Kathy

I am planning a trip to WY this summer with husband and two teen boys, ages 15 and 19. I have read up on the Yellowstone lodging. We are looking to spend anywhere from $80-$150 per night. Which place is preferable? What are pros and cons for each one? Also, we wouldn't mind staying in a Yellowstone cabin, but the few photos I had seen look like the cabins are all clustered together, not far apart from each other, and not too attractive. Is this the case?

Also, I have read postings here that a great day trip from Yellowstone would be up to the town of Red Lodge and thru the Big Horn Mtns. What is in Red Lodge to make it worth our while going there? After Yellowstone we need to get down to Denver, so I was thinking of going this route, tying in a stop in Cody. Any suggestions on this?

Thanks, Kathy

Amy

Kathy -
I used this Yellowstone Chat page when planning my trip to the Park, and found it very helpful. http://www.yellowstone-natl-park.com/wwwboard/chat2.htm

We stayed at the Old Faithful Inn, Signal Mountain Lodge, and Lake Yellowstone Hotel, and found them all to be great. It was just the two of us, so I'm not sure we were within your budget for 4.

The cabins in Yellowstone seem to vary from location to location, so if you have an idea of what part of the Park you want to stay in, that would help you narrow down your choices.

We spent 2 days at Old Faithful area, where you can see the geothermal features and take a few hikes. Then we spent 3 days in Grand Teton National Park (a float trip down the Snake was very nice, as was the horse back trip from Jackson Lake Lodge). We hiked quite a bit, around Jenny Lake and elsewhere, and Signal Mountain Lodge was a good, inexpensive place to have as our base. I highly recommend seeing Grand Teton National Park while you are there. We finished our trip at Lake Yellowstone Hotel (can you tell I really like historic buildings?), which we used as our base to explore the wildlife in Hayden valley, the Grand Canyon (amazing place, great hikes), and Mammoth Hot Springs. (day one and two).
I bought a book, "An outdoor familly guide to Yellowstone and Grand Teton" by Lisa Collin Evans, that had great descriptions of all sorts of hikes you can take, with ratings on difficulty.
We really enjoyed the ranger led hikes/activities as well, especially the Old Faithful geyser area.

Some places to stay get booked early, so you should try to find something soon. Many people looking for budget accomodations recommended staying just outside the park or camping. You can definitely get less expensive deals in the hotels/motels surrounding the area. We went off-season (late September, there were so many cancellations we had the place to ourselves generally), and we had great weather the entire time - but I consider us lucky in that way, they close the West Yellowstone Airport on the last day of September b/c of snow!
I'm sure you'll love the area -

Dave

The real attraction to Red Lodge is getting there. The Beartooth Highway stretches from the northeast entrance of Yellowstone to Red Lodge, and is one of the best mountain highways in the country. Plan on the drive taking 2-3 hours (one way) from Roosevelt Junction, depending on how often you stop to admire the scenery.

The Big Horns are about five hours (one way) from Yellowstone, 3 hours from Cody, and 3 hours from Red Lodge, so they're not really an easy day trip from Yellowstone. Most people visiting Yellowstone from the East cross them (possibly without noticing), but for your journey they would probably be out of the way. They are a nice place to relax and explore, givn a couple of free days, but I suspect that is not your situation. (If you are still interested, I can give you a few suggestions.)

Connie

I would stay in Old Faithful Inn above all else. It is old but is just awesome. You can even save a lot of money by getting a rooom without a bath. When we camp in Yellowstone, I go to the inn just to sit in the lobby and enjoy the ambience!

If old isn't your style, they built a new lodge right next door that is very nice.

steve

I made reservations for my family last week and we got the last 2 cabins for the dates we wanted - mid June. Make yours ASAP