I am desperately trying to plan a trip to Yellowstone in the summer of 2015. I know the lodging in the park gets booked early, but it seems as though most of the lodges are already filled. I did not expect it to be filled this soon. Does anyone have any tips on getting a room there? Would a local travel agent or online tour company have access to rooms possibly? My idea was to stay 2 or 3 nights each at a different lodge so that we can see different areas of the park without having to make long drives each day. Is this practical? What about staying right outside the park? I'd like to be able to take sunrise pictures and not have to spend a tremendous amount of time driving to get to the various destinations. Will staying outside the park make this difficult? Any ideas would be appreciated.

The consensus here is that if you keep calling about lodging things open up. We did a relatively short-notice trip to Yellowstone and Grand Teton some years ago and because stayed outside the Parks. It was fine since unlike many other National Parks, there is lodging just outside the entrances. West Yellowstone has multiple chain hotels in every price range within a mile or so of the entrance. Gardiner has fewer choices but our simple motel-style rooms were right on the Gardner River, with a grassy area with chairs so we could watch the rafters go by. While certainly a different atmosphere than staying right in the middle of the Park, no long drives and an advantage of many more and better dining options. We also discovered a truly local rodeo in West Yellowstone one evening that we never would have known about if staying in the Park.

West Yellowstone and Gardiner are both excellent choices; Gardiner is right at the Mammoth entrance, and West Yellowstone gets you into the central part of the park. The park driving is a figure 8 loop; there are many ways to enjoy the different sections without staying in the park proper (in addition to lower prices, you'll probably find better food outside the park). The surrounding areas are beautiful (you could even stay somewhere like Red Lodge), but my personal preference is Gardiner, for the above-mentioned many lodging choices on the river. I also like a place with a heated pool and/or hot tub, if there's going to be any amount of hiking.

My personal preference in West Yellowstone is Hibernation Station. It's quiet and has western style individual cabins.

We stayed in Gardner and West Yellowstone and enjoyed the drives into the park. From Gardner to Mammouth saw herd of Bighorn each time we went to the park. Drove north from Gardner one evening. Beautiful scenery, deer, herds of horses. West Yellowstone has bakeries, shops, restaurants. Enjoy your visit no matter where you stay.

I would keep trying to get in the park on cancellations.

If I couldn't get lodging in the park, then I'd try for West Yellowstone. To me it's the best strategically located spot outside the park.

Utahtea

Yes. Keep calling. There will be cancellations and availability between then and now. Until that happens, keep planning and book something in one of the gateway towns. I like West Yellowstone too but if you are willing to move around, Cody is great too. Whenever something opens up in the park, adjust accordingly. My favorite is Old Faithful Inn.

Where you stay is determined by your interests.

Wildlife is most active very early in the morning and late in the day.

It's tough to see wildlife if you're far away.

We stayed outside Grand Teton for a few days prior to heading to Yellowstone. Really wanted to see a moose. Drove into Park early AM and at dusk. No moose. Returned to condo and there was a nice moose family eating the landscaping.

The best place to see moose is Moose-Wilson Rd, running from the visitor's center at Moose WY (near Dorman's) back over to Jackson Hole Mountain resort.

We hadn't seen a moose and decided to leave an hour or so early for our trip back to the airport.

We started down Moose-Wilson Rd and immediately saw some people looking down a hill into a marshy lake.

There was a female moose posing for pictures.

I am a big advocate of staying inside the national parks if possible, but I have stayed outside Yellowstone and still had some great experiences...the caveat for that is, if you are staying outside the park, plan on an extra day or two to cover the time spent driving in and out of the park. And I agree that you should keep calling for reservations; Old Faithful area is my top choice because of being able to walk out into the geyser basin early morning and evening and it is centrally located within the park.

Also, try to be flexible with your dates...when you call in to the Xanterra reservation line, ask when there is availability and try to schedule around those dates if possible.

What I like about staying outside the park is being able to have a pool but like the others staying inside the Park is preferable. Make reservations someplace outside close to the entrance and continue to call. I have always been successful by calling for cancellations and like Starrs, I recommend Old Faithful, we loved, loved, loved going to the 2nd floor deck with a bottle of wine in the evening and watching Old Faithful or in the morning with coffee. We also liked the dining room in Old Faithful, just be sure to make reservations.

Call mid Jan--many will be changing their reservations. Recommend Roosevelt and OF cabins.

We are going to rent an RV this year.

Moose--Jackson Lake Lodge--take the hike north of Lodge and do do Bkft in the Mural Room--Moose pancakes

First off make sure you are booking with the actual Concessionaire not some middle man.

I'm going to go totally off in another direction and tell you something you don't want to hear. Your to late to get exactly what you want. You might be able to snag a cancellation. But, I suggest going in 2016. Book on the very first day and get exactly what you want. Do realize that a large percentage of the rooms don't even have private baths, for example.

In my opinion, I only stay IN PARK. Not everyone feels this way, but I like the historic lodges and is the only way to go. For me, I wouldn't even go if I were staying is West Yellowstone or Gardiner. Thousands of folks do it that way and nothing wrong with it, but not my cup of tea.

BTW, my favorite spots to stay in Yellowstone. Old Faithful Inn and Roosevelt Cabins.

It would be a shame not to include a day or two at the Tetons on this trip as well.

Can you get one night in one place or another? I tried booking in October for a July/August trip one year and we got lodging--just not the time frames or the exact places we wanted. We did end up in the cabins at the OF snow lodge and Canyon--both were VERY nice. Much more private and spacious than staying in the Inn for example. Deer right outside our cabin. Very nice. Parked right in front of the cabin to unload all of our stuff (traveling with kids on road trip--lots of stuff)

So see what you can get, take it if it is doable. Then call a bunch to see if there are cancellations. And you can certainly stay in West Yellowstone if you have to. It's fine. Been staying there as the first night before the park for years. Sometimes you just have to take what you can and enjoy it.