lyntom

Ok. I've got our cross country driving trip planned through Mt. Rushmore, Custer St. Park, Mammoth Site,Deadwood, Devils Tower, and Red Lodge. But I need some help once we enter Yellowstone

Day. 1, Sun: We'll enter the park through the Beartooth Hwy. and Cooke City. How long will it take to get to Mammoth Hot Springs from Red Lodge. We want to explore MHS and then back to Roosevelt Lodge for the Cookout. Is this too long a drive? I'm afraid if we wait until after the cookout, it will be too late (or everyone else will be too tired) to explore MHS for two hours.

Day 2, Mon: Tour from MHS to Norris Junction to Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, spending the night at Canyon Village? Is this reasonable or too much?

Day 3, Tues.: Canyon Village to Hayden Valley, Lake Village, West Thumb and on to Old Faithful for the night? Is this too ambitious? Would a day trip to Cody and back be a better use of our time? I think we'd enjoy the museum and the Old West Town but not at the expense of something great in the park.

Days 4/5,Wed.-Thurs. Old Faithful area and West Yellowstone. If we end up not doing the day trip to Cody, is a total of three nights to long here?

Days 6, Fri.: To GTNP, where we'll stay either at Signal Mt. Lodge or Teton Village (if we can't get a room at Signal Mt.)

Day 7, Sat.: Jenny Lake Boat/hike to Canyon Falls early a.m. Whitewater in afternoon. Rodeo and Nt. in Jackson.

Day 8, Sun: Tram/Alpine Slide--Drive as far as Rock Springs to begin the 4 day trip home. Or, we COULD stay one more night, but really need to get started home. At this point we will have been on the road for 13 days.

If we absolutely cannot get reservations in the Old Faithful area, is it a huge pain to drive in each day from West Yellowstone?

Thanks, once again, for your help.

Lynda

maj

We enjoyed driving in from West Yellowstone each day. We had some of our best wildlife viewing especially in the late afternoon--early evening on our way back to the hotel. We were there in September though and the traffic was not bad at all. There are many, many things to see between Old Faithful and Madison Junction and you would have to drive from Old Faithful to get to them anyway.

freespirit61

i've done a similiar trip. First i must say that Custer State Park is awesome. We stayed in a cabin and the Buffalo would roam thru the cabin area in early am. what a sight to sit on the porch with a cup of coffee watching these huge animals. As for the question of driving from West Yellowstone to Old Faithful area, the drives not bad but depending on when you're going traffic can be slow because of cars or stopped because of animal sightings. Did you check to see if there's a park shuttle system and also check every day for cancellations in the Old Faithful Lodge or snowlodge. I have always been able to land a room in the National Park Lodges because of cancellations. You might just get one night at first-Reserve It- and keep trying to add nights by checking back often for more cancellations. People book these rooms way in advance and then their plans change.. We were able to see lots of animals by driving to the Lamar Valley in the evening just before dusk. Have a great trip...

caniac

For the amount of time you are spending in Yellowstone, I think your itinerary will work fine. It will require you to stay busy, but it will give you chance to see most areas of the park. You may have to adjust your trip based on availability, but your initial plan is good. I would not go to Cody. There are plenty of things in Yellowstone to keep you busy. You could spend a couple of weeks there and still not see and do everything.

bob_brown

I agree on the Cody bit. Otherwise, your erternartinity is great. I did a similar iterary earlier. I am reluctant to recomm end iternaries because they are often very personal journeys -- nobody's business but the one doing it.


I do find that most people tend to put too much activity into too short a time frane when setting up their Yellowstone itineraries because geyser gazing can become compelling and time consuming.

So can listening for wolf howls in the Lamar valley!!

Your idea of coming into the park by way of the Beartooth Pass is good. I willingly go out of my way to make that climb I like it so much. I have gone to the top and simply retraced my steps. The trip was purely a diversion and the goal was the top of the mountain!!

Last time we left Yellowstone, we drove over to Red Lodge on our way home.

Yes, I was poking fun at the spelling.
The word is i t i n e r a r y

Itinerary, and the misuse of advice and advise tell a lot of people that Americans don't know their own language very well.

lyntom

Thanks for the advice. Sorry about "itinerary"; it simply was a typing mistake.

One more question: would it be better to go only as far as Yellowstone Lake after the night in Canyon Village instead of doing three nights in the Old Faithful area? I'm not sure of the driving time between Canyon V. and Old Faithful.

Thanks again.

caniac

I would leave Canyon, drive to Lake Yellowstone and have dinner at the historic hotel. You need to make reservations in advance. Then, after dinner, I would drive all the way to Old Faithful. This will allow you to set up camp there for a few days without having to constantly pack and unpack. There is plenty to do in Old Faithful to keep you busy for a few days. Have a great trip!

RuthMc

We started our trip to Yellowstone in Red Lodge, left there at 7 am and were in the park by 9:30. We didn't get to Mammoth until sometime after lunch, having stopped for a picnic, short hike and numerous animal sightings. We did only the upper terrace at Mammoth, it was Labor Day Sunday and very busy, and were at the Lake Hotel by around 3. So I think you should be able to spend time at Mammoth and be at Roosevelt for the cook-out, although I don't know what time that leaves.

Your day 2 plan sounds perfectly do-able. Also day 3. I concur that your time is better spent in the park than a day trip to Cody, although you might want to work in a drive to the East Entrance of the park and back--it was fabulous scenery even though under construction.

MinnieNo1

Wow, we're taking the same trip. I've made reservations at the Lake in Yellowstone with dinner reservations (they asked when I called). The answers to your questions are the same ones I had - thanks for asking ahead of time for me. If it just weren't for the drive out and back, but I just can't justify the airfare $. We're renting a car instead of putting the miles on my car. The cost isn't too bad and we have 2 drivers.
Have a great vacation.

lyntom

Thanks to all. I am getting more excited every day.

You have a great trip, too, MinnieNO1. Are you from the East Coast?

MinnieNo1

East of South Bend Indiana, in the middle of Amish country. 1 hour from big cities and 3 hours from really big cities. Not a bad way to go if you like the laid back life. You just need to watch out for horse and buggies and "road apples".