Yellowstone National Park Travel Forum

Hi:-) My husband and I will be staying in a cabin at the Sleepy Hollow Lodge in West Yellowstone. It is 6 blocks from the entrance to West Yellowstone. Has anyone stayed here before and knows what it is like. Also we are there for 8 days. We want to know where is the best place to see moose and bear and what hiking trails are the best to see wildlife and falls. Any suggestions on what not to miss while we are there would be great too! We will be there from 7/17/09 to 7/25/09. Not expert hikers but can handle easy to moderate trails. We are soooo excited and want to see it all:-)

Thanks, Suzanne and Jeff from sunny south Florida

Hello Suzanne, welcome to VT. ou are in for a treat!

Do you have the official Yellowstone web site?
http://www.nps.gov/yell/

We went there twice, back in the 70's.

My experience with seeing wildlife is that you tend to see more in the morning and the afternoon/evening, apparently the time they come looking for food - however, that does not mean you won't see wildlife at any time of day.

There should be some trail suggestions in the website. Very, very important to say *on* the trails. Also, read a little about bears. I never had problems, but our kids were small. Bears can smell certain times of the month in women, so sometimes the leaflet advises not to go in a remote place during that time. We never had any problems.
Also important to stay on the wooden pathways *in the areas where these are present* - steam can come out of the ground and inflict burns.

It's also important to fill up with gas and try not to let it go below half tank. When we were there, gas stations are far, and you'll be going up and down mountains, and they close at 8 PM. We had a close call and only made it because the rest of our road was downhill. You don't want to be stuck there at night becuase bears are a real danger.

Don't take this as a scary post - a little prevention is great. We went there when our kids were 2, 5, and 12. We loved Yellowstone and had a great experience there.

Also, don't leave your trunk open for a long time - those little critters can get in it (I forget what they are, like big squirrels) - and it's hard to get them out.

It's been quite a while, but my favorite place were both views of the falls.

>>important to say *on* the << meant to say STAY on the trails.

... well, sunny Florida but in the Orlando area yesterday it was wayyy cold and windy - all my rugs blew around in the covered patio!

You might want to try and get on a tour bus. They deal with the traffic and you can take pictures.

The wild life will find you. It is all over. 2 years ago when I went to West Yellowstone, I could not even get into town without dodging buffalo.

There is a good restaurant in the Holiday Inn there in town. And it has a refurbished 19th century train to walk through.

West Yellowstone is one of only a couple of towns in Montana that has a sales tax. If you need to make any big purchases - go to the next town.

If you ask the locals where you can find the wild life, they are frustrated with the questions. A person cannot keep track of where the elk are going to be from day to day. So if they are a smart mouth they well tell you where to find "slow moving elk". This is a local joke. A slow moving elk is a cow and you have been sent to look in some farmer's pasture.

I saw the wood cabins, about 2 blocks from the Holiday Inn Sun Spree Resort where my wife and I stayed. Sleepy Hollow is a fly fisherman's cabin location as the owner is a great fly fisherman. Don't let that stop you from staying there is you don't fish. After all, you just need a place to sleep. The days are spent exploring Yellowstone. Most of the wild life is found near the roads and buffalo walk on and over the road, so watch your speed. The falls are also close to the roads and the lookouts are great photo opts. Make sure you go slow and enjoy the many things to see in the entire park. Eight days is super for really seeing it all. I wish I were going back this year. The list of falls is found at: http://www.yellowstone.net/waterfalls/

Hi Thanks so much:-)) Any recommendations for a nice meal

The West entrance is the most commercial, maybe that doesnt bother you?
It's pretty touristy.
Yellowstone roads are a big figure 8. From the west entrance you can drive north
to the Travertine Terraces and Mammoth Springs. Check out the Boiling River
on your way to Gardiner. Flying Pig Adventure Company( Gardiner) has great raft trips down the Yellowstone River, as boring or as exciting as you like. They were wonderful to my family. We also booked a Cowboy Cookout thru them,
the drive to the ranch alone was worth it, about a 45 minute drive up a windy
road to the top of a mountain ( a little one!) where we got on horses, rode for an hour ( breathtaking) then attended an all you can eat steak, buffalo burger,
etc cookout ~ my kids will always remember it!

If you head south from the west entrance you can hit Firehole Canyon ( if you want to swim) and Old Faithful Inn and the geyser walk. Drive on from there to
Yellowstone Lake Hotel, just have lunch if you can. Beautiful old hotel with views of the HUGE lake. Take a boat tour if you have time.

Haydyn Meadow is the eastern edge of YNP and has the most wildlife. (western edge has the most geothermal stuff going on) You will see tons of bison,
maybe some wolves, etc. Lamar Valley in the NE corner of YNP is a breathtaking drive with tons of wildlife. You can also see Grand Canyon of YNP here.
It has a couple pretty waterfalls if you like that type of thing.

The drive north from the Canyons of YNP is the most beautiful to me.
Pack a picnic, be ready to pull over next to a stream for lunch.

Try to book a cabin or a room on the Eastern side of YNP if you can,
then you can easily split your trip on either side. OH - and dont forget
the Tetons, you have to leave thru the south entrance and spend one
night in Jackson Hole to see the Grand Tetons and drive the 40 mile
Teton Loop - we saw moose here and eagles. The mountains alone tho are
worth the trip!

Cant wait to go back. Check out my YNP for other tips ... Enjoy.

Here is a great map of YNP showing mileage, you can also see the figure
8 I mentioned...

http://www.yellowstonenationalpark.com/maps.htm

For wildlife, check out this link - http://forums.yellowstone.net/ for a week or two before you go. People tell each other where the animals are hanging out.

For a really great dinner, make reservations ahead of time at the Lake Yellowstone Lodge dining room.

My husband and I are going for 8 days in May. We also live in sunny FL, but will prabably be encountering snow in the National Parks. We fly into Jackson Hole, spend the night there, then 3 nights at Mammoth Hot Springs cabin, to Old Faithful Inn, then Grand Teton's Colter Bay cabin, then home. We tried to space out our lodging to best see the area we are in and avoid a lot of backtracking everyday. We have been on the internet getting tips of places to see and also bought a book of scenic driving trails in YNP and GTNP. Like you, we are excited and want to see it all! It's very different from Florda and should be a great trip.

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. Beehive Geyser is my favorite in the park. It is located in the Old Faithful area, but unfortunately this geyser can be dormant for long periods. This geyser is generally higher than Old Faithful and certainly much noisier as it roars while the water is forcefully shot upwards. Check at the Old Faithful Visitor Center, to see if there is a prediction on when it may erupt. One thing that is fun is to take the Old Faithful Lodge historic tour. It is quite interesting. If you don't want to do this, at least go in 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. Try to see Eucinas geyser erupt while in Norris. 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 large waterfalls. There is a nice one-way drive with many stopping points along the way that is well worth driving. The Lower Falls, which drops 308 feet is one of the highlights of the park, so don’t miss it. 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, early in the year, the the snowmelt waters them down and they are more like gray liquid water. They begin to thicken as summer progresses. If you have enough time Mammoth Hot Springs area and Tower Falls are also very nice to explore.

If you want to eat out in a nice restaurant the old log lodge at Old Faithful, the Lake Hotel, and the lodge at Mammoth all have excellent restaurants, although they are somewhat pricey. If you want to eat in any of these, make your reservations well in advance, as they are popular. I have a lot of pretty detailed information on places to eat, see, stay, etc. on my VT Yellowstone pages at:

http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/3d935/dc5a0/


The main park loop road is 142-miles in size, so figure out what you want to do, and organize the activities so that you are seeing places in one part of the park on one day, and areas on another part on another, etc.

Check this interactive map for a look at the the park and where things are located:

http://www.nps.gov/archive/yell/interactivemap/

You will see wildlife all over the park, please do not hold up traffic staring, and pull over to view the animals. Do not, however, get out of your car, and try to sneak up to get that close-up photo. We have folks injured every year, and most simply did not obey the rules. Our favorite wildlife viewing area is Lamar Valley, which is the northern most road that runs from Mammoth to the Northeast Entrance. And of course, when I say this is our favorite place, this only means we have the best luck there, not that we always see large herds, wolves, or bears. This is not a great moose area, but it is excellent for pretty much everything else. In fact, the currator of our Natural History wing of the excellent museum in Cody, usually chooses Lamar Valley for museum sponsored wildlife viewing trips.

Storm Point is my favorite short off the main trails hike. This is a wonderful 2.3-mile hiking trail. The trailhead begins at the Indian Pond pullout, 3 miles east of the Fishing Bridge Visitor Center. Be aware, however, that this is prime bear country, and the trail is closed if there have been grizzly bear sightings. Check with a visitor center before venturing out. We always carry bear spray and wear bear bells when hiking in the backcountry. If you talk, rather than walk quietly, this works as well as the bear bells. I would recommend, however, that if you plan to take some of the back-country trails, that at least one of you carry bear spray, which I am pretty sure can be purchased in some of the stores in the park, and probably also in West Yellowstone. Ask around when you get there to see where you might purchase this.