Yellowstone

[huckleberrykate]

I worked in Yellowstone for 9 months while in college and I LOVED it!!! I stayed in Lamar Valley which is often overlooked. Roosevelt Lodge has the best breakfast and Wonderful front porch to chill and get to met others just passing through. I recomend taking time just to enjoy the wildlife. I know when I was there the pass was not open till mid June so could not do the whole loop, but had to approach from either side but could not do top half of the park. It is a huge park and can really be overwhelming. Cook City, MT is a small town right outside park, and IT IS WONDERFUL very good local food Venture off the beaten path you will be glad you did!!!

 

[DisneyMomOK]

Yellowstone is so large that IMHO you will regret not spending more time there. The area around Mt. Rushmore also has many wonderful sites, but, if possible, I would spend more time in Y. Your drive from Mt. R will leave you very little time (considering the traffic congestion in the park) on arrival.

Sharon

 

[Soupermom]

I know, I wish we could stay longer. I just can't work it out. It's such a long drive from Illinois and as it is our trip will be 10 or 11 days. That's plenty long for us. We need to be back for the 4-H fair and since DH and I work in the school system, our time frame is kind of limited...

 

[tycopj]

We have been considering a trip to Yellowstone with our kids, who will be 5 & 9 when/if we go. I was thinking they would be too young but this thread has made me reconsider.

How many days do you think would be best?

Thanks!

 

[Toots]

Supermom:

Dining menus and pricing for restaurants can be found @ travelyellowstone.com. Definitely make reservations if possible.

I would trade a day or two at Mt. Rushmore for Yellowstone. If that's not possible I would drop GTNP. There is so much to do in Yellowstone. You will love it! We spent 6 nights in the park on our last visit and plan to spend @ least 7 nights in August.

 

[Mom-to-2-Princesses]

Hi it's me again!

Since you have so few days (and don't beat yourself up about it - you are going to have a great time in SD as well!) I would suggest looking at what pops up here the most as good suggestions, do those and don't try to do the whole park.

We had three + days and never got to see the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone - and that's ok because we did an 1 1/2 ranger hike/walk of the Gyser Pool area and really learned something. (the kids even got to take the temperature of a pool to learn why the pools are different colors)

Personally, the whole park is wonderful and whatever you do isn't going to be wrong. But, how many places in the USA can you see all this Gyser activity? Nowhere! So place your main emphasis on that and have fun. Again, check the website and check out all the Ranger led programs -- you will have so much fun and really get a good feel for everything.

I would look at it as you do when you go to WDW - everything is so cool but there is no way you can fit it all in, so just enjoy what you do!

Have a great time in SD and Y - don't forget to do the junior ranger programs at the other National Parks in SD. Mt Rushmore's was awesome and we also did Jewel Cave.

 

[solgent]

I am considering possibly visiting Yellowstone with my DDs. We are going to drive cross country and car camp this summer. Any recommendations or tips for campgrounds would be much appreciated.

 

[endy]

I've been to Yellowstone 3 times with my son & twice on my own. I love it. We also travelled east to Cody & south then west into Jackson. We did the museums at Cody & were there for the July 4th fireworks several years ago. Overnighted in Thermapolis. Very cool little town. Great dinosaur dig site & museum. And a huge hot springs pool at a campground - it was hotter than a bathtub.
Back on track my son is only 10 so when we went he would've been, 4, 6 & 8. He had a great time & we walked most of the boardwalks and short walks there were. At the bear/wolf place in West Yellowstone for a very small add'l charge he was able to go with a group of kids and hide food in the grizzly bear yard (they were locked away.) He still talks of doing that.
Anyway I would go again in a heartbeat. We are only 9 hours north of north park gate & wish it was closer.

 

[Soupermom]

Thanks everyone for your input. I keep trying to look over our itinerary trying to add a day, but am having a hard time. We are planning to visit the Jewel Cave in S.D. so I was glad to hear it was enjoyable for your family MOMto2Princesses. Thanks for your encouraging words for our short visit! I don't mind the cold temps, but I kind of hope the snow is gone so we can see all of the spring colors in June! Any other suggestions are welcome...

 

[eh24fan]

If you are anywhere near Mitchell, SD on your trip, you HAVE to go to the Corn Palace. LOL It's something your kids will roll their eyes over, but talk about forever. My dad woke us up for it and we were less than pleased, but even now, more than 10 years later, we laugh about it. They decorate an entire building in corn.

 

[Soupermom]

Mitchell will be on our route to Mt. Rushmore and we are planning on a quick stop. I remember going there when I was a wee tot... Since we come from the land of corn, my kids should appreciate all of that hard work!

 

[Soupermom]

For those of you who are familiar with the area, where would you suggest we have dinner on our first night? We should arrive mid-afternoon and will be staying in the Canyon area. Is there a specific lodge nearby you would recommend? I'm familar with the names (Old Faithful, Roosevelt, etc), but am not sure about the locations or distances from where we will be staying. Nothing fancy is needed, just yummy with a good atmosphere...

 

[eh24fan]

Mitchell will be on our route to Mt. Rushmore and we are planning on a quick stop. I remember going there when I was a wee tot... Since we come from the land of corn, my kids should appreciate all of that hard work!

We didn't appreciate it so much at the time. LOL Now it's a running joke in our family. That trip was a GREAT trip and we had so much fun. We flew into Sioux Falls, SD, spent the week driving all over the place and back to Sioux Falls. We ended the trip stopping at Buffalo Bill's farm in North Platte, Nebraska, where our Great-Great grandfather once worked. We saw Mt Rushmore, the Badlands, Yellowstone, the Tetons, even went down to Rocky Mtn. Nat'l Park, then up through Nebraska. Like I posted previously, my dad and stepmom have made several trips out there since. Summer of 2005 they spent 7 weeks travelling out west by car, with my little sisters and last year they did about 4 weeks.

 

[Soupermom]

Me again. Sorry if I've hijacked this thread! I'm looking at a map I've printed and from what I can tell, our cabin is in the middle of the "figure 8" road system. I'm not sure what to do on our arrival day---I need suggestions on that. For our second day, I"m thinking of driving the northern loop to see the "Grand Canyon", dining at the Rosevelt lodge maybe for lunch? Can you see the waterfalls on this loop? Any short hikes? How long should I allow for this? For our third day (heading to Gr. Tetons), I thought we could do the Old Faithful part of the southern loop, visiting the paint pots, etc. Again, can anyone suggest short hikes off this part of the loop.

I'm an avid photographer and would love to see some wildlife. I don't want to spend our entire visit in the car, so if we could get out to hike for a while that would be great. What about the horseback rides? Any suggestions on how best to fill our time would be appreciated. I know this place is huge so I'd like to allow enough time to do the right activities. Thanks again!

 

[tkafam]

We went to Yellowstone and Grand Tetons last August and it was our favorite vacation yet, right up there with Disney! We saw a ton of wildlife, 9 bears, elk, buffalo, coyote, wolves, beaver, river otter, moose, pronghorn. It was amazing! Make sure you drive thru Lamar Valley and Hayden Valley in the evening and morning. That's where we saw the most wildlife. We stayed in the Cascade Lodge in the Canyon area and loved it. Would definitely stay there again. We also stayed at the cabins at Lake Yellowstone (NOT the same as the Lake Lodge cabins, very confusing). We were happy with that too. I bought the book "Scenic Driving Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks." It was great! It was published in 1999 so a few things were a little outdated, but most was spot-on. Each chapter is a different section thru the park and tells you what to look for along the way. I think it mentions hikes. It gives a lot of info about the area. It was very helpful!

 

[CindyKansas]

I worked at Yellowstone for 2 summers in the late 80's and I was stationed at Canyon. Canyon has a restaurant and I know that it has been remodeled since I was there. My job title was Activity Sales Agent and I got to tell people what there was to do in the park (a job perk was I actually did get to do all of the fun things) like horseback riding, fishing, bus tours, wagon rides and cookouts. On my days off I would always go hiking or sightseeing somewhere in the park. My favorite place to go and sit and just look at the beauty of Yellowstone was Norris Geyser Basin.
I have been to Wind Cave and Jewel Cave in South Dakota and I enjoyed them both. DH & I have a National Park pass and I will tell you that we get our moneys worth every year.

 

[MACDAWG]

You must do Yellowstone Safari. They have a website & it is run by Carl Swoboda. Went w/ wife & kids in 2003 & this was the best part in the park

 

[maiyasgram]

Taykarli & Soupermom:

Check out Fodors Travel Guide Forum at www.fodors.com/forums/
Click on Talk then US. Scroll down to Wyoming and you will find everything and anything related to travel at YNP and GT's. The fodorites on this board are a wealth of info. DH and I used this site extensively when planning our 05 trip to Yellowstone and The Tetons. We are now in the middle of planning our trip to Alaska June 24-July4, 07. There are many trip planning sites but I found this one the most useful for us. Also try www.yellowstone.net/forums. The wildlife, the gysers and such majestic scenery it was all truly breathtaking it has been our most memorable vacation experience by far. Whatever you decide to do in that area you cannot go wrong and will have a great time. We also used a guiding service for 2 days in Yellowstone, although pricey we felt for us it was worth it. We loved this area so much I could go on and on. If it weren't for Alaska this year we would definately be heading back there. Good luck in you planning and have a great trip.

Cherie

 

[bellona1]

Been to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons a couple of times. DH and I got married in the Tetons (sigh ). Whatever you do definetly plan to spend some time in the Tetons, we made the mistake of spending 1 day there our first trip. If you get a chance check out the Bar J Wranglers. They put on an amazing show and the food is so tasty! The morning after our wedding we got all our family rounded up and did a senic float down the Snake River, we used Mad River Boat Trips. The staff and Mad River were very nice and so knowledgeable. They do stop at the half-way point, unload everyone and cook up breakfast for you. If you do a morning float definetly bundle up, it gets cold but does warm up. Words cannot desribe how beautiful it was!

DH and I are looking forward to going back and showing our kiddies where mommy & daddy got married for our 10th anniversary. Only 3 more years to go! Man has time gone by!

Have fun!

 

[CowboyCO]

After reading everyone's wonderful posts, I now have more questions. Basically our timeline is as follows, and I'm hoping some of you can make suggestions as to what we should do to best fill our short time in the parks...

Day one: Arrive mid-afternoon from the Mt. Rushmore area (we're spending three days here)
Day two: we have all day for Yellowstone. We are staying in cabins (2 nights) in the Canyon (n. central) area of the park.
Day three: driving south to the Tetons; staying at Grand Tarhee Resort
Day four: we have all day for the Grand Tetons
Day five: leave for Cheyenne.

So, basically we have our arrival day in Yellowstone, one full day, plus the day driving south to "do Yellowstone".
We then have our arrival day plus one full day for the Grand Tetons.

What are your recommendations for getting the most out of our trip? Cast consists of me, DH, DD13 and DS 10. Hikes would be great, and we'd love to see wildlife and the geysers, waterfalls, etc. I'd appreciate any suggestions you can offer!

Woah!! Slow Down there, campers!

Couple of problems..

Mt Rushmore to the border of Yellowstone is a pretty big drive, and you will probably want to sidetrip to Devils Tower National Monument on the same day.

Yellowstone is MUCH, MUCH Bigger than you would expect it to be. Be aware, even though it may only be 45 miles from the edge of the park to Canyon, it can take two hours or more because there is so much to see -- animals, sites, etc.

If you only have one day in Yellowstone and are staying at Canyon, then of course you will want to view the upper and lower falls. There are hikes down to the edge of the falls that is amazing! Incredible energy at the rim. Be aware you will be hiking a lot of verticle at high altitudes -- Most of Yellowstone is above 7,000 feet in elevation. Take water and drink lots every day!

From there I would head to the Norris Geyser Basin about 20 miles west of Canyon. Walk the boardwalks and drive the loops -- Very cool.

Day two: Get Up Early and go to Old Faithful. It's a pretty long drive and also by leaving early you increase chances of seeing some of the shyer animals like bears. All large animals are much more active in the morning. lots of Elk, Buffalo(Bison), Moose, Mule Deer, etc. After Old Faithful, make sure you tour The Old Faithful Lodge. It's the largest Log structure in the world and is beautiful! Old Faithful is in a huge Geyser Basin and there are boardwalks to walk and view hundreds of thermal features.

Head south to Jackson Hole/Grand Teton Park and take in the views on the north side of the park in the evening.

Grand Targhee resort: You really need to try and get a reservation at a different resort. Grand Targhe is on the WEST side of the Tetons. It is beautiful, but it is an hour- 1-1/2 hour drive from there Grand Teton National Park. As the Crow flies it's only ten miles, but you have to drive way around south over Teton Pass. Try The Grand Teton Lodge Corp, or book a room in the Town of Jackson. Other places that are in the Park include the Signal Mtn Lodge and there is a place in Moose that has a small lodge. If you are wanting to explore and tour Grand Teton National Park, Grand Targhee WILL NOT Work!

On your trip to Cheyenne, if you are a history Buff, you can follow a large section of the Oregon Trail if you take the 287 route through Moran, Dubois, Lander and Rawlins to get to I-80. This is also gorgeous because you get to drive back up by the tetons, then over Togwotee Pass, by the Pinnacles and down to Dubois. The fastest Rte is probably straight south through Pinedale to Rock Springs and I-80 East to Cheyenne. Plan on 6-7 hours from Jackson to Cheyenne.