Yellowstone National Park Travel Forum

Hi all,

My wife and I will be visiting YNP in August for the first time and we need some advice. We can spend about 10-12 days there and have the following questions:

1. Since we are first timers, is it a good idea to purchase one of the packages from Xanterra Parks & Resorts? We are considering The Total Yellowstone Package. (http://www.travelyellowstone.com/Summer-Adventure-Packages-5623.html#16-30). Is this package a good deal comparing to visiting these places on your own? If you have experience with this package or any other Yellowstone packages by Xanterra, please share your experience.

2. If I don’t get the package, how hard/easy is it for us to see Yellowstone and Grand Teton on our own? We have a car can hike easy to moderate trails. Where would you visit and how many days would you stay at each location?

Thank you very much for your help!

With that much time - I would just do it on my own. You can drive to the different attractions pretty easy and take your time. You can get to the Tetons really easy, as it is just south of the park. And at the south end of the park is Jackson Hole - it is a must see.

They do offer the different events in individual prices and you won't be stuck doing things you would rather not do. So it is a matter of which is the better deal for you.

But do go to Jackson Hole, there is everything from a stagecoach ride that gets held up to a shoot out on main street at high noon.

That package seems a little steep to me. Also, I like to move at my own pace. I think the only advantage is that they may have blocks of rooms pre-purchased and reserved. If you want to go this August you might have trouble getting rooms inside the park.

If you can get rooms inside the park without a package, I don't see why you would bother with it. It's very easy to get around in Yellowstone if you have a car. I think you may be happier choosing where you want to stop and for how long. A very slight downside to doing it yourself will be parking at the most popular spots, such as the waterfalls and the big geyser basins. Go to those spots early in the morning.

If you like hiking, I would again recommend that you not bother with a tour. There's a great hike at Elephant Back and another to DeLacy Lake. Fairy Falls is also a pleasant hike without too many hills. But the park is full of great trails and once you get away from the boardwalks, they aren't crowded.

I would suggest that you go online right this minute and see what you can get in the way of rooms. I recommend that you stay in lodges in a few different parts of the park, to the extent that it's possible to find rooms. Even though it's totally overrun with tourists, I always like to stay at Old Faithful because if you get up early you can have the area pretty much to yourself. (except for the buffalo, of course). The Lake Lodge is wonderful, as is Roosevelt. You may get stuck staying outside of the park for a couple of nights, but West Yellowstone is close, as is Gardiner. I've never stayed there, but Flagg Ranch looks pretty convenient (it's between Yellowstone and the Tetons.)

Consider staying a few days in the Tetons. Stay in the park if you can (Jackson Lake Lodge is fabulous), but the town of Jackson isn't too far and has good food.

Once you get your rooms reserved, make some dinner reservations. The Lake Lodge is the best restaurant in the park and you will need to reserve ahead of time if you want to eat there before 9:30 at night.

Take a look at www.yellowstone.net. Check out the forums before you go to find out where to see wildlife.

I'm jealous that you get to spend so much time there. Don't let anyone tell you it's too long. There's plenty to see, especially if you spend a couple of days in the Tetons.

Assuming you will have your own car, it is very easy to get around in Yellowstone. You can save money by going on your own, and you can see the sites at your own pace. Guided tours, always move you along at their schedule. Going on your own gives you the freedom to visit what you want, and to take your time where you are most interested. Here is an interactive map of the park,run the cursor over the map, and click on areas for more details. You will see that there are not a lot of roads to worry about.

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

Do be aware, however that the main loop road is 142-miles in size. Do some careful planning, so that you take in the sites you are most interested in on the West over a period of days, then do the same with the east, then the north, to save yourself a lot of wasted driving from place to place. 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. Hopefully you have a pair of binoculars, and if you have a scope, bring that also. Try to get up to Lamar valley on the north side of the park to look for wildlife. If you see a lot of folks out with scopes, stop and find out what they are watching. There may be a wolf or bear in the distance that you missed seeing. These folks can point it out to you, and you can get a look with your binoculars. If you don't have a scope, sometimes tourists or locals that do, will offer you a view through theirs. We went up last week-end with our local Natural History Museum Curator to specifically spend time in Larmar Valley looking for wildlife.

I have lived 50 miles from the park for 33 years, and try to get up at least once a year. I have an extensive page on Yellowstone on VT which you can check out at:

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

I have detailed descriptions of places to visit, and what to expect in the park, as well as warnings and other helpful tips and advice. This will help you to make a plan on what you want to visit for sure, and what may be more optional. Do head my warnings. If you obey park rules, you should have a wonderful, safe trip. Be award, however, that August is a very busy time of the year. If you haven't made reservations for your visit do it TODAY!!!!!!

Having answered that you can easily drive the park yourself, and take in the sites you are most interested in at your own pace, I will also comment on the package #16-30 that you are considering. If you would rather avoid the headache of parking in crowded parking lots, having to make a lot of reservations well in advance on your own, and don't mind being restricted to the schedule of a package tour, than this looks like an excellent choice. I took a careful look at the activities, and it covers both the geyser basins, the canyon, and Lamar Valley, which are the highlighted places that I have already suggested for you. It also includes some fun activities such as a horseback/or wagon ride, and an hours cruise on the beautiful Yellowstone Lake. You can do these on your own, also, but reservations must be made well in advance. Dinner reservations must also be made well in advance. You may actually be running out of time to get into some of these activities. With the all-inclusive, you won't have to be making all the necessary reservations on your own, with one package everything is taken care of, and if you are planning on returning to Yellowstone in the future, you would have a good idea of places you missed, or places you want to see on your own time. So, in my opinion, either choice-on your own, or this package would work for you, depending on your personal preferences in travel, and if you are still able to get reservations where needed. I am assuming you have not reserved anything yet, so if you do decide to do it on your own, I would suggest reservations be made in more than one place--Something on the west side of the park, then move over to the west side. But you must reserve absolutely as soon as possible, NOW is not too soon.

OOPS! I meant make reservations on the west side of the park, then move over to the east side! I imagine you figured that out anyhow. Sorry if I confused you...

Thank you all very much for your useful tips and advice. I made the following reservations yesterday:
3 nights at Old Faithful Lodge
1 night at Mammoth Hot Springs
2 nights at Canyon Lodge
2 nights at Lake Village

I also booked the following tours:
Circle of Fire Bus Tour
Roosevelt Cookout
Across the Northern Range
Lamar Wildlife Excursion (Canyon Lodge)
Yellowstone Lake Scenic Cruise

I have the following questions:
1. Is it too long to stay 3 nights (2.5 days) at Old Faithful Lodge? I am going to spend one of these days going on the Circle of Fire Bus Tour.
2. Is it too long to stay 2 nights at Lake Village? What activities or sights are there if I am not going to do too much boating/fishing (though I am going to do an 1 hour Lake Scenic Cruise). I just don’t want to waste valuable time there if I can use that time to visit other places like the Tetons or Jackson Hole.
3. At the end of my YNP trip (departing from Yellowstone Lake), I want to visit Grand Teton and Jackson Hole. If I can stay only one night, where should I stay? (Jackson Lake Lodge, Teton Village, or somewhere else?) After this I am going to Salt Lake City, UT (5-6 hr drive).

I think two days at Lake Village may be more than you need, unless you just want some down time to relax. One thing to do from Lake is to drive south to the West Thumb Geyser Basin, which, although small, is still lovely. There are a couple of my favorite back country hiking trails east of Lake, but unless you have bear spray, I wouldn't recommend these. They are also sometimes closed due to bear activity in the area, so you can not be guaranteed that they will be open. If you are interested in these two trials Pelican Creek Trail is a very easy 1.3 mile hike, and Indian Pond 2.3 miles, so both of these back country trials can easily be done on the same day. In fact, you could easily do both of these trails, and the West Thumb Geyser Basin in a day.

If you were up for an early start, and you like museums, you could drive down to Cody, WY which is 50 miles from the East Gate, through a lovely mountain valley. The museum there, Buffalo Bill Historical Center, is nationally known, and is a partner with the Smithsonian in DC. There are five sections: Western Art, Lots and lots of guns, Plains Indian, Buffalo Bill, and Natural History of the region. This outing would fill up one entire day of your Lake stay.

If you aren't interested in the Cody run, you will have stayed in enough other locations in the park to see the highlights on each side, so you might just want to spend one night at Lake, and add the other to Jackson/Tetons.

I think your planned itinerary sounds great and I disagree with Kimberley. There's no such thing as too much time anywhere in Yellowstone, especially not for someone who likes to hike. Also, if you're a wildlife fan, there are a places you will want to revisit during the day to see if any new animals have shown up.

Let me repeat my suggestion that at least one day at Old Faithful, get up early and enjoy the geysers before the crowds come out. I'm not sure if they're still there, but there used to be a pond you could hike to from Mammoth. If you got there early you could see beavers.

If you want to make more time for the Tetons, Canyon isn't all that far from the Lake Lodge. If I were going to drop any one part of your itinerary, it would be that one. If you can change the dates and stay at the Lake instead, it would give you more time in the Tetons. (I'm suggesting you swap the dates and skip Canyon instead of just dumping the Lake because the Lake Lodge is really nice.) If I remember correctly, Canyon and the Lake Lodge are less than 20 miles apart.

If you can get reservations, stay at Jackson Lake Lodge. If you can get reservations and have the money for it, ask for a view room. You won't be disappointed.

You seem to be a person who likes planned activities. I may be the wrong person to advise you, because I like to follow my nose. But really - there's lots and lots to do at Yellowstone. I don't think I've ever been bored there. I love to hike and haven't come close to exploring all the trails, even though I've been there a half a dozen times. I love to drive around and enjoy the scenery and watch for animals (last time I was there I got to see a pair of wolves.) A lot of the campgrounds have ranger-led nature activities. You don't have to stay at the campground to go to them. You will almost certainly have a wonderful time.

Bring raingear and binoculars.

If I might make another suggestion, bring an ice chest. The park service food can get a little tiresome and there are a zillion places for a picnic (there are several markets with food throughout the park.)

I agree with Acprincess, that there is more to see than you will have time for, in fact, I often suggest that people spend MORE time in the park than they are planning. However, as a first time visitor, if you are thinking of a return trip, you are doing better than a lot of folks. I think I told you that I have lived 50 miles from the park for 33 years, and I must say we never get tired of going up, and last year we even saw two geysers erupt that I had never seen before. Because of this I agree with AC,s suggestion that you could use this extra day at Lake to revisit an area you wanted to see more of--that is if you aren't interested in the Cody run I suggested. I also agree with Ac that you can visit the stunning Yellowstone Canyon and the lake area from your lake reservations, and the lake is a beautiful, and a really nice place to be. However, what you have reserved now also works fine for you. I believe you were intending on keeping at least one day at the lake, not skipping these reservations completely. If you are just planning on sticking around the immediate lake area, however, the lake is really the highlight here, and this area has less popular activities other than back-country hiking or fishing than the other areas you will be located at.