Air travel from New England to Yellowstone

[HelloChum]

Hello,

I am trying to plan our summer 2011 vacation to Yellowstone in a budget friendly way .

We are on the east coast and can fly out of PVD, BDL or BOS quite conveniently. It seems there are no nonstop flights to Jackson, WY (no surprise!) and it seems our most economical option is SWA out of BDL or PVD to SLC, with a return flight out of DEN (we plan to drive from Yellowstone to SD to see Crazy Horse/Mt Rushmore, etc.). SWA seems to have one stop in the flight itinerary and their prices seems way more reasonable than other airlines (of course, I will have to wait and see what the 6/11 prices are when released).

What have others from New England done as far as air travel? What airlines? If you flew into SLC and drove up to Tetons, did you first stay over in SLC? Any recommendations on SLC highlights? Same for Denver?

Any suggestions welcome!!

Thanks!

 

[jedijill]

Well, I can certainly help with Denver! Rocky Mountain National Park is about an hour north of DIA and is absolutely beautiful. It is different than Yellowstone and boasts the world's highest highway (Trail Ridge Road). There is the Coors brewery in Golden which is really cool. The Celestial Seasonings factory has tours in Boulder as well. Denver has a nice zoo, aquarium, downtown, etc. Seeing a Rockies baseball game is fun. Ft Collins has the Budweiser brewery tours.

I'm sure I could think of some more but I've got to get back to class.

Have a great trip. Yellowstone is my favorite place on earth. My grandfather worked there when he was in the CCC during the Depression. Old Faithful Inn should not be missed (and look for the striking similarities to Wildnerness Lodge at WDW!).

Jill in CO

If you are driving to SD, stop and see Devil's Tower in WY. It is featured in the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

 

[QT Pooh]

We have flown into Butte, MT as well as Cody, WY (both veeeery small airports)...on Delta/Sky West because of frequent flyer miles - both times transferred through SLC. We love Yellowstone as well and have also driven over to South Dakota. Just be warned that it is a loooong drive to SD from Yellowstone. Yellowstone is a huge place and can take you hours just to get from one side to the other. Speed limits are 35-45 and often times, you can't move because of buffalo jams, etc. When you go to SD, visit Mt. Rushmore, Custer State Park and the Needles highway, the Badlands, Wall's Drug Store (sorry I love the kitschy roadside stuff) and Devil's Monument.

 

[HelloChum]

If you are driving to SD, stop and see Devil's Tower in WY. It is featured in the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Thanks so much for all the tips!! Sounds like we may want to spend 2 nights in Denver.

So funny (and...I am so happy) you mentioned Devil's Tower! Just returned from trip to Lake Powell where we saw Tower Butte--my husband thought that may have been the formation in Close Encounters (until he googled it and realized it was actually Devil's Tower in the movie)--It would be great to actually see it after all our discussion about it this past trip!

I am happy to say I already have a 2 night ressie for Old Faithful Inn and a ressie for the restaurant!

Thanks again!!

 

[HelloChum]

We love Yellowstone as well and have also driven over to South Dakota. Just be warned that it is a loooong drive to SD from Yellowstone. Yellowstone is a huge place and can take you hours just to get from one side to the other. Speed limits are 35-45 and often times, you can't move because of buffalo jams, etc. When you go to SD, visit Mt. Rushmore, Custer State Park and the Needles highway, the Badlands, Wall's Drug Store (sorry I love the kitschy roadside stuff) and Devil's Monument.

Right now, we are staying 6 nights in Yellowstone--2 @ OFI, 2@ Mammoth Springs and 2 @ Canyon--I know we will need to prioritize our must sees, but I hope that will be enough time! I still need to make ressies for GTNP and SD, etc.

Did you drive straight thru to SD from Yellowstone, or split the ride with an overnight stay? I have seen info on Cody--I'll need to look into this more! Just returned from a LV...Zion...Bryce...GC...etc trip and 3 hours seemed to be a good enough driving distance between parks...the longer drives were more tough to take!

Thanks again

 

[jsmith]

How long total do you have to spend-because you are talking about some pretty signifgant driving distances. Salt Lake to Jackson will be about 3 hours-or more if you arent comfortable with mountain driving and depending on the route. Salt Lake to Old Faithful is 7 or 8 hours-a full day-due to traffic and lowered speed limits. To drive from Yellowstone to the Black hills can be done in one day-but it will be a long one-its 100 miles-at mostly park speed limits from Old Faithful to Cody. Its an additional 400 to 500 miles to Mount Rushmore Depending on the Route you choose and how comfortable you are with mountain driving. Going from Mount Rushmore to Denver is another 400 mile day. Unless SWA is just really cheap-look at going round trip into Billings Montana-Delta Flys there as does Alaska Air-and United-ive flown in there on all three. Billings is north of Cody Wyoming and about equidistant from Mt Rushmore and Yellowstone. If it were me ( i grew up in Cody ) i would fly to billings-Go first to Mt Rushmore-neither it nor Crazy horse is a full day-Then Back to either Sheridan or Cody-depending on how far you are willing to drive-then into Yellowstone-you can do a southward loop into Grand Teton park-and all the way to jackson if you want-its about 180 miles from Cody to Jackson thru Yellowstone-a 5 hour drive if you dont get in a Bear jam. The at the end of your time in Yellowstone you can go back out the east entrance to Cody and North to Billings or out thru Gardiner and north east to Billings. this Agenda will save you a signifigant amount of road miles-that are just road miles-i love wyoming but excpet around cody and sheridan-its not what you would call scenic.
Save Denver for another trip-Colorado is Georgous and there is easly two weeks of stuff to see here as well. the Salt Lake, Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore, Rocky Mountain Park, Denver agenda is admirable-but it will be exhausting unless you can afford to spend two and a half to three weeks out here

 

[jedijill]

Right now, we are staying 6 nights in Yellowstone--2 @ OFI, 2@ Mammoth Springs and 2 @ Canyon--I know we will need to prioritize our must sees, but I hope that will be enough time! I still need to make ressies for GTNP and SD, etc.

Did you drive straight thru to SD from Yellowstone, or split the ride with an overnight stay? I have seen info on Cody--I'll need to look into this more! Just returned from a LV...Zion...Bryce...GC...etc trip and 3 hours seemed to be a good enough driving distance between parks...the longer drives were more tough to take!

Thanks again

The Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody is worth checking out as well.

Jill in CO

 

[Deb & Bill]

How long total do you have to spend-because you are talking about some pretty signifgant driving distances. Salt Lake to Jackson will be about 3 hours-or more if you arent comfortable with mountain driving and depending on the route. Salt Lake to Old Faithful is 7 or 8 hours-a full day-due to traffic and lowered speed limits. To drive from Yellowstone to the Black hills can be done in one day-but it will be a long one-its 100 miles-at mostly park speed limits from Old Faithful to Cody. Its an additional 400 to 500 miles to Mount Rushmore Depending on the Route you choose and how comfortable you are with mountain driving. Going from Mount Rushmore to Denver is another 400 mile day. Unless SWA is just really cheap-look at going round trip into Billings Montana-Delta Flys there as does Alaska Air-and United-ive flown in there on all three. Billings is north of Cody Wyoming and about equidistant from Mt Rushmore and Yellowstone. If it were me ( i grew up in Cody ) i would fly to billings-Go first to Mt Rushmore-neither it nor Crazy horse is a full day-Then Back to either Sheridan or Cody-depending on how far you are willing to drive-then into Yellowstone-you can do a southward loop into Grand Teton park-and all the way to jackson if you want-its about 180 miles from Cody to Jackson thru Yellowstone-a 5 hour drive if you dont get in a Bear jam. The at the end of your time in Yellowstone you can go back out the east entrance to Cody and North to Billings or out thru Gardiner and north east to Billings. this Agenda will save you a signifigant amount of road miles-that are just road miles-i love wyoming but excpet around cody and sheridan-its not what you would call scenic.
Save Denver for another trip-Colorado is Georgous and there is easly two weeks of stuff to see here as well. the Salt Lake, Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore, Rocky Mountain Park, Denver agenda is admirable-but it will be exhausting unless you can afford to spend two and a half to three weeks out here

I agree - Yellowstone to Mount Rushmore is over 500 miles. Denver to Yellowstone is over 560 miles. Mount Rushmore to Denver is nearly 400 miles.

I just took my son for a college road trip in the NW. We flew to Spokane, Drove to Corvallis, OR to see OSU, then drove to Pullman WA and Moscow ID to see WSU and Univ of ID, then back to Spokane to see Gonzaga, then to Missoula to see Univ of MT and Helena to see Carroll College, Plus we drove to the Pacific Ocean from Corvallis (it was about 50 miles west through the mountains) and to Glacier NP for about three hours to see Lake McDonald and the Lodge. I drove 2200 miles in 8 and a half days. Stayed in a different hotel every night except for two nights in Pullman WA. Visited six campuses, one national park, Mt Hood and the Timberline Lodge at Mt Hood. And I went back to work the day after we flew back home (plus had to drive the 180 miles to our home from the airport - cheaper flight than flying from home).

He got to see everything he wanted (a side trip to Yellowstone would have been great, but we just couldn't do that - besides, we were just there at Christmas). But the driving just about wore me out. He was only 16, so I wouldn't let him drive the rental car.

You might try flying into Bozeman, MT (it's about an hour or so from Yellowstone) or Billings (about three hours from Yellowstone).

 

[merrily]

We flew Southwest from Manchester, NH to Denver. It was not nonstop but we did not have to change planes- landed somewhere, maybe Baltimore then went on to Denver. We drove from Denver to Custer, SD the same day (about 6 hours). Made for a long day but we really didn't mind. Spent several days in SD in Custer, the Badlands, Mt. Rushmore. We then drove to Cody, WY, stopping part way there in Sheridan, WY for the night. We visited Deadwood and Devil's Tower on the way. Stayed two nights in Cody, 4 nights in Yellowstone, 2 nights in Jackson, WY. The worst part of the trip was the next part when we drove nonstop from Jackson to Rocky Mountain National Park. Long and boring drive! Stayed a few days in Estes Park, CO and then flew back home from Denver.

Southwest was the cheapest flight I could find. I also found that renting a car in one location and returning it in a different location was very expensive. Also, some car rental companies had rules about which other states you could drive in. Make sure you check carefully.

Have a great trip!

 

[HelloChum]

Southwest was the cheapest flight I could find. I also found that renting a car in one location and returning it in a different location was very expensive. Also, some car rental companies had rules about which other states you could drive in. Make sure you check carefully.

I agree--Southwest has been the cheapest I have found so far. While Jet Blue had similar fares out of Boston, they only allow 1 free checked bag/person--that may be tight for us. Pricing out some rental cars, I did notice high rates and was wondering if it had to do with different pickup/dropoff locations. After reserving the car for our most recent trip, I was amazed at the different rates for mini-vans--or, probably any car for that matter. If you know your dates and find a good rate--lock it in! I did notice you have to be careful about reading the fine print for unlimited miles/allowed states, etc. You could really get stuck with high costs!!

Thanks for your itinerary!

 

[jsmith]

Seriously-price your flights and rental car out of Billings MT-then compare the cost of the additional driving to and from denver-or from Salt Lake to Denver via everything-i think you will find its cheaper-even if the flights look more expensive on the face of it-and its way way less driving. I know another poster suggested Bozeman-but flights to Cody, Jackson and Bozeman are going to be more expensive and happen on small commuter planes-really not that much fun.

 

[dzorn]

Is this a several week trip? It seems you are trying to do way to many places. I could easily spend a week in just yellowstone and the Tetons.

I think you should consider spending more time in fewer places to really apprciate them.

Denise in MI

 

[mybestieismickey]

The thing about the western half of the country is that things are just not as close to each other as they are back east. You gotta love those stretches of lonely not so pretty highway. Especially in the summer. I live just outside Zion NP (you probably drove right passed my house) and we just did the drive from here to Yellowstone in one day. It's a long day, but totally doable. And shorter if you're leaving from Salt Lake. Still, your looking at about a 5-6 hour drive (depending on traffic and your feelings about the speed limit) to West Yellowstone (where we always stay). But I guess if you're staying in the park, you still have a bit more to go.

If you do end up coming through Salt Lake, consider driving out to one of the ski resorts and riding the chair lift up to the top. Most offer hiking or mountain biking in the summer the wild flowers are wonderful. My FIL loves to go up to Alta for this. You can also visit the Olympic park and they have zip lining and I think alpine slides. The Great Salt Lake is out to the west of the city, but to be honest, I've never been. Downtown Salt Lake has Temple Square which is beautiful (and free!), and the light rail in that part of town is free from I think Main Street to I want to say 400 West--where the Gateway outdoor mall and the Energy Solutions Arena (where the Jazz play) are.

The drive from Salt Lake isn't bad, it just gets a little long and by the time you reach Idaho Falls, you're ready to be done. Oh and I always get confused by the juction here to get on the 20. Good thing I'm not the driver. Just pay attention to the signs and you'll be fine.

Hope you have a great trip and a fun time planning!

 

[momoflizandains]

We are also interested in a similar trip. Great info! Please keep it coming!

 

[HelloChum]

Is this a several week trip? It seems you are trying to do way to many places. I could easily spend a week in just yellowstone and the Tetons.

I think you should consider spending more time in fewer places to really apprciate them.

Denise in MI

You are right!! I think I've come to this realization too--I think we will be dropping the SD portion of the trip and may just stick with GTNP and YNP for next summer. We want to enjoy YNP while we are there--hiking, western cookout...and I'm looking into 1/2-day kayaking on Lake Yellowstone. I added another 2 nights stay in the park, so that will be 8 nights in YNP alone. I think we would enjoy 2 nights in GTNP, and then may need 1 night each in/near airport for incoming/outbound flights--I think that will be long enough.

This summer's trip was 13 nights...it was great, but by the end...I was tired of living out of a suitcase and ordering off a menu (go figure!)

mybestieismickey--Thanks for the SLC info--very helpful!!

 

[HelloChum]

Seriously-price your flights and rental car out of Billings MT-then compare the cost of the additional driving to and from denver-or from Salt Lake to Denver via everything-i think you will find its cheaper-even if the flights look more expensive on the face of it-and its way way less driving. I know another poster suggested Bozeman-but flights to Cody, Jackson and Bozeman are going to be more expensive and happen on small commuter planes-really not that much fun.

Thanks--I will check flights into Billings.