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Yellowstone-change in plans

calgal

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DH is cutting short our long-planned Teton/Yellowstone trip by 1 day, so I have to change the itinerary and give up something planned. We are traveling with kids ages 8-15. Should we sacrifice the day at Lake Yellowstone or the day at West Yellowstone? I had wanted to take the 5 mile canoe trip from Mack's Inn in Island Park- I think that will have to go too.
Current plan: arrive Jackson Hole afternoon July 4th, celebrate the 4th at the rodeo, go to Jenny Lake 7/5, raft float trip 7/6, drive to Yellowstone 7/7 AM and stay at Old Faithful area that day and night, then to Roosevelt Lodge for 2 nights of roughing it and days spent exploring the northern and eastern park.
I then had ressies for Lake Yellowstone for 2 nights, but think that West Yellowstone might offer more for the kids.
So, my questions are:
1. West Yellowstone or Lake Yellowstone for the last night?
2. How great is the canoe float trip from Mack's Inn?

I could also shorten the Jackson portion by 1 day or the Roosevelt Lodge by 1 day, and insert West Yellowstone into the middle of the week. Help!!!
 

chellej

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I really enjoyed the canoe trip from Mack's Inn but if you are doing a whitewater float trip I may be tempted to pass. It is a very very calm section of river and shallow. Great for fishing. The kids may be bored but you do get to paddle your own canoe.

West yellowstone is smaller than Jackson hole but has plenty of shops, the yellowstone Museum, wolf/grizzly center, and Imaxx.

I definitely recommend the old west dinner that goes out of Roosevelt and make sure you find time to go to canyon. I think it is the prettiest section of the park. We went in January on snowmobiles and it was just amazing.

If you give up Mack's Inn, Sawtelle peak and Quake Lake are both worth a trip as is the drive to Big Springs even if you don't do the canoe trip (Big springs is the start point). Also don't forget upper and lower Mesa falls.
 

DaveNV

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Lake Yellowstone is pretty, but there isn't much to keep kids busy. And the water can be pretty cold for swimming. (The hot spring in the Firehole River is a lot more kid-fun oriented. And your kids are old enough to be safe in it.) West Yellowstone has plenty to offer kids. So my vote is West Yellowstone.

Your trip sounds great. Have a wonderful time!

Dave
 

sfwilshire

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I think I'd plan to let DH go home alone a day early and keep my trip as planned. You could let him decide which activity he wanted to miss and plan accordingly.

We have often arrived or left on different days because of frequent flyer tickets or cheap airfares. It actually works out pretty good for us. The last one to leave on a trip can drop the rest off at the airport, then just has to catch a ride for himself on his flight day. Or if one of us goes home early, we do the reverse, with the one catching a simple ride from the airport, then picking the rest of us up in the van. It seems much less intrusive to ask a friend to pick up or drop off one person with one suitcase than all six of us. We try to avoid parking at the airport when we're footing the bill.

Sheila
 

calgal

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Sheila, That is funny, as I have been trying to do exactly what you suggest. Let DH leave to do his thing (which happens to be a 12 hour bike ride in the Sierras called the Death Ride:( ), and the rest of us stick around Yellowstone for the weekend. However, we are flying in and out of Salt Lake to save on airfare, and the shuttle times from W. Yellowstone don't work with his flight. Hence, we all have to drive out of Yellowstone together. I also thought about dropping him at SLC airport Fri night and taking the kids to Park City for a couple of nights to check it out. Now we are talking about flying in a day earlier, and inserting the canoe trip/West Yellowstone sights between Jackson and Old Faithful.
 

Corinne

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Mack's Inn dinner theater

Not that you need MORE things to do, but one of our favorite activities when we visited Yellowstone a few summers ago with our 9 year old daughter was attending a dinner theater in Mack's Inn one evening. The play was "Oklahoma" and it was quite well done, the dinner was not bad, and the price was right. Good family fun - something a little different from the rest of the week's activities. If they are still performing, it would be worth seeking out.

We also recommend the Grizzly Center in W. Yellowstone.

Lastly, the ranger station just inside the West Yellowstone park entrance had a great variety of ranger programs throughout each day. We stopped there a number of times to participate. Learned a lot.

Have a wonderful time. It's a beautiful area.

-Corinne
 

marinersfan

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For kids, I'd vote for West Yellowstone. If you're staying at Island Park I think the float trip would be worth it. I love it and with the amount of snow Island Park is receiving this winter, floating conditions should be prime. It's not the most exciting float trip, but very nice. If you're not staying in Island Park and only passing through then I don't know?? And I agree with ChelleJ, don't miss upper and lower Mesa Falls in Island Park. Again, with the amount of snow fall it should be pretty spectacular.
 

calgal

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The resolution of the dilemma

Thanks for all the help. We resolved this by tacking on an extra day at the beginning, so we will fly into SLC on a Thursday and spend a day in West Yellowstone either the first day or the day between the Tetons and Yellowstone National Park. The kids will definitely enjoy the West Yellowstone sights. By mapquest it is only 3 hours between Jackson and West Yellowstone. Now I am searching for inexpensive clean accomodations for a family of 5 in Jackson (expensive!) and West Yellowstone.
 

DaveNV

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There are many motels and such in West Yellowstone. if al;l you need is basic family accommodations for one night, you shoul,dn't have any trouble. I'm trying to remember, but the Stagecoach Inn comes to mind as one place I've stayed. I think that was what it was called. Reasonably inexpensive, clean, and the rooms were typical motel motif. Right in the heart of West Yellowstone, and easy walking distance to all the fun. (Be sure to take the kids to the IMAX theater movie. It's amazing!)

The West Yellowstone Chamber of Commerce website may help you out: http://www.westyellowstonechamber.com

The drive from Jackson to West Yellowstone is easy. I think three hours may even be a bit long - you can probably do it in less time. But there are sights along the way that you may want to stop and see. It's all gorgeous country.

Dave
 

calgal

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I booked the Elk Country Inn, one of the Town Square properties in Jackson. Reviews in Tripadvisor are good, although it is a AAA one-star. Still working on West Yellowstone. I had forgotten how expensive hotel rooms are compared with timeshares, This will be our first non-timeshare family vacation in 4 years.
 

swift

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You are going to have so much fun. We did this trip about 4 years ago. In fact I am 98% sure that we stayed at the Elk County Inn as our lay over stop.

What we had done was take a train from Martinez, CA to Salt Lake City, I did not want to drive through the desert {ok with the other thread going did I use the correct word is that the terrain or the one you eat :p }. Then we rented a SUV and drove from there up to Jackson Hole. Stayed there for over night. They had a staged shoot out in the town square that we loved watching. There is also a dinner theater there that I wanted to go to but DH had other plans. Then we drove on through the Grand Tetons, through West Yellowstone and stayed at Big Sky Condominiums, where we own. Big Sky is just past West Yellowstone so we stopped there frequently as we were coming and going through the West Gate of Yellowstone. The park is huge!! You will definitely need a couple of days to see both sides. Meaning one side with most of the geology stuff like Old Faithful and the mudpots and the other side where you will find the Bison and more wild life.

Pack a picnic and enjoy!!
 

Iwant2gonow

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Does anyone know the best travel book for getting the most fun (or seeing as much as possible)...what not to miss etc. for a 6 day stay in the summer? It will be our 1st time there.
Also, do reservations have to be made months ahead for activities for a July visit. We already have the reservation for the week at Island Park.
Thanks for any help in advance.
 

calgal

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Theresa, I remember reading about your Amtrak adventure over a year ago, and considered flying one-way and taking the train the other. Unfortunately, the eastbound train arrives at 3AM in SLC, and the westbound train departs SLC at 11:30 PM, neither of which sounded like much fun with my eight year-olds. It did sound like a memorable journey, though.

IWANT2GONOW, I don't know about scheduling the adventures. I did schedule the horseback ride/cookout at Roosevelt Lodge and a couple of dinners inside Yellowstone. I was waiting to schedule the Grand Teton Snake River float trip since there are several competing companies and my guess is that it won't be a problem. My impression of the Mack's Inn canoe trip is you just show up without prearranging. If anyone has more specific info on this, I would be interested in hearing it too.

Lastly, I reserved a room at City Center Motel in West Yellowstone, but could switch to Brandin' Iron Inn if that was better in some way. Anyone with first-hand knowledge of either of these? My thanks to all who have shared their knowledge of the area. I truly feel like this will be a memorable trip.
 

Iwant2gonow

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Thanks Calgal...could you tell me where you found the information on the dinners inside Yellowstone?
Your post made me realize that I need to get more organized for this trip. I've been focusing too much on trying to get a good car rental price! LOL
 

calgal

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When you make your in-park reservations for accommodations, you are offered dinner reservations (for Old Faithful and Lake Yellowstone) and when you reserve at Roosevelt Lodge they offer you the horseback rides to reserve. Since you are staying out of the park the whole time, dinner reservations in the park open up at 60 days out. And that reminds me, I have not reserved a rental car yet...
 
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swift

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Theresa, I remember reading about your Amtrak adventure over a year ago, and considered flying one-way and taking the train the other. Unfortunately, the eastbound train arrives at 3AM in SLC, and the westbound train departs SLC at 11:30 PM, neither of which sounded like much fun with my eight year-olds. It did sound like a memorable journey, though.

Yep, that was part of the adventure with 3 kids in tow. But,,,, you have to keep in mind that trains are rarely on time. When we arrived in SLC it was more like 5:00AM. We went and had some breakfast until the rental car place opened up. My kids still laugh about it. They said we looked like a bunch of bag-a-bons walking into the restaurant with suitcases in tow not looking our best after sleeping on the train. :rofl: But it was all good. Then on the way back we got a motel room in SLC. We were thinking we would catch some shut eye for a couple hours and then the motel would shuttle us to the train station. Well, ( we have learned to call ahead before leaving and this time we called ahead before even waking the kids up) the train was very late. Did not pull in until 5:00 so we ended up getting a decent nights sleep before we left. The problem is AMTRAK does not own the rails the freight companies do so the freight trains have the right of way. If they have a problem and the tack is blocked your train is late. We take the train frequently when we go on vacations with the plan that the "vacation" starts when we head to the train station. We live such busy on the go lives that it forces us to go in a different mode. When we fly or drive it seems my DH always needs a couple of days into the vacation to unwind before he can really enjoy it. When we take the train the unwinding is done on the train. I always schedule to arrive at our destination a day or two ahead of the TS check in so we don't waist any of our TS time. The kids love the freedom of moving about on the train. They always make a bunch of friends. There is usually a kid car where they hang out or they go to the dinning car and the kids sit around the table and play cards or other games the the kids bring.
You have to do what is right for you but if you ever do take the train you have to look at it as part of the adventure :wave:
 

Steve

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Go Amtrak!

Yep, that was part of the adventure with 3 kids in tow. But,,,, you have to keep in mind that trains are rarely on time. When we arrived in SLC it was more like 5:00AM. We went and had some breakfast until the rental car place opened up. My kids still laugh about it. They said we looked like a bunch of bag-a-bons walking into the restaurant with suitcases in tow not looking our best after sleeping on the train. :rofl: But it was all good. Then on the way back we got a motel room in SLC. We were thinking we would catch some shut eye for a couple hours and then the motel would shuttle us to the train station. Well, ( we have learned to call ahead before leaving and this time we called ahead before even waking the kids up) the train was very late. Did not pull in until 5:00 so we ended up getting a decent nights sleep before we left. The problem is AMTRAK does not own the rails the freight companies do so the freight trains have the right of way. If they have a problem and the tack is blocked your train is late. We take the train frequently when we go on vacations with the plan that the "vacation" starts when we head to the train station. We live such busy on the go lives that it forces us to go in a different mode. When we fly or drive it seems my DH always needs a couple of days into the vacation to unwind before he can really enjoy it. When we take the train the unwinding is done on the train. I always schedule to arrive at our destination a day or two ahead of the TS check in so we don't waist any of our TS time. The kids love the freedom of moving about on the train. They always make a bunch of friends. There is usually a kid car where they hang out or they go to the dinning car and the kids sit around the table and play cards or other games the the kids bring.
You have to do what is right for you but if you ever do take the train you have to look at it as part of the adventure :wave:

I just had to comment. I once took Amtrak all the way from Salt Lake City to Washington, DC. It was such a fun adventure! As you mentioned, I met interesting people, had a chance to really relax, and just enjoyed the countryside. The trip through the Rockies between SLC and Denver was especially exciting. I also remember pulling into Union Station in Chicago at night and seeing the Sears Tower gleaming overhead will lights in all the windows. Just a great adventure and a fun way to explore America. Again, as you pointed out, one has to be patient and take delays and/or lack of service in stride...but it gives a wonderful new perspective of our country.

Steve
 

tyketwo

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Cody over West Yellowstone

Having lived in Cody for 23 years and been into Yellowstone all seasons of the
year, the North part is not all that great. I would spend time at Canyon and
then go to Cody. Beautiful drive down North Fork. Cody has several raft floats, good night rodeo, Old Trail Town and then the Buffalo Bill Historical
Center, a must see. Kids would even enjoy that. Old Faithful area is good to
see. Just some thoughts
 
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