Tentative Yellowstone itinerary--please critique!
 

OK--I think I've finally managed to pull together a tentative itinerary for our Yellowstone trip. Would appreciate any feedback or advice from all you experts out there!

Day 1--Depart Spokane, WA (will already be there on business). After a brief stop to see the sights in Coeur d'Alene, continue across I90 to overnight in Billings (Hampton Inn on points).

Day 2--Follow the Beartooth Hwy to the park's NE entrance. Lunch in Cooke City or Silver Gate. Continue west through Tower Roosevelt and spend an hour or two in Mammoth Hot Springs area. Overnight in Gardiner (where?).

Day 3--Head south to Norris and then east to Canyon Village. See Artist's Point, etc. and continue north in a loop back to Gardiner.

Day 4--This would be a day set aside for one of the longer day hikes. Considering Mt. Washburn, Snow Pass/Hoodoos Loop, S. Canyon Rim, Bunsen Peak/Osprey Falls, Beaver Ponds, or Hellroaring Creek. Which one?? Continue to overnight in West Yellowstone (Holiday Inn?).

Day 5--Head to Old Faithful area for the day. Return to West Yellowstone for overnight.

Day 6--Second longer hiking day. Considering Lone Star Geyser, Fairy Falls, or Elephant Back. Which one?? Overnight in West Yellowstone.

Day 7--Drive from W. Yellowstone through Norris, Canyon Village, Fishing Bridge and West Thumb to South Entrance. Continue on through Grand Teton to overnight in Jackson (where?).

Day 8--Try a float trip down the Snake River or scenic cruise on Jackson/Jenny Lake (which?). Also considering the whitewater rafting. Overnight in Jackson.

Day 9--Do some driving in the park and try a day hike (not sure yet which one). Overnight in Jackson.

Day 10--Drive to Salt Lake City (Hilton property on points).

Day 11--Early flight home to DC.

Also would appreciate any tips on reducing our rental car costs. They seem to really gouge you on the one-way trips. Is 4WD a good idea for driving through the mountains? Thanks!

Forgot to mention--we'll be making the trip in early to mid-August if that makes a difference.

Hi Julie,
It's good that you can take the time to be in each area for a day or longer. Once you get into the parks, you kind of lose track of time as the adventure just takes over.
Day 2 - You will enjoy the Beartooth Highway. After 5 tries, we finally made it onto the Beartooth last year. We always go in April/May or Sept/Oct and snow kept us off of the highway for the first 4 tries. The little town of Red Lodge at the northern end of the Beartooth is a good place to stop for a break. We like Bogarts's restaurant...rustic and trendy at the same time. Look for wildlife in Lamar Valley.
Day 3 Yes you will be seeing some of the highlights. Watch for animals in Hayden Valley and take the hike to the Falls and Artists Point. If you are interested in photos, morning and early afternoon are best here.
Day 4 We stay at the Fairfield Marriott in West Yellowstone. There are many choices for lodging in the area, it depends on what you like.
Day 7-9 The Tetons and Jackson are my favorites. It's just such a beautiful place. Stop at the visitors Center in Moose and they will probably have info on hiking and float trips. Just up the road towards Yellowstone and on the other side is the Church of the Transfiguration. It's a very tiny much photographed building. Inside, there's a window than frames the Tetons.
Be sure to travel on the Teton Park Road in addition to the main JH Hwy. The Park Road goes by Jenny Lake and Signal Mtn Lodge..this is a good place to eat lunch or dinner. Also south of Jackson on the main route is Bubba's a much liked local and tourist favorite for sandwiches, etc.
We are not really hikers, but there is one that is often recommended at Jenny Lake. You take the boat shuttle across Jenny Lake and hike to Cascade Canyon, Hidden Falls, and Inspiration Point. Again, check at the visitors center for info.

When you first enter Yellowstone, you will receive info on construction and/or areas that may be closed. Since we go in Sept/Oct, there is always some maintenance going on. Hopefully, you will be early enough to avoid it. It's always good to have a plan B just in case. We rent an economy car and have driven it all over the parks (and in the snow) with no problems. Have fun planning! You should have enough time in each area to really enjoy it.

One more thing - don't forget the shopping in Jackson - my favorite is Coldwater Creek.

Julie -- sounds like you have been doing a lot of research and planning. I don't have any substanial advice but wanted to tell you we did the Beaver Ponds hike last June and enjoyed it very much. It's not particularly well marked and in fact, at one point we didn't know exactly which way to go and determined that the only way to continue was to walk over a beaver dam! Some others on the trail saw a mother black bear and her cub, but we missed them. I wish we had also had time for Fairy Falls -- lots of people rave about that one, too. There's just so much to see...Yellowstone is so awesome -- I envy you! Have fun!

Good plan. My only suggestion is don't try to see too much.

I have been to Osprey Falls, but the route at the time was shorter because the Bunsen Road was still open to the falls parking area by the trailhead. Now I am told you park on the main road and walk where once people were allowed to drive.

If that is the case, I would take Mount Washburn on a clear day.

Osprey Falls was heavily dependent on the forest canopy for its beauty. The fires of 89 got the canopy, and the trees are still recovering. Two years after the fires we drove along the Bunsen Road and could actually see the falls through the snags. It was not the same.

My favorite geyser in the park, after Grand, is Lone Star. The approach is a two mile trail along an old road that plays in and out with the upper Firehole River. There are meadows and unburned forest along the way.

We usually take our lunch and wait for the geyser to blow, which it does about every 3 hours in 2 stages. So after the first one, wait for the second one.

If you want one of the smaller falls, go to Tower. It is a little steep going down, but I enjoyed it.

In the Old Faithful area, consider waiting on these geysers: Grand, Castle, Daisy, Riverside, and Great Fountain. Great Fountain Geyser is located near the Fountain Paint Pots.
It has a predicted time posted in the visitor center near Old Faithful itself.
(You will catch that one in passing quite easily.)

I finally got to see Great Fountain and it is a sight to behold. White Dome Geyser is in the area and sometimes you get lucky and see it too.

Daisy and Riverside are smaller, but pretty. I like Riverside because the water plume arches gracefully over the Firehole River.

All in all you have a good plan. I wish I had the stamina to do it. (Hip surgery and age got me.)

In Jackson we have stayed at the Buckrail; so has my son. But consider Signal Mountain Lodge. It is in a good setting north of the Grand Teton itself.
The view of the range from Signal Mountain (actually a glacial moraine) is incredible. Best view I think you will find of the Tetons. Because of the angle of the sun, I think the best viewing time is in the morning.

I never needed a 4 wheel drive vehicle for Yellowstone. The Beartooth Highway is quite negotiable by a regular car.
I have done it in a variety of vehicles including a Corolla, which was actually very good for those turns. It rode fine too.

your plan sounds ambitious... just a few things: consider staying in the park. All taht driving back outside to W yellowstone takes time. Our worst animal jam was at the west gate. I recommend Yellowstone Glacier adventures - a day with a guide. We did it with 3 kids and saw all animals, wolves/bears/elk and the guide showed the kids lots of hidden gems (bear den, animal bones etc) finally, Signal Mountain Lodge is great! right on the lake, the cabins are rustic but fine and there are 2 restaurants right there. We also enjoyed swimming/kayaking, renting a motorboat right from Signal Mt beach. Good luck

I would highly recommend that you try to stay in YNP. If there are rooms available at Canyon or Old Faithful, I would book them now. See what is available inside the park and post back here.

I'll second the motion for hikes to the Beaver Ponds and to Fairy Falls. We loved both of them. We enjoyed every outing we made in Yellowstone but especially those 2-5 mile hikes that took us a bit futher into the wilderness but still qualified as "easy hikes."

We stayed in the park but I wouldn't have minded staying in West Yellowstone. We took refuge there for dinner a couple of times when we couldn't stomach the park's consession food for another meal. The drive in/out of the West Yellowstone gate was gorgeous in the very late afternoon or early evening. Lots of good wildlife spotting.

I agree with the others who've said that 4 WD is unnecessary.

The Log Cabin Cafe in Silver Gate was a good meal. We had a great lunch there. Excellent blueberry and cherry pies.

Be sure and allow enough time in Jackson. Fun town with lots to do & see. Our favorite place to stay with our boys is the Ranch Inn. Right off town square. Don't have to deal with the parking and driving problems. We can walk to restaurants, shopping, etc. We go at least once a year. Let me know how much time you are allowing in Jackson and I can suggest places to eat, etc. The Ranch Inn has a hot tub, but no pool, does that matter to you? We never seem to have enough time while in Jackson to swim anyway. A good one with a pool is the Red Lion Inn (much more expensive).

Thanks to all for the great advice. We've decided not to stay in the park for this trip since the options seem pretty rustic and expensive for what you get, and we'd probably have difficulty getting reservations anyway at this point.

For lodging, our ideal is something a bit larger than just a room with a bed (i.e. a couch and mini-fridge would be great) although it will just be the two of us so we don't need tons of extra space. We're not looking for luxury, but neither do we want to rough it. My better half will be very grumpy if I choose anywhere without TV. We'd both prefer to be somewhere other than right downtown, where we're away from heavy traffic and can enjoy the stars at night. A balcony or patio with a nice view would be great. As far as prices go, we'd like to stay under $150/night (cheaper is obviously better if we can find something nice that meets our other requirements).

If anyone has additional suggestions for any of the cities I've mentioned, please feel free to chime in. We will definitely look into the places already mentioned.

Thanks again!

We stayed in a chain hotel (Best Western or Holiday Inn or such) in Gardiner--both it and West Yellowstone are very small towns--mostly made up of hotels. I don't think it matters too much where you stay--you aren't in the room that much. We also like to have a tv, etc., so any chain hotel probably has the amenities you want. We stayed in Holiday Inn in Yellowstone (and would again). In Jackson we stayed once at Teton Village and thereafter at a Best Western right in town. In all 3 places, our preference was (and still is) to stay in town where you can walk to restaurants, etc.--especially in Jackson. Teton Village was nice if you want to be away from the bustle of Jackson. (and I think it was a Best Western that we stayed in there too). There really isn't too much that I would consider downtown or heavy traffic in either Gardiner or West Yellowstone (we only stayed in Gardiner one night though).

Forgot to ask--we are tentatively planning to go the same places in late August/early September, so if you possibly could write a trip report after you return--especially interested in road delays you find. Thanks and have a great trip!

In Jackson, I stayed at the Buckrail Lodge. It is located in a residential area so it is fairly quiet. Not much of a view, but decent lodging.

I can add a couple of ideas to the rest. We took the Barker Ewing scenic/whitewater combo on the Snake River a few years ago. It was the best of both. A peaceful early morning ride, then stop for a campfire and a breakfast which they prepared then back on the river for the whitewater portion. We had never done anything other than fairly tame trips down a Missouri river and we really enjoyed the thrill as our children did! I think we had to be at the meeting place around 6:00 a.m. and got back around 2:00 in the afternoon so it still gave us late afternoon and evening.
We have also taken the Jenny Lake hike as a previous poster mentioned and it was great. You do take a boat ride and the lake is gorgeous. We also loved Jackson Lake and the hotel on that lake. It has a huge sitting room in the lodge that is right on the lake with stunning views. We had a nice lunch and took a hike there too that went along the lake.
I can't remember the name of the hotel we stayed at in Gardiner but it was on a rushing river and we could sit on our deck and watch it go by. the hotel had a decent restauant too. I do remember a huge deer that walked right through town! We have been to Yellowstone twice, loved both times.