Yellowstone-first time visitors from Sweden. Advice please !
 

We are a family with two kids aged 10 and 13 who will be visiting the US in July/August this year.
We plan to visit Yellowstone but need advice on everything. Unfortunately we will have to go in late July or August and we know that its peak season. How many day should we stay minimum? What is there not to be missed? And where should we stay? We do know that lodging inside park will be hard to come by this late,but what hotels/lodging would your recommed inside or outside park?
We would like to do some shorter hikes and experience the best of the park.

At least 5 days. Try to book inside the park. If they are booked up, you can call back every day to see if someone has cancelled as this happens all the time. Although I would guess it's expensive to do that from Sweden!

We stayed in two different ares in the park. Around the Lake and around the Old Faithful area at the Snow Lodge. There are many geyser basins to meander around. We loved it. We went at the end of September/beginning of October.

Your family might enjoying staying in log cabins at the West Entrance to the park at KOA campgrounds.

It is easy enough to spend the day in the park and return to West Entrance/KOA.

I would also recommend you purchase an annual pass for US$80.. Gives free admission for your family to all US National Parks for one year plus discount at many other state and local parks.

I would also add a trip to Grand Teton NP as well where you can also use your Annual Pass.

How will you be arriving to Yellowstone? There is an airport at Yellowstone or you can fly into Bozeman or Billings, Montana.

Book lodging and car rental early.

Here's some info for reading:

www.nps.gov/yell
www.ohranger.com/yellowstone
www.yellowstonenationalpark.com
www.yellowstonepark.com
http://yellowstone.net/

> What is there not to be missed?
Everything.
Of the 58 national parks I've visited, this is near the top of the list of my most cherished. If you put a gun to my head and demand I name only one as my favorite, I'd select this one.

Recommended hotels in Yellowstone (5 nights, may be split between 2 hotels):

Old Faithful Inn, Lake Hotel

Concur with the advice above to add Grand Teton National Park to your itinerary. If you fly into Jackson airport, you will be in Grand Teton NP. The scenery there, even exiting the plane is awesome.

Yellowstone is fantastic for its wildlife and the geothermal features, but Grand Teton's views are much better.

Recommended hotel in Grand Teton (3 nights):
Jackson Lake Lodge

Recommended hotel in Jackson (1-2 nights):
The Wort Hotel.

What can't be missed depends on your interests, but there are many great hikes, boat rides, "Western" experiences, excellent lodge restaurants to eat in (very impressive construction and unique atmosphere). If you can't get lodging inside the parks, you might want to consider waiting a year. There are lots of other places in the US you could substitute that might not be booked up yet.

Hope you enjoy the American West as much as we enjoyed our visit to Sweden last summer!

Consider the two main loops of Yellowstone Park roughly as a "figure 8". Canyon Village (lodging, food, gas, etc.)would be the most centralized location within the park. On the southern loop you would see Old Faithful, various geysers & pools, mud pot areas, Yellowstone Lake with views of the mountains, Yellowstone Falls (waterfalls). On the northern loop you would also see valleys, wildlife, many waterfalls, Mammoth Falls & Norris Geyser Basin. Most of the main areas have wooden walkways/trails around the attractions for easy, safe viewing. Note: If you see bison or bear near the trail, DO NOT APPROACH; people get hurt every year by not heeding warnings. You WILL see wildlife; bison herds are along the road in numerous locations.
I would suggest at least 5 full days for a relaxed visit - a week would be ideal.
If not staying in the park, I would suggest the small town of West Yellowstone. We stayed there for our trip in summer and actually prefer it. Many lodging, restaurant & shops to choose from, as well as a Discovery Center with live bears & wolves, local museum, IMAX theatre, etc. As this town is right next to the park, I would suggest getting up early & into the park (6:30/7:00 AM), pack a lunch from a local deli/grocery store to have within the park at any pulloff or have a meal at Canyon Village, Old Faithful Village, etc. Have your evening meal back at West Yellowstone. Do one "loop" each day or two, then the next loop to see the main features of the park. Extra days could be used for a cruise on the lake, bus tours, etc.

I would suggest packing for all contingencies. You might be able to hike in shorts, and use a swimsuit. However, we camped in the park and woke up to about 5cm of snow on the tent-----the first week in August. My travel companion was not prepared, clothing wise, and was miserable.

Jackson Lake Lodge is quite expensive.

In Grand Tetons we stayed at Signal MountainLodge in the Grand Teton Park itself. We liked Yellowstone more than Grand Tetons. There is nothing like Yellowstone. It's another world.