<p>Agree also with WayOutWestMom, Loved Cody and the rodeo (Stampede). I’ll probably never get back to Yellowstone but enjoyed being there for a summer- seasonal employment for college students at some of the national parks can be a good opportunity.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Yes. When I went online, I couldn’t find a single one in the park which wasn’t blacked out as full for all of June, July, August.</p>
<p>Well, I guess I will have to hope she ends up going to school out there so I can fit all of this in eventually. It’s a trip I have wanted to take for 20 years and we had plans made a couple times and had to cancel for various reasons. Hopefully we can get at least a bit of a tour in. Maybe if we can only spend one day it might be better if we take the highway down to the entrance by Old Faithful and drive around there for a bit and head back. I couldn’t not see Old Faithful. I know, touristy, but like someone else said, it would be like going to Paris and not seeing the Eiffel Tower.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the information. Now we just need to get the rest of the summer plans in order to see how much time we will have to do all of this.</p>
<p>Nrdsb - Wow, all blacked out? There are cancellations except you can’t plan on them. </p>
<p>One thing we forget is Yellowstone is also a wonderful place for hiking and camping. You get closer to nature.</p>
<p>Iglooo–camping for me is staying in a Super 8 vs a nice hotel :D. I would “camp” in a decked out RV though.</p>
<p>As Iglooo mentioned, people do cancel, as there is no penalty to do so. We were able to get get a room that way. I checked every day until something came up. Otherwise Gardiner and West Yellowstone should have something. </p>
<p>SteveMA, if you drive down to Old Faithful, there is a short loop, just south of Mammoth, that you must drive. It can’t be more than a mile and took us less than 30 minutes when we visited in early July. There were several thermal features that could be seen right from the road. Does anyone know what that drive is called? I think it’s the little black circle on this map, next to the purple dot (Maybe it’s Hot Spring Terraces?):
[Park</a> Map Viewer](<a href=“http://www.nps.gov/pwr/customcf/apps/maps/showmap.cfm?alphacode=yell&parkname=yellowstone%20national%20park]Park”>http://www.nps.gov/pwr/customcf/apps/maps/showmap.cfm?alphacode=yell&parkname=yellowstone%20national%20park)</p>
<p>Steve - You mean camping is a 5-star hotel, right? You don’t get the kind of view you get from your well-chosen campsite anywhere in the world. Right in the middle of meadow you only see in Sierra club calendar.</p>
<p>toledo, Could it be Painted …something maybe Rock?</p>
<p>Edit - I think it’s Artist something.</p>
<p>We were in Yellowstone in 2008 and spent quite a bit of time researching it. If you can spare 1-2 days, here are my suggestions for a ‘power trip’.<br>
- Drive in through Bozeman straight to the Canyons area, hike to the waterfall.<br>
- Drive to Norris & check out the geysers & pools there - very nice.<br>
- Arrive in Old Faithful area at dinner time. Spend night at one of the lodging options. People cancel all the time. Call the number every other day. You will get something.<br>
- Get up early in Old Faithful and take the 8am ranger walk. So many tourists don’t stay in the area, so this is the quietest time of day.
- drive back out through Madison & Norris, stopping to see Mammoth on your way out. </p>
<p>Lots more to do if you have more time, but these are the highlights IMO. I would bypass the Lake/Grant Village area. We didn’t see much of interest there.</p>
<p>Just one more thing; If you get hot and wouldn’t mind a dip, there are two swimming holes where hot water drains into the river. One is in Mammouth, the other one half-way between Mammouth and Old Faithful. You can kind of choose your own temperature depending on how close you get to the source. The second one is FUN. The river carries you down. Then, the current slows down and eases you into a pool.</p>
<p>I happen to have our 2004 Yellowstone travel info spread out in the den, awaiting clutter-cleanup. I’ll add notes below, though sorry Steve some will not be relevant for you (at least not this year).</p>
<ul>
<li><p>We headed north from CO and spent the first night in Thermopolis. Great spot! Sort of a hot springs oasis. We had time to spend the afternoon in the wonderful park. We stayed at Rainbow Motel, simple but fine for us.
[Thermopolis</a> Vacations, Tourism and Thermopolis, Wyoming Travel Reviews - TripAdvisor](<a href=“http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g60564-Thermopolis_Wyoming-Vacations.html]Thermopolis”>http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g60564-Thermopolis_Wyoming-Vacations.html)</p></li>
<li><p>Our next day included a long, interesting stop at the Cody museum. </p></li>
<li><p>We lodged at the Fairfield Inn, in West Yellowstone, MT (just outside the park). It worked well for us, especially since it had 24 hour cancellation policy. Our Plan A had been to camp, and then due to cold June temps that year we transitioned toward a motel plan. We spent 2 nights there.</p></li>
<li><p>We headed to Jackson Hole area and stayed 2 nights at Elk Coutnry Motel. It was nice since it had 2 double beds and a loft with another double bed. We loved the area. DH and kids took a river float ride. </p></li>
<li><p>We returned the southern I80 route, with one night at Rawlins WY. The drive from Jackson was longer and more remote than expected, but we survived despite a wrong turn that made it longer. </p></li>
<li><p>Wyoming seems forever windy. But it is varied and beautiful.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Iglooo/Toledo—it’s Artist Paint Pots.</p>
<p>We stayed in Silver Gate, Montana last year, immediately after Labor Day. We needed to find a place where we could minimize our expenses by cooking most of our meals, and I tracked down a lodge that is used mostly for groups, but the proprietor rented us a bunkroom for a low price. It was fun to stay there, and we met some great people who were also staying in the lodge, notably a fly fishing guide from Idaho who stays there every year. Since I was the only female for all but one night, I had a private bathroom. 
Our program was to do a different hike, sometimes two, every day. We ranged over the whole park. We also took a day to drive to Cody and visit the museum, which was great.</p>
<p>The whole stay was fabulous.</p>
<p>Thanks, Pootie, that sounds right. I remember thinking that we could have easily missed that turnout and it was sooooo worth it.</p>
<p>There’s a WalMart supercenter in Bozeman that we stopped in and bought supplies for several days. We ate cereal for breakfast and sandwiches/cold cuts for lunch, but dinner in the restaurants. Also picked up a rolling cooler there that still comes in handy today. </p>
<p>Plenty of free ice available in Yellowstone.</p>
<p>Don’t forget the altitude in the northern part is quite high (8000’), so some people in your group may have some issues. Keep hydrated. We also hiked Mt Washburn, but it sounds like you won’t have time for that.</p>
<p>We drove our d. cross country to collage, and stayed in Yellowstone for one night. It was well worth it. One of the best drives ever was across Beartooth pass from Red Lodge Mt. to the northside of Yellowstone. We left early from Red Lodge, drove about 3 hours to Yellowstone, and arrived late morning. We stayed that night IN the park. It made a huge difference, as you don’t need to spend extra time commuting to/from. and could use all the daylight hours to explore Yellowstone. If full, keep checking for cancellations. There are many choices. We stayed in one of the more rustic cabins, since that was all that was available. They were nothing special, but staying in the park makes a huge difference when your time is so limited. We then rose early the next day, and left early afternoon. We saw most everything we wanted (Old Faithful, PaintPots, Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, and others. We rose early and retired late to be able to watch the wildlife in the meadows. You can spend weeks there, but we still felt that we had a great introduction in the short time.</p>
<p>Beartooth Pass was spectacular. But, you need to check road closures. Snow banks were 15’ high in areas, and the pass was closed the week before. (We were there in early June).</p>
<p>Enjoy!</p>
<p>kjofkw, the place where we stayed, Silver Gate, is on the road from Beartooth to Yellowstone. Beartooth is indeed spectacular, as is the Nez Perce Trail to Cody.</p>
<p>Boy, I’m late to this party.</p>
<p>SteveMA: this is my neck of the woods or of the mountains, I guess.</p>
<p>What colleges are you looking at? Are you going west from Bozeman? Do you have to fly in/out of the same airport or can you do an open jaw?</p>
<p>If you must do round trip from Bozeman, suggest following:</p>
<p>Bozeman to Livingston to Gardiner (1.5hr) through Paradise Valley (yes it really is). enter through north entrance, skip Mammoth (largely dried out at this point sadly), go see Norris Basin (most active thermal area at this time), head east to Canyon, then south to Fishing Bridge (Bison jams not uncommon in this area), see Lake Yellowstone (stop at Lake Hotel), then back up the lower loop to Old Faithful. Spend what time you can there walking the boardwalk and see Old Faithful (I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen it go off but I still get chills). Then drive up to Madison Junction stopping at the various geyser basins on the way (they can be done pretty quickly). Exit Park from Madison out to West Yellowstone then hightail north through Big Sky back to Bozeman (1.5 hr) through Gallatin Valley.</p>
<p>Very doable in a long day. In early July, sun won’t set until quite late and there’s some light even at 10pm.</p>
<p>If you can do an open jaw, recommend flying into Billings, then do Red Lodge, Beartooth Highway to Northeast entrance, Lamar Valley (spectacular and often missed by most visitors), to Canyon and then pick up as noted above. If you do this, PM me as I would potentially have an offer for you.</p>
<p>^^Strongly agree with the “open jaw” plan above. There are frequently buffalo jams is the Lamar Valley too, though. :)</p>
<p>^^They mostly stay on the other side of the river in Lamar. If they do park themselves on the road, that would be the perfect place to practice ‘Bison herding with a car’ which involves driving ever so slowly right up to the critters. They eventually get up and move as they realize cars are bigger than them (unless you’re in a MiniCooper in which case this maneuver is not recommended :D. That would make a cute picture).</p>
<p>Now people who park the cars halfway on the road to look at the said Bison and cause traffic jams… that’s another story.</p>
<p>BTW, since this is an educational site, the critters are Bison, not Buffalo, despite very extensive common usage of the latter term. I’ve been told, though not sure if it’s true, that it’s Buffalo east of the Mississippi and Bison west of the Great River.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.nps.gov/yell/naturescience/bison.htm[/url]”>http://www.nps.gov/yell/naturescience/bison.htm</a></p>