I have been trying to get rooms inside the park.I have been calling national parks reservations. No rooms. Am I better off calling the hotels and lodges direct? Please help as I would love to stay inside the park. Myra

If you can't get lodging in the park try West Yellowstone. It's the best location for outside the park.

Utahtea

The live people on the phone seem to get the cancellation information before it is posted to the website, so the phone is better than the web when trying to catch an opening. I don't think the hotel direct is any better than the central reservation--both are run by the contractor.

Probably best advice is above--find a place in West Yellowstone that has a cancellation policy you can live with, then keep calling every morning for cancellations, especially close to your visit.

As of last year, they either did not charge a cancellation penalty or at least not far in advance, so people could pay the deposit and tie up rooms until close to their time of arrival and then cancel what they didn't need. That was our experience.

My sister recently cancelled a room in Old Faithful Inn so it does happen. Don't give up. I agree about calling. I've had it show no availability online and then called and found there was availability.

Oh, these National Parks! I have heard that cancellations start to happen a few weeks before the actual date. I suggest booking outside the park and keep calling inside the park. I just got back from Yosemite where I had asked the front desk of their famous hotel how can I get a room in the summer...the answer, "366 days in advance or a prayer and lots of phone calls to our booking agent...cancellations happen, but they are filled immediately."

I've heard that in Yosemite 10 days before you want to get in is a good time to call for cancellations but you better have a back up plan!

Utahtea