# Need Yellowstone National Park/Jackson, WY Advice



## MULTIZ321 (Jun 19, 2012)

I'm going to be attending a 2-day conference in Jackson, WY September 6th and 7th, 2012.  My wife and I fly in to Jackson on the 5th and arrive about 6:30pm Mountain Time.

We will probably spend Friday night (9/7) in Jackson - check out of the resort on 9/8 and head for Yellowstone National Park, which neither of us have ever seen.

I've been checking the website for Yellowstone National Park lodging and the most availability is 2 days.  Could stay one night at some of the other locations.  Is is worth it to spend the extra money and stay in the Park as opposed to driving to West Yellowstone, MT and staying in a West Yellowstone Hotel and driving back and forth every day?

We're flying back home early Wed morning (9/12) out of Jackson - so probably will stay in Jackson the night of the 11th.  I'm not sure if we have enough time to do both Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park.  Am open for suggested itineraries.

Thanks for any help in planning this trip.

Richard


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## spencersmama (Jun 19, 2012)

I visited Yellowstone as part of our vacation last year.  I would highly recommend staying in the park if you are only there a couple nights.  We stayed in the Snow lodge 2 nights and saw the whole park in 2 days, plus the first evening, but we started the full days by 8 am and went until dinner.  (We did the Old Faithful area near the hotel the first evening.) Those full 2 days included stopping at pretty much all of the stopping places, walking along the trails to see the sights, but not doing any extra off-trail hiking.  Yellowstone is shaped like a figure 8, you will be coming up form the bottom of the figure 8 from Jackson.  On our 2 day tour, I did the left side of the park on the first day, and the right side the second day, and stayed right outside the NE entrance.  

Here is a good website that I used to help plan my time there. I didn't use the plan exactly, but it was a good guide.  Figure driving at about 40 miles per hour of you are planning your own itinerary.  If I had to do it again, I'd probably get a room in different areas in the park so that I didn't have to backtrack.  
http://www.yellowstoneinsider.com/plans/touring/suggested-2-day-tour.php
That is the 2 day itinerary, but they have other itineraries for different lengths of stay.  The park is so diverse, it is really a national treasure.  

The biggest advantage to staying in the park is that we got an early start before a lot of the other people were in the park.  It's not disney world crazy, but there were a few places that parking was a little difficult, mostly because of RV's that sort of blocked the roadway.  And, I really enjoyed walking to Old Faithful in the evening and right after dawn when there was practically no one there.  It probably won't be as crowded when you are there in Sept as when I was there in July.  

The one caveat I have heard about driving in Yellowstone is to make sure you are off the road before dark because of few lights and all the wild animals.  And make sure you bring a jacket!  I got so cold, even in July, that I bought a jacket in the park. (And I rarely wear a jacket here in Florida, even in the winter.)   

Also, I loved the tram in Jackson.  Great eye level views of the Tetons.  The have discount coupons online that I printed out and brought with me.


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## Passepartout (Jun 19, 2012)

Richard, you will have time to do a cursory overview of both YNP and Grand Teton. Not in great depth, as the parks are HUGE. Only 3% of Yellowstone can be seen from any road. The speed limit through GT and YNP is 45 mph, so it takes longer to get anywhere than you think. It's 150 miles one way from Jackson to West (as it's called). September is beautiful there. Expect frost in the mornings and to scrape it off windows. It might snow. Animals will be on the move, and there are always traffic jams when animals are seen. That's human nature. Fishing on the Gros Ventre (say:Grovaunt) should be good with river levels low and the trouts laying on fat for the winter if you are into such things.

If possible, DO stay in the park. The grand old hotels hewn from giant trees and local stone are a sight to see. I think Makai Guy has a photo journal of YNP that is very good- check his sig.

We will be there at Island Park Village with the eldest SIL and his kiddos who have never seen the park in July. I will enjoy a little fly-rod time on the Henry's Fork. As you may be aware of, we live about 5 hours from there. YNP and GT are something every American- well- AND everybody else should see at least once.

I'll post more if I think of something that may interest you.

Jim


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## scrapngen (Jun 19, 2012)

I'd definitely stay inside the park if you'll only be there for a few days. You will have beautiful evenings as the day visitors leave, and as others have said, the ability to get to where you want to go early in the day. You often will not be able to go the speed limit due to animals, traffic or both. NIght driving is scary as the elk and other animals cannot be seen, the roads wind quite a bit in some cases through canyons, and it is pitch black, except for your headlights, in many areas.  

The extra time in the park is well worth the lesser accommodations of the cabins, or more expense of the hotels. You'll be spending most of your time away from your room anyway!! 

Gotta get back there again! One visit is not enough, and we spent a week staying at various cabins around the park. .


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## chellej (Jun 20, 2012)

Richard

I would definitely stay in the park...I love the old faithful inn...it is old and rattles but is so historic....love the big fireplace.

The hotel at Lake yellowstone is one of the nicer accomodations in the park but I would be tempted to stay at canyons.  The grand canyon at yeallowstone is my favorite area of the park and not to be missed.
[link removed at owner's request]

There are also several accomdations down in Teton Park that are very nice as well.

When we lived up there we had a friend come from vermont and we went from Blackfoot Idaho, up through old faithful, canyon down through the south entrance, through teton park to jackson and back to pocatello in time for a concert that night.  We did manage to see the high points just couldn't stay too long in one spot.  So in two days, you can get a nice overview of the park.


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## MULTIZ321 (Jun 20, 2012)

Thanks all for the great advice and links. We've decided to stay in YNP for that part of our visit.

At the moment there is availability at the Canyon Lodge for Saturday, September 8th and Grant Village Lodge Sunday, September 9th.

So far no availability is showing up for Monday, September 10th.  So if there is not a cancellation for the 10th, would it be reasonable to try to get a hotel reservation in "West" ? (thanks Jim for the update on local terminology). Plan to return to Jackson on Tuesday, Sept 11th.

I'm still unclear on the best itinerary to plan to see the major sites and avoid as much backtracking as possible.

Also, what time can we expect it to get dark in Sept? Thanks for the fishing tips Jim but alas, no fishing this trip.

Richard


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## PStreet1 (Jun 20, 2012)

You'll note from the map of the road through the park that it is a long oval.  You'll save yourself valuable driving time if you stay the first night at the south end and the second night at the north end.  That way, you can see Old Faithful and the lake after you get there from Jackson.  There is a fairly late ranger talk at Old Faithful, so if you do that one, you'll have the afternoon to see the lake and do a ranger talk there.

Then the next morning, you can drive up the east side of the oval and stop for animals/sights/ranger talks on the way.  We found that by starting early, we had time to stop for all major spots and do ranger talks at each, and we had several fairly major animal sightings on the way.  We arrived at *Mammoth *  (whoops--originally wrote Grants) about 5:30-6:00, in time to eat there.

The next morning, we were up early and drove the west side of the oval.  We, again, had time for ranger talks at each opportunity.

While that certainly doesn't "do" Yellowstone, you will have seen all the major sights, and if you do the ranger talks, you'll know a lot.  The official Yellowstone website lists times for Ranger Talks at major stops so you can plan your time.  We bought a slim, tall red book (maybe 7 by 5 inches) that gave information about the park literally mile by mile on the drive around the loop.  It was very helpful and it was available in the gift shop.  I know we saw things we would have missed without it----but I don't remember its name.  

You could then return to Jackson, stopping at sights on the way.


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## Passepartout (Jun 20, 2012)

The road to West is between Yellowstone Canyon and West Thumb where Grant Village is. You will do a bit of backtracking unless you go around the whole E. side of the oval loop of the park- a long drive! I know there is a temptation to try to see as much as possible, but I'd like to encourage you to get out of the car and walk to some of the geyser basins (I like Norris) and see it as it is meant to be seen. I am partial to the whole W. and S. sides from West to Grand Teton and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Even if you are backtracking, the views are different the opposite direction.

The lodges where you have booked are hardly plush, but that's not why you are there anyway. West Yellowstone is sort of the anti-Jackson, but if you wear your new-bought well crushed cowboy hat they'll understand.

Sunset Sept 10 will be 7:44 p.m. MDT.

Jim


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## PStreet1 (Jun 20, 2012)

I highly recommend the ranger talks.  (Note:  I corrected my original post.  We drove the east side and spent the night at Mammoth--not Grants.  The next day we drove the west side, from Mammoth to Old Faithful.  BIG DIFFERENCE!)

List of Ranger Programs by Site:  http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/rangerprog.htm

Complete List of Ranger Programs with time schedule  http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/upload/YellRangerProg2012.pdf


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## MULTIZ321 (Jun 20, 2012)

Wow!

Tuggers are the best!  Thanks for the great info and links.

Is Verizon cell phone service spotty in the parks?

Richard


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## Passepartout (Jun 20, 2012)

I don't know about Verizon- I use AT&T. But I'll go out on a limb and surmise that given the millions of annual visitors who all tote mobiles that cell service at least in the major areas will be pretty dependable. The carriers wouldn't want their customers griping about bad service and threatening to change carriers. I have seen cell towers in view of roads camouflaged to look like trees. 

I'll check it out with my carrier when I'm there in July and report back.

Jim


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## scrapngen (Jun 21, 2012)

MULTIZ321 said:


> Wow!
> 
> Tuggers are the best!  Thanks for the great info and links.
> 
> ...



We stayed in Yellowstone 2 years ago when my mother got very ill and went to the hospital. (one of many times, so while we knew it was bad, didn't seem worse than any other time) It was my sister and I traveling with my 2 DD's. I had verizon - not sure what she had. We were trying to stay in contact with my flaky sister who was in charge of my mom in New Mexico. 

Service was better in some places, worse in others. I think we were mainly staying at Canyon Village as we found out things were rapidly worsening. Reception was spotty, although at night I could get through by standing outside my cabin on the road. Didn't seem better at the shops area. I think we did ok at the Old Faithful part of the park. Most of the roads between main areas had no reception at all. I don't remember trying much at Mammoth and think the NorthEast corner was hopeless. Again this was a couple years ago - but we really needed to be getting updates so were trying our cells all the time. I think my verizon did better than whatever service she had, but don't remember what that was.


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## Passepartout (Jul 30, 2012)

MULTIZ321 said:


> Wow!
> 
> Tuggers are the best!  Thanks for the great info and links.
> 
> ...



Still can't speak to Verizon, but now that we are back home, I can say that cell service inside Yellowstone is extremely spotty at best. We could occasionally make a voice call when near a major center. Like Old Faithful, Canyon, or Mammoth- but data was non-existent and texts either took hours to complete or failed completely. In West Yellowstone and Island Park we had 4G (AT&T) service and used a phone as a router to access our digital life.

Jim


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## MULTIZ321 (Jul 30, 2012)

Passepartout said:


> Still can't speak to Verizon, but now that we are back home, I can say that cell service inside Yellowstone is extremely spotty at best. We could occasionally make a voice call when near a major center. Like Old Faithful, Canyon, or Mammoth- but data was non-existent and texts either took hours to complete or failed completely. In West Yellowstone and Island Park we had 4G (AT&T) service and used a phone as a router to access our digital life.
> 
> Jim



Thanks Jim.

I'll know to have my maps and park info printed out beforehand.


Richard


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## Passepartout (Jul 30, 2012)

You get a great map and newsprint guide to the attractions as well as to Ranger Talk times and locations when you enter either of the parks. $25 gets your carload in for a week to both parks, or if you or anyone in your group is 62 or older, get a $10 lifetime pass to EVERY National park and a lot of State and even some city recreational facilities. You can get the lifetime pass ahead of time at any park office nationwide then use the express lane into YNP or GT.

Jim


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## Laurie (Aug 2, 2012)

Passepartout said:


> I know there is a temptation to try to see as much as possible, but I'd like to encourage you to get out of the car and walk to some of the geyser basins (I like Norris) and see it as it is meant to be seen.  I am partial to the whole W. and S. sides from West to Grand Teton and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.



Agreed. With so little time, I'd walk as many of the geothermal boardwalks as possible... (loved Upper Norris... and West Thumb... and Grand Prismatic ... and gee, every single one we saw, which was most of them). And I'd walk down to the lower falls at Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and back up. 

Grand Tetons is beautiful but given the choice, I'd spend every possible moment at Yellowstone. We spent a whole week at Yellowstone (based at timeshare near), then another in Jackson, and still couldn't see everything, even after using one of our Jackson days to go back to Yellowstone. Personally I wouldn't even do the ranger talks w/so little time, but that's just me. 

In July, we stayed out til past dark every evening - the geyser steam is gorgeous even in pitch dark! (Just had to really slow down the driving.)

I can't wait to return, even after having had 2 full weeks in the area, it's about the most amazing place I've ever seen (only equaled by huge live volcanic eruptions in Hawaii). I bet you'll feel the same way, so you might want to start checking dates for a future trip!!


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## stonebroke (Aug 2, 2012)

*West Yellowstone worked for us.*

We visited Yellowstone for three nights in September 2011.  Our plan originally was to stay in the park but our plans didn't come together as quickly as we planned so there was no availability in the park lodging on the first two nights we planned to be there so we made reservations in West Yellowstone.   The third night was in Mammouth.  But I realized that I am glad we didn't end up staying in Mammouth for the the first two nights.  It is too far out of the way.  If you can stay at some of the lodging closer to the center then I would for the park but West Yellowstone was definitly less exspensive and had a lot more restaurants to choose from.

I liked Mammouth and in Sept the Elk were in Rutt and very abundantent...we were able to watch two bulls arguing over one cow (they didn't actually fight).  I found the buggling of the Elk throughout the night somewhat charming but I think it might bother some (it is noisy).  Mammouth is also an older facility so at least in the room we stayed in showers were down the hall and there was no A.C.  It was our last night in the park and we were heading out toward Cook City on the Beartooth Highway so not being centrally located worked good for that night.  It would also work out if you were heading north to Bozeman/Livingston.


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## Timeshare Von (Aug 2, 2012)

I thoroughly enjoyed the geothermal features in the park and yes, those are primarily on the south & west side of Yellowstone.

If however, you want to see bears, wolves and typically more bison and pronghorn, you'll need to get to the eastern & northeastern areas including Hayden Valley (east) and Lamar Valley (northeastern).  I should add as a PS here, that there are obviously no guarantees on the wildlife.  Also they can be seen anywhere!  A grizzly was photographed between Mammoth and Norris just this week, so they are out there.  It's just that the greatest concentration of bears (black and grizzly/brown) are between Mammoth and Hayden Valley, and up towards the NE entrance at Silver Gate as well as out towards Cody on the eastern entrance road.

Please note that there is road construction inside the park between Canyon and Tower (the eastern side of the "upper loop" road) so keep that in mind if you plan to go from Hayden Valley up to Lamar (through the Roosevelt Junction).

I had a great time there mid-July and hope you have an equally spectacular experience!


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## Timeshare Von (Aug 2, 2012)

RE:  Housing *IN* Yellowstone

Keep trying with Xanterra, their vendor for housing in the park.  They have a very liberal reservation & cancellation policy so their availability changes daily.  I was able to make my initial reservations (camping & lodging) and then add to it as the time came closer.  Ultimately, I got exactly what I wanted & needed!

You may have better luck by calling them, rather than using their online system.


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## Timeshare Von (Aug 5, 2012)

*Great Blog on Yellowstone*

This blog features a number of trip reports plus wildlife viewing tips.  It should be helpful to you if you're interested in looking for bears & wolves especially.


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## MULTIZ321 (Aug 5, 2012)

Timeshare Von said:


> This blog features a number of trip reports plus wildlife viewing tips.  It should be helpful to you if you're interested in looking for bears & wolves especially.



Yvonne,

Thanks for all the tips.

Richard


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## wcfr1 (Aug 5, 2012)

MULTIZ321 said:


> Wow!
> 
> Is Verizon cell phone service spotty in the parks?
> 
> Richard



I use Verizon and was there last summer.

Service only available if you were at spot that had lodging.

And yes, stay at a park lodging property. Dont even think about driving out each day.


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## Timeshare Von (Aug 6, 2012)

MULTIZ321 said:


> Yvonne,
> 
> Thanks for all the tips.
> 
> Richard



Happy to help Richard


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