Yellowstone and Grand Tetons

Looking to make a trip to Yellowstone and Grand Tetons in the fall of 2015. Probably will stay most of the time in the parks. Recommendations on what and were we fly into and out of and places/durations to stay. Won't be doing any long hikes, just short hikes. We are thinking probably about 8-9 days total.

Great trip

We flew out of Nashville into Salt Lake City on Southwest. That is the only airport even remotely close that offered a somewhat reasonable fare. As I recall the drive to the Yellowstone area was about five hours. We stayed in the area one week, which we felt was adequate.

You can fly into Jackson, WY, or W. Yellowstone, but the cheapest way is into SLC, get a car and drive the 5 or so hours. Accommodations inside the parks are either very expensive, or very rustic. Or some of both. You can camp, but reservations are essential. I'd suggest timeshares outside the parks. There's a Worldmark in West, a couple in Jackson, and Island Park, ID, 20 miles out of West. Maybe stay 1 or 2 nights at Old Faithful Inn, or Jackson Lake to get the feel of the places. There are tons of 1 to 3 mile day hikes you can take. There are good guidebooks, and online info you can chase down. The season ends at Labor Day and the parks start shutting down, so 'fall' happens early at 8,000 feet.

Jim

Or you can fly into Bozeman, Montana, and drive down to either the North or West entrances to Yellowstone. Nice drive, not too far, and the roads are good.

Dave

We just hiked Jenny Lake in Grand Teton National Forest last year. I'd recommend that hike as it is a very beautiful and easy hike for kids (also nice for just adults too). Also would recommend an evening at the Bar J Wrangers for the chuckwagon dinner if staying near Jackson Hole. River rafting and the rodeo are also very fun at Jackson Hole. We stayed in Victor, Idaho at the Teton Springs Lodge and Spa in a beautiful cabin. This resort is very nice but probably a little too far away to really enjoy Yellowstone National Park. It is an OK drive to Jackson Hole but still a bit of a drive over a mountain pass. I'd recommend staying in different places during your stay starting on one side of Yellowstone and then on the other. Definitely recommend SLC as the most economical flight to the area. Island Park and Jackson Hole both have timeshares that will be more rustic than luxury, but you probably don't want to spend a full 7 days in one spot in order to better see all of Yellowstone.

We flew into Jackson, very convenient, rented a car and stayed at various places in the park.

It saved us from long drives in and out of the park each day and we spend much more time exploring the park it self.

There is lodging in all the areas of interest and If I go back this is the way we'll do it. Ressies fill up quickly so you must plan ahead.

We spent the last night in a motel in Jackson and with a very short drive to the airport, left the next morning.

I don't find staying in TSs ideal for visiting this park.

We got a good fare to Boise, Idaho. The drive to West Yellowstone was about 4 hours.

PStreet1 said:

We got a good fare to Boise, Idaho. The drive to West Yellowstone was about 4 hours.

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Driving what? It's 365 miles by the shortest (2 lane) route.

How is the drive from Idaho Falls to West Yellowstone and the drive from Jackson Hole to Idaho Falls?

They're both nice easy drives. To West is 95 miles relatively straight. There is a pass over to Jackson, 90 miles, but both are good, all season US highway.

Which would you do first, Tetons or Yellowstone?

Flip a coin. I prefer Yellowstone, but both places are darn special. I am at Island Park right now, spent the last 2 days in Yellowstone- as we do every year, and won't be going to Jackson. But that's just our preference.

Island Park

We stayed at Island Park in a timeshare for one week. We did a lot of driving but did see the area, including Grand Tetons.

Just returned from Yellowstone

We just returned from an 8 day stay in the Yellowstone area. We took US Air/American Airlines into Salt Lake City then drove to Big Sky. We did the same for our trip back. Hubby chose to land in SLC because it was almost $1000 cheaper for us (family of 5) than flying into Bozeman. I agree with the previous post that it took us about 5 hours to get into the Yellowstone area. Big Sky was another 45 minute or so drive longer. The drive from SLC was very scenic. It was basically a straight shot with speed limits ranging from 55 up to 80 mph in most spots. We are going back next summer. I told hubby we will be paying the extra money and flying into Bozeman instead. No matter where you go in the area, it seems like everything is quite a drive. We did the upper and lower loop of the park. The Tetons were another 2 1/2 hour drive from us. The area is beautiful, however, with all the driving and other beautiful areas to see, I wouldn't do it again. We did drive the Beartooth Scenic Highway. (Loved that, and yes it was quite a drive too.) Have a great trip.

I actually prefer Grand Teton National Park over Yellowstone. It is not as crowded, and the scenery is just spectacular...far grander than anything in Yellowstone. In addition, the town of Jackson is by far the most fun town in the region. It has great dining, shopping, and galleries, along with a diverse array of outdoor attractions. I have been vacationing there since I was 11, and it is a favorite place.

Yellowstone is very interesting and well worth several days to explore. If you want to see everything, then be prepared for a lot of slow driving on winding mountain roads. The town with the most convenient access outside of the park is West Yellowstone. Within the park, the Lake Hotel is by far the nicest and most up to date. It is very expensive, however. The Old Faithful Inn is a classic and should not be missed, at least for a drop in visit and possibly lunch or dinner.

I prefer staying a week in Jackson Hole, followed by a couple of nights in Yellowstone or West Yellowstone. Some might prefer the reverse (a week in Yellowstone and a couple of nights in Jackson Hole). You really do need to stay in more than one location to do this area justice. It is one of the most beautiful and unspoiled areas in the United States.

Steve

Passepartout said:

Driving what? It's 365 miles by the shortest (2 lane) route.

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Perhaps it was more than 4 hours driving???? We didn't get any speeding tickets, so I guess it was a case of "time flies when you're having fun." I know we arrived before check-in time at the Worldmark there, but don't remember when we left Boise, seems like 9:00 am or so because we stopped at Whole Foods before we left Boise, and they hadn't been open long, but maybe they open early.

We visited last August, flew into SLC and took a hire car to a little town called Driggs in Idaho, the other side of the mountain pass from Jackson. We rented a fantastic house from VBRO and used that as our base. Everyday we drove the 45 minutes or so to Jackson and then through Grand Teton NP and on into Yellowstone. We did spend one night in some awful expensive hotel in West Yellowstone, a complete rip off and cynical abuse of the supply and demand situation and one that put me off West Yellowstone completely but it did mean that it was a short drive to the park entrance and we were able to spend longer in the park.

Yellowstone is fascinating with all the geothermal features whilst Grand Teton is spectacular with its grandness, two very different parks in my opinion.

We did have lunch at the Old Faithful Inn, it was nothing special and it was pretty much a conveyor belt of seating people, rushing through their meals and turfing them out for the next customer. Not a particularly pleasurable eating experience and one that I wouldn't recommend.

If we were to return I would certainly repeat the house rental route.

We just did this trip this June.

We flew into round trip into JAC, stayed at the Jacskon Hole Racquet Club (RCI timeshare exchange). Drove all over the park. We found staying at the timeshare to be very convenient as the Mosse-Wilson Rd is right in front of the timeshare complex and we preferred driving that over the 191 route thru Jackson town.

We then drove to Island Park over the Teton Pass, stopping at the little visited southwest corner of Yellowstone Park along the way. It was an easy enjoyable drive both ways.

The drive into Yellowstone from Island Park was a breeze and didn't take long at all. It was much more convenient a location than Big Sky (which is where we stayed last year although I will say that overall we preferred the units at Big Sky but MUCH preferred the closer location of Island Park).

It's a great trip!

We just got back from this trip. We flew into SLC and explored Park City for a few days. Hiked everyday there and went to Olympic Village, Sundance, Bald Mountain and Mirror Lake. We then drove to Idaho Falls (4.5 hr.) and stayed overnight so that we would get into Grand Teton National Park early the next day. That was a 90 minute drive, through Jackson Hole. We stopped there for lunch on the way. We stayed at Jackson Lake Lodge for the next two nights. Wonderful hotel with great vistas. We absolutely loved the GT's for the majestic mountains, hikes and fun filled days. We also went on a float raft which was awesome. After two days in the park, we drove up to Yellowstone which was another 90 minute drive to get to Old Faithful. We stayed at the OF Inn for one night. We had originally planned 3 nights there but one night was sufficient. It's worth staying for one night only. It's very rustic but special. If you don't stay there, at least take the free tour of the Inn which is given 3-4 times per day. Anyone can go and it's only 45 minutes and gives a great history. After one night, we drove up to Gardiner, Montana which is only 5 miles outside of the north entrance of the park. We stayed at the Yellowstone Travelodge. The accommodations were good, they have laundry facilities and it's only 5 minutes to drive back into the park. We were able to explore the Canyon area, Lamar Valley, and Hayden area from the north entrance. We ended our stay with a night at Jackson Hole which is very special. We flew home from Jackson Hole. This was an outstanding trip and very memorable.