I currently have the following reservations for August 2009:
Days 1-4 Jackson Lake Lodge
Days 4-7 Canyon Village Lodge
Days 7-8 Old Faithful lodge.

I have not booked my air yet, and I’m not opposed to flying in and out of different locations. I will be travelling with my 12 year old son.

Here’s the problem: I can’t change Old Faithful Lodge (great room) or our return dates.

I can add 2 extra days to the beginning of the trip. Any suggestions? I was thinking of adding Mammoth Hot Springs into the mix for the 2 extra days but that seems a bit of a driving stretch. Any other suggestions? I’m open to almost anything.

just4me,

You could fly in to SLC and spend a couple days in Park City. There is so much to do and if you and your son are into outdoors/sports, you 'll be in heaven.

Mountain biking, hiking, golfing, fly fishing, etc. etc.

Jackson is about 4 hour drive from Park City, going up through Evanston, WY on hwy 89. Beautiful drive too. On to the lodge would be about another 45 minutes.

you could fly into Billings and drive the Beartooth Hwy on your way to Mammoth. Maybe take a dip in the Boiling River area. the only thing is then you will have to drive all the way to Jackson Lake Lodge. We enjoyed the long Cafe Counter at Jackson Lake Lodge and the food was good.

I would prefer Roosevelt Lodge over Canyon Lodge, if it is available. And for what it is worth, Mammoth area was our least favorite area of the park, so it might be good to start with that as a warm up.

your son might enjoy the Alpine Slide in Jackson. Our 14 year old daughter did this past summer. you should probably allow 2-3 hours for that, if you decided to try it.

Be sure and check out the Lake Hotel and Lake area one day. Maybe do a Yellow Bus Tour.

Do not miss Castle Geyser which is a short walk from Old Faithful. It is much much different and is very much worth waiting for. I would spend pretty much the entire two days you have planned at Old Faithful geyser watching. Castle and Riverside are both good ones to see. Of course, see Old Faithful, but it was our least favorite one.
Here is a link to my photos. click on view all and then Yellowstone

http://www.photoworks.com/members/spirobulldog

Roosevelt would be a better choice than Mammoth I think. Right at the entrance to Lamar Valley. Not too hard to see black bears around there. You can drive to Mammoth and check it out. I'd add the extra two days.

Jackson Lake Lodge is very nice. We were there in June.

Here's some pictures from our 2006 stay at Roosevelt. The up arrow at the top left will take you to the trip report if you're interested.

http://www.alandsuejohnson.com/yello...odge_2007.html

Thanks for all the great ideas. I'll look into all of them.

This looks more do-able to me for the expanded trip:

Day 1 fly into Jackson, either stay a day/night in Jackson or go straight to Jackson Lake Lodge

Day 2-4 Jackson Lake Lodge

Day 5-6 Lake Village Hotel??

Day 7-9 Roosevelt

Day 10-11 Old Faithful Inn

Day 12 fly home out of Jackson

We would like to do 1 or 2 fishing tours.
I was told the Circle of Fire Tour is good, but I’m not sold on this one. I would be open to other suggestions. Also easy kayaking locations and/or organized nature viewing float trips are all of interest.

we did float the Snake River using the services from Jackson Lake Lodge. it was nice, but we didn't see much wildlife, just a bald eagle. You better get your reservations asap, Roosevelt books up about as fast as OFI. we didn't do the cookout at Roosevelt, but a lot of people seem to like it. I really like you new iten.

If you want to spend more time in YNP but want to minimize the driving from Jackson Lake Lodge, why not look at lodging options in the Lake area (especially the Lake Yellowstone Hotel, which is historic, beautiful, and comfy, if a bit expensive)?