When to go Yellowstone / Teton?
 

We're thinking of going to Yellowstone / Grand Teton around some holidays this summer. When's the best time to go--good weather, decent sighting of wildlife, hopefully, less crowds.

Choices: Around Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor's Day.

What's the good place to fly into? How long should we go for? We've never been to this part of the country, so what else should we see? Thanks.

Hey, JC98! How are you?

We were in YNP & GTNP this past September and had a wonderful trip. Tons of wildlife, little or no crowds, and the weather was nice, leaves golden and red, even got a little snow.

Memorial Day may be a little early to go, and July will likely be crowded.

We flew in/out Jackson Hole. We spent 5 nights in YNP, overnighted in Cody and visited the excellent museum there, drove the Chief Joseph and Beartooth Pkwy, and stayed 3 nights in GTNP.

You will love the area! :)

we went after labor day weekend last year and the crowds/weather was fine. we drove from salt lake city to west yellowstone mostly via the interstate with no problems. yellowstone is HUGH so i woud suggest no less than 4 full days....more if possible. we also spent one day at grand tetons on our way back to salt lake city....staying at the jackson lake lodge. there wasn't much to do in the immediate area unless you arranged some kind of tour. we took the half day horse ride at the stables next to the lodge. i think they also have raft trips that can be setup at one of the desks in the lobby.

We also went to YNP/Tetons in Sept '06, just after Labor Day. We had gorgeous weather - warm days, cool nights. We saw wolves, grizzly & black bear, coyotes, eagles, antelope, bighorn sheep, moose! It was unbelievable! We flew into SLC and stayed the first night in Jackson, then 6 nights in YNP - 2 nights each in Old Faithful, Mammoth & Canyon. Then a night at Signal Mtn (Tetons) in a wonderful cabin. The thermal features in YNP are so incredible - give yourself ample time to see the whole park including the Lamar Valley and the Norris Geyser basin. Bring good binoculars and a spotting scope, if you have one. You'll love this part of the country!

Labor Day would be my choice. Another airport choice would be Bozeman Montana. Perhaps fly into Bozeman, drive to Yellowstone, continue south to GTNP and Jackson, through a corner of Idaho and fly home from SLC.

Denice

Thanks, all, for the helpful responses! I have to get some guidebooks and start digging up past trip reports from this forum. It sounds like Sept is excellent, and end of May is not too bad either.

BayouGal, hi there! Long time since our Alaska thread! Yes, I remember you went to YNP and Teton last year. I better dig up your trip report. I'm sure it's loaded w/ goodies.

I'll come back w/ more questions ...

Hi JC,

I can't believe one of the above posters thought there was not much to do at Jackson Lake Lodge! I guess they don't hike, or fish, or enjoy wildlife or scenic photography, or stargaze, or...

I would highly recommend 10 - 14 days to make the most of your trip. Flying in to Bozeman, driving through Paradise Valley, into Yellowstone, over to Cody via the Chief Joseph Hwy, then down to Tetons and Jackson. Fly out of SLC, maybe with a night or 2 in Park City.

Very nice trip!

Billings MT is a good city to fly into. If you can do this take US212 and enter thru the NE entrance to the Park. This route will take you thru some of the most beautiful and less traveled part of the Yellowstone country (if there is such a thing). This will take you thru over the Bear Tooth Highway http://www.tfhrc.gov/pubrds/06jul/03.htm and the Lamar Valley. http://www.griztrax.net/hiking/Yello...arGallery.html

I spent a Fourth of July in Jackson Hole and absolutely loved it. The whole day there was a packed schedule of events when one ended another began. I see what their local chamber is listing for the 4th this year. As for crowds, you can't get away from in Jackson Hole, that's why I stay in Teton Valley which is 30 minutes outside of Jackson and it is night and day. Teton Valley is over Teton Pass and it is much quieter and a lot less congested. The last time I was there I stayed at a brand new Lodge called Teton Springs Lodge & Spa, however the spa wasn't open but it looked quite nice.
For flights I would fly into Jackson Hole (JAC) and then drive over to Teton Valley to get out of Jackson Hole and just make day trips. You could also fly into Idaho Falls (IDA) and drive about 1.5 hours to Teton Valley.

I went a week after labor day about 10 years ago, and it was great. We saw a lot of wildlife and the crowds weren't too bad. Then a few years later I was there in late June. We saw less wildlife and it was quite crowded.

If you go around Labor Day, it will still be summer (somewhat), but will be much less crowded because kids will be back in school. That is also the time you will see a lot of Elk.

I've heard Spring is a great time to go also because a lot of the wildlife are having babies so you will see lots of baby animals.

As for the best place to fly into, a lot depends on where you are coming from. Although Jackson Hole is the closest, airfares there tend to be high. And, depending on where you are coming from and what airlines work for you, will affect the number of flights. Some of the other airports you could use (e.g. Bozeman) have even less flights, many are commuter size planes and not as many airlines go to Bozeman and, again depending on where you're coming from, you may have to make more than one connection.

I'd have to agree with S_T! My husband and I actually just stayed at Teton Springs Lodge and Spa a few weeks ago while we spent our days skiing in Jackson.Their spa was finished when we came,so we got to enjoy a great massage!

Drive the 30 minutes over to Idaho and get away from all the congestion and enjoy a quieter scene!

TTT

I have just spent three weeks working on an itinerary for western MT and WY. Fodor's new guide to Montana & Wyoming was a big help in doing so.

HTTY

Bookmarking