Thinking about yellowstone in late may

Start by finding places to stay. Cabins and lodge room inside of Yellowstone sell fast. There are a several places to stay in West Yellowstone, a few around the entrance at Mammoth Hot Springs, and on the eastern approach.

I prefer the Old Faithful area myself. There are 3 good places there: the original Old Faithful Inn, the new Snow Lodge, and the Snow Lodge Cabins.

There is something about being in the park that spins its own spell of magic.
If you can see a geyser erupt by moonlight.

I can spend all day wandering the geyser basins waiting for the big geysers to erupt. Grand and Castle put on quite a show. Daisy is nice, while Riverside, with its arching plume out over the Firehole River, is graceful.
Others are spectacular, but not as predictable. (Old Faithful is required, well almost.)

Next is the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and the falls of the Yellowstone River. The upper and lower falls are beautiful; the whole canyon is spectacular with all of the colors.

If I had 5 days in Yellowstone,here is how I would do it, personally.
Day 1.
First, watch Old Faithful do its thing.
Second, go through the visitor center, including one of the video presentations.
Third, check the schedule board for the eruption time of one of the major geysers.
Fourth, walk the trail to Lone Star Geyser, perhaps with a picnic meal with me, and enjoy the serenity of the upper Firehole river while waiting for the fun part of the eruption to begin.

Day 2. Check the schedule board again for the eruption of a major geyser.
Then drive over to Biscuit Basin for a walk around the pools. Then continue to the Fountain Paint Pots, the mud pots, and end at the Norris Geyser Basin for a look around. Depending on where I had found a cabin, I would return via the Firehole River drive which starts just south of Madison Junction.

Day 3

Drive to Mammoth Hot Springs. From there take the road over to Tower Falls and northeast to Lamar Valley. Because the road south of Tower Falls is closed, you will need to retrace your steps. There are some minor thermal attractions and falls on the way back.

The next two days I would spend divided between the Lake and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone as the primary attractions. There are some mudpots and cauldrons to see along the way and often wildlife is viewable in Haydn Valley. If I did not drive in the east entrance, I would drive along it to get a good view of the lake.

If I had time, I would allow a 6th day for the Tetons. If not that much time is available, then I would speed up the first 5 days to squeeze in a day for the Tetons. They are a pretty range to view, particularly from Signal Mountain.

Everybody has their own special place in Yellowstone, and everybody has a different agenda when visiting there.
What I have described is my own approach, and every body has a valid variation or two on the same set of ideas. Above all, do what you like to do. There are many ways and many variations to enjoy this wonderful place.

May is a great time to go, but, some of the passes and roads may not be open depending on the amount and timing of winter snowfall. If it is open, take a trip outthe northeast entrance through Cooke City and across Beartooh Pass into Red Lodge, MT. One of the most beautiful drives in the country anytime of the year. And, use the east entrance to visit Cody, WY. I think the Buffalo Bill Musuem is worth the trip. HAve Fun

Hey, Thanks for any and all suggestions, we are 4 sisters travelling and it will be difficult enough so it's great to have ideas of at least where we're going. Any choices of where to fly in to?

We did not plan enough time for Yellowstone so missed so much! Wish we had Bob's post prior to going and we would have planned our trip differently.
I would suggest that you do what our daughter did and stay at a couple of the lodges so you wouldn't have to spend so much time traveling between sights. They saw a lot more than we did, and we stayed outside the park.
We are thinking of going back for a longer time now.

reminder to check the national park website about the road closures for Yellowstone for this coming season (entire year). Large section of the north/south road on the east side of the park is closed.

we go in July & are hoping for the best as well. Everyone talks about how busy this park is for traffic backups, etc. Oh well. We can't change our trip.

Looking forward to it!

Yes, there is a lot of traffic but if you are prepared for it, it won't be too bad. I' ve been a lot of other places that were a lot more crowded.

You can easily get away from people by just taking a trail.

West Yellowstone has an airport served commercially. I just saw a special for a flight from Atlanta, but not at a time I could benefit from.

Jackson, Wyoming, also is served commercially.

Bozeman and Billings are ok too.
If you have a choice, pick Billings.
Then you have a perfect excuse to drive in over the Beartooth Highway through the northeast gate, or even the east gate depending on when you arrive.
The Chief Joseph Higway would be great way to introduce yourself not only to Yellowstone, but to that whole region of the Bearthooths and the Absoarka Mountains.

The east entrance from Cody is the best one to me because you come in with a beautiful view of Lake Yellowstone.
(OK you can argue the south entrance is the best because you drive in past the Tetons. I cannot disagree.)

I think it all hinges on where you can find accommodations. Get those first and then worry about where you airplane lands.

A few days ago I tried to make last minute plans relatively speaking for a 4 day trip to Yellowstone in late July. The accommodations that I wanted near Old Faithful were totally booked.

If you do not have places to stay, I hope it is not too late to get your first choice. For late May, you may still have a shot at the good places.

If you are planning on Yellowstone this year, be aware that crowds may be less than normal. A poor economy combined with high gas prices usually causes a significant drop in visitors. Yellow stone is a pretty remote destination for most people and these factors do have an impact. Don't procrastinate on those reservations though!

The more time you have in the parks, the better!

Hey everyone, thanks so much for all the advice, we got rooms at the old faithful inn and a resort at signal mountain, flying into bozeman, not easy to get a decent price. All the info sure was helpful!

Bozeman has a really nice, small airport and the drive from Bozeman to West Yellowstone is a beautiful drive. It goes through the Gallatin Canyon and by Big Sky Ski Resort.

I keep a watch on the Bozeman air fares and there have been some decent fares recently.. You just have to jump on them immediately.

I always try to include a day in Grand Teton National Park on my visits to Yellowstone. The sun setting over Jackson Lake with the Tetons in the background is an awe-inspiring sight. Jenny Lake has some nice hiking trails and you can take some good pictures of Mt. Moran reflecting in ponds and streams throughout the park.

I also enjoy making a stop in the funky town of Jackson Hole.

The Old Faithful Inn is a good choice. I have stayed there a couple of times. If you are in the old wing,and the temperatures drop, the heat may come on.
If so, all that clanging and banging is just the radiator pipes expanding.

If you want to eat in the dining room, make reservations now. It is crowded.

There is a cafeteria across the way in the cabin complex. And there is a place to eat in the Snow Lodge.

Fortunately the Hamilton Stores stay open a little later and you can buy snacks there.

Have a good time, and be sure to check the schedule board of geyser predictions. Grand Geyser is worth the wait in my opinion. Castle geyser puts on a show that lasts for nearly an hour, if it is a full eruption.
And Riverside, while not the largest, is the prettiest in some respects because the spout arches over the Firehole River.

Bob_Brown,

I have looked and looked for a number or website to make reservations in the restaurant. Do you have that info?

Thanks

Check these links for detailed info

www.yellowstone.national-park.com
(Must visit. This guy is NUTS about Yellowstone. If you can't get info you want here, the info probably doesn't exist)

www.nps.gov/yell
(Official National Parks Service site)

www.yellowstone.com
(commercial site, but still useful)

Thanks Paul.

I haven't found a specific number for the restaurant so I guess I will call the general reservation number and see what happens from there.

You can get information about all the restaurants and their numbers at www.travelyellowstone.com, then click on the dining option on the left. Then click on the restaurant of your choice.
Following is the page that has the Old Faithful Dining Room info: http://www.travelyellowstone.com/old...12A_dining.htm. The restaurant doesn't open this year until May 10, which is the first day to make reservations.

Perfect--that's exactly what I've been looking for.

Thanks!!

I did not check back in after i made my comment. But try this page:

http://www.travelyellowstone.com/yellowstone/dining/012A_dining.htm

This page will lead you to ALL of the reservable dining establishments in Yellowstone. I think it would be neat to eat at the Lake Hotel and drive back in the evening.

Here is a blub from the horses mouth:

The dining room (at Old Faithful) will be open and accepting reservations beginning May 10, 2003. To make a dinner reservation please call the dining room directly: 307.545.4999.

Hey guys, thanks for the advice on dinner reservations, that will come in handy if you have to book so far in advance, am getting excited about the trip and all the info has been great!