Yellowstone National Park Travel Forum

I can't find the post where the question was asked as to how they could see Yellowstone National Park when they did not drive. I think I might have an answer for you. I found a place that does tours from Billings to Yellowstone National Park. You can fly into Billings and they will take you through the park. Here is their website. http://www.montanafunadventures.com/Yellowstone.html

Giving there are still available flights and hotels, we decided to fly to SLC and then drive to YS.
Here is my rough plan and I need your suggestion and critique:
1. 9/24/09-take early flight from SFO to SLC and drive to YS-either stay at Plan 1 West YS or Plan 2 drives directly to Old Faithful and stay at one of the hotels in that area
2. If plan 1, 9/25/09, drive to Old faithful in the morning and going to visit Grand Tetons in the afternoon; drive back to stay at one of the Yellowstone lake area
If plan 2, 9/25/09, explore old faithful area and drive to Grand Tetons in the afternoon and drive back to stay at one of the Yellowstone Lake Area
3. 9/26/09, explore Canyon area and tower fall area and stay at one of the hotels there
4. 9/27/09, need your help to figure out where to go and where to stay because we are driving back to SLC the next day!
5. 9/28/09—drive back to SLC and take flight in the afternoon.

Because of the special circumstances, we are trying to go to YS at the last M. Will take my parents with us and they are in their 60s. Originally want to fly to salt lake city and then drive to YS.But we are afraid it will be too long for my parents to travel in the car. Need some advice from all of you out there on
1.what is the best way to get there consider our situation?
2.Where should we stay? Should we stay at west YL and go to different route every day? Some friends told us to stay at different hotels as we travel. So what will be a good route and any hotel suggestions are highly appreciated.

Thanks for your help in advance!

I am interested in forum member' experiences with "altitude sickness" when visiting Yellowstone.

I live at 780 feet above sea level. Fortunately I have quick access to the mountains of North Carolina and often hike there. We can go to 4000 feet very quickly and plan to spend a lot of time next summer hiking at up to 6600 feet in order to do some pre-trip training for a month trip in Montana, Wyoming and Utah in September of 2010. I realize that 6660 feet is not 8000-10000 feet but gotta be better than coming from sea level without any buffering.

We will fly into Bozeman and could spend a couple of days before heading to our first Park stop at Canyon Lodge area of Yellowstone.

Any thoughts/tips/experiences?

dan

We will be in Yellowstone for a week From Aug 22nd . I would like to know the timings for the old faithful . when does the park close in general .

also is there a walk to the artists point and grand prsimatic lake. Since we have a toddler with us we want to avoid it if there's a walk.

checked the weather . doesn't look that great.

OK, I am very confused after reading one too many forums. Mary and I are taking a 3 week Zion to Yellowstone trip.

I will be traveling the 1st 3 weeks in September - could end as late as the 23rd. Right now I am planning to be in the Tetons and Yellowstone the 15th - 22nd. I could back up and be there 3-4 days sooner.

I have been told to start at Yellowstone and go South to avoid bad weather and snow and disruption. But I got my travel brain pointed North and want to peak (pardon the pun) at Yellowstone at the end of our trip.

So whats the straight story on what travel in and out and about will be like. I get the general idea that Yellowstone ain't South Carolina and we have spent many trips into the Rockies and Canada but never in mid September.

Should I be afraid of a total snow lockdown or just a fun flurry or..........
Should I really reverse this trip?
Any insider advice will be very helpful.

dan and mary mckinney

My husband and I (both retirees)will be driving in from Canada via Glacier and arriving in the Yellowstone area on Thursday afternnon, August 3. We will be staying two nights and leaving sometime Saturday to start the long drive to Seattle to catch a flight home to Massachusetts.

We want to get a taste of the park - no serious hiking. What do you suggest for A) areas/ places to stay (ALL inside park are booked by now, of course)
B) routes to follow?

We can enter/ stay / exit via Gardiner or W. Yellowstone. Should I try to book both nights in one place, or split the stays? What will work out best?

Is there a recommended "route" to follow to see the high points in such a short time, considering the heavy traffic? We can't do it all -so anything we MUST see?

Finally, is there any way to drive through Grand Teton on the way back towards Seattle? Will that add another whole day? Jackson is not necessary for us.

THANKS for your help! I really need it, since I just made flight reservations last week!

Hi,

I am planning on a 5 days 4 nights trip to the YNP.

I will be alone the whole time. I would like to

camp in my tent. Could you suggest me an area

that would be good for just sight-seeing and being

very secluded from the crowd? I would like to visit the

park during the late August or early September.

Hi,
I plan a 3 day visit to YNP.

I will be flying from Houston,TX

The fares for all the below airports are too steep.
Cody and Jackson, WY; Bozeman and Billings, MT, and Idaho Falls, ID.

Can you suggest some other aiports where I can land for less and drive to the park.

Drive of upto 4 hours is acceptable.

Thanks

Thanks for all the easrlier suggestions.We are finally close to booking the tickets. We planned on the follwoing itinery considering we have a 5 and 2yr old.Would this be too hectic.
Day 1: We will be arriving in Jackson and staying in Cache creek or Ranch inn for that night.
Day 2 :Leave for park next day , cover old faithful/Geyser Boardwalk trail , Grand Prismatic Springs, Morning Glory.
(stay in West Yellowstone Holiday inn for next 3 days).
Day 3 : Yellowstone LAKE , Yellowstone canyon,Lower Falls ,Artists Point
Day 4 :Mamooth hot springs,Tower falls
Day 5 : Return to Jackson airport from West yellowstone.
any suggestions would be appreciated.

Hello, I'm planning to invite my international friends to Yellowstone 2010 summer. We will be about 15(8 adults + 7 children). I'm considering renting a Van (most likely Chevy Express) and a cargo trailer for our luggage.

Because they will come from a foreign country, Bozeman and other closer airports require them at least 2 stops. So, I think Salt Lake city or Denver is better choice for them. However, I'm wondering that the Express can go through the mountain road with 15 passengers and a luggage trailer.

Going camping there next week. Are there are any burn restrictions right now? Can I build an open fire to cook over or will I need a camp stove?

Do the main attractions in YNP come up in GPS.We are planning to rent a car from after our arrival at Bonzane,MT airport and then drive to the park.
Based on your experiences will there be clear detour signs in case of road closures.
Is it a good idea to bring car seats or can we rent the cars with the carseats. we have a 6 and 2 yr old.

We will be flying from Newark,NJ. Need advice on which aiport is better to fly to,Jackson hole or West yellowstone airport. We are thinking to avoid flight cancellations and delays its a good idea to fly to a bigger airport.
We will mostly be visting Old faithful and the Lake area

We are planning to visit YNP in OCT 2009 with kids aged 6 and 2. This is our 1st time this park. Heard lot of good things about this park.So decided to make a trip. We are planning to stay for 4 days to look at Old faithful,Canyon,Roosevalt Water falls. Is it possible to find a place in the park with kitchen(like marriot residence inn). Someone suggested Hiliday inn on west side. How far is the drive from there to the main points of interest.
We are thinking of flying to Jackson Hole from Newyork.
Would appreciate any suggestions on the itenary too.
PS: we are not looking to hike.

My husband and I want to go to Yellowstone, Grand Teton, etc. We found a tour with tour4fun that includes Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore, Grand Teton, Salt Lake City and Arches National park in 7 days and 6 nights. Does that sound like a reasonable length of time to see all those places? Has anyone had experience with that tour company? Can anyone recommend a tour that would allow us to visit the parks? We are older and do not want to drive so we need tours. Thanks for your help!

We are going to be in yellowstone for the 4th July weekend. Are there any places where the chances of finding the big animals like bears, bison, elks are higher?

Can I also see wild life in Grand Teton? We are flying to Jackson Hole and I am thinking of spending some time in the park if there is a possibility of spotting wild life.

We flying to Jackson, WY on our way to a camping trip to Yellowstone (4th july weekend). We won't be able to carry all the camping gear on the plane. what is a good place to rent things like sleeping bag, stove, mess kit, Ice chest, kitchen knife, swiss knife etc? Either in Jackson hole or any where between Jackson hole and the park.

There must be an REI around there, but there costs are higher. I don't need super high quality gear as I am not camping in wilderness / high altitude.

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!

Is it easier and shorter to drive to Lamar Valley from Gardiner than from West Yellowstone?

My husband and I are going to Yellowstone in August 09. Since it's late, I can't find good lodging in the park, but have located a cabin at Sleepy Hollow Lodge in W. Yellowstone for 4 nights. Is W. Yellowstone a good location to stay for the entire stay? Can I drive comfortably to all areas of the park and get back there without spending hours in the car?

First I'll offer a bit of my own advice: if you're going to Yosemite in CA, visit Hetch Hetchy or Tuolomne Meadows in leiu of the valley. The main valley is Disneyland compared to the Hetch Hetchy area.

Now on to my own question: my girlfriend and I will be visiting the area from Northern California for 3 days, 2 nights, July 2nd and 3rd (then onto Montana). I can imagine this is a pretty busy time for YNP. What areas in or around Yellowstone should we book a campsite or cabin (that would still have spots available).

We don't mind other folks, but are looking to get away from any traffic jams or other hustle and bustle. Anything with great views or water features nearby would be appreciated. Any insider advice at all would be greatly appreciated!

We are planning a June trip for two weeks to YNP...oh, yeah, with our 4 children (ages 11, 10, 7, and 2)...we feel this is our best opportunity to get us all out together before adolescents strikes, sooo, here we go...We would love to know the best to take around the park so that we can see the most in 3-4 days without wasting our time backtracking around. Are there places for them to swim in some of the streams? Is it possible to do a horseback ride and have our 2 year old ride along with one of us? My husband and I have been there a few years ago alone, but even then didn't get a chance to see as much of the park as we would have liked...we could certainly use some advice from someone who has been with children and what worked and what didn't...any suggestions would be greatly appreciated...

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

My husband has cancer and I am looking for the perfect campsite to take him to . We have a conversion van that we sleep in instead of the tent but we reaaly enjoy being by water. Does anyone have a suggetion as to where to go for Peace (low noise level) and Tranquility that is close to water. Thanks! We will be there May 22th through the 25th.

I have a grandson who lives in the Dallas area that is very interested in volcanoes and that kind of thing. I want to take him to Yellowstone on the way to a visit to Hawaii to see the volcanoes there. It will be just me and him. My husband and his parents won't be with us.

The last time I visited Yellowstone it was July 4, 1948, so I don't know current conditions. In those days we could go right up to the Morning Glory pool. We were camping by sleeping on a ground cloth in sleeping bags and in Yellowstone we rented a cabin because they wouldn't let us stay without a tent. My sister and I had sparklers for the 4th.

I would like to go as early in June 2010 as possible to reduce the amount of traffic. It looks like I will have to fly to somewhere near there. Although this child (who will be 12.5) is very good with maps, and I don't mind renting a car to drive around the park, I don't want to drive very much. I'm also not into either camping or hiking ATM.

I tried to find a tour that would go to the park but all that I found were quite expensive and did not do what I want to do which is primarily to look at the thermal activity - wildlife is secondary and most tours seem to focus on the animals.

One of my other daughters went in June last year and flew NW into Jackson Hole and then did Grand Tetons and Yellowstone and some other stuff. They said it snowed quite a bit while they were there. They stayed at the Old Faithful Lodge and it seems like that would be a good idea for us too.

So - to my question.

What is the easiest way to get to Yellowstone from Dallas?

I am taking a trip to YNP in June Or July this year I have no clue where all to go how much I can do in a day where to stay???? I need some sample vacations that you have been on that have worked or you can recommend. We want to see water falls wildlife hiking. I have a 5 and 7 year old and a 58 year old grandparents that will be joining me. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hi

I would like to visit Yellowstone Park for a week - any cheap flights from Seattle or Vancouver, Canada - any suggestions regarding accommodation? i will be travellling alone so I would like to join a tour group? any suggestions. Thank you.

I have taken previous advise and dropped Glacier NP as part of trip. Would a week be long enough for a car trip thru Yellow stone and Grand Teton's? Again, recommendations for airline arrival location and departure location, suggested car route and places to stay. Much appreciate any recommendations. Probably try to spend 5 days with airline on either end (7 day total).
Jetfixer

Two couples wanting to plan a car trip thru YS, GT, GNP's. Friends will fly in from NY and my wife and I from OK. Plan on renting a car/SUV and spend a week touring the National Parks. Anyone have recommendations on trip plan (arrival location, lodging recommendations, specific sights, departure location? Appreciate any info to help the planning.

thanks
jetfixer