Grand Tetons & Yellowstone
Feb 11th, 2004, 05:58 PM
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Grand Tetons & Yellowstone
We are visiting the Tetons & Yellowstone in June. Flying into Salt Lake City & driving to Jackson Hole. This will be our "home base" for the duration of the week. Will it be "do-able" to see the Tetons & Yellowstone to return to Jackson Hole as our place to lay our heads at the end of the day?
Please reassure me that we haven't planned wrong and will have regrets of staying in one location for the whole week! Also, please offer any suggestions/remarks about the drive from SLC to JH. Many thanks!!
Please reassure me that we haven't planned wrong and will have regrets of staying in one location for the whole week! Also, please offer any suggestions/remarks about the drive from SLC to JH. Many thanks!!
Feb 11th, 2004, 06:42 PM
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Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you have planned it wrong! Jackson (note that is the name of the town; Jackson Hole is the broader area) is close enough to the Teton to be doable, but it's impractical to make it your base for Yellowstone. It will take well over an hour to get to some parts of Yellowstone. Though it's getting late for reservations, try right now to find something in the park.
Feb 11th, 2004, 08:04 PM
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A few years ago my family and I did exactly what you planned.
We flew into SLC and drove to Jackson Hole via Hwy 89 and stopped near Bear Lake and bought wonderful locally grown raspberries.
Our "home base" was in Teton Village which is between the town of Jackson and the Tetons. HowardR is correct about the drive being long to the northern reaches of Yellowstone but it is so scenic we never got tired or bored from it. We just planned ahead and scheduled sections of Yellowstone each day.
To help shorten the drive everyday we took Moose-Wilson Road which connects the Village to the entrance to Teton NP. It is a bumpy, twisty, dirt road but it cut our drive time everyday and we got great pictures of the moose grazing every morning.
Wherever you stay you will enjoy the beauty of both parks.
We flew into SLC and drove to Jackson Hole via Hwy 89 and stopped near Bear Lake and bought wonderful locally grown raspberries.
Our "home base" was in Teton Village which is between the town of Jackson and the Tetons. HowardR is correct about the drive being long to the northern reaches of Yellowstone but it is so scenic we never got tired or bored from it. We just planned ahead and scheduled sections of Yellowstone each day.
To help shorten the drive everyday we took Moose-Wilson Road which connects the Village to the entrance to Teton NP. It is a bumpy, twisty, dirt road but it cut our drive time everyday and we got great pictures of the moose grazing every morning.
Wherever you stay you will enjoy the beauty of both parks.
Feb 11th, 2004, 08:13 PM
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I have to agree with the previous poster that is not practical to have your base as jackson, for both yellowstone and tetons for the 7 days.
Since you have a week, my suggestion is to spend 3 days at tetons with jackson as your base and 4 days in yellowstone with accommodation in yellowstone park.
Regarding the route from SLC: I15-State route 89 is the more scenic route while I15-State 26 is the faster route.
Since you have a week, my suggestion is to spend 3 days at tetons with jackson as your base and 4 days in yellowstone with accommodation in yellowstone park.
Regarding the route from SLC: I15-State route 89 is the more scenic route while I15-State 26 is the faster route.
Feb 11th, 2004, 08:40 PM
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I don't think Jackson is a good base for Yellowstone; too far away.
Look at a map. It is over 100 miles to Old Faithful and the trip will take you 2 hours going and coming. It might be viable for one visit, but Yellowstone is worth several days.
If you want one home base, there is a place called Flagg Ranch south of the Yellowstone Park entrance and north of Colter Bay in the Tetons. It is fairly expensive, as everything out there is for what you get, but at least it is centrally located.
If you want to see Yellowstone and not spend so much time running up and down the road, I suggest you move your lodging place closer to Yellowstone.
Xanterra is the name of the concessioner for lodging in Yellowstone and it has a large web site. I suggest calling, however, because some places are not listed on the web and the phone people seem more up to date on cancellations.
I will admit that lodging in the park is not ideal, but the Old Faithful Snow Lodge, and some of the rooms in Old Faithful Inn with two beds are tolerable.
I got one with one double bed that was awful.
The Lake Lodge is ok, and any of the WESTERN Cabins are ok if you can find one. The Pioneer Cabins are in my opinion grim. The Frontier Cabins are marginal at best if you don't expect too much.
The other option is a commercial motel in West Yellowstone. They are priced about like Jackson.
West Yellowstone is about 40 miles from Old Faithful, which is 60 miles closer than Jackson.
I don't like to pack and unpack either,but I think moving once, at least, will save you more time because you will not be driving up and down the road repeatedly trying to see more of Yellowstone.
Look at a map. It is over 100 miles to Old Faithful and the trip will take you 2 hours going and coming. It might be viable for one visit, but Yellowstone is worth several days.
If you want one home base, there is a place called Flagg Ranch south of the Yellowstone Park entrance and north of Colter Bay in the Tetons. It is fairly expensive, as everything out there is for what you get, but at least it is centrally located.
If you want to see Yellowstone and not spend so much time running up and down the road, I suggest you move your lodging place closer to Yellowstone.
Xanterra is the name of the concessioner for lodging in Yellowstone and it has a large web site. I suggest calling, however, because some places are not listed on the web and the phone people seem more up to date on cancellations.
I will admit that lodging in the park is not ideal, but the Old Faithful Snow Lodge, and some of the rooms in Old Faithful Inn with two beds are tolerable.
I got one with one double bed that was awful.
The Lake Lodge is ok, and any of the WESTERN Cabins are ok if you can find one. The Pioneer Cabins are in my opinion grim. The Frontier Cabins are marginal at best if you don't expect too much.
The other option is a commercial motel in West Yellowstone. They are priced about like Jackson.
West Yellowstone is about 40 miles from Old Faithful, which is 60 miles closer than Jackson.
I don't like to pack and unpack either,but I think moving once, at least, will save you more time because you will not be driving up and down the road repeatedly trying to see more of Yellowstone.
Feb 28th, 2004, 09:55 PM
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It is possible to use Jackson as a base for doing Yellowstone, if you want to cover just the lower loop of the Park. We spend our summers in Jackson and every year do a day trip up to Yellowstone, seeing Old Faithful, Geysers, Falls, Mudpots, etc. in one long day. To get from Jackson to the south entrance of the Park takes about an hour. To see the entire YNP you must base from at least two locations, otherwise you spend all your time driving, and little time actually getting out of the car and enjoying the walks and views.
