Seeking advice on Yellowstone itinerary
 

We have been reading all of the great help and information posted here about Yellowstone, thanks to all of you. Yellowstone is one of the few national parks I have not been to but have always wanted to see. I spent a summer in Glacier, but never had a chance to get to Yellowstone. So, we're going in Sept and I'm trying to get our plans set soon so we can get our lodging reserved.
We'll be flying into Salt Lake City because airfare is cheaper and I expect rental cars will be also. We're planning to take the quickest route north thru Idaho to the west entrance. We won't be booking our airfare til I find the best price, so not sure when we'll get into SLC - so, we'll leave the first night open and stay somewhere between SLC and West Yellowstone.
We're thinking we'll spend 3 nights in the Old Faithful area (probably at Snow Lodge unless something else is available, which I doubt) and 3 nights at Canyon (Pioneer cabins since that's mostly what is available). This seems like plenty of time to see and do all kinds of fun stuff, right? We love day hikes (under 10 miles), photography, wildlife viewing, hot springs. (Thanks for the tip on Boiling River). Would love advice on best hikes and most scenic spots.
We'll spend 2 nights getting back to SLC and plan to leave the park thru the south and go thru Tetons, Jackson. Would love advice on a great place to stay - (place with hottub would be perfect).
So, does this sound reasonable? Thanks so much for all your help. It's greatly appreciated.

I hope you are not overlooking the Grand Tetons. I would spend 2 of your days there rather than all 6 in Yellowstone.

I agree with Gretchen about staying longer in Jackson. We have made the trip there twice. Both times flying to SLC & then driving up to Jackson. We stayed at the 49er Inn - had a very nice suite with a jacuzzi tub in our room with fireplace. The last trip we made in Sept we hiked to Inspiration Point overlooking Jenny Lake & it was wonderful!! Plenty to do & see no matter what area you go to of Yellowstone or the Tetons. We loved Cooke City & driving the Beartooth. Highly recommended! Both of our trips there were fantastic...the only thing we would have changed - we would not have stayed at the Lake Yellowstone Hotel.

ttt

People love Jackson, but I didn't really dig it. After Yellowstone it seemed crowded and touristy and we had a really rude restaurant experience. Personally, I would have been bummed if I cut a day or two off Yellowstone to make time for Jackson. I liked the Snow Lodge and always wanted to check

Sorry about that, my 3-year-old hit post with a banana. I like Snow Lodge but always wanted to stay near the Lake. If it were me, I'd stay two or three nights in three different areas of the park. Also, we made the drive from Yellowstone to SLC in one day, stopping in Jackson for a few hours and in a rainstorm.

I'm nnot really talking about Jackson per se. I am talking about the wonderful beauty of the Tetons. Also the amazing Gros Ventre slide area. I found I could get "caught up" pretty quick on mud/hot pools.

We have 2 full days/nights to spend in Tetons/Jackson area on our way back to SLC. We're definitely way more interested in Yellowstone though. But would enjoy a bit more comfortable accomodations the last 2 nights after being in park cabins. I just booked 3 nights in Snow Lodge and 3 in Canyon cabins - wanted to get something reserved now while I still had a decent choice. Any of you guys stayed in Jackson Lodge or Coulter Bay cabins? Not sure whether to stay in the GT park or in Jackson - any thoughts? Thanks so much!

Sharondi

Before we went to YS and GT, I also thought we "should" stay in Jackson. So glad we didn't. I often have culture shock when returning to civilization after being in wonderful, wild places, and just from driving through Jackson, I would have been so disappointed to stay there rather than the park.

We stayed at Coulter Bay 2 nights and Signal Mt 2 nights. They were fine because our objective was to see the magnificent scenery. However, if you want more luxary for the end of your trip, there are two other lodges within the park (Jackson Lake and Jenny Lake???not sure of the names)

We also did the trip back to SLC from Signal Mt in one day. 296 miles, not a bad drive.

Hi Sharondi,

I know from your other Utah posts that you both are great fans of the beautiful western outdoors! I like your plan of 6 days in Yellowstone. Be sure to stop by the Old Faithful visitor's center and get the "predicted" geyser eruption times. It is so worth it to go out to some of the less famous geyers (Grand, Riverside, Lone Star) and wait (patiently) for them to go off! Awesome!

Also, I regularly go up and spend time at Coulter Bay cabins because I usually go up late in the year (Sept) and they have little wall heaters and take pets. They are pretty basic the the restaurant at Coulter Bay is not very great. But the surroundings can't be beat. 2 days at Grand Teton will be about right I think. The short hike out to Swan Lake from Coulter Bay is nice and very worth while. You should be able to see the nesting swans and moose too.

Town of jackson is quite touristy, but will have calmed down a lot by Sept. Fabulous western art galleries and some very good restaurants. Some very nice places to stay - Four Seasons at Teton Village (ski area), Rusty Parrot, the Wort Hotel, The Amanjani (for the rich and famous).

You will love the Tetons and Yellowstone as much as southern Utah!

Have a great time!

Thanks so much for the input. We'll probably stay at Coulter or Signal Mtn.
Hey Dayle, we still haven't been anywhere that we love more than southern Utah. It's hard to beat! But Yellowstone's wealth of geologic oddities could be a tough competitor!And we really enjoy seeing wildlife - so that will be great! Any tips on great hiking, backroads (we'll have an SUV), great photo spots, etc., please let us know. Thanks again.

sharondi.

If you want a scenic view you'll be better off staying outside of Jackson at one of the places overlooking the lakes. There's a nice hike that skirts around one of the lakes then on to some falls. There's a also boat you take across the lake. You can even take it just one way and hike the other which is what we did. Sorry I can't recall any of the names right now and all of my notes and stuff from that trip are still packed away. (Darn hurricanes!) But I'm sure you can find out what I'm talking about at the NPS GT page.

I have an old post about some of what we did in Yellowstone. I don't know how to put a link to it here. But if you do a search on my name it's under my reply to Yellowstone Itinery. I think you'd enjoy the hike we did. Lots of great photo ops along the canyon trail and then on the loop back to the parking lot we saw a mule deer and fawn. Also the terrain along this hike was amazing. Changed from the river and the Yellowstine Canyon to evergreens, to barren mud pots, to Alpine meadow. All in a few miles.

Barring another storm that runs us out of our house for a year I'll have unpacked my trip info before September and I can let you know some other places we enjoyed hiking and photographing. Having read your posts and gone to your web site you two seem to share our interests.

You'll enjoy this trip. As much as I love the Utah parks nothing can beat Yellowstone for variety and wildlife.

FF

I wondwr why this thread hasn't found its way to the "Montana" area of the forum...is there a way to make this happen or does it need to be posted there to start with?

Duh....make that the "Wyoming" section of forums...what was I thinking?

Peterboy,

There is no Wyoming forum, or Montana, either for that matter. All the states are thrown into one big pot. Well, forum, actually.

You just have to hope that someone sees your topic before it gets bumped down too far and is lost amongst everything else. That's why I always find mine and reply with thanks to those who have answered. Puts me back at the top. At least for a few minutes, anyway.

FF

Grand Tetons: Signal mountain is a beautiful, less crowded area if there are any rooms available.

Hikes in Yellowstone: Wow, there are so many you cant go wrong. Some favorites:

Avalanche Peak: Great Views - 2 mile hike but very steep, each way (east side of the park). Highly recommended but not for the faint of heart.

Lone Star Geyser: Pretty area - near old faithful.

there are lots more and some great guide books which we found a great help.

Enjoy your stay!!

"There is no Wyoming forum, or Montana, either for that matter. All the states are thrown into one big pot. Well, forum, actually."

Let me make sure I understand this then...there is no Wyoming forum section per se.

That must mean that, when I go to the "United States" forum section and scroll down through the states that are listed there and select "Wyoming", then I am simply searching for posts with the word "Wyoming" in them?

sharondi's post doesn't appear in the list of threads under "Wyoming" since she never used the word "Wyoming" in her post. Correct?

I wonder, now that I have used the word wyoming several times in my post here, will it show up in a wyoming search?

I guess it is important to use the state's or country's name in a post then isn't it?

Actually, I was just looking through some other "Yellowstone" posts that appear when I search under "wyoming" from the "United States" section and there are many that never mentioned the word "Wyoming" in their post.

How does one get a post like sharondi's into the listings under "Wyoming"...seems like it would soon get lost down the list on general posts otherwise.

Just trying to understand how Fodor's works is all.. Thanks

Peterboy,

If you can figure out how Fodor's works, please let me know. So far I've figured out this much. I think....

When you open Fodor's and choose U.S. from the talk/forums list of countries, you get all the posts about anything pertaining to the entire U.S. beginning with the most recent post and working backwards.

Yes, if you do a search under the state name you get posts with that name and you can also pull up Yellowstone posts by searching that. But you don't necessarily get them all.

I know because I have searched the same "topic" - with the exact same wording - twice in one day and gotten some of the posts one time and not the next.

It can be frustrating, but I love Fodor's site and find it easier to use than any of the other travel sites I've visited.

You'll love Yellowstone. It's fabulous.

Happy hunting on Fodor's.

FF

Thank you to all for the replies and great information.
floridafran, I've been going through any and all yellowstone posts, taking lots of notes. Thanks for all your help. How's the planning for your southwest trip coming along?

Hi! Did Grand Tetons and Yellowstone in a 6 day weekend trip in September a couple of years back and it was amazing. We stayed a night in Jackson Hole. A night in Colter Bay Cabins in the Tetons, and 3 nights in Yellowstone (Old Faithful Inn).

Seriously do not overlook Grand Tetons. I agree, the Jenny Lake/Inspiration point hike is fantastic. You can either hike around the lake (4 miles, I think) to get to the trailhead of inspiration falls or take a boat across. We stayed in Jackson Hole. A lovely little town. Had gone to a rafting trip during the day and since it was close to the end of the season, the rapids were not as scary but really fun. Went to dinner at Snake River grill that evening. Great food. Discovered J pinot noir there! Also, try and "get lost" on some of the long quiet highways. We did that and was awarded by happening on a herd of buffalos by the hwy to watch at a comfortable distance (about 200 ft!!!)

3 nights in Yellowstone wasn't enough. I wish I had planned it better and did one night in Old Faithful (must see. It's a beautiful structure and a short walk from it's namesake), 1 night in the middle area, and 1 night by Mammoth (sp?) Springs. The one thing you have to realize with Yellowstone is that it is so much bigger than it looks like on the map. The driving alone from one area to the next will take alot of your time and we never made it to the Lamar Valley where there is a better chance to see the wolves that has been released in Yellowstone. Neither did we have time to drive the beartooth hwy where it is said you seem to be driving through the clouds! :-(

So we drove from SLC through Idaho also (which, at that time of the year is a beautiful drive with fields of yellow and hay stacks on either side of you on the frwy)going through the bottom through GTT then to Yellowstone. We got up at 4ish on our last day from Old Faithful and did the 5 hours or so through West Yellowstone back down to SLC (since it was fast hwy drive) for our 1-ish flight.

That trip was incredible. I didn't think we would see as many animals as we did. Severeal herds of buffalos then elk and moose and a couple of brown bears, one with a cub.

Yellowstone is gorgeous and seeing your post, I convinced my better half of going back and we'll try for April for his birthday to see the area in a different season.

sharondi,

I think I just about have it done. We got our permits for the Wave, so that's a biggie. I found a B&B about 13 miles outside Page called Dreamkatchers. Had great reviews on trip advisor. I called and talked to the owner. It's out far enough there's little light pollution which he said makes sitting in the hot tub really nice with all the stars overhead.

Still need to decide whether to rent a 4X4 or car. But other than that I think I have most of it.

If you have any suggestions beyond what you've posted here on Fodor's I'd love to hear them.

I'll find my notes on Yellowstone and Grand Tetons before you leave so I can give you more info on the hikes we did. Best advice I can give you though is to get up and out before the sun comes up and stay out until after it sets. You'll see more wildlife around dawn and dusk and fewer people.

One morning we were the only people at Norris Basin and this was in late July. I found if you just get away from the overlooks and parking areas the crowd thins considerably. And in September you really should be able to get away from people easily.

I'm sure you'll have a great time. My dream trip is to go to Yellowstone during the winter.

FF

Much thanks to you both. Maria - so glad to hear you're going back! And glad that we decided on 6 nights in the park. Just wondering if instead of 3 at OF and 3 at Canyon, we should do 2 at OF, 2 at Canyon, 2 at Mammoth. Probably doesn't really matter that much - any thoughts anyone?
Floridafran - I went back and read old posts about your upcoming trip to remember your itinerary. You're going to have an amazing trip! I'll be sure to send along info if I think of anything else. There are so many great backroads, it's worth it to us to have the option of 4WD. And we had to change our itinerary on our last 2 Utah trips because of weather (rain) and 4WD helps a lot. You are exactly right, Fran, about losing the crowds just getting away from the overlooks. We noticed that in most of the national parks. Thanks again for all the help.

sharondi,

We split our lodging between Mammouth and Canyon. But I think you should be okay with OF and Canyon. As long as all the roads are open and there is little or no construction you can get around fairly well. That is until you come upon a bison jam. But then you really don't care that you're stuck in traffic because they're so great to see in a herd.

Don't know if your trip coincides with a full moon but some of the geysers are supposed to be spectacular by moonlight.

FF

We went on that GTT and Yellowstone trip on a full moon, our first full moon trip to the Ntl Prks, and trust me it is more spectacular. Imagine arriving after dusk at OF Inn and as you enter the area, there's these spindles of smoke coming out of the ground with the full moon as it's backdrop and all of a sudden a geyser, one of many close to the famous old faithful, errupts. We had to stop the car, get out and just stare in awe. It was so beautiful ...and coupled with the noises that moose makes, it was eerie to boot. Ever since then, I've tried to schedule trips to the national parks in a full moon. I've even travelled to just north of San Fran to do a moonlight kayak on the Gualala River then turn around and drive the next day to Yosemite and arriving at midnight with El Cap's steep wall illuminated by the light of the full moon. These are the times that I think all my hard crazy days working are worth it to be able to see such amazing beauty.

I guess what I'm saying is, if you can manage a full moon, do so. :-) :-) :-)

Going back to your question on lodging, I like your idea of the sets of 2. It would cut your travelling time alot which would allow you to have more time to soak everything in.

I'm so jealous, I wish I was coming with you but soon enough. It's now March! ..and we've scheduled it to go during a full moon weekend (well, the end of since the actual full moon is on that Thursday).

Floridafran: You're right. I loved watching the herd of Bison. I imagine it can get tiring if you lived there and see it all the time but trust me, I didn't leave that easily!

maria_so, we will be arriving on the night of a full moon - so that should work out nicely. Thanks again for all the great info.

Sharondi--
Thought I'd weigh in here as you were helpful to me with our SW Utah trip in 2004 (I think!). Like you plan. When we did this trip, we flew in and out of Jackson and did 3 nites Jackson Lake Lodge (beautiful spot, fun diner restaurant, nice pool, rooms at ends had mini-fridge and great space), 2 at OF, 2 at Lake Yellowstone and 1 in Jackson. Jackson is worth seeing for a few hours but I wouldn't base there.

A crazy highlight of the trip for us (and I mean crazy--we still talk about it), was the Bar T 5 Chuckwagon dinner in Jackson. Covered wagons up to a barbecue with very kitschy but hysterical audience-involved entertainment.

You'll love this trip. Different than the Zion/Bryce thing but equally aweinspiring.