West Yellowstone, MT or Gardiner, MT

[StregaNona]

We are planning a trip to Yellowstone NP and are looking at staying in either West Yellowstone, MT or Gardiner, MT. Any suggestions on where to stay in either town? Thank you.

 

[nzdisneymom]

We are planning a trip to Yellowstone NP and are looking at staying in either West Yellowstone, MT or Gardiner, MT. Any suggestions on where to stay in either town? Thank you.

I can't make a recommendation but wanted to say we're going to YNP this summer and are so excited! We're actually staying at the Old Faithful Lodge cabins. We love Wilderness Lodge and were hoping to stay at the OFInn but were not able to book it for when we'd be there.

Will you be flying or driving out?

 

[StregaNona]

We are flying out to Idaho where husband has a business meeting. Relatively speaking I know it is last minute. All the park lodges are booked while we are there. We are also thinking of spending a night or two near Jackson, WY, but are not sure whee to stay.

 

[mrsklamc]

Try posting on the American West Board or Community Board, the PR person for Yellowstone is around here on the dis...

 

[michelleh1]

I personally haven't been, but I was listening to a travel show a few weeks ago and they were talking about Yellowstone. They were saying that West Yellowstone is the best place to stay because you are closest to the park. Also, it's closer to some of the major attractions than other entries.

Have you looked at a map yet? It might help if you know what your top 'to-do' items are and then try to stay close to those.

 

[Dsnymouse]

Streganona - This is a dream trip of ours and I've been doing research for awhile. We were looking to stay in Cody more so than Jackson Hole. Don't know what your budget is, Wyoming Inn of Jackson Hole Resort looks amazing.
Try Yellowstone Inn (in West Yellowstone). We have not stayed here but have checked out review on them. Enjoy!

 

[taylorcpa]

We have stayed twice at the Best Western Desert Inn in West Yellowstone and at the Best Western in Gardiner (and at the Best Western in Jackson). Keep in mind this was is 1999 and 2001 and that we were looking for a cheap place to stay. They were all clean and we got a good nights sleep. We had no complaints but they were not luxury accomodations by any means. Enjoy your trip!

 

[DizneyDogs]

We always stay in West Yellowstone and go to Yellowstone every year or at least every other year - it's a fun town with lots of shopping too - also Jackson Hole and Grand Teton National Park is a must do for us as well

 

[merekc]

We stayed in Gardiner, MT several years ago. Can't remember what hotel but I'm sure it would have been Choice Hotels brand (due to rewards program we tend to stay in their brands). It doesn't stand out to me as having any problems but I remember the staff was very helpful.

As far as its location to the park. It couldn't be any closer. We were in the park within minutes and we were at Mammoth Springs very quickly.

I remember we ate at a steak restaurant (Something The Mine) recommended by hotel. Our meal was good. And it had a nice gift shop attached with some good quality jewelry.

We loved Yellowstone. We were trying to figure out when we could return before we even left.

P.S. Watch your food purchases in the small towns around there. We bought bottled pop from a convenience store in Cooke City. We got on the road and DH's tasted bad. We checked the date and it was 4 months out of date. We checked all the bottles and the oldest bottle we had was 7 months out of date. Yuck!

 

[melancholywings]

I grew up in West Yellowstone so that's my vote!

I think it's one of the more touristy gates to the park and offers more entertainment. There is the Playmobil (a musical theater), Grizzly Park (see wolves and feed bears), plus a lot of historical buildings. It has been awhile since I've been back home. So I hope all these places are still around: I would recommend getting ice cream at the Arrowleaf (so yummy), eating at the 3 Bears Lodge, and visiting all the shops along main street. Some of them are very old and owned by the original families.

For camping the KOA in the area is really nice, and they have cabins and a pool. Or you can go into the park and wade at Firehole. A lot of the restaurants in the area also do box lunches. So that you can take lunch into the park with you. You can always call the chamber of commerce if you need help picking a motel or want to know what events are going on.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

With the size of Yellowstone, I'd consider staying somewhere different every day.

 

[jsmith]

I grew up in Cody, Wyoming and lived for a while in Jackson. You will need more than one place to stay-if you are coming from the Idaho side West Yellowstone is a good place to start but you will also need another stopping point-probably in Jackson if you are going to fly home from Boise or Pocatello. While distances in the park are not huge by standards in the west travel is very slow-its a 35 MPH speed limit and animal jams slow it further. It can be a very long days travel from West to either Cody or Jackson espcially if you stop and hike or anything much. There is also lodging just outside the east gate before you get to Cody. Lots of good places to stay in both Cody or Jackson but you need to book ASAP and are probably out of luck for 4th of july week .

 

[lindsey]

My guess would be West Yellowstone if you have a short amount of time. I think it would be easier to get to Old Faithful, and some of the other areas, including Grand Tetons. If you plan for a week, then you might could stay other places. We stayed 3 nights in Jackson Hole, which was a great tourist area and from there we went to Old Faithful one day, Grand Tetons one day, and then we drove all the way to Gardner, which is an all day drive from Jackson Hole. We were able to make lots of stops on the way. Then we moved from Gardner to Mammoth Hot Springs, which is only about 30 minutes away, and spent the day and night at Mammoth Hot Springs, including a tour on one of the yellow busses. Then the next day, we left Mammoth Hot Springs, and drove past West Yellowstone to somewhere in Idaho for the night. We loved the whole trip and do want to go back.

I highly recommend a book called "Insiders' Guide - Scenic Driving - Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks" by Susan Srpinger Butler. I bought it on Amazon, and was a wonderful guide book.

 

[DisLis]

The West Yellowstone KOA is my recommendation if you are camping. The facilities within the park are just basic. The KOA is conveniently located and has a huge indoor pool. We enjoyed their very reasonable breakfast on the way out in the morning and ice cream when we returned.
When you are entering the park, ask the ranger where the buffalo are. They were very accurate at directing us and we were encompassed in herds several times. Definitely a highlight. Always ask the rangers where to go and enroll the kids in the Junior Ranger program.
Yellowstone is incredible!

 

[duffy]

With the size of Yellowstone, I'd consider staying somewhere different every day.

I agree-a bit. We stayed in Yellowstone almost exactly a year ago-end of May, beginning of June. Some roads were still closed because of snow for the start of our trip!

We stayed at a timeshare, it was an exchange, so it was only a few hundred dollars. We agreed that staying a FEW nights in different areas would have been great. Maybe 2 nights in the southern end, then a few nights in the eastern section, etc.

Enjoy your trip, and remember to drive slowly, especially at night. Bison don't have reflective lights, and it would be awful to drive around a corner and head into a bison herd on the road.

 

[Carina]

We stayed in the cabins at the Grizzly RV Park in West Yellowstone.

The cabins were immaculate and soooo cute. The whole park was in pristine condition.

The cabins come in 3 levels
-no bathroom
-bathroom but no kitchenette (this is the level we stayed in)
-bathroom and kitchenette

The rate was WAY WAY lower than hotel rooms and much nicer (based on tripadvisor traveler photos) but they do not come with bedding/linens

West Yellowstone was a great exit/entrance to the park and in fact we saw more wildlife on the road that connected West Yellowstone to the main loop than we did anywhere else.

I would go back in a heartbeat!

 

[HHSTigerFan]

For a family of 4, and generally speaking with an average hotel, whats it going to cost to spend a week at Yellowstone? Think this is going to be our 2013 summer trip..

 

[StregaNona]

Thank you for all the replies and suggestions. We will probably only have two or three days to sight see Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. I know that isn't much, but a few days is better than no days there .

We're hoping some friends who live in Idaho will be our tour guide as they go to the parks often. However, they don't usually spend nights there.

Has anyone ever stayed at the Kelly Inn? I've been reading trip advisor reports for West Yellowstone lodging. I've eliminated ones that are pet friendly (I have bad allergies to cats and dogs), have small bathrooms, mad musty reviews, etc. We are not campers.

I wished Old Faithful Lodge was available since we do enjoy Disney's Wilderness Lodge, but it is not available.

Thank you for the comment about watching the expiration date on food and drink.

 

[Mkebound]

We did this trip last summer.

Flew into Jackson Hole and stayed at the Homewood Suites. I though the rooms were a bit small compared to other Homewoods I've stayed at, but it was a nice hotel.

We then drove through the park and spent a night in Gardiner and stayed at the Super 8. My 7 year old said "This Super 8 isn't so Super" Definitely a subpar hotel that I would not recommend.

We then drove back though the park and spend more nights at the Homewood.

 

[Mkebound]

Thank you for all the replies and suggestions. We will probably only have two or three days to sight see Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. I know that isn't much, but a few days is better than no days there .

We're hoping some friends who live in Idaho will be our tour guide as they go to the parks often. However, they don't usually spend nights there.

Has anyone ever stayed at the Kelly Inn? I've been reading trip advisor reports for West Yellowstone lodging. I've eliminated ones that are pet friendly (I have bad allergies to cats and dogs), have small bathrooms, mad musty reviews, etc. We are not campers.

I wished Old Faithful Lodge was available since we do enjoy Disney's Wilderness Lodge, but it is not available.

Thank you for the comment about watching the expiration date on food and drink.

Double check when the cancellation date is for the dates you want to go. If I remember correctly, reservations for the lodges fill up a year in advance, but people's plans change and they can cancel. I'd suggest you figure out when people might be canecelling for dates you want to be there and start calling a lot around those days. You might get lucky!