jul4

To clarify i switched my flight to bozeman.

jul4

yes thats what i meant I switched to bozeman!!

jul4

anyone have an itinerary?
hers what I'm thinking- day one- fly into bozeman and drive to east side of yellowstone to see the geysers. say overnight. Which city should we stay in. I saw something about roadclosers or constauction that would effect where to stay but now i can't find where i wrote that down.

day two-see geysers and whatever else is on that side of park and then drive to otherside.(should we stay there one more night?) We have accommodations in west yellowstone already
day 3 ad 4-hike/visit there-ideas for best things to do on west side of yellowstone
should we drive to the jackson area at night or start off in the morning of day 5?
day 5,6,7-grand Teton, jackson hole and other attractions. looking for ideas
day 8 flight in the morning from bozeman.

also i found a nive rental in victor that seems close to grand teton- is it too far to go from there? (jackson is very pricy in july so willing to drive a little to stay somewhere nice but affordable)

(also can i edit the name of my thread to change where i am going? I don't really want to start a new thread but will iif I have to)

starrs

You can't edit the name of your thread.
I think you should start a new one indicating you are (now) planning a trip to YNP and GTNP.

sludick

Generally speaking, you'll want to allocate the bulk of your time to Yellowstone. It's soooo big, plus you will have road stoppages due to animal jams. A couple of days, as Patty suggested, will cover the Tetons. Where to stay in towns outside the park? Your choices are limited - to the north, there is Gardiner. To the west, West Yellowstone (that's where we normally stay). Then for the Tetons, you have Jackson, Teton Village, and some more rustic choices in the Moran area. However, the best is getting lodging within the parks.

tomfuller

It is good that you can use points to get to a Montana airport. See if you can get a reservation for at least one night at either Mammoth Hot Springs or at Old Faithful inside Yellowstone. Obey the speed limits in the parks. If you are going to stop for a picture, make sure all 4 wheels are off the pavement when parking. Every year, someone (sometimes more) gets too close to an elk or a bison and gets gored.

Patty

I would check in park accommodation availability https://www.yellowstonenationalparklodges.com/ You can split your stay into multiple locations as the park is large. Keep in mind what I said in post #13 about limited reopenings and possible changes later.

If you can't find anything in the park, you can still see everything from West Yellowstone. It will mean more driving and lines at the gate to get in. You can also split your stay outside of the park between Gardiner and West Yellowstone.

The road between Tower and Canyon (Dunraven Pass) will be closed for construction until May 2022 https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvis...nstruction.htm so you'll need to take the road between Mammoth and Norris to go from the northern side to the southern side.

Do not drive after dark.

Accommodations inside Grand Teton
https://www.signalmountainlodge.com/
https://www.gtlc.com/lodges
Dornan's: Vacation in Jackson Hole!

Staying in Victor means you'll need to drive over Teton Pass to get to Grand Teton which is OK in July but means you'll have at least an hour commute each way. If you're looking for a vacation rental, I'd look in Wilson or Teton Village instead.

The main attractions in Yellowstone are the geyser basins and wildlife. The park website gives a good overview of each area https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/placestogo.htm

The Tetons have spectacular mountain and lake views and hikes and also good wildlife. The park is more compact compared to Yellowstone so easier to do from one location https://www.nps.gov/grte/planyourvisit/places-to-go.htm

I like this site for hikes as you can sort by location, distance, etc https://hike734.com/hikingyellowstone/ and https://hike734.com/hikinggrandteton/

2kb

THanks for this link. Planning on taking train into GNP and hoping East side opens up.

kureiff

The Blackfeet tribe voted last week to allow the eastside of Glacier to open, so you should be good.

tomfuller

Eastbound or westbound on the Empire Builder? Currently only running 3 days per week each way. I hope that it goes back to 7 days sometime before July. I did once rent a car in Cut Bank MT from a car dealer. They left the key in the gas flap and the rental paper on the sun visor. If you are coming from Spokane, you can rent easily in Whitefish MT. My favorite lodging on the west side of GNP is the Meadow Lake Resort in Columbia Falls. There is also a flag stop at Essex MT for the Isaac Walton Lodge.

2kb

Westbound, already have roomette tickets and lodging in east side of GNP and car rental lined up. Ending in Seattle. Working on Car Rental there. Will drive to Portland via Mt. Rainier.

2kb

Great news!!

sludick

Actually, Southwest just announced a new route, to Bozeman, which will be their "Yellowstone" gateway. Not sure how fares or car rentals will be in Bozeman yet, but I hope to give it a shot on our next Yellowstone trip. Otherwise, we have always flown into Salt Lake City for Yellowstone on Southwest.

tomfuller

Welcome to Fodors spencerross9357! When were your reservations for? They will start plowing the Going to the Sun Road in April and not before. The high point of the GTTS is at Logan Pass with a big parking lot. The road should be open all the way through to St. Mary in late June. If you can't get lodging for any reason on the east side, you can stay at the Meadow Lake Resort in Columbia Falls and go over the GTTS if the snow has been cleared. The Blackfoot tribe has no control over what the National Park Service chooses to do with the Going to the Sun Road.
If you fly into Spokane, you can take the Amtrak Empire Builder from SPK overnight to Whitefish MT where you can rent a car to see Glacier and then drive down to see at least some of Yellowstone coming in from Gardiner, MT. The Empire Builder leaves Spokane a little after midnight on the nights that it runs. It may go back to 7 day a week service during the summer. It gets into Whitefish about 9 AM MT.
There is also an airport just north of Kalispell MT where you can rent a car.

oldemalloy

Yes Southwest does fly into Bozeman. I got tickets from CT for $106 each way plus taxes etc. it does change planes in Denver, and I have never had that low a fare to Denver, it might be that we got in when they just opened the route and so got a real good deal.

I was able to get 3 nights in Yellowstone. OF and 2 nights in Grand Teton, Colter Village cabin. The usual too expensive but location,location.

I have reserved a car at what I think is blood letting prices, but will be checking for something a little more reasonable, it may be a supply and demand thing.

Patty

Car rentals will be tough this year with the shortage https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/25/busin...ike/index.html

Patty

For those going to Glacier, you'll need a reservation to drive the Going to the Sun Road from May 28 to September 6 unless you have reserved accommodations or tours along the road https://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvis...ketedentry.htm

ahje

Thank you so much for posting this. We are planning on going to Glacier during the time quoted and may have missed this requirement.

jul4

thanks again to all who replied to my original post. i've changed my trip am no longer going to glacir this summer.

pasandy91

the best way to see anything(that you don't have to drive and not see anything) is the Jammers.......