Lodging in Yellowstone Park
 

Hi, I will be traveling to Yellowstone next May with two young kids. What is the best lodging in Yellowstone? We'd like a place that's central to most attractions but not cost an arm and a leg.
Thanks!

Yellowstone is a huge park and so most folks suggest you use at least two locations for lodging. None of the lodging is inexpensive and most is probably booked for this summer, but people often cancel so you can call back frequently to find some of the cancellations.

Go to the park service site to find a map of the park and the lodging options.

The site:

www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/index.htm

I should have added that May is early to visit Yellowstone, expect snow in many places. There should be plenty of baby animals, esp. elk and bison.

Here are the in park accommodations and their summer opening dates https://www.yellowstonenationalparkl...summer-lodges/ As mentioned May is still early so not all facilities are open. You'll also want to check the scheduled road opening dates for next spring https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/parkroads.htm If you can't find accommodations inside the park, look at the gateway towns of Gardiner, West Yellowstone or even Cooke City.

I also agree that having multiple bases works well due to the size of the park. You may want to consider a few days in Grand Teton as well. The southern entrance between Yellowstone and Grand Teton opens May 11th next year. We like Signal Mountain Lodge there and they have an early season discount in May. You could also look at the town of Jackson as a base for Grand Teton.

We used the Yellowstone Lake Inn for three nights and Old Faithful Inn for another four. The is no substitute for staying in the park but it is generally on the expensive side. However, reservations can be a problem. For the July 4th week in 2017, we made reservations on May 1, 2016.

While it would be best to stay in the park, we didn't reserve early enough.

We stayed in West Yellowstone, which is a town on the western edge of the park. The key to staying outside the park is to eat breakfast in your room or a quick run through your hotel buffet and get going early.

There are also lodgings at the north entrance and south. The place we stayed at was decent & had a pool. If you use a website like travelocity or booking.com, be sure to use the map view.

I agree with Salive that W Yellowstone can be a good alternative to the park if you can't stay there for whatever reason. We stayed at the 3 Bear Lodge and had a fine experience there. It is about a 2-3 minute drive to the park entrance. I don't know the ages of the kids, but the lodge has one large room that has a cabin inside the room and the room is decorated to match the Goldilocks story. The little cabin is made up to be the 3 bears cabin and the kids can sleep in it.

Another vote here for West Yellowstone - small town convenience with lodging, multiple restaurants, deli/grocery store, right at the West Entrance to the park. Also has an I-Max theatre, Wolf/Grizzly Discovery Center, shops, etc.
Whether you stay in the park or town of West, it's a good idea to start your day early - best chance to see animals in AM, less traffic, etc. You can always pack an affordable lunch from the deli (call in for pickup) or grocery to save $$. We stayed our entire trip there & had a relaxing time.

Because you will be driving so much just to get around Yellowstone, staying in the park is best. West Yellowstone is super touristy and you are there to see the park, not souvenir shops. If you stay outside, check out Gardiner, which is near Mammoth. Our favorite in-park lodging plan was splitting days between Old Faithful and Mammoth.

Maybe the OP has lost interest . . . no response since starting the thread

We stayed in the Old Faithful Lodge Cabins. Great location