Yellowstone National Park Travel Answers

Hi First of all May is probably one of the best months of the year to visit the park. By mid May nearly all of the entrances to the park are open Kids haven't gotten out of school yet and the snow, most likely, is still melting. I have been to Yellowstone three times once each in May, September and October and by far May was the best! Let me try and briefly answer each of the questions you raised. 1) The closest two airports to Yellowstone I would argue are Jackson, Wyoming and Cody, Wyoming. Usually flying to Cody is cheaper than going to Jackson even though Jackson is closer in distance. Both towns are great places in their own different way. Costs from SF are high and are between 450 to 600. Personally I would recommend driving from SF if you have time. I have made the trip from San Carlos, just south of SF in easily under 2 days. The second night being just outside the park. 2) I would recommend spending at least 4 to 5 days in the park. Because the park is so large two days are necessary just to drive around and see the sights. This would leave another two days or so to have two or more nice hikes in the park. 3) While it is definitely pricier I would recommend staying in the park. Perhaps the you save flying and renting a car you can spend staying right in the park. The most fabulous place to stay is the Old Faithful Inn. It is over 100 years old but right smack in the action of the park. Not all of the rooms here have a shower so you have to shower down the hall. This place fills up very quickly and I can imagine that most of the rooms are already gone for this May. The stay though is an experience you won't forget. A second choice is the Dunraven Lodge also known as the Canyon Lodge. It is located near the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone area. I have not stayed in the lodge but I have been inside and it is much more modern and up to date than the Old Faithful Inn or the Old Faithful Snow Cabins. I hear that the beds here are not comfortable. Please check out the VT pages on Yellowstone for other ideas. Hope this helps.

1) My daughter flew into Jackson Hole and spent the night there and then drove up to Yellowstone through Grand Teton NP which is adjacent to Yellowstone and also worth seeing and then drove out of the northeast side and flew home from there. I flew from Salt Lake City into West Yellowstone and rented a car there - it is closer, but I don't think there are any flights in May - they don't start commercial flights until June. I didn't want to do the driving that would have been necessary if I went from Jackson Hole because I was by myself with my grandson. When we were there in June there was still a lot of snow and it was cold. 2) As for time - You do what you can in the time that you have - something is better than nothing, but more is better. We were there for three days and we didn't get up to the northeast corner at all. 3) Stay in the park. There are various types of accommodations. Back in 1948 we were camping through the west but we had to get a cabin in Yellowstone because we didn't have a tent (because of bears which they still fed at the garbage dump in those days) The Old Faithful Inn books up a year in advance. I did get a room with a private bath so they do have them. Be aware that there's no internet, and no TV in the park and not much in the way of phone service. Also you need to make dinner reservations about as soon as you make room reservations. I waited and couldn't get a dinner reservation before about 8 pm. If you stay in West Yellowstone it takes an hour or more 'commute' before you get to the park stuff from there. So stay in the park.

May is a great time to visit the park since you will avoid the summer crowds. We've been several times and have driven in from different entrances - I think the most spectacular view is to enter from the south - Jackson Hole. From that area you will also get to enjoy the Grand Teton National Park as well, which is spectacular. It would take you about two days to drive from SF to Jackson, so flying would probably be best, into Jackson would be the closest, although flying into Salt Lake City would give you more options but a longer drive to get to the park. You'll need a car to get around in Yellowstone. I think you need a minimum of three days to really see the park - any less and you are just driving through pretty scenery with little time to experience the park. There are lots of short hikes you can take as well as longer ones. If you can stay longer that would be great. Any shorter and it just really is a drive. If possible, I highly recommend staying in the park. You will most likely be driving around the Grand Loop Road - big circular road that takes you completely around the park. We have stayed in the cabins up near Mammoth Hot Springs - rustic with no private baths - but there's just something about getting up in the morning and walking through the elk to get to the bathroom! If possible, you could try to stay a night in two different places in the park, so that as you make your way around the loop, you don't have to double back - they take reservations up to a year in advance. Here's the website: usparklodging.com/yellowston... I do not recommend you stay outside the park - it is just too long to drive back and forth. You can stay in Jackson Hole for a night before you begin - pretty neat town to visit too. Should be a nice trip for you! Enjoy!

Wow, thanks everybody. Those are exactly the kind of answers I was after.

As TooTallFinn24 mentioned both Cody and Jackson have small airports that you can fly into. The advantage of Cody is that if you can spare a day to visit the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, you would find it an excellent museum. They even have a brand new program where they present live birds of pray to the public. Cody, however, would be your farthest option,so unless you want to visit the museum, would probably be the least convenient. The advantage to Jackson, is that you would drive past the stunning mountain scenery of the Grand Teton National Park. There is, however, a third, and even closer to the park location with a small airport, and that is the small community of West Yellowstone, which lies just outside the West entrance to the park. I have some information about this airport on my West Yellowstone Pages here: West Yellowstone Transportation Tips by KimberlyAnn This small community also has a number of places you could stay, and would be the closets community to the park if you are unable to get reservations inside the park. You can rent cars at any of these three airports. Last time I knew, all three of these airports would be operational in May. If you can get reservations inside the park, this is the most convenient of all. (Park reservations could already be filling up!--decide and RESERVE, the sooner the better.) Cabins are the least expensive. The park road is 142 miles in size, so I would recommend trying to get reservations on the east and the west, and if you have extra time, also on the north. This would save you some miles of driving on the days you are exploring each side. The west has the most hotpools and the famous geysers. The east has the stunning, not to be missed canyon with its beautiful, large waterfalls, and the north has the interesting features at mammoth hot springs, and Lamar Valley, which is a good wildlife area, especially in May, when you may see baby elk, baby bison, and possible a bear and cubs. Speaking of May, I live in Cody, so we visit the park at least once a year. We like to visit in the "off seasons" such as spring and fall, however, May can be very beautiful with mild temperatures, or it can be cold, even with some snow, so pack clothing for both mild and cold weather. I liked TooTallFinn24's suggestion of at least 4 - 5 days. You will want to spend one or two full days on the west side, at least one full day on the east, and time permitted at least 1-full day on the north. I have extensive VT pages on Yellowstone, including a large number of things to do and see, places to eat, places to stay, etc. You can check this out at "Yellowstone National Park, My Neighbor" - Yellowstone National Park by KimberlyAnn

West Yellowstone doesn't have any commercial flights until the middle of June as I found out to my sorrow when I made a reservation - they took the reservation as if it was valid and then canceled it.

I stand corrected, a couple of summers ago the West Yellowstone airport opened on May 1st, but their web-site stated that this varies from year to year. After reading GrandmaR's response, I doubled checked, and it looks like in 2012 they don't plan to begin running flights until June 1st. It seems like they are beginning later and later. Too bad. Thanks for the input, GrandmaR.

I made reservations back in September 2009 for flights Dallas to SLC to West Yellowstone on June 9th 2010. The reservations went through - it said the flights started June 1st. But sometime during the winter, they decided they would not start flights until June 10th so they canceled my flight SLC to West Yellowstone flight without any suggestion of why or alternate suggestion and that made all the rest of the flights not work. (This was Delta.) I ended up staying in SLC on the 9th instead of West Yellowstone and flying in on the 10th. Had to change the rental car and the hotel in West Yellowstone too. A massive PITA

It sounds like the West Yellowstone air schedule may not be one to trust, it sure messed up grandmaR! The West Yellowstone airport is still a Delta service. Deefstes, check this Yellowstone Park interactive map out. When you run your curser over it, if you see a hand, you can click to get more detail on that area of the park. yellowstonenationalpark.com/...

I flew in to Salt Lake City and drove up to Yellowstone. It looks like most of the responses have suggested hotels, but I vote for camping! It will be a bit chilly due to higher elevation, but there's nothing like waking up to see whole bunch of elk near your camp. You should have a zero degree sleeping bag, but it won't get THAT cold (I say zero since its better to be too warm than cold) plus make sure you have a sleeping mat and thermals. During the day it should be warm though, so just layer yourself. I went camping in July and stayed at two different sites and they were both nice, although its first come first serve, so you may want to make sure you get the site before sight-seeing. There was one site that was near the Geysers, so that was our evening entertainment (before it got dark and then the stars were our entertainment.) Be aware of bears and put your trash in the bear containers and not your car. You need a minimum of 3 days to see everything. I also suggest visiting Grand Teton and Jackson Hole and adding a day or two. The town just outside of the Northern part of the park is pretty as is the drive up from Salt Lake City.

Just got back from Yellowstone. As for getting there, I would suggest Bozeman and driving down, it is about 1 1/2 hours from Yellowstone. Just go into Belgrade, which is actually closer to the airport than Bozeman, turn south on 88 and it will take you to West Yellowstone, which is the west entrance. Camping in May will be cold, night temperatures will be below zero in all likelihood. But if you are rugged, I would make reservations right away for a campground in the park. They are about22 a night depending upon which one you are in. Some do not allow tent camping. We stayed at Bridger Bay when there and it was a really nice area for tent camping, loop E, you can see the lake from there. I have stayed in Mammoth, but don't really recommend it. The mattresses have seen better years. The cabins can be chilly (we were there in September) and the door locks are questionable. (There was no lock on the door between the two rooms in our cabin, but I was traveling w/ the people on the other side. And getting my door lock to work was difficult at best.) Instead I would look at staying in either W. Yellowstone or Gardner, both are right on the edge of the park. I will be putting up a recommendation for another hotel in the next couple of days for W. Yellowstone. Another option is to fly into Billings. I know of a company that does tours from Billings to Yellowstone, it includes your lodging. This would leave you free to look around and people who know what everything is to explain questions. Sometimes it is nice not to have to drive. You can find the link to them on my Billings page. As for time, you need the better part of a week in the park. Anything less and you will miss way too much and be way too rushed.