Itinerary for Yellowstone, et al
 

Hello, we are preliminarily planning a 2-week trip and request an itinerary. We are 2 middle-aged pretty good hikers and will be traveling w/o children. We probably would want in park lodging so that is why we are beginning our thinking about this trip now. A loop beginning in SLC and visiting GT, Jackson, YNP, and into SDakota-Rapid City and Mt. Rushmore and, of course, all the wonderful sights in between. Thank you so much!
Elizabeth C.

<i>request an itinerary</i>

We are not travel agents, so a guidebook might be in order.

What time of year?

Lee Ann

The loop you suggest is good but depending on price it might benifit you to fly in and out of Jackson.

The itinerary will depend completely on your tastes, desires and budget.

Two years ago I did a 9 day trip, similar to what you have planned, with the exception of SLC.
We flew into Rapid City, SD and got a car rentall. DId Mount Rushmore. Then we did Jewel Cave and I highly recommend that. It was then a 9 hour drive to Yellowstone, so broke it up and stayed in Greybull, Wyoming. Then went into Yellowstone and stayed a couple nights in Canyon Village and did the upper loop. Then drove down to Old Faithful area and spent one night there. Then drove to Jacskon which is about 50 miles away from Yellowstone. Stayed at Jackson Lake Lodge for 3 nights. Gorgeous views of Grand Tetons. We did drive into town of jackson and found it pretty touristy. Recommend going to jenny Lake and do the hidden falls hike. Grand Tetons were stunning and loved Jackson Lake lodge. However, in August mosquitos were terrible when near water. Then, turned in car rental in Jackson and flew home.

Forgot to mention that you should start planning your trip depending on what accommodations you can get in Yellwstone. Canyon Lodge cabins is where we stayed and they are very moderate, but location is great. In old Faithful area we stayed at Old Faithful Snow Lodge (and would recommend). Since we couldn't get accommodation at Old Faithful Lodge, we had dinner there one night. You can make dinner reservations 30 days in advance if you are not a guest.

Hope this helps.

Roughly speaking, one week for Yellowstone/Grand Tetons and the other week for driving and the Black Hills.

As already mentioned, any itinerary heavily depends on what time of year and your interests - you say you are pretty good hikers but is there anything else you're interested in? How long/strenuous of hikes?

You say you're starting to plan now because you want to stay in park - lodging tends to book up pretty early for summer. If you are planning for this summer, you'll have to get things sorted out quickly and get to work on finding lodging asap.

Be careful about the names in the Old Faithful area. Theres Old Faithful Inn, Old Faithful Lodge cabins and Snow Lodge. Nothing wrong with any just make sure you're asking for what you want and whether facilities are private in your cabin/room or shared.

If you're serious hikers, be aware that spring comes late to Yellowstone and the Tetons, and many of the best trails may have snow on them well into June. This might influence the timing of your trip.