Yellowstone/GT Sept Trip
 

Now that I have gotten all the feedback on where to stay, I have a tenative itinerary that I want to get feed back on:
Sun Sept 6-fly to Jackson(arrive about noon), rent a car & drive to GT. Stay 4 nights at Signal Mountain Lodge
Thur Sept 10-drive to Yellowstone. Stay 4 nights at Old Failthful Inn
Mon Sep 14-move to Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel & cabins and stay 4 nights
Fri - Sept 18 drive to Jackson & fly home (flight home around noon)
Is 4 nights in GT & 8 nights in Yellowstone about right? Should we plan on staying the last night closer to the airport? When I make my reservations at Signal Mountain Lodge & Mammoth Hot Springs is it best to get a cabin or one of the hotel rooms? There are only 2 of us. At Old Faithful Inn where should I ask for a room to make sure I get a good view of Old Faithful?

Hello PHayden :)

I'd definitely stay closer to the Jackson Airport on your last night. From Mammoth to the airport is quite a trek, especially with a noon flight.

P,

Ditto Swisshiker's comment. Trying to make a noon flight all the way from Mammoth will be tough.

I wouldn't worry about asking for an Old Faithful view room. You have great views of the geyser anytime you set outside. You won't want to be seeing it from your room anyway.

Have fun

To me, it would be good to spend 2 or 3 nights on the east side of the park. Lake is what would best suit your schedule. Canyon closes 9/13. That would give you good access to Hayden Valley. Getting to Lamar Valley from Mammoth wouldn't be too bad and should be an interesting drive.

You have a lot of time to enjoy the area. One thing you might consider is 1 or 2 nights less in the Tetons and check out Cody. Many people seem to thing its worth it.

You have what should be a wonderful trip laid out.

When flying out of Jackson Hole to go home, we've stayed at Jackson Lake Lodge the past couple of years. Any of the Teton lodges would be OK for that last night. JLL is about a 50 minute drive to the airport.

Another suggestion. I would spend one less night at the beginning in the Tetons and the last night of your trip in Jackson. We have stayed at Signal Mountain twice to catch a noon flight out of Jackson and it isn't a problem getting to the airport, but Jackson is a neat little town and close (about 15 minutes) to the southern part of the Tetons (and the airport). I'm pretty sure (but could be wrong) that Signal Mountain doesn't have hotel rooms.

Wow! 12 nights in that area is a lot! We spent 2 nights at Yellowstone and 2 nights at the Grand Tetons last July! It was plenty of time!!! I hope you don't get bored! I would definitely stay in Jackson the night before your flight! Jackson Hole is a nice, quaint town that you may want to consider spending some time in! Have fun!!!!

Umm, I really must strongly disagree with tambennett. 4 days in the area is NOT plenty of time, unless you drive through without getting out of the car, not even once.

Dayle,
We spent a lot of time out of the car! We hiked several trails and saw everything the park had to offer! We are very active though! I suppose if you want to spend several hours at each spot it might take more than a few days!

Hello tambennet :)
You saw EVERYTHING in 2 days? Wow. You really must have been moving quickly. I've spent 2 whole weeks there each of the past few years, and I still haven't seen it all. Must be some heckuva guidebook you've got to get thru so quickly.

To PHayden :)
I wanted to say that on our last morning before our flight home (around noon), we enjoy taking one last drive past the Mormon Row in the morning. The view of the sunrise on the mountain range is just gorgeous, and that last peek is always one of our best photos. Also, it gives you a chance to drive past Moose Road to see if the animals are out getting their morning meal from the willows or the marshes. It's just a nice way to end the trip.

We've stayed at both Jackson Lodge and also the town of Jackson before a flight. Both options are good. But in your case, since your itinerary doesn't have you spending a night in the town of Jackson, perhaps that's a good time to give it a try for the last night. It's kind of a unique town, lots of shops of course, but tons of character. Have yourself a nice dinner, check out the antler arches in the town square, a couple of the shops with good animal displays, and maybe even the visitor center. IMO, the Jackson Visitor Center has the best giftshop in town.

Happy travels!

Thanks for all the advice. We will definitely stay in Jackson on our last night. I don't think there is a chance we will get bored. We stayed in GT & Yellowstone for a week 30 years ago and weren't bored. We love the outdoors and don't want to be rushed. This way we can see alot and do it in a relaxed time frame.

Way to go PHayden! You've done well on your planning.

If you're looking for a terrific guidebook, you might want to check out Amazon or B&N for "Yellowstone Treasures" by Janet Chapple. It's jam-packed with information, including road logs with mileage specific information, detailed maps of each area, lots of pictures. Can't recommend it enough. Mine is dog-eared and highlighted throughout, goes with me each year.

Happy travels!

We have been to the park at least 20 times over the years. Sometimes camping and sometimes moteling it, normally in Cooke City. Our last visit was this past Aug for 4 nights, the Hoosier Motel in Cooke. Next year will be a camping year.. Soda Butte CG (NF), Pebble Creek (NP) or Indian Creek (NP)... We always manage see and do something different with each visit.

Taking good shape now. The only thing, I wish you had 2 or 3 nights on the east side.

In order to do this you would have to go to Canyon first, because they are set to close that week. Although their website states that it is an estimated closing date and that it will be determined later by NPS, so you might just want to stick with what you have now. So you would be the last guests for the season. It may not be worth the trouble for you to switch everything. It would just put you in proximity to everything on that side for 2 or 3 days. Then again you can certainly just plan on drving out from Mammoth and Old Faithful over to the east side for 2 or 3 day trips. Sometimes just driving along the road yields a lot of wildlife. At least you are not going to be rushed and even if you do have a day or two of rain or weather you will still have time to see and do a ton and relax as well.

Now to start planning those Hikes and meals. lol Everyone will have an opinion on those as well. My wife says she wishes she had two days to do nothing but sit and watch geysers. We really liked Castle Geyser. Riverside is a nice one also.

I don't think the room at Old Faithful matters. We did the Original area- that didn't include a bathroom, but it was noisy because we were beside the staircase. The bathroom is no big deal to me, but my wife would probably say otherwise. If either of you goes to the bathroom during the night, I would probably get a room with a bathroom.

I have a book that suggests rooms, even the room that Bill Clinton stayed in. here is what it says

Room 229 is a corner room- no bath that offers great view of Old Faithful

room 46 is large rustic and has unique corner seat

room 243 has its own private staircase and is uniquely shaped

best rooms with a bath are room 8 and 208, both have two bedrooms

room 127 is large and has view of geyser basin. Pres Clinton stayed in this one

avoid rooms 1 thru 6 as they are in a hallway and are heavily used by nonguests

rooms 1012,1020,1024 and corresponding rooms on the 2nd and 3rd floors offer good views of old faithful these are in the east wing

best rooms on the west wing are 2073 and 2074

Now, I don't know if any of this is correct, but thats what the book suggests. The books title is National Park Lodges and it has about 40 different lodges in it. It goes into great detail about everything from parking at cabins, etc.

If you want any details about Signal or Mammoth and can tell you what the book says about those also. Are you doing cabins at those?

Well, since this is only a plan and no reservations yet, it is easy enough for me to switch things around and go straight to Canyon after leaving the Tetons and then after Canyon go to Mammoth and then Old Faithful Inn. I may try to fit in 2 nights at Jackson too. I will rearrange & see what I can do.
Spirobulldog, yes, send me the information on Mammoth & Signal too as well as Canyon. I'll have to look for the National Park book and also the Yellowstone Treasures book. Thanks everyone.

That last plan sounds good to me. We were there about 10 years ago in mid September. We were at Tower in short sleeves one day and two days later there was quite a bit of snow, and Dunraven Pass (the road between Canyon and Tower) was closed. The next year we went back at the end of September and -- no snow at all.

The snow only added to the beauty of the place and didn't stop anything else we did. I'm not saying this to worry you about the weather. You just might want to include that part of the park in the early part of your trip, especially if you stay at Canyon.

We have stayed at Dunraven Lodge and Cascade Lodge. (the lodges at Canyon) They are right next to each other (and the cabins are all spread out in the same area). Dunraven is newer and has an elevator. Cascade is older, but the rooms are similar. The cabins are spread out and we've never stayed in them so I can't comment on them. There really isn't a view in that area -- IMO location doesn't matter at Canyon.

Signal Mountain has a ton of variety of lodging options Do you know what you have in mind there? are you doing a cabin, country room, family bungalow or what. Normally I would go for a cabin, but these are all double beds, and we like at least a queen. The book suggests Upper Lakefront unit 152 or Lower Lakefront unit 151

2 room cabins 136,138,142,143,and 144 are two rooms and have good views. one room cabin 129,146,and 147 provides partial lakeviews. avoid cabin 107 and 112 which have a porch directly on the road.

In Mammoth if you are in the main building try to get corner rooms 230,231,330 and 331. Cabins without a bath that are reccomended are c26,c27,c30. Cabins with a bath reccomended are b14,b15,b16,c46,c27,c30

in Canyon - western cabins 1-10, 53-58, 81, and 84 are nicest as far as the cabins. in Dunraven Lodge try for second or third floor rooms on the south side (odd numbered rooms) that face the woods rather than the parking lot.
rooms on the 3rd floor, especially 305 and 307 are larger and offer views of the woods.

What Maj has to say about Dunraven and Cascade is exactly what the book states. It says Dunraven has an elevator. It says either of the lodge unites are more upscale than the cabins. It says rooms on the 4th floor of Dunraven are somewhat smaller than the rest.

One more thing, I think this is near the new visitor center. We thought it was a good one, along with the new one at the Tetons.

There will only be my husband & me so we don't need a 2 bedroom place. Where can you find out about the different choices in rooms/cabins? There is so little information on the www.travelyellowstone.com web site it is hard to tell what each one has to offer. We prefer queen beds with our own bathroom but will do double beds if that is all there is.

spirobulldog

Is the title of the book The Complete Guide to National Park Lodges? Author? I would like to get that book also. Thanks.

PHayden

Here is the web site for Signal Mountain which explains the rooms. You can call and ask them also.

http://foreverlodging.com/lodging.cfm?PropertyKey=69

Here is the one for Xanterra -- which is the only one for in park Yellowstone
http://www.xanterra.com/central-reservations-1666.html

You can also call them -- in fact I found it better to call for reservations with them because they have more than what is on the web site usually.

If you haven't used the nps.gov web site -- it is excellent for information on the parks and has a link to the accommodations for each.

Here's the book

Insiders' Guide
The Complete Guide to National Park Lodges

by David L. Scott and Kay W. Scott
this book is a paperback that doesn't have any color pics. It gives very good descriptions and details of all the parks available places to stay. fifth edition is what I have, but it is about 4 years old I am guessing.

I also have a a Book entitled Great Lodges of National Parks. This one is pretty much only about the historic lodges. They have a Book II that I hope I get for Christmas. this book is by Chirstine Barnes and has lots of color pics and goes into more of the history aspect of it.

I have another really good book that is a cookbook entitled Western National Parks' Lodges Cookbook by Kathleen Bryant. I have several of the items in the book and then of course try to make them at home as well. One of the coolest things I found out in the book was about the chef in Death Valley at Furnace Creek Inn. We had eaten there and really enjoyed it. She is the chef at Death Valley in the Winter and then in the summer she is at Crater Lake. It has a lot of recipes and also some historical aspects geared more towards the dining in each lodge.

have eaten several of the items***

you'd think I would learn to proofread before clicking the send button

There are some super books at both Yellowstone and Tetons in the Visitor Centers. Huge book sections. Very nice.

Sorry to keep adding more. Another pretty cool thing to do there is to take a tour on. We did the Sunset Lake Butte tour. Saw an unusual sunset that formed just below an approaching thunderstorm. You could see the rain hitting the water about halfway across the lake and the other part was totally glass.

After everyone's suggestions I have changed our itinerary to this:
Sun Sept 6th-fly to Jackson, rent car & drive to Canyon Lodge Yellowstone & stay 3 nights
Wed Sept 9th - go to Mammoth & stay 3 nights
Sat Sept 12 - go to Old Faithful Inn & stay 3 nights
Sept 15 - Tues - go to GT Signal Mountain & stay 3 nights
Sept 18 - Fri - go to Jackson & stay 1 night & fly home Saturday noon.
How does this sound? I added one additional night so we could see Jackson. The main reason for going to Mammoth is for the elk rutting & bugling. For those of you that have been to all these areas, does it make sense to divide it evenly with 3 nights per place or is there one place that would be better to spend 4 nights and one place better to only spend 2 nights? We really want to try to see as much of the park and wildlife as we can.

I like the sound of this now. I think 3 nights at each place is good. I would probably only stay 2 nights @ Mammoth. It was our least impressive area. However, with the Elks in Rut, this may be the place to be.

This also gives you the option of checking at Roosevelt Lodge and trading it for Canyon Lodge for a couple of nights. Their last day is the 7th. I don't know if that means you can spend the night there on the 7th or not. You could sneak in a night or two there and then just stay one night at Canyon if something became available and you were willing to pack up and move an additional time. I would probably go ahead and make reservations soon, just to be safe. You can always cancel. I think you will be charged for only your first night.

I wonder if it would cost you anymore to fly into Billings and then out of Jackson. You would have to factor in the car dropoff. Sometimes they kill you on this, other times it is just a bit more. You could drive the Beartooth HWY. You could still easily take a day while at Canyon or Mammoth to drive it.

One other thing, you didn't include Lake Hotel at all. You might want to at least stop there and have a meal. Its a pretty good area to spend a day at.

Actually Make Reservations now. I noticed at Old Faithful and Mammoth the only thing left were rooms without a bath. So hurry before those are gone.

Wow, I can't believe how fast Yellowstone books up. I did get a Western cabin at Canyon, a room no bath at Mammoth, and a room no bath at Old Faithful Inn. I may try to call on Monday when they are open and see if there is any kind of waiting list to get a room with a bath. But atleast I got us rooms! Thanks Spirobulldog.

As far as I know, PHayden, there are NO waitlists. Just good ole perseverence, lol! Keep calling them. It might seem discouraging at times, but it can work, even real close to your departure.

Thanks Swisshiker. I have no problem being persistent :)

If you get in a bind as to where to stay and are unable to get what you want inside the Park you can always stay in one of the gateways towns. A night or so in Gardiner or Cooke City/Silver Gate for the activities in the northern part of the Park works well. We have never had a problem getting a place in Cooke City a day or two in advance of arrival.

http://www.colorado-west.com/cooke/

We spent a couple of nights in Gardiner last year. It is only about 5 miles from Mammoth and we always saw elk and bighorn sheep on the ride in. It is a very, very small town but it was nice to have television and internet access in the middle of a long trip.

People make reservations in the park as soon as they open them up, but many either cancel or change them as it gets nearer to their trip. You may not see much availability for a while, but by next summer you will probably start seeing it change on almost a daily basis.

I think your itinerary sounds great. It is nice, especially for a first visit, to have a few days in different parts of the park. That way you have more flexibility in when you do things -- depending on weather, etc.

I think you have a fantastic trip planned. I know the bath in the room is nice, but I think the Old original part is the way to go in Old Faithful Inn. The bath down the hall isn't that big of a deal. I still think you have a good shot upgrading your room in mammoth and even getting a different room in Old Faithful with a bath if you decide to go that route. I also think you can wind up with a room at Roosevelt for a night or two. I ended up with a room at Colter last year, by checking online every night before I went to bed. It is probably best that you call according to other posts I have read here. We had originally booked at tent cabin, but decided we wanted to get a regular cabin with a bath. I was able to secure it about 3 weeks before we left. I had made all our reservations originally a year in advance. I envy you being there in the fall and during the elk rut. I would like to see Yellowstone in different seasons, even winter. We were there in June and it was good then, because all the wildlife had babies. We saw a lot of bears. 15 or so. Two or three of them with cubs.

Maj does have a good idea, if the bathroom isn't your thing you could easily stay at Gardiner. It is pretty much right there at Mammoth.

The bathrooms won't be a big deal. It would just be nicer to have one. I would still rather stay in the park without a bath in room than stay out of the park.
Where do you find out about Snake River raft trips? Where do the start/end? I really want to do that while we are in the Tetons. We have done smooth & very light whitewater at the Grand Canyon. Do we need to make reservations or in Sept would we be ok waiting until we get there?
I think that is the only item left besides plane tickets and of course planning what we are going to do each day.

I prefer staying in the park myself.

List of park tour operators:
http://www.nps.gov/grte/planyourvisit/concessions.htm

We did ours thru GTLC. Some companies do Breakfast or dinner tours. There is a variety to pick from. I would make reservations a couple of months in advance. Also, do check out the Historic Yellow Bus Tour in Yellowstone. We liked it. Of course, you will want to take a boat across Jenny Lake to do the hike there. The float trip is nothing wild, pretty smooth. You will not get wet.

I wanted to thank everyone for all the information you gave me about watching on line to see if the lodges in Yellowstone added some additional choices of rooms. I was able to switch our no bathroom room in Old Faithful Inn and at Mammoth Lodge & Cabins for rooms with baths. Yeah

Now you won't have to "hold it" all night long. LOL. Sounds like your trip is coming together nicely. We want to go to YS sometime in the winter, that looks interesting as well.