Yellowstone NP - Confused.
 

We have read much about the area, but are rather confused about where to stay for 4-5 days in early July 2009.

What do you think are the very best two hotels/lodges/guesthouses ? We like the Best.

We will be arriving through Jackson from Sydney Australia and picking up a car. Thank you for your help.

I like the Old Faithful Inn.

Not sure what you're 'best' is, but there are no really luxurious lodgings inside the park. We stayed at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge and it was clean and comfortable - didn't spend much time in the room! We also spent a couple nights in Cody, at the Cody Cowboy Village, which we loved.

We stayed in Gardiner (north entrance) and in West Yellowstone(west entrance)and both were OK. You have more lodgings and restaurants to choose from and it's very close to the park.Paul

Hi

Forget the notion of best and worry about location. Within Yellowstone, that's important. This early, you should be able to get what you want.

I'd suggest splitting time between Canyon and Old Faithful. Old Faithful is old and very cool. Its a good location for the west side. Canyon is on the east side and is a great location for the wildlife areas of Hayden Valley and Lamar Valley.

We tried to make our website useful to people who haven't been to Yellowstone. There's an interractive map there that shows pictures of various areas of the park.

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

Between the trip reports, pictures with comments and planning info, something should be useful to you.

Even though you're planning at a good time, the sooner you reserve the better off you'll be.

Thanks for the recommendations. Yes we hope to book this week given our experience with GC a few years ago. W

We have also read good things about Jenny Lake Lodge and Lake Yellowstone Hotel but have not researched them yet. Will also spend time on the link provided.

It seems like there arent too many king size beds and no great views from rooms, so the clean and comfortable without spending much time in the room is good

Thank you.

Do you think 4-5 days enough time to see the Park ?

GTNP

Jenny Lake Lodge is the best, most exclusive and most expensive IN the park. Exquisite site placement and very good restaurant.

Outside the park, in Jackson, are top notch hotels - Four Seasons, Amangani...

YNP
None of the lodging within the park is of the caliber that I've mentioned above. However, the Old Faithful Inn is historic and an eye-popper. If you make a reservation there be sure to ask for a room or suite in the historic section. Otherwise, you may find yourself in dull drab motel-room type accomodations as DH and I did. Yuk.

The Snow Lodge is a good alternative for lodging in the Old Faithful area. It's just across the (huge) parking lot.

4-5 days is okay to see the park. You can do shorter or longer depending on your interests and activities.

Make dinner reservations at the same time you make your lodging reservations.

Have a great trip!

-doo

We spent a week at Jenny Lake Lodge and highly recommend it. Great rooms and staff, wonderful location and excellent restaurant. We took day trips to both Grand Tetons and Yellowstone and thought location worked out great. We also spent a week at Jackson Lake Lodge and really liked it, but Jenny Lake was certainly a step above and don't think you can go wrong with it at all.

Last fall, we stayed several nights each at the Old Faithful Inn and the Lake Yellowstone Hotel. We had such a great time that we've decided to go back again this fall.

The Lake Hotel does have a couple suites, but those get booked quickly. Don't think there are kings, but there are some rooms with 2 queens (not listed on the website).

Be sure to book your dining reservations early as well.

Sounds like five days split between Old Faithful and Jenny Lake Lodge or a Hotel in Jackson may be the best way. Thanks you all for your help.

Yellowstone is huge, and if you don't want to spend lots of time driving, I would split my time between 2 locations in the park. None of the hotels is luxurious, but the old hotels with character are Old Faithful Inn and the Lake Hotel. Staying in both lets you see 2 very different areas of the park without feeling like you are constantly driving.

Thank you all. Having been to Yosemite, North and South Rim GC, Bryce and Zion, I can now see that Yellowstone is quite different from a planning perspective. We had planned to fly in from the Caribbean and on to the West Coast and back to home in Sydney. Trying to figure out flights in and out of Jackson Hole on OneWorld i.e. AA is a real challenge. Maybe there is a better hub to access Yellowstone NP. I guess I need to look at Cody, Bozeman, Billings etc where car hire is also available..

AA only has a few flights to that region. United probably has the most. Also check Delta and Northwest.

We are flying into Billings this Thursday and then leaving from Jackson. I wanted to fly into Billings to drive the Beartooth HWY. Which is considered by some to be the best drive in America. It is always in the top 10 on every list I have ever seen. I have driven a couple of others on the top 10, so I'll give you my opinion in a couple of weeks when we are home.

Spirobulldog, you might want to check Yellowstone's road closure information. My brother is heading there on Tuesday, and he found out there has been a lot of amount of snow unusually late in the year. I just checked today, and the Beartooth Hwy is currently closed because of avalanches.

Believe me, I know. But thanks for the info. Park Ranger that I called said that they will reevaluate Beartooth on Tuesday.

Look forward to the update on Beartooth. Will study the maps and info and check Billings connections with AA and others. Thanks again.

If you have to use OneWorld, this may not help, but DL has a hub in SLC and about 5 flights a day to/from Jackson Hole (JAC).

Best connections for us are in and out of Jackson where we will pick up a rental car (any recommendations ?). We probably havent got time to take advantage of the highway in from Billings and AA does not fly to Billings (OneWorld around the worls ticket!).

General objective is 5 days = a half day in Jackson Hole, a night at Jenny Lake Lodge and two nights in each of Old Faithful and Lake Yellowstone. Does that all sound OK ?

We move fairly quickly for our age so we now need to figure out the best 1-3 hours (moving fast) hikes. Thanks again for all your help.

Hello Good_Will :)

Your 5-day itinerary looks great!

We have always used Alamo Car Rental with good results. They are right IN the airport.

If you're in the market for a really good guidebook (great details with mileage markers and hikes all thru the park), you might take a look at "Yellowstone Treasures" by Janet Chapple. Excellent resource! Available on Amazon.

Happy travels!

Good Will,

It sounds like you have a great itin worked out for your limited time. That, your lodging, and the book Swisshiker recommended and you're good to go!

-doo