Yellowstone National Park Travel Forum

Hi Everybody,
I LOVE how helpful everyone is to eachother on this site so I was hoping this would be helpful to me as well.

There will be 3 of us adults and 3 kids (ages 15, 6 & 5) traveling to Yellowstone/Tetons this summer in mid July. Can anybody suggest the best route from Denver Colorado going through the park? Are there any MUST SEE stops to make?

We will be leaving 1st thing on a Friday morning and returning on a Monday evening. That's all the time we'll have to explore this time around.

Does anybody have any inexpensive camping/lodging suggestions while we're there? We are all on a budget seeing as how we have kids but we want them to experience the wild without us having to sleep outdoors. We plan on taking coolers with 3 days worth of food and a tiny little BBQ to cook on. Good idea?

I would be open and welcome to any help in planning a 4 day, 3 night trip seeing as how I have never been to Yellowstone and feel completely lost here.

Would you mind terribly emailing me directly at: AngieWaltr@aol.com
Thank you very much,
Angie

Let me be certain I understand your plan.
Friday -- drive from Denver to the Grand Teton / Yellowstone area (GrTe-Yell)
Sat & Sun -- view the area
Mon -- return to Denver

I can assure you of two things:
1) when you are driving back to Denver, you will be planing your next trip to GrTe-Yell, as the amount of time you have allowed for this trip is just not enough to fully see the area.
2) NOTHING between Denver and GrTe-Yell is worth seeing, if it means losing time in GrTe-Yell.

At this late a time for a July weekend, it's VERY unlikely you'll find camping vacancies on a Saturday night within Yellowstone, but try anyway -- it'll be by far the best way to stay.
http://travelyellowstone.com
Do NOT arrive in GrTe-Yell on a July weekend without guaranteed reservations; you do NOT want to spend hours trying to find a campsite with a vacancy.

If you don't mind camping without significant facilities, check out
www.fs.fed.us/r2/shoshone/recreation/camping/campgrounds2.shtml
www.fs.fed.us/r4/btnf/recreation/camping.shtml
for info on inexpensive camping in national forests.

Or you can look for camping in the Jackson Hole region, at least for your first night:
www.jacksonholenet.com/rv_camping/campgrounds.php
www.jacksonholechamber.com/camping_rv/campgrounds.php

My advice is to take I-25 north to Cheyenne, I-80 west to Rock Springs, and then US-191 into Jackson. Spend Friday viewing the Grand Tetons, finishing with some entertainment within Jackson. Spend Saturday and Sunday closer to Yellowstone, visiting that park. Spend Monday morning visiting what you still wanted to see, and then take either US-16 or US-26 east to I-25 and back to Denver. While on your way back, discuss what you will do on your next trip to GrTe-Yell.

For info on what to do while you're at GrTe-Yell
www.nps.gov/yell
www.nps.gov/grte
www.yellowstone-natl-park.com
www.grand.teton.national-park.com

I live near Yellowstone, and therefore travel there often, but have still not seen everything there is to see. Last time we were there we saw two geysers go off we had never seen in action before. When in Yellowstone, of course you have to see Old Faithful, as it is the most famous of all the geysers. It is a nice one, but I have to say there are a few I like better. Go into the Old Faithful lodge and look around. It is the most outstanding log structure I have ever seen. Besides the Old Faithful geyser basin, the Norris geyser basin is nice. If Eucinas geyser is expected to erupt while in Norris be surfe to see it. It use to be very regular, but isn't anymore, so this may be difficult. One of our very favorite geysers is Great Fountain, which is located on the Firehole Lake Drive. You can get an estimate of when it might erupt at the Old Faithful Visitor Center. Be sure to see the Canyon area and it's falls. Artists Point is my favorite look out point, and a must see view. Inspiration Point is also very very nice. The mud pots are pretty interesting, but they are at their best in the fall when they are really just like moving mud, in the spring with the snowmelt off they are watered down and are more like gray liquid water, so with only two days, you should probably skip these. If you have enough time Mammoth Hot Springs area and Tower Falls are also very nice to explore. I have a lot of pretty detailed information on places to eat, see, stay, etc. on my VT Yellowstone pages.

This is a huge park, with the main park loop road running 142-miles in size, so be prepared to do a lot of driving in order to see the highlights.

If it isn't too late, several of the cabins (Old Faithful, Mammoth) are inexpensive, especially if you don't mind a walk to the bathroom. Last time I looked, the bathroom-less rooms inside the Old Faithful lodge were cheap. If they're booked up, there are cheap motels in West Yellowstone. I don't think you would be able to barbecue if you stay in a cabin or motel, but there are cheap snack bars. You don't need tips for things to look at - cruise the park (the road is a figure 8) and stop when something catches your eye or when you see a sign for a geyser area, or when a herd of buffalo is galloping across the road. Be sure to check out the inside of the Old Faithful Lodge. It's one of the coolest buildings on the planet.

A warning - when I was a small child my parents took me to Yellowstone and I HATED the geysers because of the way they smell. Dummy me, but my poor parents had to coax me out of the car.