Yellowstone - any ideas for last-minute lodging?
 

I've just started planning a trip to yellowstone / teton for late June this year. I now realize that there are no vacancies available at the main lodging for yellowstone (apparently they get booked a lot sooner than I anticipated). Are there any places that might still be available that aren't more than a 30 minute drive from the East entrance? I'm looking for something mid-range - not economy, but not luxury either.

The only place I've searched so far is this website, which seems to include all or most of the on-the-park lodging: http://www.yellowstonenationalparklodges.com/ .

Thanks!

>>Are there any places that might still be available that aren't more than a 30 minute drive from the East entrance?

Sorry, I meant to say West or South entrance...

Your best bet for the south or west is West Yellowstone. The entrance is right outside of the town, but it takes time to get to each of the main areas no matter where you stay. There is nothing south until you get to the Tetons and there is road construction between the two parks on that road this summer. I don't know how long you will be there, but you may want to split the time between West Yellowstone and Gardiner (which is also right outside the north park entrance) since there is also construction on the road between Norris and Madison. I would make reservations and then call (not online -- actually call) Xanterra often to see if there are cancellations inside the park as you get closer to your trip if you really want to stay inside the park. West Yellowstone is a great place to stay for access to the park so I wouldn't worry if you aren't able to get in the park accommodations.

Great, thanks! I'll check that out.

I'm also planning to go to Teton for a few days - what's the drive like from West Yellowstone down to Teton? I will definitely stay somewhere different while visiting Teton, but just curious as to whether I should set aside a whole day to get down there.


I'm still looking for plane tickets - I'm having a hard time finding anything that is a decent price. Does anyone recommend flying into Idaho Falls and out of Jackson Hole, or any other recommendation when visiting Yellowstone for 3 days and Teton for 2 days? The cheapest airport by far is Salt Lake City, but it's too long of a drive for me to swallow.

Adam, I would call every morning for cancellations. They always receive cancellations and it's just a matter of being there first to get it. 1-866 GEYSERLAND (866-439-7375) or 307.344.7311 to make reservations The year we went I cancelled twice in order to get what I wanted as it became available.

We've never stayed in West Yellowstone but people here on this site seems to never have a hard time getting reservations there and they find driving times to not be bad.

Both these sites (if you haven't found them yet) have interactive maps (the second with times also which might help -- travel is slow in the parks):

http://www.nps.gov/yell/index.htm

http://www.alandsuejohnson.com/yellowstone_home.htm

Yellowstone.net/forums is also a good site -- especially for where the animals are being seen before you go.

We're going the first part of June so I've kind of been looking at road construction areas (they do some sort of road work every year -- only a few months when they can do it). We've gone from West Yellowstone to Tetons both on the Idaho side and through the park. For a first visit I would prefer to go through the park (even with the road construction along the way). We usually count on a day (although it doesn't take that long just driving time) to go from Yellowstone to the Tetons stopping along the way.

You're probably going to find the same problem with in park lodging down there also, but Jackson is right next to the park entrance and a great place to stay also. As far as flying we just bite the bullet and pay to fly into Jackson for convenience. (although there are only two of us, if you're taking a family it is a different story) People fly into Bozeman and Billings also. With the amount of time you will be there (there is alot of driving just in the parks) I would definitely check drop off rental car fees, cost of gas etc. along with the airline fees to see what is worth it to you.

I don't think I was very clear -- it took us about 3 hours to go from Jackson airport to Canyon village (stopped a few times for animal sightings). We have also left Gardiner and gone through YNP stopping a few times and then stopping at the different sights along the way in the Tetons. You don't usually just drive through the parks. You could even leave the Yellowstone Lake part of the figure 8 (including stopping at West Thumb) until on the way down to the Tetons and then stop at different sights (like Signal Mountain) on the way to where you are staying that night depending on how the day goes and how much time you have.