the last 2 weeks in May, so I'm hoping it isn't too crazy with tourists yet. I was told that is the best time of the year to go, so we'll see. We plan on hiking at both parks and will do a float trip on the Snake River in Teton (IN the park). Might do a separate 8-mile whitewater trip south of the park as well. Has anyone done these? Has anyone rented a motorboat, pontoon, rowboat or canoe from Signal Mountain Lodge? Thanks for any additional help anyone can provide!

amy

We did the float trip down the Snake river with Barker-Ewing, and it was great. Signal Mountain lodge does one, too, but they weren't running when we were there in late September. We didn't rent boats from SML when we were there, but the lake was really low then, due to a drought. They had stopped the shuttle across Jenny Lake to the base of the trail to the observation point, but you can hike around Jenny Lake to it, too. Very worthwhile. The views from the top of Signal Mountain are terrific, you can drive to the top. At Signal Mountain Lodge, we had a mother and calf moose eating the landscaping outside our cabin window one morning, can't get much closer to wildlife than that. We had to creep out the back way and around several other cabins to get to our car without disturbing them (had to meet our float trip, otherwise we would have stayed). You'll have a great trip!

susie

Erin'
You do know that the end of May it still may be quite cool in Yellowstone don't you. Take some sweatshirts just in case.

Erin

I'm definitely bringing some warm weather clothes as well as some shorts. I guess it's hard to tell how it will be that time of year. I'm actually hoping it will be cool enough at night to use the fireplace in my cabin at SML.

Anne

Erin, You'll love your trip. We did almost the exact trip last summer. We stayed at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge (it is very nice and the rooms are very nicely decorated) and walked over to the Old Faithful Inn for a tour and lunch. They have formal tours at several times during the day and it is VERY interesting and well worth your time. The location of the Snow Lodge can't be beat. We loved walking back over to the geysers in the evening to see some erupt that we had missed during the day. We also did a Snake River float trip through Signal Mountain Lodge and it was a truly enjoyable evening. Our guide was very personable and knowledgable. Though we didn't stay at Signal Mountain, we looked around and it looked like a great place to stay. Have a wonderful time!!

Kathy

Last August we stayed at the Signal Mountain Lodge and the first day we rented a small motor boat. It was great, the view of the mountains is incredible from the lake. It was a little cold to swim, but my kids did jump in. Did you say you were going in May? If so it will definitely be too cold to swim but I would recommend the boat rental. As far as white water rafting, we went with Barker Ewing out of Jackson and had a nice experience. Have a great trip, it's a beautiful part of the country. By the way, many of the rooms at the Old Faithful Inn have bathrooms. We stayed there last summer and had a very nice room with a bathroom.