Where to stay if not Cody?
 

We'll be visiting Yellowstone in late Sept. We'll stop for 2 days in Jackson, and then on to YS. Question is where to stay? We don't want to spend a lot of money on a hotel, under $150. We'd like internet connection. I've read posts here that Cody isn't worth staying in.....so where do you all recommend?

That part of the US where decent lodging is difficult and distances between Cody and other places is far,,,I think Cody is perfectly fine. Cody has a very good variety of lodging, nothing super fancy but good w/free high speed INternet and free breakfast. Usually see deer nearby too and there is a Big Horn Sheep exhibit, nightly Wild West street Demo & Buffalo Bill Museum.

Prefer Americinn Inn w/ indoor pool big rooms w/ insuite bathtub whirlpools, also has Bubbas BBQ right in the same parking lot w/ a good salad bar. Across the street is a Wal Mart Superstore for cheep dinner, SubWay Sandwiches.

In fact I think it is better than driving another 2 hours to Billings (really nothing there but the airport)

We enjoyed our stay in Cody a couple of years ago. (The museum was terrific and was well worth the 2-day ticket.) I wish I could remember the name of the place, but we stayed at a B&B in town that had been a CHURCH! The room was adequate, price was reasonable, and breakfast was very nice. An older couple ran it then.

If I find the name of it, I will post again.

Driving to and from Cody, by the way, we sometimes felt like we were driving on the MOON, as someone had said! Sometimes, we drove for miles with NO sign of any vegetation whatsoever -- just an occasional antelope -- and we wondered where and how that creature ate or drank anything!

Unusual scenery! However, again, Cody itself was fine.

Have you called to see if there is something in the park that fits your needs? Check at www.nps.gov and then Yellowstone

We really enjoyed Cody...the Buffalo Bill Museum and Irma Hotel were well worth seeing; and the Cody Night Rodeo (which is put on every night) was a lot of fun. Lots of accommodation choices there: check out TripAdvisor.

I enjoy Cody also but it is not that convenient to Yellowstone NP. I much prefer staying in West Yellowstone, MT if there is nothing available in the park in your price range.

West Yellowstone has a variety of lodging. My personal favorite is Hibernation Station which is relatively new, in good condition, and has individual cabins.

That's true about West Yellowstone -- it's much closer to YNP than Cody. Typical tourist town with lots of souvenir shops, fast food places and motels.

Since we were heading east on our trip (from Boise to NYC), we spent the first two nights in West Yellowstone, then traversed the park and spent the final night in Cody.

Or you could exit the park via the spectacular Beartooth Highway, and stay in Billings.

Keep checking on in-the-park lodging. We stayed in cabins at Old Faithful, Mammoth Hot Springs, and Canyon; all were under $100.

Lee Ann

Unless you just like to drive you will need to stay inside the park or one of the gateway towns of West Yellowstone, Gardiner or Cooke City. Staying in Cody or Jackson would add several hours of driving just to get to Yellowstone. Road construction is another slowing factor...

We always stay in Cooke City, fewer tourist.

http://www.colorado-west.com/cooke/

We stayed in West Yellowstone and we have stayed at the lodge in the park. Also, stayed at Amercinn in Cody. The lodge being my first choice cause you are right in the park, the second choice would be West Yellowstone because it has more hotels and restaurants. You should get a reservation as it may still be busy the end of September. You may also have some snow. We were snowed on in June when we camped in Yellowstone several years ago.

We enjoyed West Yellowstone - while there are multiple chain hotels, there are also local shops with real local people as owners and employees. We attended a small local rodeo and were perhaps the only tourists there (everyone else seemed to know each other and were happily sharing suitcases of cheap beer). Great fun. Also stayed in Gardiner which I found not quite as interesting - although did have a conversation with local person about what they do when the bison take over the main street in the winter.

While neither place has the atmosphere of in-park lodging, we were traveling with teens who required nightly recharging (the teens, not the devices) with internet, TV, cell phones to be able to enjoy touring the next day.