Suggestions of places to stay in West Yellowstone. Also any good places to eat? Thanks in advance for info.

I don't know how good it is but we are booked at the Clubhouse Inn later this month. It is our first time there and while I would have preferred a more upscale hotel, it seems that they do not exist in West Yellowstone! I did a seach on resturants and they seem to have all the fast food places covered but as far as sit down...???

Good luck to us!!

While not exactly in West Yellowstone, you might check out Yellowstone Expeditions Bed and Breakfast, in Livingston, not far from Yellowstone. Cozy, pleasant place with just a few rooms. We loved our stay there.

Tell Kate we sent you!

Another fascinating and very different B&B in the general area is in Bozeman, Montana: "The Howlers Inn" -- which has its own wolf pack on premises! (Relax, they're all in a big, fenced in area adjacent to the B&B.)

Check their web site at howlersinn.com.

We stayed there when we were touring the area, and it IS very different and very nice!

I'd be happy to comment on what we enjoyed in the area.

A couple of years ago, we spent 2 weeks driving around Yellowstone Park; Jackson and Cody, Wyoming; Spearfish, South Dakota; and more.

If you are visiting the Park you are stuck with a limited number of locations to stay unless you are willing to drive long distances just to get to the Park. My suggestion would be to try to stay in the Park (keep trying they do have cancellations), next would be Gardiner, Cooke City or West Yellowstone. At one time or other we have stayed at all three of the gateway towns. All the places were clean but spartan.
http://www.cookecitysinclair.com/webcam.htm

Thanks for all the suggestions!

We picked West Yellowstone because it is next to the park. We have tried B&B's before and it just isn't us, we always feel like I'm invading someones home and it just make me uncomfortable. So the plan is to take our time and see all the park has to offer and if we have time drop down to the teton's. I'm thinking the 5 days we have allocated to see the park should give us a good feel for the place.

Might anyone recommend RV camp grounds in West Yellowstone in late August?
Also if I camped in West Yellowstone..what is the time required to drive to the different sections of the park say, Old Faithful or Yellowstone lake? Is it reasonable to be driving back and forth in an RV from west yellowstone and into the park on a daily basis!
Thanks

Yellowstone is a very large Park and the roads are all two lanes, the going is slow. In addition there is always road construction going on. Check the www.nps.gov site for road conditions. My suggestion, rent a small car and you will enjoy yourself much more. You most likely will pay for the car rental with the gas money you will be saving by not driving the RV.

I would suggest you try to see if Old Faithful or Yellowstone Lake hotel has any cancellations. I think you would be better off inside the park and both are historic hotels and would add to you trip.

My best Yellowstone experience was staying at Old Faithful. I totally agree with mmouse.

Well we have finished our Yellowstone trip. The hotel was clean, the people friendly and very responsive. It is located about 2 blocks from the west entrance. I think it worked out fine as this entrance allowed easy access to both ends of the park. Actually now that I think of it, that entrace is 14 miles to the main road within Yellowstone, if we had stayed inside the park the drive to the Mammoth/Lamar Valley area would have been over 20 miles longer! Another benefit is availablity of services such as grocery stores/gas stations and in my case Radio Shack! Prices were cheaper outside the park.

Which hotel did you end up choosing? We are traveling there the first week of August and we have two 7 year old kids. Please also let me know what were your favorite things you did in Yellowstone. Thanks

We stayed one night at the Lake Yellowstone Hotel, it was expensive but for one night worth it. It is located near the Hayden Valley, which is one of the best places to see wildlife. We then stayed at the Best Western Desert Inn in West Yellowstone. We got an oversized room and it worked out very well. We traveled with our 9 year old grand daughter and she enjoyed both the TV and the pool. She earned her Jr. Ranger badge and enjoyed the Ranger talks very much as well as watching the wildlife. She also liked the geysers, water falls and the snow (we are from Florida).

What did you do for food while visiting the park? Any thing you'd do differently with respect to food? (I've got a 9 year old, too)

We travel with a cooler with milk, juice and grapes in it at all times. I make sandwiches and we eat them when ever. We stayed at a motel with a microwave, and fixed one dinner with it. We had a great lunch at the Old Faithful Inn, a nice early dinner at Roosevelt, and an OK dinner at the Canyon (food was good but the service was bad). Most of the food in the park is expensive, but so is the food in West Yellowstone, except for Mac Donald's. I hope your trip is as wonderful as ours.

Even McDonalds in West Yellowstone was expensive! $28 for 3 happy meals and a quarter pounder combo. But I'm not complaining. I understand their business is seasonal and they've got make it when they can.

On our visit last year, we noticed that groceries in West Yellowstone were expensive and limited in selection. In Jackson, there was a lot more selection, but really pricey. A couple of locals in West Yellowstone told us that people tend to make a monthly shopping day trip to a bigger city.

Being a local, I can say that most of that is true. I avoid Mcdonalds here. For a good "inexepensive" lunch, try Arrowleaf. Awesome food.

Also, for upscale Lodging (or at least in that direction) try the new Three Bear Lodge www.threebearlodge.com With handmade furniture from reclaimed wood and nice ammenities, its the closest we have here.

We have a cabin by West Yellowstone so we spend a lot of time in town.

There are a bunch of good places to stay. A few good ones:
The stagecoach, old authentic hotel (rooms have been redone)
The convention center is good
Hibernation station
5 miles out of town is the Bar N which is a good place to stay and has good food

Places to eat:
Running bear pancake house is a wonderful breakfast place
Bullwinkles is good
There is a good pasta place next to the Book Peddler
There is a good Chinese by Madison and Canyon
Three bears has good food
Ernies bakery and deli (if you want to take a picnic into the park)