My husband and I are planning a trip to Yellowstone and Grand Teton the second week in August. We are late in making plans, but we are willing to be flexible. We have a tent and are willing to camp, but would also like some time at hotels or lodges We will be spending two nights in Bozeman visting my brother in law and then will have 6 free days to see both parks. We know this is not tons of time and are hoping to maximize our trip. We are active and mostly interested in seeing the natural beauty and seeing most of the highlights We would like to take some short hikes. We are hoping to make a loop from Bozeman to both parks and then heading out of Yellowstone through Beartooth highway on our way back to North Dakota. We are looking for suggestions for a route to take and possibly good locations to stay throughout the trip. We appreciate all your help.

Within Yellowstone, Xanterra is the concessioner. The best of the lodges are probably booked. If I had to pick one, I would take the Old Faithful Snow Lodge.
If picking two, I would add the Lake Hotel OR any of the Western cabins.

If you call Xanterra Yellowstone, you might luck into a cancellation.

Barring that, you might try the Flagg Ranch which is between the two parks.

In the Tetons, Signal Mountain Lodge is ok. The accommodations at Colter Bay are varied and you might find a spot there.

Jackson Lake Lodge is a little pricey, e.g. $250 for a view room.

Jenny Lake Lodge is more than a little pricey, e.g. $500 a night for a cabin.
But breakfast and dinner are included!

I suggest calling Xanterra because often the human can put you into a room when the computer system cannot.

There are some campgrounds in Yellowstone that are reservable:
Madison, near the west entrance and
Bridge Bay Campground, Canyon Campground
and Grant Village Campground.

There are some others not reservable.

Barring in park places, some of the motels in West Yellowstone are decent enough, and the town of Jackson has quite a few. These are popular places, so don't wait much longer to reserve a place to stay.

The best advice I can give you help you with your initial planning is to get a copy of Frommer's "Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks." It's a handy little book that will help enormously in your planning. It's only $10 and is small enough to easily carry around.

Thanks for your help! We have bought the Frommer's book. This is our plan so far. We will spend two nights in the West Thumb/Grant Village area. We will then head to Grand Teton for two nights. We will then be heading up to the Canyon area (staying one night) and seeing the sights there and then heading to Mammoth Springs area (staying one night) before heading out. Does this route make sense? We want to make the most of our time, but not do too much backtracking. Let me know what you think. We were able to find lodging at all the places with a combo of camping and lodges.

Only a few of the campgrounds in Yellowstone are able to be reserved www.travelyellowstone.com will take you to the concessionaire website. Click on reservations in the middle blue section and go down to camping. You can't book on-line but will give you information on costs & phone number. Was trying for late August last week and they only had six openings for dates I was looking for.
You can make reservations for only a couple of the campgrounds in Glacier go to http://reservations.nps.gov/index.cfm. All other campgrounds are first come.
It's almost 350 miles from Bozeman to Glacier. Might check out the National Bison Range and St. Ignatius Mission near Ravalli, MT en route.
A couple great hikes in Glacier are to Hidden Lake (boardwalk) which leaves from Logan Pass visitor center. Almost a guarantee to get closeup views of mt goats and of course spectacular views. Another hike from Logan Pass is the Highline Trail which goes across highway and then parallels the Going to Sun Rd. You will be high above it. There are some areas with exposure but there are handlines in place to help you. Can go as far as you like or to Granite Park Chalet about 7 miles (moderate hike)and then take trail down to the Loop and pick up the hiker's shuttle back to Logan Pass if you don't want to go back the same way. In the Many Glacier area try Iceberg Lake, Grinnell Glacier and Red Rock Falls trails.