Yellowstone
 

We would like to visit Yellowstone first week in Sept. Does it make a difference whether you fly into Cody or Jackson Hole, Wy.? Also is it possible to stay in reasonable accommodations around $150 in the park or outside, if so recommendations would be appreciated.

They're about the same distance from the park. If you fly into Jackson, you'll drive through Grand Teton which is worth spending some time in as well. The drive from Cody is also very scenic.

Some of the more basic cabins inside the park may be in your price range https://www.yellowstonenationalparklodges.com/ You're a bit late trying to get reservations but can keep checking for cancellations.

Also check the gateway towns of Gardiner, West Yellowstone and Cooke City. The first week of September is still a busy time particularly if this is going to be over Labor Day weekend so you may need to increase your budget. We were able to get a room within your budget at Riverside Cottages in Gardiner last year but were there in late September. Places in Cody may be less but you'll have an hour drive each way into the park.

Thankyou so much.We can delay trip a week or two. My husband wants to wing it for accommodations, which makes me nervous. Also If we go the Jackson Hole route which entrance would you enter after going through great Titans. I want to see all the site do you have to hike a lot to accomplice that. I will be 4 months out from knee replacement.

If you fly into Jackson and drive through the Tetons, you'll enter via the south entrance https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvis...ff_Map2016.pdf There are 5 entrances and 3 of the entrances (west, north and northeast) have towns right by the entrance where you could look for accommodations if you can't find anything inside the park but I would keep checking for availability inside the park as people book far in advance and then cancel. How long is your trip? Yellowstone is very large so you could split your stay in different areas. No you don't have to hike a lot. There are areas with boardwalks and short paved walks to see sights.

You will find no lodgings in park if you wing it. For staying outside the park inexpensively, then you would need to look at Gardiner, Cody or West Yellowstone. Gardner is the closest to Park sites but you will still have to drive around to see the rest of the Park. While Cody might be the same distance as some other entrance, it is a slow drive because it is over some steep mountains and winding roads. Jackson Hole does not have budget lodgings. The cheapest I have found there is the Virginian Lodge and it is on the south end of town.

Thanks again. I was thinking we would stay 2 nights. Is that enough?

Most people stay longer than that. My shortest trip was 4 nights but that was in winter when much less of the park is accessible. My other trips have been about a week. Also you may want to add a day or two in Grand Teton.

Some things I learned from my first trip to Yellowstone/GTNP last year:

Lodging in the park is expensive, hard to get, and worth it--distances are huge and animal viewing is best early and late in the day. I managed to get 6 nights at a Lake cabin, and 2 nights at a OF cabin after many checks of the lodging webpage.

We were there over Labor Day, and 2 different rangers told us that the park isn't particularly crowded then--things are starting to wind down and snow isn't unlikely by mid-month. This is probably more likely because of the elevation. I admit it came as a surprise to me that all of Yellowstone is above 7000 ft.

The best views of the Tetons are available from the turn-outs on the road from GT to Yellowstone--no hiking required.

My son and I loved the trip--enjoyed the thermal features and the animals!

Untrue. I visited the park mid-September and found cabins available every night as we checked out each morning. So our itinerary was determined by where each night's stay would be but that was no disadvantage at all. We were in 3 locations in 5 nights, perfect. I'd urge you to stay as long as you can manage.

Thanks for all the great info. Are there any great itiniaries out there for each day, what to see and where is good to stay..

https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/placestogo.htm

https://www.yellowstonenationalparkl...summer-lodges/

Smoke in Tetons and yellowstone
 

our trip to Gtnp and Yellowstone is planned for Sept 12 thru the 19th. Should we cancel because of wildfire smoke.

I'll bring your post up to hopefully catch a local's eye.
I was in Yellowstone last September when there was some smoke, and it really didn't impact our trip. No idea if it's worse this year.

We just cancelled our long-planned trip to Glacier, Yellowstone and Grand Tetons. We were supposed to be there Aug 26 thru Sep 6, but it just seems that everything in the West is either on fire, covered with smoke, or so dry it could burst into flames at any minute. We were going for the scenery and finally decided it wasn’t worth risking the time and $$ just to find out it’s too smoky in most places.

We were going to Seattle for a couple of days anyway to visit family, so we decided to go ahead and go to Seattle (horribly smoky there, so I’m told, but we’re just visiting family anyway) and then fly to Anchorage and drive around Alaska for 10 days. We did push the trip back a week and saved $1000 over leaving on our originally planned date. Going after Labor Day makes a big difference.

Anyway, it’s up to you to decide what to do. For us, photography is a big deal so the smoke was a dealbreaker. You might not mind a bit of smokiness though.

Thannkyou

Depends on the day. I live in Salt Lake City. Some days are hazy, some are clear. Depends on the wind. I was backpacking on the Idaho side of the Tetons in late July and it was hazy and we couldn't see for a hundred miles like you usually can, but it wasn't like you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. Could be cleared out by September???

How were the Lake cabins and OF cabins..

I've only stayed at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge cabins and they are rustic but fine. One time we had cabin reservations but they upgraded us to the room in the main lodge which are definitely nicer.

The lake lodge cabins are your basic (but pretty roomy) old fashioned motel room. The cabins across the road near the Lake Hotel looked different from the outside, but no idea what the inside is like.

The cabins behind OF lodge were very rustic and quite small.

All the cabins I’ve stayed in were fine, even those without bathrooms, though obviously with is better. So if there’s a choice, and in our case we took what we could get, that would be the question for me. But I enjoyed them all, simply thrilled to have a cabin in Yellowstone (OF, Lake & Mammoth).