Any suggestions for places to stay to do a week tour of Yellowstone. The places in the park are very pricey for 2 retired grandparents. The site that came up for cabins is also pretty high. We would like to do a cabin type accomodation. The only places that are available currently are in August which is okay but it is at the cabins at LakeYellowstone Hotel. By the pictures it doesn't look like a place to stay with kids 8 & 12. My husband definitely wants a room with a bathroom and shower. Any suggestions? Anyone stay at the Hotel?

We stayed in a cabin at Lake Hotel and it had its own bathroom. Very basic but clean and comfortable with two full beds.

You don't say what month you are visiting Yellowstone. I think the best bet is to stay in West Yellowstone, Montana. Three reasonably priced places are Gray Wolf Inn & Suites, Holiday Inn West Yellowstone and the Best Western Desert Inn.
With a reservation far enough in advance and a AARP discount you should be able to get what you want.
West Yellowstone calls itself the snowmobile capital if you want to rent 2 and follow a group.

The only openings I can find is at Yellowstone Hotel and it is in August. I'm concerned that there isn't anything for the kids to do when we are at the cabin. Just sounds "hotel-y"..wish there were pictures of the area. I will check out the suggested places but we are coming from Missouri and didn't want to go that far to get accomadations.

West Yellowstone is on the western boundary of the Park. It is less than an hour from Old Faithful and the geyser basin.
With a series of day trips from West Yellowstone you can see all that you want to see and maybe venture down to Grand Teton on your way home. I hope you don't delay the trip until August based on availability within the National Park.
My trip calculator says about 22.5 hours drive time to West Yellowstone from St. Louis. If you take the I-90 route you can make a stop at Mt. Rushmore.

Personally, I would plan this trip for a year later and get exactly what I wanted. Your to late for this year. You might could get what you wanted by calling every single day for the next 8 months and hope to get a cancellation.

I think the best lodging for what you descrive is Roosevelt Lodge and Colter Bay Village in the Tetons. We loved both and if you call 13 months in advance you can get one with a bathroom and probably even 3 beds. I would definately stay at Old Faithful Inn for a night or two. You can get a private bathrooms there, or you can have a bathroom down the hall and save some dollars.

You want be staying in your hotel much at Yellowstone anyway, so it doesn't matter if it looks Hotely or not.

I think you need to consider staying at multiple places when in Yellowstone. It is that big.

We stayed at The Lake Hotel, but not in the cabins there. Enjoyed our stay there as well.

For National Park Lodging, I always have my plans thought out very well 18 months in advance, then I book my accomadations on the 1st day that they are available(most parks book 13 months in Advance-1st of each month for the next year-in other words)

All this said, anyway is a great way to visit Yellowstone, even if it means you have to drive out of the way each day or have to do without a bathroom.

If you call every day, you may be able to get other lodging inside the park.

We stayed in the cabins at Old Faithful, Mammoth, and Canyon in June. All were comfortable, and the showers/bathrooms at Old Faithful and Mammoth were an easy walk.

You can read about them, if you like, in my trip report. Click on my screen name and scroll down to find it.

Lee Ann

I found what I want today! I've booked to stay at a cabin at Red Pole Ranch for the first week in June. It is very reasonable and has a kitchenette. I don't understand why folks would want to have a cabin and not be able to at least save a little cash having light breakfasts and lunches when they could. I sure didn't want my grand kids going down to the hall to possibly walk in on someone using the shared bathrooms! Now I just need to plan all the things that we will want to do!

If I were you I'd reconsider.

If your plan is to spend a week at the ranch with one or two visits to the Parks then fine.

However, if your focus is Yellowsrone NP and hopefully Grand Tetons NP as well, you'll be spending a lot of time driving each day.

I don't understand the part about having lunches in the cabin. Would you drive back to the cabin for lunch?

My guess is you'll be driving well over an hour each way (probably closer to 2 hours to Old Faithful and Canyon). That won't be much fun for the grandkids.

If you want to have the time of your life and an experience that the grandkids will remember the rest of their lives start calling every day for lodging in the Old Faitful area, Canyon and somewhere in Grand Tetons.

I don't know what you budget is but we didn't spend all that much this past year.

At Signal Mountain (I was with a friend) we shared a cabin that had two bedrooms and a shared bathroom (shared in our cabin).

A lot of reservations are made by tour groups and as time goes on (mostly in the last month) they begin to release rooms.

In the Old Faithful area you can spend a lot of time wantering the Upper Geyser Basin. And after dinner Old Faithful can put on a pretty good show in almost total darkness.

Myer is right. This place is way too far from Yellowstone! You will regret it. Even inside the park it is better to either stay absolutely central like Canyon Village or pick two different overnight locations.

The shared bathrooms may not be exactly like you think. They have mutliple toilets and multiple showers in each bathroom on each floor. I don't see any different in letting your kid go pee there than say at Walmart while you checkout. Anything can happen anywhere in just a couple of minutes. Old Faithful Inn does have rooms with private baths. Old Faithful Inn is very reasonably priced. The cabins and lodges without the private bathrooms are basically luxury camping with towels and bedding included. I don't think any of them "in park" come with kitchens. We always eat yogurt, cereal, or pop tart for breakfast(we aren't really breakfast people)Light breakfast as you mention. We usually start the day before anything is open for breakfast. We pack our lunchalmost every day in national parks. Yellowstone is big, you can't drive back to your cabin very fast.

I think of Yellowstone as Four Different areas and the Gand Tetons as two. You need pretty much a full day to experience each spot. Thats why I think moving is a better idea than staying put for the duration.

I don't know if Grant's Village would work for you. They have two double beds for $152 per night with many dates available for July and Augut. These have private baths.

Our cottage at Lake Hotel had a bathroom of its own.

The Pioneer cabins at Canyon Village in Yellowstone also have private bathrooms.

If you really don't want to use them, that's fine, but the shared bathrooms are just like spirobulldog describes them. You can accompany the kids when it's bathroom/shower time if you're worried about their safety, but I thought they were quite nice for the price we paid.

Lee Ann

Thanks everyone. I found out from another forum that I did make a huge mistake! Glad I found these 2 sites, great info. I was told that it could take me at least 3 hrs to get to Old Faithful from that ranch. It was suggested that if I call direct and not go by what was on the availability chart that I might do better. I did call and after I told the guy what I was looking for, the first thing that came up was at Lake Yellowstone Hotel Cabin, which is the one that I had been considering earlier. It may not be as good as the Old Faithful, but at least it is in the park. Guess this year will be a learning experience, not knowing that it would have been better to move around and see each area. I just really didn't want to do all that moving with the kids, etc.

Casi,
Now we're getting closer. You have a reservation inside the park. You're between Canyon and Old Faithful. Not great but much better than the ranch.

I realize it's tempting to avoid moving around but Yellowstone is a very large park. Also, Grand Tetons are incredible.

Ok. You have the reservation. There's nothing to stop you from now trying to improve. Anything you get can be subtracted from your current reservation.

I would try for Old Faithful cabins (several choices) either to start or in the middle of the trip, and Canyon for the other. Then something in Grand Tetons for the end.

You will be very happy to be able to get up for an early Old Faithful eruption with the sun behind you. Then a late afternoon walk through the Upper Geyser Basin. Not having to drive 45 minutes back to your lodging is worth the move.

Just plan it so that you spend at least 2 nights in any place.

If you're interested in seeing wildlife, and who isn't, they are out the most early morning and at dusk. Just drive the roads that usually have them and watch for cars parked on the side. As soon as one person spots something others will stop.

It's great not to have a long drive in the dark.

I was reviewing the cancellation policy; looks like I won't be penalized for cancelling, right?
I just read Lee Ann's report by the way! Great report and it has me so excited!!!
I am also worried about, especially after reading her report, being there the first week of June. Sounds like it has it's advantages, not so crowded, but what if it isn't even open???? They booked me for June 2, you suppose it would not open on account of the weather?

Casi, I do hope you're considering staying in at least 2 different areas...the park is really that big! We spent our first 3 nights in Gardiner about a mile from the north entrance Roosevelt Arch. Daily trips in and out were a breeze, and we'd often stop on the way "home" to take a dip in the Boiling River (not as painful as it sounds). Our cabin was on the hill looking down on the city (across from fenced in horses...the girls, 6 and 9, loved petting and feeding them every day). We did 2 nites at Old Faithful Inn - in the old house, not the new wing, and then moved on to Signal Mtn Lodge in the Tetons. My only regret was not staying an extra night in each location

Good luck with your planning...there's plenty of info on these forums to get all your ducks in a row!

Casi, I'll be seeing you there in June. I just made reservations at Old Faithful Inn and Signal Mountain in the Grand Tetons. Call them directly. Don't worry about the weather,there will be plenty of things to see and we can't change the weather anyway! You are wonderful grandparents. Enjoy your trip,ziggypop

Casi- don't worry abuot a cancellation fee. I made a ton of amendments, changes and cancellations to some reservations I had and even though you pay the first night- it is fully refunded to you as long as you cancel within the time frame on the cancellation policy (I believe its 48 hours before your arrival date.)

I agree with everyone else- Yellowstone is huge, it is a good idea to try & stay in 2 diff't places within the park. That way you can break up your visit into sections and not drive the same stretch of road over & over again.

Another thing to bear in mind is within the park, miles wise attractions/sites may not be that far apart but you need to factor in for stopping, traffic, etc. If there is wildlife near a road, I have seen traffic completely stop in both directions.