Wow, this makes planning a trip to Disney look easy.
I see I have lots of research to do and decisions to make.
I think I will make reservations soon, recognizing I can cancel them later.
West Yellowstone, MT is a nice base for staying outside Yellowstone. The food there is better than it was 10 years ago and is still much better than it is in the park (Slippery Otter Pub is fun–the jalapeno popper appetizer is kind of famous and delicious, even if you don’t like jalapenos). We have stayed at a cabin in town and at the Three Bears Lodge (I think?). Both were fine. West Yellowstone is a small town and eminently walkable but, of course, you will need a car in the park. No one goes to Yellowstone for the food, so if you are going to have a kitchen, stock up on groceries (especially produce) on your way in. Seriously–whatever city you fly into, buy groceries and a cooler there. Even in Jackson, the one grocery store is small and very pricey. The Yellowstone border towns have even less in the way of groceries.
Last trip, for the GTNP leg, we stayed in a cabin at Dornan’s, which is right inside the border of GTNP, close to Jackson. It was very basic but very convenient. We’ve also stayed in a condo at one of the ski lodges in Jackson that was much, much cheaper than a hotel for a lot more space.
As for activities, we’ve rafted, canoed and rented bikes for GTNP (you rent at Dornan’s–I highly recommend this), but we mostly hike.
We usually do 3-4 days in Yellowstone and 2-3 in GTNP. We’ve flown into Bozeman, SLC and Denver. Bozeman was the easiest, but flights are limited. The drive from SLS to West Yellowstone was several hours, but an easy drive and quite lovely.
Don’t get scared of comments about traffic and crowds. Hit the crowd favorites first thing in the morning, and save the off-the-beaten-path options for prime time. Most people barely get out of their cars, so you don’t have to get very far from yours to get away from everyone.
I adore Yellowstone and GTNP. Wyoming is my favorite state and where I hope to retire one day. Don’t sweat it, and don’t try to plan too much. You can make reservations and plan your daily itinerary around those once you get there.
I’m replying from Yellowstone right now–funny to see this thread! We flew into SLC because we were attending a sporting event there. It also happens to be much less expensive to fly in vs. Montana options or Jackson, Wy. But it was that we’d be in SLC and ‘so close’ that we decided to come to the area. We had 3 nights in the Grand Tetons and are in Yellowstone for 4 nights.
This is a wonderful time to be here as the crowds are not bad at all and we’re having wonderful weather. Having said that, we’ve had locals tell us that it has snowed in September in other years. In the Grand Tetons/Jackson Hole we stayed at Hotel Terra and it was terrific. It’s their low season so wasn’t too expensive (don’t recall exact price) and there’s a gate to the park just a couple of miles away. It is not that close to Jackson so you might want to investigate what will work better for you and your family.
I had never been to Montana and my husband wanted to avoid the busiest Yellowstone gates (south and west gates) so we’re staying at the Travel Lodge in Gardiner. It’s about $250 and I would avoid it. It’s a small town but there must be a better option! I do appreciate that the biggest lineup we’ve had to enter the park thus far has only been about 8 gates. Not so for the first day coming from the Grand Tetons to the south gate–probably a 45 minute wait…and this is during a pretty low season.
We planned this trip quite late so lodging options were sparse. We’re not campers or the type that rough it so, even if those options were available, we would have passed over them. There were a couple options available in the park but they were $600+ so the options I’ve shared were outside the park. Other than our first entrance into the south gate of Yellowstone, it’s been quite easy.
Our favorite sites so far have been the Woodland Trail (had a black bear encounter there) and the lake was beautiful, stopping by Jackson Lodge (have a meal at the grill where you can sit outside) and Taggert Lake walk (Grand Tetons). We did go on a snake river boat ride and it was fine; not sure if I’d go out of my way to recommend it.
And in Yellowstone: any of the geysers (our timing was such that we saw Old Faithful and Castle), Grand Prismatic, and North Geyser Basin.
There’s also the official Yellowstone app which shows the estimated time of the next eruption for each of the geysers. Make sure you download any apps before you leave your hotel. As others have said, coverage is very, very sparse in the parks.
Have fun!
Definitely don’t forget the bear spray!
We were in Yellowstone only twice but honestly except when everyone stopped for wildlife, I don’t remember traffic being an issue. We were there in mid-June both years, so that’s prime tourist season. I guess we weren’t on the road when everyone else was and since we stayed in the park for many of the nights, we could walk to some places.
We found the food in Gardiner fine—not haut cuisune, but all 7 of us ate well enough, including picky elders and young nephew. As was written, we weren’t there for the food—scenery was gorgeous everywhere we looked. The grocery store in Gardiner was fine for simple meal supplies for picnics, at least for us. Of course, Bozeman, MT had much more selection and lower prices but we were only buying food for a few days so not a budget buster.
OP, I would first figure out where you are flying to, and then where you want to fly home from. Work from there. We also avoided the busiest gates and times of year, which helps maximize the time, but honestly everything is so memorable that you needn’t overplan. If you want to stay east of Yellowstone, we highly recommend Cody but keep an eye on the weather for the hour drive into the Park. sept isn’t too early for snow. There’s a dam and a state park outside Cody that were two of our favorite places in a 2-week trip.
OP here. I just made reservations at Old Faithful Lodge for 3 nights (std quite room 342 + tax) and Canyon for 2 (I think it was 209 + tax). I’m not convinced we’ve picked the right dates, because we went with the week of Labor Day and she suggested doing GTNP before YSNP. This timeframes would put us at GT during Labor Day (Sunday or Monday). But I fell like I’ve taken a step forward… yeah!
Sounds great! I’m sure you’ll have a fantastic time.
(Going back the traffic jam part - when we were in Yellowstone we were in a 45 minute traffic stall due to a bison herd ambling down the road. It was amusing. Couldn’t believe how many of them there were.)
Great hotel choices! I bet Labor Day will be OK because kids are all back in school. And being in GT Labor Day sounds good because you will probably be out hiking and away from the busy areas anyway. Also GT is tiny compared to Yellowstone so even if you hit traffic or something you will still have plenty of time to hit all of the best areas.
When I was planning our trip I was so overwhelmed trying to get an understanding of what I really wanted to see and where everything was. I got a notebook and had a page for each area - Upper Geyser Basin, Lower Geyser Basin, Mammoth, Lake, etc. Then I started research mostly on trip advisor -just reading way back in the forums was such a help then as it got closer the people there were so helpful with any questions I had. As I would read things that sounded interesting I would jot them down on the right page in the notebook. As I got deeper into the research I was able to organize it better and after a long time was finally able to make a little spreadsheet. As other people have said don’t try to plan anything too specific because you never know when you will hit a bison jam, road construction or a snow day when your kids don’t want to hike so you have to switch your days around completely! :)) I ended up with a folder of notes the I brought with us that had the day by day spreadsheet, general notes for each area (sights to see, hiking trails in the area), a list of picnic locations (there are tons but I had written down a few that sounded nice) and a shopping list for when we got there.
I also highly recommend the GyPsy app - it was so great! I thought my kids would hate it but they really liked it and we used it for both parks. If you are on Facebook so join the Yellowstone Up Close & Personal page, people past tons of pictures every day and it will get you so excited for your trip!
@collage1 - I am so jealous, have a great trip!!
Sounds like you snagged great reservations, congrats! Good luck on the rest of your planning. Snow has been recorded in EVERY month at Yellowstone. It snowed on us in June and my nephew loved playing in it. Our kids and we made a slush man in June!
I just returned from my trip to YSNP and GTNP a few days ago and loved every moment of it! We stayed in West Yellowstone for a few days and rented a condo. When in the West Yellowstone area I would recommend hiking above the Grand Prismatic Spring. You can get to it by parking in the Fairy Falls parking lot. After enjoying the spectacular birds eye view you can continue the hike onto fairy falls. Its about a 5 mile out and back hike or make it a mile longer and hike to imperial and spray geysers.
We stayed at the Lake Pioneer cabins next to Lake Lodge inside the park. Very basic cabins but comfortable. We returned one day from hiking to find a bison taking a nap right near the steps to our cabin and we just turned ourselves around and headed to the lodge. We let him finish his lap while we enjoyed the rocking chairs on the porch and the beautiful views of Yellowstone Lake.
Recommended hikes near Yellowstone Lake would be Storm Point trail. Very pretty and easy 2.3 mile loop along the lake shore. Elephant Back Mountain Trail 3.6 mile loop, good elevation and top views of Lake Yellowstone.
While in Canyon Village area definitely do Artist Point, other possible hikes are Uncle Tom trail ( was closed due to construction when we were there ), Washburn Trail, etc.
We continued on to Jackson Wyoming and stayed in a condo there while visiting GTNP. The Hidden Falls/Inspiration Point hike at Jenny Lake is very beautiful. You can hike along the shoreline for about 2.5 miles to get to the trail head or take the Jenny Lake cruise boat to the trail head. We took the boat and I’m glad we did. If you start out early you can do the out and back Hidden Falls hike and then hop on the cascade canyon hike. I wanted to do this but we got round trip tickets for the boat and the last boat ends at 4pm. We started a little too late in the day. I was told the cascade canyon trail brings you deep in the Teton range with spectacular views. We weren’t planning on doing the entire 9 miles but just hike enough of the cascade canyon trail to get the feel of the mountains surrounding us. ( based upon a recommendation from visitor center employee and someone I know who did the entire trail). If planning on doing the cascade canyon hike bring extra water. The canyon can be 20 plus degrees hotter.
Taggert Lake Hike is a very popular hike. Just going to Taggert lake is a little over 3 miles but add Bradley lake and its additional two miles. Loved this hike but try to get there early, parking lot fills up quickly as does Jenny Lake’s parking lot.
Also I am in total agreement with the Gyspy app, it was like having your own tour guide with you. I liked the fact he wasn’t talking constantly, there were breaks in between locations, but all the info was very fascinating.
Have a wonderful trip!
I totally forgot to mention Uncle Tom’s Trail in Yellowstone. Beautiful views of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and the Lower Falls. One of my favorites!
Plan on seeing Yellowstone Falls in the morning We went late afternoon and it was completely in shade.
My inlaws just did this trip. They planned last minute and were able to get reservations over Labor Day weekend at Canyon Lodge in Yellowstone. They also got reservations inside Grand Tetons NP last minute at one of the lodges. They had great weather.
OP here. I’m glad I booked Yellowstone when I did. I tried to change today, and it would cost me significantly more to move dates. Our dates are set, from Sep 1-9, 2019, unless I change before tomorrow about now.
Right now we are heading to Jackson Lodge for 3 nights, then Old Faithful In for 3 nights, then Canyon Lodge for last 2 nights.
We are leaving from Baltimore and Flying into Jackson Hole. I just booked on Delta, for $603 per person, which seems about as good as it’s going to get(?), with the option to pick seats NOW as opposed to getting seats as we are boarding. I thought of @busdriver11 when I picked Delta over United.
Please let me know if anything about this sounds unreasonable.
Thanks
It is a pretty trail that you can make a loop and come out at the parking lot, 22 miles. The pass is at about 11,000’.
It sounds perfect - nice job! You will love being able to stay on both sides of the park. I highly suggest trying to get on the list to lower the flags at OFI - you can call the morning that the hotel opens next season. I just followed Trip Advisor to know what day that was.
op; you will have a wonderful time. I like spending a few nights at each area while out there. Lucky You!
OP here. Thanks to @MaineLonghorn and @skieurope for getting this thread reopened so I could post my trip report. We had a really good time in both the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone. We did several of the hikes mentioned here. We sort of targeted waterfalls. The only one we were disappointed in was Tower Falls. We drove 28 miles round trip one afternoon (which takes much longer in the park than it would on a highway) to hike and see those falls, but the only “hike” to the falls was 100 yards. We really liked the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, and we hiked both the north and south rims. On a rain day we drove up to Lamar Valley, which was a nice drive. We saw moose, elk, a coyote, and MANY (100s) of Bison while in the parks. We didn’t see any bears, but we saw fresh scat, which made us glad we had bear spray. For National park lodging/food, we much preferred the Jackson Lake Lodge/GT part of the trip. The food wasn’t great, but it was better than Yellowstone. I guess I’m glad we stayed at Old Faithful Inn, but it seemed way overpriced and under air conditioned (as in there is none). The temp was over 80 while we were there, and my husband was sick one day, so that was kind of unpleasant. I would recommend the Old Faithful Snow Lodge as a place to stay, and visit the Inn while you’re there. They are pretty close/part of the same “complex.” The Inn has NO INTERNET. Snow Lodge has internet, and the dining room there was probably the best food we had in Yellowstone. (That’s not a high bar). We probably saw Old Faithful go off at least 5 times while we were there, and also saw many other geysers. The Jenny Lake area of GT was really nice, and we hiked there and at Taggar (sp?) lake. We got great pics of the Grand Tetons one morning, with the mountains’ reflections in the lake. Our last night we had the best dinner of our trip, at a place in Jackson called Bin22. They had great wine and small plates. It was the only memorable meal of our trip. You certainly don’t go to the NPs for the food or drink, but the scenery is quite spectacular.
I know it is slightly nuts but when we did Yellowstone (Tetons was a drive by back to SLC LOL) we stayed in Big Sky. It was 57 miles but it was OK (no traffic). We were able to stay in a really nice hotel and it was a destination in itself. We just got out really early each day.