Hotels Outside of Yellowstone
 

Hello,
We are a family of 5 (kids 14, 11 and 9) and will be flying into Jackson Hole at the end of June for 8 nights. A check online shows everything inside Yellowsotne is booked for all of June (and July). I will call to check every now and then to see if anything opens up...however I would hate to have to get two separate rooms since there are 5 of us as that could get expensive. Do accomodations in Yellowstone for a double bed room provide a rollaway for a 5th person?

In the meantime, I am now looking to make reservations outside the park but want to plan accordingly to avoid long drives every day.

I'm thinking we will spend the first 5 days in Yellowstone and the last 2 in Grand Teton NP (the last 8th day is a fly day back East). Does it make sense to spend say 3 nights in West Yellowstone, 2 nights somewhere else (and where would that be?) and then our final 2 nights in Jackson Hole (since we will be flying out of there and want to see GTNP)?

I guess we could stay in West Yellowstone for all 5 nights so we don't have to move. How far is it to drive daily to the Northern and Eastern ends of the park? I believe I read its about 20-30 min drive in to the old faithful area.

Also, if anyone has a hotel in Jackson Hole that is nice, please let me know. Have been looking online and its hard to tell.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you
TS

Given the driving distances, I think you should definitely stay in or near Yellowstone for your travels there and in or near Grand Teton for that part of your trip. With 3 kids, I'm not sure that I'd want to move lodging too much, but the alternative is an hour-plus drive to different parts of the park.

Cancellations are common, so I think it's likely that you can find in-park lodging for Yellowstone if you are persistent. We recommend many good hotels in the region on this site.

One final option would be an RV. You could rent an RV and then move periodically through your stay to be in different parts of the parks on different nights. The cost would be comparable, though perhaps slightly more expensive, than hotels and restaurant meals.

Try Gardiner (north entrance) and West Yellowstone. The park is a figure "8" loop; you can repeat loops, go where you want pretty easily. Frankly, staying in the park isn't necessary, there's lots of motel lodging nearby.

Thanks Doug for replying and Sylvia for the advice.

I think we should probably move hotels once while visiting Yellowstone in order to maximize our time. I'd rather not drive an hour, especially if we want to get up early one day (5-6am)to catch some wildlife. I will keep checking for cancellations in the park, but again, we hope to get one room for all 5 of us, not 2 rooms ... to keep the price down. Hopefully that is not too challenging at the hotels in Yellowstone.

I've thought about an RV which would be fun, but I just don't think I am that into maneuvering it around (my in-laws used to have one and it was fun to go with them as long as they drove it!)

Its our first trip to Yellowstone and we're excited, so figuring out what we want to see and do and coordinate with where to stay is important. We will be doing most of the major highlights and perhaps one or two hikes off the beaten path if possible (I've bought two guides and am beginning to read plus research here).

I just want to make sure we have reservations now outside of the park, in case inside doesn't pan out.

Perhaps 3 nights in West Yellowstone and 2 nights in Gardiner could work in order to minimize driving distances, then do our last 2 nights in Jackson Hole.

If something does open in the park, that would be great. We would prefer more rustic, so the kids can detox from TV and video games for the week!

TS

Hello travelsuper :)

In West Yellowstone, I have stayed at the Holiday Inn Sunspree several times. Although I have only stayed in the regular king rooms, I do know they have family rooms available. We have really enjoyed our time here, and it is a very nice and scenic drive into the very center of the park.

Also in West Yellowstone is the Gray Wolf Inn and Suites. I have not stayed there, but perhaps their suites would be adequate for your needs.

As far as Jackson, there are many different price ranges of hotels, but if you are looking for a suite, you might check out the Homewood Suites. I remember seeing another suite-style hotel, but just can't remember the name. Perhaps someone else will chime in here.

Have you been to the Yellowstone lodging website? They give detailed info about the room styles available.

travelyellowstone.com

Also, try calling them at 1-866-GEYSERLAND. Some larger room types are only available by calling, although they may all be booked. But the suggestion to keep calling is a good one. Closer to the dates (when cancellation clauses come into effect) you may be able to grab an available room for a night or two.

Happy travels!

We stayed in Gardiner a couple of nights in a motel overlooking the river and found it convenient to Mammoth Hot Springs/Lamar Valley and the upper end of Yellowstone. Reasonable prices, basic accommodations. (But "basic" is generally the operant word for hotels in and around most national parks.) We did stay for 3 nights in a teeny tiny cabin in the park at Old Faithful and I would recommend that you try for cancellations in the middle of the park. But if nothing comes up, West Yellowstone would be okay.

We spent our last two nights in the Tetons at a place I believe was called Signal Mountain Lodge. It was a cabin and good-sized, with a nice deck. It may have had a pull-out sofa bed - there was certainly room - but I imagine they also have cabins with multiple beds. I would recommend that over Jackson Hole if you're trying to escape the honkey-tonk and crowds. I was seriously unimpressed with Jackson Hole (except to get a supply of snacks, fruit, cheese, etc. to take with us - better prices and much more choice than anywhere else we found).

I'm guessing you'll catch plenty of wildlife without getting up early. Most I've ever seen in any Nat'l Parks, bison and elk everywhere, some moose. Big mistake we made was not going to Lamar Valley right away when we learned from the rangers that there was a bison kill. We waited a couple of days and it got eaten up in the interim. Druid Peaks pack is supposedly back in full force after a population decline and the road along Lamar Valley is lined with viewers in the late afternoons. Many of them have spotting scopes and will let you take a look if there's any activity.

With kids that age you want some space - and a second bathroom. For GTNP we stayed at Teton Village - a collection of condos about 10 minutes outside Jackson but about 2 minutes from GTNP. We got a full condo with 2 bedrooms, sofa bed, LR, DR, full kitchen with every appliance you could possibly want, 2 TVs, balcony from which we watched a moose eating the landscaping. Do not remember exact prices but far less than 2 hotel rooms in Jackson.

We stayed at one of the non-descript chain hotels in West Yellowstone - they all looked the same and were surprisingly convenient to Park. Advantage was full grocery store in town for stocking up on lunch provisions and we went to a local rodeo one evening.

In Gardiner we stayed at Aborskota Motel, overlooking Gardner River (no idea why town in called Gardiner and river is called Gardner, but it is). We had a funky sort of romm which was called a family suite - L shaped oddity with 2 queen beds, sitting area, stove top, full sized refrigerator, m/w plus either balcony or patio. Also 2 minutes from entrance to YNP and Gardiner has a cute little downtown plus several white water rafting operations. Enjoyed talking to locals about the bison roaming the town in winter.

I would definitely stay in 2 places. While mileage may not be great, animal jams slow the trip. And there is much to be seen without having to backtrack.

One word of caution about your final day and flight. If you are catching an early flight out of Jackson and are in the middle of YNP the night before, allow plenty of time to get to airport. Those same pesky animals that are incredible to photograph and view on earlier days have a way of wandering in front of your car when you are trying to catch a flight.

Another word on Jackson airport. Off away from the terminal look for Air Force 2, Dick Cheney's plane. He spends a lot of the summer there (in Jackson area, not the airport) and his plane was parked there the entire time we were in the area.

Of course, if you can't afford 2 bedrooms, a place with a pool is nice for exhausting the kids after a day in and out of the car sightseeing!

Thanks again for the replys. Gail thanks for the tips. Our flight out of Jackson is around 12 noon and plan to spend the last 2 days of the trip at GTNP so getting to the airport should not be a problem.

Gail, can you give me a rough itinerary of what you did day to day staying in West Yellowstone and then in Gardiner? Just trying to get an idea of the scope of the park.

Thanks
TS

Why not go to the YNP website and look at the map of the park, the river/canyon vs. thermal basins and features, the pullouts (boardwalks around thermal walkways, lake Yellowstone, paths to waterfalls, etc., and how far they are from the road), and try to plot out a loose itinerary? Although it's a big park, it's easy to navigate (remember the figure 8), if you have a general idea of what you want to do/see in a morning or afternoon.

oops: go to www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/things2know.htm for a start

Go to the bookstore or online at amazon and purchase "Yellowstone Treasures" by Janet Chapple.

This is a fabulous inch-by-inch guide to Yellowstone. I cannot recommend it enough.

In a nutshell, from West Yellowstone it is easy to visit the Lower, Midway and Upper Geyser Basins; Norris Geyser Basin; Old Faithful Village; Canyon.

From the North in Gardiner (we've stayed at the Best Western and enjoyed it very much), you can easily reach Mammoth Hot Springs, Tower-Roosevelt Junction, Boiling River and Canyon. Also Lamar Valley. We drove to Cody from here, visiting Red Lodge for lunch, then the Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody the next morning.

Yellowstone is HUGE. Depending on how much you want to drive, you can practially go anywhere from West Yellowstone. Splitting your stay into 2 regions, however, is great advice. You will enjoy it more that way, rather than retracing your steps each evening.

There was a question about why "Gardiner, Montana" and "Gardner River." From the book mentioned above:

<i>Why do we spell the names differently for a town and a river in the same vicinity? The river was named in the 1830s for Johnson Gardner, a rough and illiterate trapper. After 1870, the spelling on maps was Gardiner, probably the result of a mispronunciation. Since 1959, the official spelling for the river has eliminated the i to conform to earliest usage.

The post office at Gardiner, established in 1880, took its name from the stream. Sometimes mail consigned to the postmaster and unofficial mayor was addressed simply to &quot;Jim on the Gardiner.&quot; The town officials have never seen fit to change that spelling.</i>

Thank you Swisshiker, I just ordered Yellowstone Treasures on overstock.com for $14!

Also, thank you Sylvia for the website.

I booked a room in West Yellowstone for 3 nights (Clubhouse Inn) which has two queens and a pull out sofa which should work for all 5 of us. Reviews on tripadvisor are mixed but I am not expecting luxury so we should be ok. We are going to be out all day and just there to sleep.

Now I am going to take a look at Gardiner hotels. Interesting about the two spellings of the names.

I also recorded a program on Yellowstone that aired on the travel channel...which was a great overview. If anyone has a dvr you can search Yellowstone and the airings should come up.

Thanks everyone. I'm sure I will have more questions along the way. We are very excited to do this trip!

TS

Regarding daily itinerary - we did not have one each day. We got a guidebook that described sights in sequence along the road. Did a little research prior, but more or less packed a lunch and headed out; one of us drove, the other read off description of next sight.

Since there is only one road, never had to decide to turn left or right. At some stops we took a fast look; at others we spent an hour. There were only 2 things I remember pre-planning to see - Old Faithful and a place called Boiling River. This is right near sign for Continental Divide a few miles south of Gardiner. There is a path one can walk in on and sit in the hot springs where they mix with river. I remember reading here some time ago that they have closed this area - not sure short of a big fence how that would be possible.

As loose as this plan sounds, it worked great. We roughly planned which loop of the road system we would do each day, but beyond that, we just explored. We found it impossible to decide ahead of time what we would find interesting and what not. Also, animals wonderfully interfered with even the best plans.

One other thing we liked about staying outside the Park was food. While food within National Parks is adequate and this is certainly not a trip about the food, with kids it was nice to have a wider choice of menu items and types of places to eat. One night we found some sports restaurant/bar and watched the Red Sox. Another night we just got a pizza and took it back to our room. After being in the car together all day, we also liked a little more space.

Have a great trip. Our kids are now 17 and 21 and of the 1-2 trips/year we have taken since they were born, all rate the Yellowstone trip as very near the top.

Well some good news. I called Xanterra yesterday and they had one room available at Old Faithful for 6 nights so I booked it. Apparently a tour operator cancelled a whole bunch of rooms and I got the last one! Now I can keep calling back and see if we can get a few nights up in Mammoth, then I can cancel 2 or 3 nights at Old Faithful.

The room is a double ane there are 5 of us, so my youngest, who is 9, will have to sleep on an air mattress and blankets on the floor (well he will just have to earn something extra for doing that!).

I also noticed in my confirmation letter that it says to be aware renovations are planned for Old Faithful this summer 2008. This includes roofing, interior/exterior renovations and exterior staining and painting. I still would not give up a stay at Old Faithful...

TS

That was lucky. Keep your eye out for bison in the Old Faithful area when you walk around at night because I understand that they are grouchy when you bump into them in the darkness. (Though the year we were there, that mostly happened to employees. Still, carrying a flashlight made me feel better.) We saw several grazing outside our cabin in the mornings and some small groups of elk around there. Also a coyote that had the timing of Old Faithful down pat and came into the open area between the porch and the bleachers shortly before it was due to erupt (unfortunately, I imagine, because she knew lots of people would be there and was looking for a handout). She followed behind me a couple of times when I was walking up that way.

I hope your family will love Yellowstone as much as my husband and I did. It is our favorite Nat'l Park, even better than Yosemite, Volcanoes, Denali, or any of the others we've visited. And hope you'll see a bear. (We had to go to Denali for that - quite a number of bears, in fact - but Yellowstone still tops them all for us.)