I know it will have been talked about to death and I apologise for yet another Yellowstone post.

My wife and I are looking to book a holiday to YNP starting 2nd June 2018 through till about 25th June. We will be flying into SLC so first point:

Where will be nice to stay in SLC. We don't want to stay at the airport as we will only be there for the night. We arrive at 7pm and collect car the next day (is an SUV a decent choice?) But would like to see at least a little of the city. Any nice boutique hotels in a lively area?

We move towards the north of YNP the next day and are looking to stay in the area of Cooke City. Will that be a decent area to strike out to the north and north central of the park? We are looking at about 6 or so days. What does the north of the park offer etc.

Our next stop will be in Cody (I know it's touristy) with a view to hitting the east and east central areas. Again, what can we look forward to in this area. Anything a must do? Accommodation I am flexible on but something quaint/quirky? Again, 6 or so days.

Finally we will go back to SLC to fly to either Portland or Settle. I would prefer Portland (big fan of the program Grimm). So any ideas for nice boutique type hotels in lively areas. Portland or Settle, that is the question.

My wife really wants to photograph a lot. Is this a decent time to go and what can we expect to see around June.

I know this is a rambling message and I look forward to any replies and ideas. Is there anything else I should be considering or other places I should be looking at?

Many thanks
Graeme

You don't need an SUV to travel in that area, especially if you do not intend to do any camping in more isolated areas that are at the end of a dirt track; even unpaved roads are manageable with a sedan.

As for itinerary, return via West Yellowstone and eastern Idaho; U.S. 20 is quite scenic.

Many thanks Michael, we will get a normal car. As far as the 20 goes, we would cut across the park from cody, hit 20 south, then the 91 etc down to SLC?

If I read this correctly you are planning to stay outside the park and drive in each day? I would stay in the park for three or four days. We recently stayed three days at the Grand Lake hotel on the south end and then moved to Old Faithful Inn for another three nights. Crowds can be heavy and driving on the roads very slow if the buffalo are moving around. They like to stand in the middle of the road and watch tourists. Staying in the park allows you to get to many of the sites early before the drive in crowd and tour buses show up.

PS -- Should have added. At this late date it may be difficult to obtain reservations in the park. Many have to just keep calling till a cancellation becomes available.

Many thanks fmpden, the old faithful sounds quite nice. Was just looking to stay outside to save a bit of cash. Is the park massive in a way that would negate dayly travel from outside.

I personally think it is worth the price to stay inside. The park is massive. The roads are windy, two lanes, generally 30 mph with some closer to 45, traffic jams are frequent if the buffalo wonder onto the road everything stops. If the buffalo are off to the side, then people stop to take pictures even if it says, No Parking, and that jams the traffic. Some of the sites have small parking lots that overflow onto the roads.

We found that we could easily access sites till about 11 then the outside traffic finally overflowed everything. So we tended to hit the major sites from about 8 to 11 and after 4pm. You have light till after 8 pm. It was almost impossible to move around the park during mid-day with any speed.

In SLC, stay at the Hotel Monaco, which is a Kimpton Hotel and is very boutique. The restaurant there (Bambaras) is excellent. If you want a bigger room and less pricey, you can really stay at any place near the convention center and walk to: Cafe Molise (excellent Italian) or Cafe Martine (tapas--again, excellent). Downtown SLC can be active in the evening or not--depends on what is going on. Hotel Monaco is in a good area.

You absolutely want to stay in the Park. Massive Park, slow traffic, etc. We tend to start around 8-9 (I am the only early person in my family) and we go till 4 or 5. Then collapse for a bit, grab dinner, and then walk around where we are staying. Look at the reservations site and be flexible. The cabins at any location are really nice--bigger than a hotel room. We really like them. If you can't find ANYTHING in the park, then make reservations outside, but keep calling. Truly worth it.

You cannot drive back and forth from Cody with any speed. It is a HAUL. So if you want to stay in the North of the Park, look at Gardner Montana and then for the South part, look at West Yellowstone. The drive to Cody is amazing and the Buffalo Bill Museum is incredible--we did this all on a day that it POURED so it was good to be flexible.

I love, love, love Yellowstone and grew up about 3 hours from there. I still can't see doing 12 days in that park. It certainly takes at least 3 days, so maybe you could do 5. Then you need to go to Grand Tetons and take 1-2 days there. So I would look at: West Yellowstone or Old Faithful area or Grant Village Area for 2 days. Then go to Canyon or Mammoth or outside to Gardner and do 2 days or so there. You could certainly go to the North of the park, see what you want, then plan to go to Cody for a day and stay overnight there, then go back in to see the southern part of the park, then to go to Grand Tetons and then back to SLC south from Jackson.

There is lots to do in Jackson--excellent White water rafting. You could stay at the cabins at Dornans (in Moose) or at the Virginian Hotel south of Jackson and save some money.

As for Portland or Seattle-- I really liked Seattle better!! I think we stayed at a Kimpton Hotel in both cities (love that brand) and ate as much seafood as we could get! As for Portland, we spent about 2 days in the city and then took a day each to drive to: the Columbia River Gorge, Astoria and the coast, south through the wine region.

If you click on my user name you can see trip reports for Yellowstone and Jackson. These are trips with kids but we did the same things I would do as an adult. (except I would hike a LOT more) And i don't remember if I posted a Portland trip or not....

The cabins at any location are really nice--bigger than a hotel room.

Not all. Checkout the original cabins behind the Lake Lodge.

Santon Hyde, Many many thanks for your reply, if fact many thanks to all who have taken the time to respond to me and sharon, that was an outstanding reply. I looked for a way to message you but guess there isn't one. Will deffo look at length of time in the parks and also where to stay.

Will look at staying inside the park as you suggest as didn't realise it was that slow to get around.

The locations you suggest will be the first places we will look at and we will do it soon,

Many thanks SH, if you have a PM option let me know

Graeme

Stanton Hyde, Many many thanks for your reply, if fact many thanks to all who have taken the time to respond to me and sharon, that was an outstanding reply. I looked for a way to message you but guess there isn't one. Will deffo look at length of time in the parks and also where to stay.

Will look at staying inside the park as you suggest as didn't realise it was that slow to get around.

The locations you suggest will be the first places we will look at and we will do it soon,

Many thanks SH, if you have a PM option let me know

Graeme

You should consider Visiting the Grand Tetons national park also since it is very close to Yellowstone. It is a very different experience and the photography opportunities are fantastic. Staying inside the park is really important in the Tetons as well, since Jackson is the closest city that it is a long ride.

I agree with prior posts to stay in Yellowstone. There is probably nothing available but keep trying, cancellations are common. Jenny Lake lodge is a great option just outside the park on the south side of the park with also good access for Grand Teton NP. For your return to SLC, consider driving through Flaming Gorge. It will add 30-45 minutes to the drive, but it's very scenic. Take some time to enjoy Grand Teton NP as well as at least a couple hours in Jackson. Instead of a 4x4 vehicle, Mustang convertibles are a popular rental in this area and especially nice for someone interested in photography, IMO.

I enjoy wildlife photography so in YNP, I was especially drawn to the bison, wolves and grizzlies . The bison were more in the north and central areas of the park, wolves in Lamar Valley and my only grizzlies spotting was just outside the park's SE corner. Yellowstone lake is nice if you would like to kayak while there. Grand Prismatic and the hot pots are quite photogenic. Moose sightings are common in GT NP near Moose WY.

Seattle and Portland are both great cities but having lived in Portland, I'm partial to that city. It's a great downtown vibe with many great restaurants and great flower gardens. Just be aware that both cities may be a bit soggy that time of year. If you have the time, directly west of Portland is the beautiful Cannon beach and town. The