Yellowstone...planning help?

[dgreenshield]

Has anyone been to Yellowstone? We are looking to go this summer and have no idea how to plan this trip. Did you stay in several places for a couple of days each? Any great hikes? Anything will help!
Thanks!!

[JulieB146]

I haven't ever been there (argh, want to go) but, if you want to be sure you have a campsite, if you are camping, go online and see if you can reserve a spot NOW. Reservations open 6 months before the season starts.

[isaacsmom]

I have been, but it has been YEARS since I visited -- like in my childhood. Hopefully someone will come along and give you some pointers!

[pewtertm]

Yes, the earlier you book, the better. Lodging books up very very quickly.

When my family went, we flew into Jackson, WY and stayed at a lodge in Jackson Hole. We enjoyed a few days in that area...took a float trip on the Snake River and spent a day or two at Grand Teton National Park, just south of Yellowstone. It's a BEAUTIFUL area...if you can swing it, I'd definitely try to spend some time there.

We didn't spend as much time in Yellowstone as I'd like...we only did the south loop (my parents didn't want to drive so our family did a guided tour instead). The south loop alone was worth at least a day IMO, and that's without doing any hiking or nature trails. I'm sure the north loop is just as magnificent as the south, and if I'm ever able to go back, I'd definitely want to spend a few nights in Yellowstone so that I could enjoy all of the park.

[NatalieKW]

I haven't been in lots and lots of years so I'm really no planning help, but in all the places I've. Been Yellowstone is probably my favorite!! Snowmobiling through there in the winter is one of my top dream vacations. I love it there! You will enjoy it so much! I'm way jealous!!

[mariewilcox]

I've been to Yellowstone/Grand Tetons a few times but it's been 15 or so years since I last went. We always stayed in the Jackson Hole area too (very much a tourist trap, however). We did spend a night on a working ranch in the Teton foothills one year. We always liked the Tetons as much as Yellowstone. Like Stacy, we also went down the Snake River and did the South Loop area.

If you want to stay in the park, visit the National Park website and they have all the loding info, reservation info, etc. and also info on the different parts of the park.

[cardinalskate]

I have family that lives up there and we have a family summer home there.

A lot of people think that they see Old Faithful and then that's it. That's Yellowstone. It's one of the hightlights, for sure, but there is so much more to see. So many amazing waterfalls and trails. It's gorgeous. It will be an awesome trip.

I agree about flying into Jackson and spending some time in Jackson Hole. Amazing place! And yes, the Tetons are amazing. Also, if you have time, you should maybe drive up into Montana to Big Sky.

The whole area is amazing. Book early if you're wanting cabins.

[NeverendingJen]

Oh, I love Yellowstone! I actually lived in West for some time!

Take your time in the park. There are numerous entrances and awesome things to be seen throughout the entire side. I love the West side, and the Jackson Hole side. Old Faithful is fun, but there are so many stink pots, gorgeous acres of beautiful trees and lake, waterfalls, etc.

If you go through West Yellowstone, they have a grocery store literally right outside the park, which makes eating a bit cheaper as well.

[pewtertm]

I agree about Old Faithful...it's nice to see, but to me, it was NOT the highlight of the park The springs, Yellowstone Falls, the wildlife...there's soooo much to see.

[mariewilcox]

I agree about Old Faithful...it's nice to see, but to me, it was NOT the highlight of the park The springs, Yellowstone Falls, the wildlife...there's soooo much to see.

Definitely! I actually thought Old Faithful was pretty boring - LOL. The third time we went we never even went there. The sulfur springs are cool (if not stinky ) and the waterfalls are gorgeous. The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and the petrified forest are great too.

[Nettio]

Oh I love Yellowstone! One of my favorite National Parks since it's so different from the others.

We went in the summer of 2008. It was my 3rd trip but Adam's 1st so we were there for 6 days all together, which was a lot of fun but definitely more time than you really need, haha. Originally we had planned to do 4 days at Yellowstone and 2 at Grand Tetons but decided the night before we were planning to move that we liked our campsite and didn't really feel like setting everything up again, so we ended up just going to Grand Tetons for the day only. Which I'll say works but it made for a long day because it took like 2.5 hours to get down there (77 miles) because traffic in the park is so slow. Adam was rather grumpy by the time we got there.

Are you planning on camping or lodging? We camped but since we only had a small car and a tent, we didn't make reservations. Several campgrounds are first come, first serve only, so we stayed in a hotel near the park the night before and arrived early in the morning the next day to get a good spot.

We stayed at the Norris campground which was really nice and a good central location for getting around the park. The only "downside" was the buffalo liked to come right on up into the campground so we had a visitor roam through our site one night during dinner, haha. They seemed pretty used to people though!

As far as planning, my advice is to remember that the park is big and the roads are slow due to people looking at everything and/or wildlife using the road so it can take awhile to get from one section to the next even when it looks close on the map. We didn't have any day by day plan ahead of time, we just kind of went to different areas of the park each day and checked out what they had there. So we did the Norris/Old Faithful areas in one day and then did the Tower Falls/Mammoth Hot Springs loop on another, etc.

I do recommend going to the Grand Canyon in the morning if you can because the light is much nicer and it's a LOT less crowded. We went the first evening we arrived since it was close to use and it was insanely crowded - like you could barely get to the rail to see kind of crowded. Actually that's my tip in general, if you can get up earlier to avoid the crowds, it's a lot nicer.

Oh and if you go to Grand Tetons, the boat across Jenny Lake with the hike to Inspiration Point is really fun.

Anyway, if you have any other questions, let me know!

[dgreenshield]

Wow, thanks for all the advice! We are just in the planning stages now and it's so overwhelming! If we are staying in lodges, is it best to just plan on staying a couple of days in each area and using that as a base before moving on? I know that we would like to do some hiking while we are there and we found something about a mud volcano hike that sounds interesting.

Thanks!

[HeatherKS]

We just went this past summer and I agree with those that suggested staying within the park itself. We stayed at Jackson Hole and while it was beautiful and we enjoyed the days we spent there, it is just so far from Yellowstone that it makes your day trips to the park super long. We originally planned to do three days at Yellowstone and ended up only doing two because of the drive. We needed that day of rest between Yellowstone days because the kids (and the parents) were tired of being in the car. We could have done another couple of days in the park if we hadn't felt limited by the drive to and from. We really enjoyed the Tetons as well so be sure to explore them as well. The hiking was beautiful and we did a couple of ranger talks that were really interesting also. If I ever finish my vacation album I'll link you up. LOL

[ryliesmom]

DH and I went several years ago before we had kids and it was one of my favorite trips ever! I can't wait until the kids are old enough to take out there (it's a long way from TN ). We stayed in Cody, WY. Cody is such a nice small town and when we went staying at a lodge in Yellowstone was very expensive (if you didn't want a bathroom down the hall). We really enjoyed Cody too. When we left Yellowstone our last day we drove down through the Grand Tetons (beautiful!) and stayed in Jackson Hole in one of the resorts. That was really nice too but we were there in Sept. so it was the off season and not crowded at all.