I 2nd your plan to go to all 3 NPs. I recommend that you plan to fly in/out of different airports to decrease your driving time. We flew into Great Falls w/ beautiful drive to GNP, but Kalispell is much closer. After several days, drove and spent afternoon/evening at Chico Hot Springs - 2nd that suggestion too. Great spot and just north of YNP; great food and pools filled w/ H2O from hot springs. We headed into YNP next AM and visited the northern part of the park. I had divided YNP into sections so after the northern spent a couple of nights at both Old Faithful Inn for geyser area and then Yellowstone Inn. Wish had spent time in Lamar Valley - maybe the Roosevelt (can't remember name). Headed to Tetons for several days, but then spent last day driving back to Great Falls to spend night and fly out next AM. Now I always plan different airports if I plan to cover that much territory; more expensive, but worth it. Have a great time!

Not sure if I'm repeating what someone else has already said but when checking on lodging in YNP, CALL them - don't rely on the website's availability calendar. I got a room by actually speaking to someone on the phone (a few years ago). You will get better info from them. Have a great time!

don't know what your budget is but we loved staying at Jackson Lake Lodge here is the website. I checked a few dates in July and there were rooms. Hope this helps.
https://gtlcreservations.com
We also loved the east gate and used our base at Absoroka Mountain Lodge and traveled to Cody too. Check out their website - wonderful place.

We did a 14 day trip in Sept. 2004. Flew from East Coast to Billings, spent one night in Red Lodge, 4 in YNP, 3 in GT, 1 in Cody, 1 on road to Mt. Rushmore, 3 near Mt. Rusmore and 1 in Billings before flying home the next morning. I think that would be somewhat equivalent to the driving you'd do by doing YNP, GT & Glacier. I'd recommend flying in/out of one of the Montana airports. You'll save a lot on car rental--I was going to fly into Billings and home from Rapid City until I saw how much more the car would cost.

While in YNP, you won't be able to travel the distances quickly in most cases. The speed limit is about 45, I think, but the real hitch is the buffalo jams that can develop on the roads and really stall traffic (there's also likely to be construction that might close a section of road). While I would never say don't go unless you can stay in the park and don't have the staying near the park experience to compare, I do recommend staying inside if possible to minimize driving times as much as possible.

As everyone else has said, it's a fabulous place. Ruth

ree878,
You are getting some great advice. We just went to YNP/Tetons this past Sept and we fell in love with Yellowstone. We flew into SLC, drove to Jackson for our first night, then drove thru the Tetons to YNP and spent 2 nights each at Old Faithful Snow Lodge, Mammoth cabins, and Canyon cabins. I would continue to try for in-park lodging if only for the convenience. We did a great deal of driving while there which led to incredible wildlife sitings and dawn walks through the awesome geysers... just an amazing place! 6 nights was barely enough for us - it really is a huge park. We only spent one night at Signal Mtn Lodge in the Tetons. Loved the location and saw loads of moose - highly recommend Signal Mtn. For us, 2 nights would be plenty - the Tetons are gorgeous but less to see and do.
In YNP, be sure to visit Norris Geyser Basin - awesome. We saw a grizzly on our first full day over past Fishing Bridge near Lake area. Here is a link to some photos:
http://www.pbase.com/peterb/yellowstone_06

I spent a summer at Glacier as a naturalist about 20 yrs ago - and it is a great hiking park, very scenic. We just didn't feel like driving that far. There is so much to see around YNP/Tetons, you might reconsider the long drive up there and spend time in Red Lodge (Beartooth Hwy), Cody, etc.
Depends on length of stay and where you fly in to. Either way, you will love this trip.

In the interest of keeping things real, someone above stated that it was only a 1/2 hour drive from West Yellowstone to Canyon....uh no, it is an hour from WY to just Old Faithful and almost 2 hours to the Canyon area.

By all means, staying in the park is the way to go if possible. Sure, the food choices are limited and the accomodations different from what is outside the park. However, the Snow lodge is as modern as any Hilton, we enjoyed our hot tub cabin and the food at Mammoth and how can you beat listening to the elk bugling and wolfs howling outside the window of our $60 room at Canyon.

For me, staying inside a National Park isn't about the rooms or restaurants but about the LOCATION.

If you can't find a place inside the park then you'll have to compromise and stay in one of the gateway towns.

Keep calling...you find a place to stay and be glad of it. Otherwise you'll get to start each day with an hour's drive before you get to the heart of the park to start your day's touring and another hour's drive each evening just to get back to your room.

Staying outside the park is a compromise absolutely.

I don't see many posts here on Fodors about camping, but we tent camped at Colter Bay in the Tetons & Madison Junction in YNP last August--no reservations at all. We checked into the campgrounds by 2 pm and there was no problem getting in.

There were a lot of bear warnings in the campgrounds, but we never saw one anywhere.

Listening to the elk bugle as you sit by your campfire is another great experience.

And, we loved renting a canoe out of Colter Bay and being out on Jackson Lake.

Sharondi,

How was the drive from SLC to Jackson? We are doing the same thing in July. How long was the drive and which route did you take?

Hi howman74 - looking forward to the reply to your question from Sharondi. We too are travelling from Jackson to SLC in early July. We have been pouring over the maps for best routes. Will wave if we see you!!

Dot

Just adding our experience of traveling with two boys, ages 11 and 13. Our last trip to GT and Yellowstone, in late June 2005, we also flew to SLC and rented a car, which saved our family quite a bit of money over flying to Jackson and renting a car there. We drove rt. 89 to Afton where we spent the night. I think it was about a four hour drive, and very beautiful. We passed through Garden City on Bear Lake which has fabulous raspberry shakes. Liked Afton because it has an old-fashioned western feel, a fun drive in called the Red Baron. On a previous visit there, we stayed at the Corral Motel, tiny log cabin rooms, but it was booked. Old Mill Cabins also supposed to be nice outside of town. Next day we drove through Jackson to the Jackson Lake Lodge (about 2 hours further I think), and as someone posted earlier the view rooms are terrific, and worth the extra money. Four nights there worked well for our family. We did lots of hikes, ranger walks and talks,ate dinners at different locations within the parks and woke up early to see the best wildlife. We could see moose outside our room and bears from the Lodge lounge, as well as coyote, trumpeter swans, otter, elk, bison and lots more on our hikes. Late June is wildflower peak time in the park, but also many mosquitoes (depending on where you hike) so be prepared. Then we drove up to Yellowstone to stay at the Yellowstone Lake Hotel for three nights. From there we took day trips to Canyon area, Hayden Valley, Fishing Bridge. We ate most meals at Lake Lodge. At the last minute, we were able to change our reservations from Mammoth to Roosevelt Lodge cabins for two nights, so we drove there next. Our cabin, #89 next to the rushing stream, had three double beds, a wood stove, and no bathroom; we used the shared bath. But it was terrific value at $64 per night. Food was good at the Roosevelt Lodge. We saw lots of black bears, coyotes, and pronghorns near the road, hiked up Mt. Washburn, visited Mammoth and hiked around hot springs with ranger, drove up to Gardiner, MT, and our highlight there was going at dusk to the Slough Creek campground and seeing three pups of the Slough Creek wolf pack through the scope of one of the wolf watchers.
We then drove back to the Old Faithful Snow Lodge, making the Yellowstone loop, and stayed for one night. That was plenty in our opinion there because it was the most crowded (and hottest) area of the trip. Our last two nights before heading back to SLC (by same route) we splurged and stayed at Spring Creek Ranch outside Jackson for a 5oth birthday treat. The kids enjoyed the rodeo in Jackson. Our last night we stayed in SLC. This two week trip was terrific; if we had had more time, we could have filled it easily. On a previous trip we had three weeks and added a visit to Glacier. Also a wonderful experience but much too much driving for us since we went all the way back to SLC from there. I envy everyone who is planning a trip to these parks!

West Yellowstone is fine, if you can find nights inside the parks better. Its 45 minutes to Old Faithful area and not much further to canyon. Wildlife sightings and overwhelming beauty will slow you down, the drive may take longer but you wont mind. We highly recommend the Jackson Lake lodge in the Tetons. If no Teton lodging available, check out lodging in Jackson or Teton Village. Keep checking for park cancellations and adjust your itinerary accordingly . These are fabulous parks. Take a couple days and do Jackson, whitewater rafting and other activiies

The drive from SLC to Jackson should take about 5 hours. We took the suggested scenic route thru Logan, Bear Lake, Afton along Rte 89. It was a pretty drive but very slow. Although our flight arrived in SLC at 12:30pm, and our rental car pickup and airport exit was very quick and efficient, we didn't get to Jackson until about 8pm. Next time, we would take I15 to Idaho Falls, then Rte 26 to 31 to Jackson (suggested route from Mapquest). We sat through lots of construction stops and traffic lights along the route we took. We just didn't think it was worth the long slow drive. I've read that the drive from Idaho Falls to Jackson is scenic. And a lot faster! But it all depends on your schedule, I guess. Now that we have seen the many wonders of Yellowstone, I would much rather spend my driving time there. Be sure to make it up to the Lamar Valley and spend lots of time seeing all the thermal features in Norris and Old Faithful - such a unique and beautiful place! One of the highlights was getting up before dawn at Old Faithful and walking the boardwalk through the geysers just before sunrise. Wow! Any other questions, I am happy to answer. You will love this trip!

Hi Sharondi - have read your postings with great interest and loved your photos. Although it might be slower we thought we might take the scenic route from Jackson to SLC. I will be celebrating a special birthday that day and thought we might as well enjoy the day and take the drive slowly. I did like the sound of the raspberry shakes that someone recommended!! We won't be in any hurry to get to SLC and if we leave Jackson just after breakfast we should arrive in time just to freshen up and go out for dinner.

I am getting so excited at the thought of this trip, which we have been planning for nearly a year.

Thanks once again for your helpful and interesting postings.

Dot

sms73 - your posting made great reading and made me look forward to our trip next June/July even more. We will be staying a couple of nights at Roosevelt, so it was nice to read of your experience there.

Regards, Dot

Ree, I haven't read all of the posts, but just wanted to tell you about a fun festival in Bozeman, MT (a cute little college town), called Sweet Pea. http://www.sweetpeafestival.org/ It takes place around the beginning of August. It's crunchy, hippy-ish, country all rolled into one. Worth going to just to watch all the people during the day and then hit the bars at night. I used to live near Lindley Park where the musicians play.

Bozeman is about 90 miles away from the entrance to YNP. I'd recommend staying near YNP when you tour it. Driving can be slow-going through the park, so get up early and give yourself time to enjoy it. The drive from Bozeman is gorgeous.

Oh, one more thing... DO go to Glacier. So beautiful. The scenery is stunning and different from YNP. Rent a kayak or canoe on Apgar Lake in GNP. Cheap and pleasant. Then, go hiking. Ahhh, just thinking about it makes me smell pine.

The cherry stands around Flathead Lake on the way up to GNP might be open for business, too. Be sure to get some!

You will have a wonderful time whatever month you go to yellowstone! My husband and son have been there the last 3 summers in June and July, because we have simply fallen in love with it. Staying in the park just looks way overrated to us - don't let it get you down. We have stayed once in Cody, two times in Jackson. Had a blast all three times. We have seen moose, bear, and elk every single time we have been there! Next trip is this September. We did eat at the lodges inside the park a couple of times, and the food was not good at all. Take a day and pack a picnic lunch as you are driving through the park, visit Cody and Jackson, you won't regret it.