Yellowstone and Tetons in a Flash
 

Hi all!

We found decent airfare into Jackson WY for September.
We would love to see Yellowstone yet we understand it is recommended to stay in the park.
Is it possible to see a lot if we drive? Or just too much driving?
4 nights/4 days is what we have allotted.

Tetons are another possibility, goal is to see a lot of wildlife.

Thank you!

I'm not sure I understand your question.
Yes, stay IN PARK. Personally I would suggest 2 days at Old Faithful Inn and 2 days at Roosevelt. Or you could even do something like this--1 Day at Lake Hotel, 1 day at Roosevelt, 1 day at Mammoth and 1 day at Old Faithful Inn. Now there are many other spot to stay at In Park that I don't mention--These would be fine as well.
If you can add a couple of days to your airfare/plans/schedule then Tetons would be great to include. Of course, you could do 3 days in Yellowstone and 1 in the Tetons. Driving(especially your first visit) isn't a bad thing in Yellowstone because there is a lot to see/do without hiking that much.
You will likely catch the most wildlife in Lamar and Hayden valleys, but can see it anywhere, of course. I would think Elk would be in rutting season and they are generally in largest concentration in Mammoth area(at least from what I've read and what we saw when there).

If your question was reguarding staying in Jackson, then no, I don't think that's the way to go.

Sorry about that, the question was is it necessary to stay in the park so I think you understood. :) As surely you know, it is tough to get accommodations at this time for September. A cancellation would be great but it sounds like we need to get really lucky with more then 1 hotel/inn. Thank you!

You don't have to stay in the park; pickings actually get pretty slim as some lodging closes in the fall. Gardiner (northern entrance) is right on the border of the park, a couple of minutes from Mammoth, and West Yellowstone is also an easy cruise into the park. Both have tons of lodging. I've worked in and around the park, visited more times than I can count, and have stayed both in the park and several locations outside of the park, and really don't see the "need" to stay within the borders. The park is a kind of figure 8 loop, and can be "done" in many ways from many directions.

Thanks sylvia3, Do you recommend anywhere specific? To be honest we prefer nicer accommodations :)
thanks!

I would go ahead and book outside the park, then keep calling every day to see if there are cancellations.

I'd stay in West Yellowstone. IMHO, it's the best location to get to all the other areas of the park if you can't stay in the park.

Utahtea

So many options :)
Best location for best wildlife sightings? Or all are good? West, NE both sound great. Curious which each offers.

Found a few places on airbnb may just book one of them.
Thanks!

You will find bison and other wildlife all over the park. Hayden Valley and Lamar Valley are two of the big wildlife places. If you are staying outside the park, then West Yellowstone will be the closest location to Hayden Valley. Gardiner will be closer to Lamar Valley but then you are going to spend a lot of time getting to the other parts of the park and with just 4 days and 4 nights you probably won't want to waste the time changing lodging locations.

If you want to see moose you're best bet will be dusk at the Grand Tetons.

Utahtea

Great info! Seems most of the available places on airbnb are in/around Gardiner
It appears that a change of location is recommended to see the best of the park, so 2 nights West and 2 N? Has anyone here used airbnb? Seems a nice option for last minute travel.
Thanks!

Update: May make more sense to fly into Bozeman and out of Jackson, 2 nights each side of park. Found a ranch 30 minutes outside Mammoth, for 2 nights, now just need another location. Or we can do the reverse. In any case, so far cannot even get through to the park for cancellations right now. Rather have a place and be set.

Kittygirl

You will not understand just how huge Yellowstone is until you get there. It not a place you just zip around. Staying 30 min north of Gardiner will add a lot of drive time. Stay in Gardiner and keep trying for a cancellatio in park. Best wildlife viewing is early am and dusk.

Thanks Dayle,
So far we booked 2 nights at a cabin in upper yellowstone valley (too far?) one night at the old faithful snow lodge, last night at signal mountain lodge - since flying out of Jackson.
All places can be canceled which is good.
Yes, it is a rushed trip but it's how we have to travel.
Our flights arrive at 1pm thurs into Bozeman and depart at 3 out of Jackson.

We welcome any feedback but for short notice seems ok accommodations?

What time is your flight out of Jackson? The road between the two parks is 2 lane and not 70 mph. You'll need plenty of time to get from Signal Mtn to Jackson.

I'm going to disagree with Jill on needing a lot of time to get from Signal Mountain to the airport. For sure less than 1 hour and probably 40 minutes is more like it. It's only 22 miles on the Teton Park Rd(scenic) or 29 miles if you take the Main Route(which is fairly fast).

Jill,
Signal Mountain Lodge is only a few miles from Moran.

Signal Mountain has an iconic view of the Mountains, you will love it. Many,many sites are right next to the parking lot so you can see a lot of stuff with a short walk. If you want to see wildlife you need to be up at the crack of dawn and looking. The bulls might be in rut so they will be dangerous, stay away from them.

kittygirl,

"cabin in upper Yellowstone Valley" is quite vague. Do you have a town name? The valley north of Gardiner is the Paradise Valley and it's a big one, very long. It's gorgeous, but really a separate destination from Yellowstone Park.

Spiro - i guess with all the driving here and there, stopping and starting, it seemed much further.

Stay in the park. Especially if seeing wildlife is a priority.

Wildlife is most active early in the morning and early in the evening.

You want to avoid driving in the dark as much as possible and not hit anything.

Yellowstone is huge. Not counting traffic, construction, stopping for scenery or animals it takes about 8 hours to drive the complete figure 8 loop.

Stay in the park if you can.

I agree with Myer. Please observe the speed limit inside the parks. When you observe wildlife and want to take a picture, pull completely off the road where it is safe. Watch for traffic and don't get too close to any of the animals. They can charge and are not tame as some city-folk want to believe.

Sorry to delay! In response to Dayle - it is upper yellowstone valley. Owner said it was 40 minutes from mammoth springs, it was a nice location.
We fly into Bozeman on a thurs - arrive 2pm (if lucky) first lodge in yellowstone valley for 2 nights. We drive either to lodge OR right into the park for the first afternoon but imagine we will want rest after 2 flights/early am.
Day 2 - we will explore Lamar valley
There is also a "Yellowstone in a day" tour through the park for all major attractions, unsure if ideal for us, thoughts?
Day 3 - check out of lodge - drive to Old Faithful and explore this area a bit. We have 2 options, spend night at Old Faithful Snow Lodge OR continue the journey at our leisure until arriving at Signal Mountain and spend 2 nights there vs 1 and 1.
They told us at Signal mountain its just 1.5 hours back to Old Faithful should we desire to trick back - either way we know its a lot of driving but some of us have no choice but to take fast trips and see all we can.
Wolves are always top on my list- and i understand that is closer to Hayden.
Signal mountain looks so great that 2 nights there sound wonderful.
It seems ideal to break it up with the stay at Old Faithful but if we make it to that area on Day 2, then we may not need to?
Love your feedback, thanks all so much!

If you do not hve a reservation by now too late for in Park...they are all filled up. Book 6 months ahead.

kittygirl,

Again without an area or town name, I can't advise you if your "Yellowstone Valley" cabin is a good location. OF COURSE, the owner is going to say it's a good location. If you rest from your travel at the cabin on arrival day, then you are down to 3 days for Yellowstone and the Tetons.

About all you can do is drive through Yellowstone with almost no stops at all. You might get 2-3 hours at the Old Faithful area if seeing geysers is your priority.

If seeing wildlife and wolves especially is your priority, I would look into one of the wildlife specialty tours where you start at 3 am and head out. They will take you to the areas where the animals have been most recently spotted. Not cheap.

Signal Mtn. is lovely with great views, but I would spend 2 nts in Yellowstone and 1 in GTNP. As I mentioned in the beginning, you will not realize how short 4 nts really is until you get there. You will see only a tiny portion of both parks and will probably want to return.

Good luck planning!

Hi Dayle!
We were told it is 30 miles/30 minutes from Mammoth on hwy 89 south (26 miles from Gardiner) and on Dry Creek Rd in Upper Yellowstone Valley. Sounds close enough, and they said possible wolf sitings even there.

In addition to wildlife, we love gorgeous locations so "if" we can we hope to see some of the major sites. Yes, the goal is to return if/when work permits more time.

Thanks for your help and suggestions. We do have 1 night in the park at old faithful snow lodge - but that was a cancellation. Got lucky! That will be night 3. 4 at signal mountain.
Thank you!

Hope to get some feedback from above - thanks!

Hi folks!
We did it!
And it was heaven. We saw most of the park, grizzly and cub, elk, bison walking the road, and every major site in YS, and a day in Tetons. It was perfect flying into Bozeman and out of Jackson. We only stayed in Tetons, and Gardiner area otherwise and we had the perfect trip! Thanks!

How bad was the construction zone from Mammoth to Norris?
Never plan on getting from point A to point B in a set amount of time in Yellowstone. Between animal encounters and things you suddenly realize you want to stop and take a walk to see, the point A to point B can take 3 times as long as you had planned.
The road between Norris and Mammoth was closed from about 10PM to 7AM for the construction when I was through there twice in August.