Anyone visited Yellowstone National Park?

[floridascgirl]

I'm considering planning a trip for our family of 3 to visit the park & Old Faithful maybe next summer (I think it's too late to pull a trip together for this one). Has anyone been before? I'd love any input that you could offer...places to stay, how many days to visit, budget advice, etc...

Thanks!

 

[CowboyCO]

Lived in Wyoming for 25+ years. Been to Yellowstone hundreds of times and worked in GTNP for two years. Fire away...

 

[CowboyCO]

Stay at Old Faithful Lodge for a night or two - Wilderness lodge in WDW was based upon it's design. As beautiful as WL is, I've always felt it was a cheap knock-off compared the 100-year-old original.

 

[mward73]

I went about 10 years ago and stayed at the KOA campground right near the park. LOVED it! (of course, you have to like camping). Really enjoyed the park. Also went to the Grand Tetons on the same trip.

 

[CowboyCO]

Stay at Canyon Lodge when you are going to explore the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone area. Disney has an Artists Point. Here's the original:

 

[3boymthr]

Stay in the park if you can get a reservation - it's already too late for some of the room types but call you never know what you are going to get. We went a few years ago and stayed in the cabins at Roosevelt lodge and the cost was very reasonable less than $70/night.

The other thing I strongly recommend is to do the backcountry BBQ. You take a horseback or conestoga wagon ride into the back country and they do an all you can eat BBQ with steak, beans, cornbread, etc. Really good food and if you get the right ranger you'll get some great stories on the way out and back. Pricey but Worth every penny. This was our big splurge for our trip and I absolutely would do it again.

Another thing I recommend is getting a few of the guidebooks that are available and reading them cover to cover so you have an idea what is important to you to see and what isn't.

 

[CowboyCO]

Make sure you include at least two days for Grand Teton National Park. It's hooked to the southern entrance of Yellowstone. It's kinda pretty:

Stay at Jackson Lake Lodge - here's the view of the lodge and it's view

This is just a mile or so from the Lodge and may be one of the most often photographed spot in the park. Oxbow Bend:

 

[floridascgirl]

I'm so happy to see responses...thanks everyone! The whole reason for planning a trip like this is so my family will keep indulging me with my obsession of vacationing in Disney. My DS13 expressed that he would like to try a trip somewhere else for a change.

Anyway, for now I'm curious how many days/nights one would recommend to visit this area (we'll definitely be on a modest budget).

Since we live in S.C., I'm assuming that we would fly in and then rent a car. Where's the closest airport and then how far to Yellowstone? Sorry for such a dopey question...I'm truly clueless at this stage, but I will research like a maniac once my family gives this plan a thumbs up.

CowboyCo, I was looking at the Old Faithful Lodge earlier and I immediately thought of Wilderness Lodge.

Also, how's the weather in Wyoming during the summer months?

Thanks again for your replies! I the DIS

 

[3boymthr]

We drove so I can't help you on the airport stuff but weather wise I can definitely help.

We were there the second week in July. Plan for both hot and cold. During the 4 days we were there we wore shorts and T-shirts during the day most days. One day it rained and hailed and it got really, really cold so cold it snowed overnight. Yes, you read that right it SNOWED, in July. It was melted by 9 AM but still you will definitely want to pack both shorts and Ts as well as a couple of pairs of long pants and a mid weight jacket or a warm sweatshirt. A good sun hat will come in handy as well. 4 days was good but I could have stayed another day. We had plans to travel on from there though so couldn't stay longer (We were heading to Crater Lake, OR then on to Redwoods NP). If you are also going to hit Grand Tetons then I would definitely recommend a full week.

ETA - when you look at photos of the cabins in the Roosevelt area it shows wood stoves in the cabins. Those wood stoves are there for a reason - we lit ours every night.

 

[apnep]

My DS13 expressed that he would like to try a trip somewhere else for a change.

...Anyway, for now I'm curious how many days/nights one would recommend to visit this area (we'll definitely be on a modest budget).

...Also, how's the weather in Wyoming during the summer months?

We went two years ago to YNP and GTNP for a week's stay. We stayed in the park which I highly recommend doing. It's a great deal of driving and everything is spread out. We stayed in different areas of YNP park and spent one night in GTNP at Colter Bay. I still remember the pizza at Leek's in the at area. It was sooo tasty.

We went the second week of June and had winter and spring type weather. It was cold and snowy weather the first part of the week but by the end it was sunny and warm during the day. Nights were definitley cold.

I will tell you, that we were a party of 14. My brother's family of 5, our family of 5, my sister and her son, and my mom and DH's mom. All the kids had a fantastic time and look back SO fondly on that trip. My DSIL and I started planning the previous October for it. Your kids will LOVE it. It's an amazing place.

Good luck!

 

[jsmith]

My mother and in Laws live in Cody, Wyoming-i grew up there.
airports-you have several options depending on what you want to see and how much you want to spend, and how willing you are to fly on small aircraft.
Salt Lake city is the largest and will be the least expensive.Its about a 200 mile drive from Jackson, Wyoming and will bring you into Grand Teton Park and then Yellowstone. Jackson Hole and Cody Wyoming are the closest but will cost more in airfare and involve small aircraft. The Jackson airport is actually in Grand Teton Park. Cody is about 100 miles from the east entrance of Yellowstone. The fouth option is to fly to Billings Montana-its farther away and will not be cheaper than salt lake i dont think.
Plan to stay at least a week-and you still wont see everything. Jackson is expensive for lodging and food-like aspen and telluride it draws celebrities and is priced accordingly. Cody is more reasonable. if you travel thur cody plan to spend at least one day visiting the Buffalo Bill Historical Center complex-its definately worth the time. Both Jackson and Cody have nightly rodeos in the summer along with a number of ranches that do chuckwagon meals if you are unable to get reservations for the one in Yellowstone.
One of the things that Cowboy neglectied to mention-if you stay in the Old Faithful Inn-the historic Inn not the snow lodge or any of the newer construction it is-historic-rooms sleep two people and the shared bathrooms are down the hall. Its awesome-but you need to be prepared for that. The dining room in the Inn, if it is still the quality it was about 6 years ago is VERY good-you will need to make your dinner reservations when you book your rooms. It is not what would be considered budget. You can also stay in the historic lake lodge, and there are cabins at both mammoth and west thumb.
Weather-as a previous poster said tends to be all over the place. Elevations in the park are high and temps at night will be cool so you will want long sleeves. We never go home to visit with out jackets in the car even if its 90 when we leave home.

 

[kayrosek]

We spent 2 weeks camping in Yellowstone several years ago and diden't see nearly everything. It is a beutiful place but the weather can definatley be crazy. It was cold and rainy alot even in July. We also spent two days in Jackon Hole, camped in the KOA there in thier pre-set Teepees, which was a pretty neat experience. I remember a Wild West shoot out show near the city park in Jackson Hole being alot of fun (and free) but things are expensive in Jackson Hole. If you decide to fly into SLC consider spending a day or two there before driving to Yellowstone. There's lots of great free and inexpensive family freindly things to do there.

 

[Fyrefly]

A lot of good info has been given. For what it's worth, when we went we stayed at the Three Bears Lodge (I tried to do a hyperlink but half the link got starred out and I'm not sure why. Just google it! ) and drove in and did it all on our own. We had the most fantastic hearty breakfasts every day. It took two days to see a decent amount of the main route, with a lot of frequent stops at the hiking areas. Seek out geyers and mud pots. They are the best, and you don't see that sort of thing everywhere. I've been to enough parks I appreciate a pretty mountain/lake/etc. but the volcanic activity was something else for me. Really impressive.

Something else to keep in mind which I wish I would have known going, if you aren't really an outdoorsy going hiking type of person, you will get winded VERY easily. I see you're from SC, I'm from MD and I was getting tired going up single flights of stairs just because my body was not used to it, and I'm 22. And I'm a healthy weight, so is the rest of my family, we just aren't athletes. So be prepared to have the altitude kick your pants and plan extra time to take it easy if necessary. It was an interesting thing after being in high altitudes all vacation to get back home. The air seemed unnecessarily thick at that point!

 

[LeslieG]

I have been thinking of a trip next summer too. Isn't there a famous highway to the north of Yellowstone that makes a nice drive? Would flying into Billings, MT allow us to drive it in to the north entrance of the park?

If we started north of the park and drove through, stayed 2-3 nights within the park, exited to the south and stayed 2-3 nights in the Grand Teton area, would that be doable for about 5 or 6 days? It's hard for us to get away for a full week. We would have to fly home from an airport in the south I guess.

 

[cruisnfamily]

I just wanted to say that you should check out the forums on tripadvisor.com. I'm currently researching a trip to the grand canyon and somebody suggested their message boards and it's been really great! They have a lot of folks who are real experts on these areas and are sooo helpful!

 

[floridascgirl]

I'm making notes on all of this wonderful information...thanks to all.
I told my family of this trip idea last night and they thought it sounded great. The only snafu is we would probably have to take it in lieu of our annual Disney trip.

Feel free to keep posting your input...I love gathering ideas!

 

[LeslieG]

Anybody ever visit in the winter? Our local AAA offers a trip in February every year, and it looks kind of neat.

 

[moopdog]

Kinda jumping on board here. I plan to go to WDW next year 2012 and then in 2014, take my family on a cross-country trip. We absolutely plan on Yellowstone being our highlight, so this info is awesome. I am planning on 3 weeks for our whole trip, which should include Mt. Rushmore, Grand Canyon, and YNP. I don't know if or how it will work out, but that's the basic idea so far. I have 3+ years to plan! None of us has ever been on the other side of the Mississippi!

 

[smokymtns]

You should try to take the Bear Tooth Pass out of Red Lodge Montana into the park or out of the park if that is the only way that works. It is very pretty and scenic. We took the trip two summers ago and have been that way a couple times now. I would spend at least 3 full days in Yellowstone if you could. We had breakfast at Old Faithful Lodge on morning. Very cool place try to have one meal there if possible. We stayed in West Yellowstone at a campground but not the KOA since it was so expensive and I think booked up if I remember right. Do some hiking even if it is just getting out at a few of the many board walks or easy walks. The falls are beautiful and worth any hike necessary to see them. There is lots to see and explore in Yellowstone even if you are not a big hiker. It is a very busy park especially in the summer so bring your patience when traveling from one part of the part to the other. I am sure you could take the trip this summer no problems as we decided last minute (a week or two) before heading out. Not all trips have to be planned down to the nano second. I would also check the Tetons, Cody, WY for the rodeo and museum there. There is also a dam outside of Cody that I can't think of at the moment that is very cool and a scenic drive from the park to Cody. Yellowstone is probably my second favorite National Park only to the Great Smoky Mountains. Both are a national treasure that everybody should see at least once if not more than once.

 

[KeriWDE]

My husband and I went in 1999 with his parents and younger brother. We rented a condo in Jackson for roughly $1500 for the week. When you break down that it was for 5 adults and for 7 nights, that was pretty darn cheap. We priced hotels and they would have been double. Call a local realtor and ask for vacation rentals. I don't remember the name of the condos, possibly changed names since anyway, but we walked out on our back patio and there were the Tetons.

WOW.

We flew from Atlanta to Salt Lake and then to Idaho Falls. We rented a minivan and drove over to Jackson. It was pretty reasonable. (We used frequent flier miles though.) You might be surprised, but sometimes the smaller airports are cheaper flying into and out of than the larger ones. They receive federal subsidies (stupid). We flew Delta, I think.

I second everything the others have said about the must-see things.

We went the last week of August. We live in Alabama and it was 95+ when we left. We felt like idiots taking winter coats, but we wore them every morning and evening. We wore jeans and long sleeves most days, only a few days did we wear short sleeves.

It was a wonderful trip. The husband and I are wanting to go again sometime.

Take a camera. Keep your battery charged. And have plenty of memory on the card(s). You'll take more pictures than you ever would at WDW. When we went, I still used film. I took 15 rolls of film in a week's time. Several shots won me some prize money too.