Mini trip report from Yellowstone. Returned 2 weeks ago. It was beautiful and we saw so much. We stayed at 3 different places: Mammoth Hot Springs Frontier Cabin 1 night, Old Faithful Snow Lodge Frontier cabin 2 nights and Canyon Lodge Western Cabin 2 nights.
We flew into Bozeman on Sunday, shopped for groceries at Winco and picked up 2 foam coolers. We bought stuff for breakfast & lunches plus some snacks. Had late lunch/early dinner then drove to Mammoth Hot Springs. Cabin was nice, small but cozy. Chose all cabins for price and private bath. This one was not fancy but clean. No coffee maker, no internet, bathroom with a small shower, sink outside bathroom so one person could shower, another could use sink to get ready. Drove through upper Hot Springs area, had ice cream & a little Internet) at the Grill saw a herd of elk then bed.
In the morning we saw more hot springs then just stuck to the Grand Loop drive. No internet, no GPS. Best $ I spent for the whole trip was the GuideAlong tour for Yellowstone & Grand Tetons. $30 (used UR in portal) and the app was able to tell where we were and best things to see/do as we drove along. I often couldn't tell where on the map we were, so frequently just followed the app and took any recommended detours/drives. Huge traffic jam approaching the Old Faithful area. Finally got to the hotel area but the traffic was nuts and it's all one way so if you passed where you needed to be you had to go out and back around. The Snow Lodge cabins were our least favorite. It was hard to find, behind the gas station, maintenance area and gift shop with gravel drive and tons of pot holes. Looked more maintenance area than guest area plus we were given incorrect info from the front desk at check-in so had trouble getting to our cabin. Cabin was low ceiling, very narrow. Beds were listed queen but were full (I have a queen at home) and were against the wall so one person had to climb out the end or over the other person to get in/out. There was a table and coffee maker here which was a bonus. 2 nights here exploring the area and covered more ground than expected so decided to take the opportunity to see Grand Tetons as well.
Grand Tetons were beautiful, postcard stunning. Used the GuideAlong app for this as well. Just drove straight down to Jackson and back. Hit lots of traffic and construction in Jackson so by the time we headed back north it was raining and close to 7 pm. We made it back before dark but everything was closed so we had difficulty finding ice for the cooler. The next morning my son opened the door to a bison strolling by so that was pretty cool.
Headed next to Canyon Lodge. Huge line for check-in but they moved pretty quickly. This is a huge resort with lots of building and cabins. Much more modern and had internet, multiple options for food and large cabins. The cabin was the only one with a tub, windows with a wooded view, Internet!, a table and chairs, coffee maker, dresser. It was our favorite but also 2x the price of the others. The canyon was lovely, we saw a brown bear twice, deer, elk, marmots. Used the GuideAlong app again to Lamar Valley and back. Saw a herd of bison with lots of calves and a grizzly (mostly just the butt because there was a ranger making sure no one stopped and got out of their car.) Ate at the restaurant on site for dinner and breakfast the next day. By this time we were out of breakfast food anyway. We ate 2 meals a day from groceries we purchased and 1 meal out until Friday. On Friday we packed up and headed towards Lamar Valley again, the towards Mammoth Hot Springs hoping to drive Blacktail Plateau trail but it was closed. We ended up spending a bit more time at Mammoth Spring before heading out to Bozeman. Stayed overnight in Bozeman and flew home Saturday.
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