maria_so

Hi All! I am so excited to do this trip. Been to GTNP and Yellowstone once before about 4 years ago and I am so excited to be returning. This time, I am putting in more days and visiting a few other places. Please take a look and make suggestions where needed.

Aug 22: Arrive Idaho Falls, ID @ 10:45pm. Picking up rental car at airport. Then drive an hour & 15 min to ARCO, ID. Stay at DK Motel.
(question: is the rental car place walking distance to the airport or have shuttle? I coulnd't find that much information on it...)

Aug 23: Spend the day at Craters of the Moon, Ntl Monument and Preserve. Then drive 3 1/2 hrs to Jackson Hole and stay at Woods Hotel.

Aug 24: Rafting on the snake river in the afternoon then dinner at Snake River Grill then back to Woods Hotel.
(question: Is Snake River Grill still open and if so, is it still the best restaurant in JH?)

Aug 25: Check out really early to arrive at signal mountain to meet up with OARS for overnight kayaking trip in Grand Teton/Jackson Lake to Grass Island. Camp overnight.
(question: any idea how far of a drive that is? What time should we leave Woods hotel which is about a block from JH town square?)

Aug 26: Arrive from overnight trip in am then check in to Colter Bay Cabins.
(question: any good hikes to recommend around Colter BAy/Jackson Lake area? Or even places to go to see wild life? I remember going by the often pictured barn and seeing herds of buffalo but just can't remember how we got there. any ideas?)

Aug 27: Hike around Jenny Lake and up to inspiration point and beyond. Stay at Colter Bay Cabins.

Aug 28: check out and head to Yellowstone Ntl Park, check in at Old Faithful Inn. Do Geyser walk near the Inn.

Aug 29: Check out Geysers and hot pools, bubbling mud on west side of park towards Madison Junction. Take a dip at Firehole River. Head back to OF Inn.
(question: I have searched the internet and think that this famous swimminghole is off of the Firehole Canyon Drive right before you hit Madison Junction. Am I right? Can anyone comment on this?)

Aug 30. Head out towards the lake area and meet up with guides (OARS) to do 1/2 day kayaking on Yellowstone Lake to see geysers on river.
(question: this night, I have reservations both at the lake and at the canyon area. after seeing the rest of the itinerary, pls comment on which one would be best.)

Aug 31:Visit Canyon area. Stay at Roosevelt Tower - only open until 8/31).
(question. I know I want to see artist point again but is there a medium trail (not strenuous, not so easy) that we can do with the falls that anyone has done before?)

Sept 1:Head out to Mammoth hot springs - visit sites. Take a dip at boiling river/garner river area. stay at mammoth hot springs.
(question: only instructions I could find for the location is on entrance road by the sign marking the 45th parrallel. Can anyone else expand on this?

Sept 2. Head out early towards Lamar valley for animal sightings then out of the park towards beartooth hwy then staying at hampton inn in billings, montana.
(question: we plan to leave early from mammoth and not linger too long at lamar valley area. I know that people have said to put alot of time in for beartooth hwy but how long do you think it will take approximately to get to billings? we want to stay in billings because we've nver been to montana and want to at least say we've spent the night there. Any good restaurants you can recommmend in Billings?)

Sept 3: On the road very early towards Rapid City, SD with a brief stop at Devil's tower. Stay in Rapid City.
(question: Mapquest says 5 hours so we'll just have to buckle down and settle in for the long drive, eating in the car. Any good quick hikes and what not to miss in Devil's Tower? How far of a drive is that off the hwy?)

Sept 4-7: Visiting Badlands, Mt Rushmore, Jewel Cave, Wind Cave. Maybe do the spelunking tour at jewel cave.
(this part of the trip is very vague at this point. We know kind of what sites to go see but I have no idea what SD is like or how far these places are from each other. We want to stay put at one place at this leg of the trip so one hotel room we can just come "home" to. Please make as many suggestions as you can. It has been recommended that Corn exchange restaurant is not to be missed but what else? If you had 3 full days in Rapid City (and an additional half day before you fly out at 3:30), what would you do?

Many thanks all. I am looking forward to anyone's suggestions. I know it's a long post but wanted to give you a clear idea of what we have so far!

Maria Cooper

maria_so

ttt

HotWheels

Is there a specific reason why you want to stay in Billings, MT other than to say you've been there? It may be more beneficial to your timeline to consider staying closer to the Yellowstone area. If not, just to let you know the Custer Battlefield is located in Hardin, MT - generally south of Billings, if you're interested.
In relation to the SD part of your trip - I would suggest staying in either Hill City or Keystone. You could easily drive & see the caves, Custer State Park, Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial, etc. in that amount of time.

BarbaraS

I agree with hot wheels, don't stay in Rapid City, but in Keystone or Hill City.

Also, you may want to consider spending a night in Deadwood after visiting Devil's Tower. We drove back to Deadwood through Spearfish Canyon and stopped at Bridal Veil Falls and Little Spearfish Falls. Little Spearfish Falls is on a trail behind the Latchkey restaurant, where we ate lunch. My boys changed into their swimming suits and played in the water at the falls.

sharondi

Maria,
Sounds like an amazing trip! My only advice is to spend an additional day or two in Yellowstone. We spent 6 nights and still could've stayed longer. The Lamar Valley is so spectacular and you should definitely spend some time there. The wildlife sightings took up so much of our time - it was incredible! Our first day, we saw a grizz walking along the shore of Yellowstone Lake. Amazing!

http://www.pbase.com/peterb/image/67839330

We also were lucky enough to watch a pack of wolves in Hayden for a long time - quite an emotional and remarkable experience. You will be in Mammoth during the elk rut - that, too, is such a rare and wonderful opportunity.

YNP is so big and there is so much to see between the awesome thermal features and the incredibly abundant wildlife - you really need a lot of time. I'd cut a day or so off South Dakota.

The drive from JH to Colter is about 40 miles (45-50 mins). Be sure to check out Oxbow Bend in GTNP for moose.

http://www.pbase.com/peterb/image/68045815

In YNP, be sure to walk the trails at Norris Geyser Basin. Just amazing! While staying at OFI, we did a pre-dawn walk thru the geysers that was otherworldly! Highly recommended!

Of all the places in YNP, we liked Canyon the least - it was the most crowded and least interesting. The canyon is certainly scenic and centrally located, but the Lake area is so much nicer and we saw lots of wildlife in the area out past Fishing Bridge.

The Boiling River is really easy to find - you honestly can't miss it. You'll see people walking out there as your driving out the north entrance. We didn't bother since there were so many people swimming there but had no trouble finding it.

We have tons of pics at this link if you're interested. We went at about the same time of year as you are going and it was perfect. Great weather, smaller crowds and tons of wildlife. We enjoyed all of our in park accomodations and were blown away by the vast array of thermal features. Yellowstone is one of the most unique places on earth - give it a few more days. I think you'll be glad you did.

http://www.pbase.com/peterb/yellowstone_06

maria_so

Hi Everyone! Thanks for responding!

Hotwheels, yes that's the only reason and really, to go through the beartooth hwy which I missed the last time I was there and refuse to miss this time. According to the map, I end up in Billings (which it says is scenic hwy all the way up there) if I took the northeast exit out of YNP and want to go through beartooth. I wouldn't mind not staying in billings specifically. It was just a good place to stop. Any suggestions? Also, I am assuming the beartooth hwy will be open then?

In Keystone or Hill City, where would you recommend to stay that is not too expensive? Maybe somewhere that would have a microwave or fridge in the room?

Barbara S, that sounds lovely! How far of a drive is spearfish to Mt Rushmore/keystone area? I wouldn't mind breaking up the night in SD for once night there and the rest in Keystone/Hill City. Would it still be swimming temp in early Sept? Where would you recommend to stay for the night?

Thanks Sharondi and I know what you mean. The first time I went, we spend 2 days in JH/GTNP and 3 days in Yellowstone. At least this time we're spending more time but remember, we're coming back to see some of the things we hadn't seen yet. We've seen most of the stuff at Mammoth Springs, tower area, etc. We didn't get to hike in the falls last time by the canyon and wanted to do that this time and of course, every visit I need to revisit the geysers. Your pictures look great! I am so excited to go! I wish it was now. We saw a bunch of wildlife when we were there too. The only thing we didn't get to see were wolves! We saw a beaver at oxnard bend. I do love that spot. There was a family camping there when we went and we made friends. Love YSNP and GTNP. I've never been to SD before so I really am looking forward to checking it out. To be honest, I do not know what to expect there at SD so all these advice are really helpful. Thanks!

BarbaraS

I did a quick check on mapquest for you and it is 76 miles, 1 hr. 25 min. if you go directly from Devils Tower to Deadwood. If you take the route through Spearfish Canyon it is 99 miles to Deadwood, 2 hr. 12 min. If you go straight to Hill City through Rapid City on the freeway, it was 136 miles and 2 hr 28 min from Devils Tower.

It was so hot when we were there in July, I imagine it would be plenty warm to go in the falls the first of September.

maria_so

Thanks Barbara S. I'm looking through lodging in deadwood now. The Penny hotel seems cheap and still close to action. The other is Bullock Hotel. Do you remember these 2 and if so, which one would you recommend?

maria_so

Ok, I went ahead and booked The Bullock hotel right on main st. Cool! Thanks!

BarbaraS

I don't know either of those hotels. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in both Deadwood and Hill City. Both of which I would recommend. I did check out the reviews on Trip Advisor for the Bullock and it is ranked 4th, did you know it's suppose to be haunted?

travelerpeg

Hi Maria, forgive me for jumping in.
We too would like to drive on the Beartooth highway. We will be in a motorhome and would like to know if the road is ok for Motor Homes.
Thank you everyone for any advice or tips for this part of our travel.
Peg.

longhorn55

You might want to look at Custer, SD as your base rather than Keystone or Hill City. It's close to Custer State Park (bison, prairie dogs and some great lodges) as well as Sylvan Lake which has a lodge, beautiful lake and good hiking. I did the hike up to the fire lookout on Harney Peak (from Sylvan Lake) when I was a kid and then took my own kids back 25 years later and it was great!
If the lodges in the State Park and at Sylvan are not in your budget, there are plenty of motels in Custer.

jnjfraz

Maria, I live in Idaho Falls and have a cabin just outside of West Yellowstone and have been around this area for 50 years.

You really only need a few hours for Craters and Arco is a depressing little town. It might be better to pick up your car (right at airport) drive to Craters(personally I would skip Craters all together), hike and hang out for a couple of hours and then drive back to Idaho Falls to stay for the evening... we are rated as one of the best small towns in America.. Lots of hotels, great resaurants and we have a very popular wine shop (Vino Rosso). The next morning you could drive to Jackson via Swan Valley then over the Teton Pass, which is a beautiful drive and the pass is one of the most spectacular view EVER.

The Snake River Grill is still open and wonderful.

Jackson Lake is maybe 30 minutes from Jackson. I just looked up OARS which looks wonderful.

The animals you see will depend on the time of year for this trip. Spring/Fall alot more animals. AND when you go thru the south gate ask the ranger were the herds are/ or if people are seeing bear. Also fellow travelers will help with this. The last few years there have been bears spotted south of Mammoth.. west side of upper loop. You are right on the swimming hole.. firehole.

I know that Lake lodge was refurbished a couple of years ago, haven't been to Canyon in years. Another option for Mammoth is Chico Hot Springs, a few miles north. Good hot spings, nice rooms and great restaurant.

Lamar is beautiful but probably not worth 2 days. I would go thru Lamar and if you're really really wanting to see wolves then hire someone OR if you see anyone with a long lense stop and talk cause they are looking at wolves. The beartooth takes 2-3 hours and is beautiful. I would stay in Red Lodge, cute small town with ample lodging. Next morning drive from Red Lodge to Belfry and down.

If you want to experence Montana I would do that in Bozeman, Livingston or Paridise Valley. Billings is flat ugly and in my mind does not represent montana.
If you are shifting days--its a pretty drive from West Yellowstone to Bozeman (great town) then over to Livingston and south to Mammoth. You will then have a better Montana experience than Billings.

Restaurants:
Idaho Falls: Collage and Rutubegas
By Swan Valley: SouthFork Lodge
Jackson: Snake River Grill, Cadillac Grill
Paridise Valley: Chico Hot Springs
Bozeman: Plonk

maria_so

BarbaraS, yes, I know it's supposed to be haunted. I'm still thinking about that. I took room 204 which is at the front of the hotel away from the supposedly haunted 313 but they say there are paranormal activities in the hallways of the 2nd and 3rd floors. Not sure about this. The thing is, it's right in main st and close to everything. Will let you know what we end up with (yikes!)

travelerpeg, no problem. That's what fodors is all about!

jnjfraz, thanks for the advice however we are arriving (the plane) at 10:45 at night at Idaho Falls airport. We were thinking of just staying at Idaho Falls that night but we wanted to get some hiking in at Crater of the Moon. It was in the national parks magazine some time back and we have really wanted to go there. I love the desert so it's something I really don't want to miss. I wouldn't mind staying in Idaho Falls for the night but are the restaurants open late? We would be eating close to midnight that Friday night. I've been to Idaho Falls before. The last time we were at these parts, we stopped by Idaho Falls for a break from our road trip from Salt Lake City to Jackson Hole. I like your town but the schedule doesn't really allow us to enjoy it much .

Yeah, we saw alot of animals when we were there last too. Really fantastic - and we went around the same time - Late August, early Sept. which is why we decided to go at the same time again. It's rutting season for the elks over by mammoth too and they were all over the place the last time we were there. I can't wait!

We're not spending 2 days at lamar valley but passing through as you say. We'll be doing the tower falls hike when we check out from roosevelt that morning then head over to mammoth for the rest of the sight seeing and then boiling river/garner river soak. Sleep at mammoth then the next day early, leave mammoth and spend maybe an hour or so at lamar valley on the way out of the park through beartooth. I think we will look at Red Lodge as you say instead of going all the way up Billings then head down to Belfry from there. How much further is Billings anyway? Would we have problems with road closures at that time?

Thanks!

maria_so

...that was supposed to say on the way out of the park and then through bearfoot. oi. can't type today.

thanks everyone for your suggestions. Keep them coming, especially for the SD part of the trip!

oh, longhorn, we really wanted to see mount rushmore, wind cave, jewel cave, and now spearfish canyon in SD. In 3 days, would we have time to go see Custer state park too? We wanted to do the spelunking in jewel cave and a tour at wind cave also.

Dayle

Maria,

Another vote here for staying at Red Lodge. Really nice small town for an overnight visit. There is a good restaurant on the main street that is also a wine bar. Sorry I can't remember the name.

Definitely do the Beartooth Hwy! Awesome scenery and drive.

One of my favorite hikes at Coulter Bay is the loop that goes out to Swan Lake. Easy, not too long. You will definitely see the wild swans and probably some moose. Last time I was there I hiked out to Lake Point, a much longer loop, that was nice too. I was told later it's prime bear habitat!

LHS

For South Dakota, if you travel from Devil's Tower to Belle Fourche on Hwy 24, you can take Hwy 85 south to Spearfish and into Spearfish Canyon on your way to Deadwood alt 14 south to Lead and back to Deadwood.

I wouldn't worry too much about seeing Seth Bullock.

It looks like the Jewel cave spelunking tour is 4 hours, and it will take a chunk of a day since it is 40 minutes west of Custer. So it will depend on when you schedule this as to how you spend the rest of the day.

You can do a loop of Custer State park from Deadwood, going south on hwy 85 to 87 by Sylvan and drive the Needles Highway to Iron Mountain Road up to Mt. Rushmore by late afternoon to see the exhibits, the hike at the base and the evening lighting ceremony.

Wind Cave and the Custer State Park wildlife loop work well together.

Staying in Custer or the state park may be more centrally located for you after your night in Deadwood.

padams421

We really enjoyed Craters of the Moon National Park because its landscape is so different. If you are at all interested in it, don't skip it.

BarbaraS

I agree with LHS, you definitely need to drive the Needles Highway. Here's my trip report from our trip in 2006 http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=34840686

maria_so

Hi everyone. Been dying to read your responses but been in meetings all afternoon and couldn't get to it from my blackberry for some reason. I used to....wonder why that is.

Anyway, yes the needles hwy! I saw that somewhere along my research and meant to ask about it. Thanks again BarbaraS!

Hmmmm, I just booked a place in keystone so I guess let me cancel and try Custer. I do like that itinerary you pointed out LHS, thanks so much for that! I am still a bit weary of Seth Bullock. I think I DO remember seeing that show where they had that on Unsolved Mysteries. My husband falls asleep right away and me - not so much unless I've done a huge hike and been outdoors and active all day. My mind does wander and imagination goes haywire. Hehe.
Still, can't beat the location with the price. I'm now rethingking spelunking. My husband really wants to go but although I have never had space issues, I am worried I may panick in the tight spots. Has anyone done this spelunking tour and can comment? All in all, LHS, great advice. I will look into Custer now. Any recommendations for a hotel? Is there a main street like in Keystone with nice restaurants and shops? I know we are definitely making it in to Rapid City on one of the nights to try our the Corn Exchange. It's been talked about and recommended alot of several posts here on fodors.

Dayle! Is that you from the Utah posts???? Good to hear from you! Will definitely make a note of that trail to swan lake. That might just fit the bill that morning after we get back from camping before we can check in for our cabin in Colter Bay. Also, I think we are definitely doing Red Lodge now. It will save us some time. However, I am still curious to hear if hwy closings will be an issue for us in early september? Anyone?

Thanks again and looking forward to hear from you with more of your recommendations!