UT & WY Roadtrip - Help!
 

Hi there,

My boyfriend and I are planning a roadtrip from Gillette, WY (my boyfriend's parents live there) to Yellowstone National Park (2 full days), to Grand Teton National Park (1 full day), doing an activity (1 full day) near Jackson Hole (thinking ATV'ing with Jackson Hole Adventure Rental) - have 1 full day not planned at all yet - , driving through Montpelier to Bear Lake (check it out for half a day) and through Logan Canyon to Salt Lake City (about 5 hours of driving this day), spending (1 full day) in Salt Lake City. And then flying out the next morning to Seattle.

Any tips of must-sees in the National Parks, activities, hikes, ideas for our one day we don't have planned, etc., would be MUCH appreciated! We also do not have accommodation yet for Grand Teton area, Jackson Hole, and Salt Lake City so suggestions also welcome for that!

Thank you!

Lindsay

Sorry - important to include is that we are roadtripping September 4-10th.

I live in Salt Lake and I would cut out the day in SLC and add it to Yellowstone. I would also suggest white water rafting over ATVs. Or hiking--September is gorgeous and there is a lot to hear in the forest and you can't hear anything over an ATV. SLC has lots of hotels downtown and it is only 20 mins to the airport. So just get a cheap, clean room downtown and you're good.

Jackson Hole is expensive--I think there is something called the Antler Inn or the Virginian (which is south of town). Book now. You may not find something in the Grand Tetons at this point. I would book 2 nights in Jackson and then keep calling back at the Tetons to see if you can get lodging.

Rafting ovet ATVing, and spending as much time as you can in the two National Parks. For lodging in Jackson, we found a few places we liked up near the ski area. Jackson Hole refers to the valley.

I agree with the above. Spend all your time in WY. 5 days is the minimum for Yellowstone/Teton, IMOP

Thank you everyone! Very helpful! I definitely don't want to skimp on the Parks. I love rafting,I was just looking at ATV'ing since it is something we both hadn't done before and we have done white water rafting.

Add that one full day unaccounted for to Yellowstone. With three days you can relax a little bit more and see more. Try to find geyser times and plan to be there when they go off. Also a good idea to take the day from SLC and add to Yellowstone. While one day in Tetons is not alot it will be enough especially with the extra activity day. Have you thought about horseback riding as an option?

You have two options for the drive into Yellowstone. You could go via Cody, pretty much just straight through, (GREAT museums in Cody). Or since this is a road trip you could veer north a bit and go in through the Beartooth Highway starting in Red Lodge and ending at Cooke City near the NE entrance. It would be longer, but oh what a road.

I would do the Cody entrance and absolutely make time for the Buffalo Bill museum. It is amazing!!!

Cody isn't far from Yellowstone and would be good.
As Sandy indicates, spend 3/4 of a day or so just "geyser gazing". I think Riverside Geyser and Castle Geyser were my favorites. At Old Faithful, you can expect to have several hundred people there(unless you get there at 6AM, you have it to yourself). OF is easy to catch as it goes just about every 90 minutes +/- 5 minutes. Riverside goes about every 4 hours +/- 2 hours(so you might be waiting here). Castle goes about every 13 hours +/- 3 hours(again might be waiting). There are 3 or 4 other geysers that are predictable. The rest of the geysers are a total crapshoot. You are likely to be lucky and catch some of the others going though. I think we saw OF go 3 times, Castle, Riverside, and 3 others all in 1 long day in and around OF area. A Great way to spend the day.

InSandy mentioned geyser times. Other than Old Faithful which is very easy to see (app 90 minutes apart) Castle and Riverside may not be that easy. Their eruptions are much further apart.

Wow, thank you every one for the tips.

The most updated plan:

- Drive from Gillette, WY to Cody. Spending the night at a range nearby. Is the buffalo bill really worthwhile? Planning on going to Irma's saloon for dinner.
-Spending the next 3 full days in Yellowstone National Park. I think we will use the NE entrance and do the Beartooth Highway at least one of the days. Currently have 2 additional nights booked at that range outside of Cody - is this a good idea or is that too far of a drive to do everyday to get into the park?
-Grand Teton for 1 full day. No hotel booked.
-Activity day around Jackson (thinking white water rafting, anyone recommend any companies?). No hotel booked for there.
-Last day: drive through Bear Lake State Park through Montepelier, Logan Canyon to spend the night in Salt Lake City as we are flying out that next morning. No hotel booked for Salt Lake City yet.

Thanks!



Grand Teton National Park (1 full day), doing an activity (1 full day) near Jackson Hole (now thinking white water river rafting - any recommended companies?), driving through Montpelier to Bear Lake (check it out for half a day) and through Logan Canyon to Salt Lake City (about 5 hours of driving this day), spending (1 full day) in Salt Lake City. And then flying out the next morning to Seattle.

It's not fancy, but there is a Motel 6 in Jackson. We stayed there in 2010. It had just been refurbished, so it was very comfortable and fit our needs.

Lee Ann

Right now our plans are:

- Drive from Gillette, WY to Cody. Planning on going to Irma's saloon for dinner. Then going to our hotel (red pole ranch) which is 21 minutes west of Cody.

-Spending the next 3 full days in Yellowstone National Park. We will use the NE entrance and do the Beartooth Highway the first day. Do the NE entrance - Tower Junction - Mammoth Hot springs route the first day, spending the night in Gardiner, the next day going on the Grand Loop Drive - Norris - Canyon area -Fishing Bridge - then out the East entrance to creek side lodge (48 minutes west of Cody) . The last day we are going to backtrack a bit to get back on the Grand Loop Drive and do Old Faithful and all that around there and exit out the west entrance and stay in the town of west yellowstone. we are hoping for a cancellation in grand village to stay the night there instead of west yellowstone.

-drive to Grand Teton for 1 full day - entering Moran entrance. staying at the angler's inn in jackson.

-doing white water river rafting (i think with dave hansen's white water rafting company). 8 miles of scenic floating and 8 miles of white water river rafting. spending the night again at the angler's inn in jackson.

-Last day: drive through Bear Lake State Park through Montepelier, Logan Canyon to spend the night in Salt Lake City as we are flying out that next morning. spending the night at the howard johnson express inn in slc.

I have loads of info on what to see in Yellowstone and a bit for grand Teton - any must-do's for Grand Teton? We love to hike so any amazing hikes we should do in either park, please let me know! since we are only there for 3 days in yellowstone and 1 day in GT, they should probably be short-medium length hikes.

we are only in salt lake city for an evening - i looked on tripadvisor and it doesnt look like there is too much to see? any must-sees in anyones opinion? thanks!

Frankly, there are so many sites in Yellowstone that with 3 days I don't think I would do any hikes. A lot of people like Mt. Washburn.

At the Tetons the "must do" on most peoples list is taking the boat across Jenny Lake and hiking to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point. This is a popular trail and there are more people on it than I like, but it is nice.

Ok thanks for the tips!

Hi there,

We have decided to spend the "Activity day" going back into Grand Teton and using it for a day for HIKING! Since I don't know if we will get much hiking done in the first day since there is plenty of other stuff to see in Grand Teton!

Any tips on how we should dress for trekking around these parks? Is it going to be hot/cold??

For Grand Teton area lodging that is quite reasonable but still cute and comfortable, take a look at the Hatchet Resort. http://www.hatchetresort.com/

Weather-wise - it could be snowing and it could be warm enough for shorts. It is definitely fall, and you should hope for glorious blue skies, golden leaves, and a chill in the air at night and morning. And then, unexpectedly, a storm rolls in with cold, rain, or snow. Dress in layers and be prepared.

Now that we're not doing an activity based in Jackson - we really should move our accommodation for those two nights closer to the park!

The "rafting vs ATV'ing" comments are correct, IMO. Raft the Snake while in Jackson. The Motel 6 is fine in Jackson, if you want something inexpensive, but there should be lots of options in town at all prices. Early Sept is my favorite time in the two parks-- the little kids are in school but everything is still open.

It's a hump to drive into Yellowstone on a daily basis. If that's your plan, the best I've done is to stay in West Yellowstone. A few thoughts:
1. Elk begin the rut in early September to late September, and the Mammoth area can be packed with elk when this happens. They'll be blocking traffic and eating the petunias out of the hotel flower beds. It's pretty neat.
2. Rafting the Snake is an all day affair, but everyone seems to love it.
3. If you want to stay in Jackson, there are lots of hotels and it's a nice place. However, Teton Village is my usual preference.
4. While in Yellowstone, don't overlook the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and my favorite short trail-- Uncle Tom's Trail.

The "rafting vs ATV'ing" comments are correct, IMO. Raft the Snake while in Jackson. The Motel 6 is fine in Jackson, if you want something inexpensive, but there should be lots of options in town at all prices. Early Sept is my favorite time in the two parks-- the little kids are in school but everything is still open.

It's a hump to drive into Yellowstone on a daily basis. If that's your plan, the best I've done is to stay in West Yellowstone. A few thoughts:
1. Elk begin the rut in early September to late September, and the Mammoth area can be packed with elk when this happens. They'll be blocking traffic and eating the petunias out of the hotel flower beds. It's pretty neat.
2. Rafting the Snake is an all day affair, but everyone seems to love it.
3. If you want to stay in Jackson, there are lots of hotels and it's a nice place. However, Teton Village is my usual preference.
4. While in Yellowstone, don't overlook the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and my favorite short trail-- Uncle Tom's Trail.