# Going to Yellowstone and parts there about



## Cheapseater (May 11, 2010)

Driving out of Bozeman. Family with teenagers. June 2010. 

First question, which route do you recommend into Yellowstone ( 89 to Gardiner or 191/ 287 to West Yellowstone)? Can go either way so which do you recommend and why? Thanks! 

Next issue is which, if any, of the Yellowstone dining choices do you recommend? 

Next, do you have any recommendations for fishing? Should we get a guide or do it ourselves? Seem to be a ton of fly fishing but not to much reel/spin fishing noted. Any advice?

Finally, any thoughts for dining in Grand Teton National Park and/ or towns of Jackson and Wilson outside the park?
Thank you for the time and effort to post any advice that you may have.


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## wcfr1 (May 11, 2010)

Cheapseater said:


> Finally, any thoughts for dining in Grand Teton National Park and/ or towns of Jackson and Wilson outside the park?:



Was in Jackson with the family a couple months ago. 

I don't think you will find much inside Teton Park but plenty to choose from in Jackson. Most of the places we checked out were fairly pricey.  

Best place we found was the Mangey Moose at Teton Village.

Were doing a similiar trip (Big Sky to Yellowstone) in 2011. Let us know what yu find in the park.


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## Cheapseater (May 12, 2010)

*Will Do!*

Thank you. We are in the two parks for about 14 days. I will make a report when we arrive back! Thanks again for the recommendation.


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## Karen G (May 12, 2010)

We enjoyed a nice lunch at the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel dining room. It's in the northernmost area of Yellowstone. We saw the most animals in that area of the park.  We also ate in the cafeteria at Old Faithful Lodge and it was good there, too. Here is  Frommer's listing of some of the restaurants in and near the park. Check out lots more information on that website including their "best bets." There's a listing for a Jackson Hole restaurant.


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## Deb from NC (May 12, 2010)

One of my most memorable meals of all time was at Jackson Lake Lodge..it has big floor to ceiling windows overlooking the Tetons.  A storm came up with thunder and lightning as it got dark...the views were amazing!  The food was pretty good too     We stayed at Jackson Lake Lodge for 3 nights and loved it...one of our best trips ever..
Deb


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## DaveNV (May 12, 2010)

You're asking a number of questions, but there aren't really any wrong answers.  The entire area is worth exploring from all sides.

The Gardiner entrance puts you at the North end of the park.  Mammoth Hot Springs is amazing, as are the old park administration buildings in the area.  Lots to see there.  The route down and around the Upper Loop will show you a lot of great sites - geysers, animals, whatever.  Well worth the trip, and worth seeing regardless of how you enter the park.

The West Yellowtone entrance gets you closer to the "named" sites like Old Faithful a bit sooner, but shouldn't be used in place of the other entrances - they're all good.  From Madison Junction, heading North takes you past Gibbon Meadow, one of the larger open fields in the park, and that often has many animals to see.  We watched wolves hunting there one time.  Heading South takes you toward the Firehole River and the Old Faithful Lodge, which are two places not to be missed.

One restaurant we particularly remember was lunch at the Lake Yellowstone Hotel.  They served a smoked turkey/muenster cheese/paper-thin-sliced Granny Smith apple on sourdough bread grilled sandwich that was absolutely awesome.  

Jackson Hole has a lot of great things as well, as others have already said.  The Million Dollar Cowboy bar is worth visiting, if only to see what you can do with old saddles.  Probably one of our most favorite places to stop was the National Museum of Wildlife Art, just north of Jackson.  Well worth the visit.  http://www.wildlifeart.org/Art/

Enjoy your trip there.  No way you can see it all (although 14 days is a good amount of time) so plan on coming back sometime.  Seeing it in different seasons changes everything.

Dave


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## Iwant2gonow (May 14, 2010)

We had dinner at The Old Faithful Inn just to enjoy the ambiance.  The dining room is beautiful.  However the food was not great and I would not eat there again.  Having lunch would have satisfied my desire to enjoy the rustic charm and may have been a better choice for the food.  The dinner was a buffet and lunch was off a menu that looked interesting.
We packed a soft cooler in the car and snacked most of the day.  I remember at least one area having picnic tables overlooking water.  The food menus were not enticing inside the park.  There were a few good ice cream stores.
If the location that you are staying allows you to enter from two different directions that is what you probably should do.  Each day we entered from the west entrance since we stayed in Island Park.  So each day part of our drive in was a repeat.  Always plenty of wildlife so it was still interesting and so much to see.  But If I could easily start from another entrance that sounds like a good plan as to cover more area inside the park.
Hope this helps.  Enjoy!


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## wcfr1 (May 14, 2010)

Forgot to mention. As always be sure to check Restaurant.com for gift certificates in the area you are visiting. The special this week is 60% off. Use promo code INDULGE.

If you are not a member of Restaurant.com be sure to sign up for discounts. They are currently running a 60% off promotion but sometimes run 80% off discounts. Thats a $25 certificate for $2. So even if you buy a certificate and decide you dont want to eat there because it doesn't look good, you don't lose much.

Thats what happened when we went to Jackson. Spent $2 for a $25 certificate for Teton Steakhouse. Looked good on line but it was really a Sizzler type restaurant so we passed. Million dollar cowboy bar mentioned earlier currently has a gift certificate available.


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## Cheapseater (May 15, 2010)

*Room At The Inn!*

Just landed a room at Old Faithful Inn for our first night in the Park! Taking the advice of Tuggers and staying at the site.  The room is a "front side room" per the folks at Yellowstone. Don't know what kind of room it is so if you do, please advise. 
We are now overnighting 5 days in the YNP and 4 days in the GTNP with the remaining days at lodges close to the Park.
Please keep your ever-helpful advice coming. Still looking for fishing advice, dining thoughts and your favorite short or half day hikes.
THANKS TO ALL!:whoopie:


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## Greg G (May 18, 2010)

In Jackson Hole now until Saturday and will be staying in West Yellowstone for 4 days after that.
The first few days were nice, sunny, and warm (60s and 70s)and we took advantage of that by seeing quite a bit of Grand Teton NP.   The views are awesome, especially the Jenny Lake Lookout (frozen Jenny Lake with the Grand Tetons in the background), Oxbow bend turnout with Snake river and mountains in the background.   Saw a few bison and one moose but that was during the day (will try either early morning or late evening in the next few days).   The Grand Tetons are amazing especially along the Grand Teton Park Road being so close to them.  Jackson Lake Lodge opens May 21 so might stop there for lunch in the big window room (I assume they server lunch there too?)
Today will be scattered showers and partly sunny with the next few days dropping into the low 50s and high 40s with snow possible on Friday and Saturday.   Yellowstone weather does not look much better for next week (cold and cloudy/rainy/snowy) but will not let the weather stop us.

Greg


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## Greg G (May 18, 2010)

If the weather isn't too bad might try a Snake River scenic float to see wildlife

Greg


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## Greg G (May 18, 2010)

This morning it was raining but the sun was also partly out and a beautifull rainbow arched up into the mountains. Unfortunately I could only get a shot of it through a screen window at the time and it only lasted a few minutes.


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## Greg G (May 18, 2010)

*Checking Tires before going into Park*

One thing to remember is to check your tire pressure before taking off for a day of traveling through the park.  Normally I ignore doing this as I assume that the rental company has checked the tires before I get the car and if I did have a problem I would see a flat or severely low tire in the morning after the car has sat through the night.  Well we did have a low tire but it was not evident by looking at the tire.  Luckily our rental SUV had electronic tire pressure sensors and just as we were driving out of the resort the low tire pressure icon came on.   Sure enough there was a big screw in the left front tire.  We took it over to the Big Tires store and got it fixed within an hour.
While the car of course does have a spare I'm glad I didn't have to change the tire, especially somewhere in the park probably at the worst possible time.

Greg


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## Deb from NC (May 18, 2010)

Greg G said:


> If the weather isn't too bad might try a Snake River scenic float to see wildlife



Hi,
We did that when we were there and really enjoyed it! The guide was very entertaining and the scenery was beautiful.  I remember seeing several Bald Eagles.  I want to go back!
Deb


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## vacationtime1 (May 19, 2010)

Cheapseater said:


> Next, do you have any recommendations for fishing? Should we get a guide or do it ourselves? Seem to be a ton of fly fishing but not to much reel/spin fishing noted. Any advice?



The Yellowstone park rangers are very diligent about checking fishing licenses.


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## Karen G (May 19, 2010)

Cheapseater said:


> Still looking for fishing advice


We didn't fish with these people, but their shop looked interesting.


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## Greg G (May 21, 2010)

*Awesome morning for wildlife in Grand Tetons*

Been here in Grand Tetons 7 days and this is the first day I decided to get up really early to see wildlife.  The other days we saw very little or if we did it was very far away.  Well, getting up early really makes a big difference.
Started out from Jackson Hole about 5:40am (slightly before sunrise).  Saw an unbelievable number of elk, many within 20 feet of the road going along 89 north.  A truck that happenend to be in front of me almost hit one as the elk walking along the side of the road jumped from the side of the road into the road momentarily then back out.
Then just a minute later passed by two moose along the west side of the road just slightly south of the Moose Junction (on 89 north). The car in front of me dangerously veered off to the other side of the road to stop to get a picture, and scared the two moose (not smart).  Then still going north just a few miles south of the Moran Junction where there is a turnout I saw a huge herd of bison.  They had actually taken over the turnout with many along side the road.  I slowed down to a crawl to let one pass across the road as they were so close (within a few feet of the car).  That was pretty exciting and scary. 

I then head toward the Oxbow bend turnout to a morning view of the Tetons rising up behind and reflecting in the Snake river with a Pelican floating down the river.  Beautifull.  Went to Willow Flats but did not see anything for about 5 minutes and headed back toward Oxbow bend.  Passed Oxbow bend and saw many elk on the hill on the north side of the road so I went down a little further to a turnout and turned around to come back to the closest turnout to them.  Just as I was pulling in the turnout a grizzly bear comes walking across the turnout lot.  I pull in behind 2 other cars (the only cars in the lot) and we all watch this grizzly walk through the lot probably not more than 100 feet from us.  I then get a picture of it crossing the street (staying right next to my car as I did not want to scare the bear or take any chances, and actually park rules state not to approach closer than 300 feet to any large animals).  That was actually scary as when I pulled in the turnout the bear was coming roughly in the direction of my car.  That really gets the blood pumping.  I go back down to Oxbow bend again to see if there are any moose, don't see any for a few minutes, then turn back and head toward Moran Juntion.  I see the grizzly crossing the road again and it goes up into the woods.   A minute later an elk with big antlers crosses the road in front of me.  At that point it was about 7:00am and I head back south to Jackson Hole.  The bison have moved back into the fields to the point were my 6X optical zoom can just make them out.  

Definitely a great morning to see wildlife although this is probably pretty common in the early morning.  

Tommorrow we head to West Yellowstone for 4 days to visit Yellowstone.


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## Karen G (May 21, 2010)

Greg, it sounds like you hit the jackpot for wildlife today. That's so cool.


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## Cheapseater (May 22, 2010)

*Snow ?*

Looks like a little snowfall in the YNP/GTNP area this morning at least on some of the cam shots. Thanks for all the information and guidance. Experience is the best teacher, so please keep your thoughts and recommendations coming.
We are now planned for Old Faithful Inn, Roosevelt Cabins, Colter Bay cabins and Jackson Lake Lodge for stays in the park. Outside we are scheduled for Spring Creek Ranch in Jackson and Teton Springs in Victor, Idaho.
Still looking for fishing recommendations and more dining thoughts.
Thanks to all!


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## scrapngen (May 22, 2010)

Wow, Greg!

Awesome day report on the wildlife! Makes me want to go back SOOOO bad. (badly?) It's pretty intimidating to be right next to a herd of bison. My children were surprised by some of the words coming out of my mouth on our last visit - when a huge male pushed against an RV stopped facing the other direction, and then tried to decide whether to cross in front of me, or come down the middle of the road between the RV and my Audi  Of course, it chose the middle and was so close I could see every hair...

And then to get such a great view of a grizzly!! 

I think you managed to find just about every larger animal in the region in those 2 hours with the exception of mountain goats


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## Greg G (May 27, 2010)

Just got back from our trip to Grand Tetons/Yellowstone.  Will post pictures soon.
After 7 days in the Grand Tetons we headed through Yellowstone park to a cabin in West Yellowstone for 4 days.  It had snowed earlier that day and the trees had that pretty layer of snow on their branches with the Grand Tetons in the background.  Beautiful.   

Well Yellowstone was amazing as well.  The first day at Yellowstone I went out very early in the morning and saw a Bison and calf along the road and several elk. Only later did I realize that the Bison are everywhere and it is very likely that you will encounter them on the road or walking along side the road or very close to the road as we did at some point everyday regardless of morning or afternoon (at least along the West entrance to Madison, or along Madison to Old Faithful, or along Canyon to Fishing Bridge that we went on).  We also went to the Lower and Midway Geyser Basins.   Was very cold that day with a lot of wind so it made it hard to see some of the hot springs as there was a continuous cloud over them from the steam but it looked cool anyway.  Sometimes the colors of the springs would reflect up into the steam clouds they made which looked neat at a distance.  Looking toward the sun gave the gray cracked area between two of the hot springs a moon like appearance.

During our stay I saw bison and their calves,  bison sparing,  elk crossing a river as well as along the side of the road (early morning), a coyote (or fox, I got a good picture so need to see which it is) and on the last full day a black bear, and a huge antlered bull elk.   It was funny in that the last day I had gone to Mammoth hot springs and on the way back was looking for moose.  Well I came on a spot after Willow Park where several cars were parked so I stopped and discovered that they had spotted a black bear.  Watched for probably 20 minutes and the bear came as close as 80 yards at which point the rangers started to move people back.  The traffic jam there was bad and this was before Memorial day so I can just imagine that in the summer traffic must be even worse.  After starting back to the cabin thinking that was it for the day I ran into another group of parked cars so I stopped again.  In this case it was a huge antlered bull elk that was probably less than 25 yards away.  It still had the fuzz on its antlers.   It eventually sat down and was content just munching on the grass watching all the people that had gathered to take pictures of it.

Mammoth Hot Springs was pretty cool (no pun intended) but it is so spread out in elevation that you really get a workout or at least you have to plan which parking lots (upper or lower) you want to access to see certain things. Orange Spring Mound, and the Main terraces are great. The hills in that are neat looking too. 

We went to Canyon and saw the upper and lower falls.  These are really dramatic with Yellowstone river flowing through the narrow canyon.  The Artists overlook is spectacular for viewing the Lower falls. Some of the viewing areas have sheer drop offs on the other side of the stone barriers which can be unnerving when peaking over the barriers even if you aren't afraid of heights. 

Drove from Canyon to Fishing Bridge to see if we could spot any grizzles but no luck.  However Lake Yellowstone looked neat all frozen (again none of the lakes had thawed and I believe the rangers said that they typically do by mid to late June).   The Madison, and Firehole rivers up there look so blue against the green grass.  Also there were lots of fish (probably trout?) hitting bugs off the surface of the Madison river one day. The Mud Volcano area was pretty neat, especially the breathing sound of the Dragons Mouth. Unfortunately we didn't get around to seeing the Norris Geyser Basin and never got to see Old Faithful (always thought we would have enough time but ended up not seeing it).

Roads:

Dunraven pass was closed during the time we were there and there is road work causing 15-30 minute delays on the road from Madison to Norris. Also that road was only open from 8am to 10pm when we were there.  A few times snow tires were required from the South entrance to Old Faithful. 

Maps and Guides:

The Park supplied Trail Guides for the various areas you are going to were really helpful. 

Greg


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## Greg G (May 27, 2010)

On two different occasions I watched some guys (not gals) try to approach Bison within a few yards.   On the first occasion they actually scared the Bison.  On the second occasion going south from Canyon to Fishing Bridge we came upon a pair of Bison that were sparring and would you believe a few guys were trying to approach them.   What were they thinking???


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## DaveNV (May 28, 2010)

Greg G said:


> On two different occasions I watched some guys (not gals) try to approach Bison within a few yards.   On the first occasion they actually scared the Bison.  On the second occasion going south from Canyon to Fishing Bridge we came upon a pair of Bison that were sparring and would you believe a few guys were trying to approach them.   What were they thinking???



They obviously weren't thinking about anything.  Stupid people do stupid things.  I think because the animals don't run away, stupid people think they're tame.  They aren't tame, they just aren't afraid.  But they can still make you dead really quickly.

I once saw a really extra-stupid man try to put his toddler on the back of a bison so his wife could take a picture.  Luckily the bison moved away as the guy got too close.  He was a complete idiot.  People are hurt or killed every year by these "tame" animals.

Greg, sounds like you had a great trip.  Welcome home!

Dave


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## Greg G (May 29, 2010)

*Pictures from Trip*

http://picasaweb.google.com/ghgemmer/YellowstoneAndGrandTetonsMay15262010#

Use Full Screen mode (F11).

Greg


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## Karen G (May 29, 2010)

Beautiful photos, Greg. Thanks for sharing. Glad you had such a nice trip.


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