Yellowstone vacation suggestions.

[Farmer17]

My wife always wants to go to the beach on vacations but I talked her into going to the mountains. I like road trips but she refuses to drive very far so we will fly and rent a car and are planning on going to Yellowstone sometime this summer. I went there as a kid but don't remember much, any suggestions on a trip?

 

[mtgianni]

Where are you flying into? From Bozeman you can go into West Y and take a day for the Norris Basin to Old Faithful. Second day go North to Mammoth, Visit Tower and Canyon and return on the loop. If it is busy summertime you may need 3 days to see all you want to. From early June to early Sept the best time to see wild life is 1/2 hour before sunrise/sunset to 1/2 hour after. Get up early and stay out late.
I would do whatever it takes to go to Cody and see the Buffalo Bill Museum. It is a full day perhaps two.

 

[arjay]

If you can time your trip to when the kids are back in school,it will be far less crowded.Cook city is worth a look too.

 

[CATI1835]

I would do whatever it takes to go to Cody and see the Buffalo Bill Museum. It is a full day perhaps two.

I second this!!!

A lot to see in the area if you are willing to drive a little. I enjoyed the Custer battlefield, Hardin MT. But then that is a subject that I have studied a lot.

The Tetons are gorgeous eye candy. The closest town is Jackson, WY. Jackson, WY is not the same town it was 30 years ago. Crowded, packed with tourists and a lot of traffic. However the chance to see an elk or bison herd might be worth it. IMO, West Yellowstone MT is the quaint little town Jackson was 30 years ago. Some neat shops there.

We made a 2 week road trip through the area last year. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

 

[CATI1835]

If you want to expand your trip to South Dakota, see the Badlands Natl Park, the Crazy Horse Memorial, Deadwood and Mt Rushmore. Probably some others that escape me right now.

 

[Exiled Cheesehead]

+1 for arjay

If you can time your trip to when the kids are back in school,it will be far less crowded.Cook city is worth a look too.

Don't visit Yellowstone until after Labor Day, unless you like to experience the wilderness while sitting in your car in a traffic jam that goes on for miles.

 

[TAROMAN]

And remember, try not to fall into any of the hot springs!
Man dissolves in acidic water after he slips and falls into a Yellowstone hot spring - CNN.com

 

[rwsmith]

If flying you won't be camping.....

Ideally, you could book into the Yellowstone lodge, because it's going to take at least three days to see because there are TONS of attractions

Overlook of the falls in Yellowstone gorge
Old Faithful isn't faithful anymore but it's still a fantastic experience.
You can spend hours on the hot springs and geyser fields
Dragon's mouth
Buffalo and bears
Prismatic lake
Mud pots
There's a LOT to see in geyer basins besides just geysers.


We drove the circle around the park in one long day, stopping here and there. It snowed heavily in June in the high, north part of the park.

The Grand Tetons are near the south end of the park

 

[cahotshoe]

Guard your "pick-a-nik" basket, and be on the lookout for Yogi and Booboo.

 

[moralem]

If you want to expand your trip to South Dakota, see the Badlands Natl Park, the Crazy Horse Memorial, Deadwood and Mt Rushmore. Probably some others that escape me right now.

Devils Tower, Little Big Horn and Chief Joseph's Highway. Not to mention the Cody Firearms Museum at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West.......lots of things that you probably not have time for. It has taken me three trips out west just to see those few places......enjoy and travel safely.

 

[Maddog 521]

We're headed there late September. When we were looking for a place to stay we found out that May 1st of this year they started taking reservations for 2018. Good luck and have fun.

 

[BearBio]

1. IF you can, get reservations for the Old Faithful Inn. If you go after Labor Day, you might get reservations. If not, we prefer West Yellowstone. See the grizzly and wolf display there. Be careful==bears wander through town late at night!

2. WHATEVER time you get to the Inn, make dinner reservations! Reservations are a MUST! If you wait, you might be eating at 9:30 or 10 PM!

3. If you stay overnight at the Inn, Turn YOUR CAR ALARM OFF==the buffalo will scratch themselves on your car in the middle of the night.

4. After Labor Day, many things will be closed. However, the elk will be breeding and bugling. Geese will be migrating and bears will be trying to fatten up.

5. To see Old Faithful, go to the platform above the main entrance. Get a drink (there's a coffee kiosk and small bar just inside the door) and sit back.

6. Dress warm. Week after Labor Day we got snowed in.

7. Take fly tackle! Try the Madison near the West Entrance. Licenses are available in the Park.

8. Best place to see wolves is Lamar Valley at dawn.

9. Hayden Valley is a great place to see wildlife. Last trip, we say a grizzly hunting elk there and watched him for about 1/2 hour. He/she never found the calf he was looking for. Up by Sylvan Pass is a good place to see grizzlies. Dropping down to Cody and along the North side of the Lake are good areas to look for moose.

10. When you leave, the Chief Joseph Trail through the Absarokas is fantastic BUT it is high elevation, desolate, winds around, and snows even in summer.

Have fun==I'd envy you but wife and I are going to Alaska in a month!

 

[retiredbadge8091]

Anybody who doesn't enjoy road trips isn't going to like much about the west. It's all about wide open spaces and the here to there of it all.

 

[BearBio]

"Anybody who doesn't enjoy road trips isn't going to like much about the west. It's all about wide open spaces and the here to there of it all."

Used to be, at least, Wyoming had more antelope than people!

Got me excited, the wife and I are booking a room tonight for next year!

 

[Ray1970]

I haven't been there but we have guys up that way for work throughout the year. Hotel rooms get pretty expensive during the summer months. As mentioned earlier, traffic can also get pretty bad too.

 

[625-7]

Enjoy

Snowmobiled out of West Yellowstone, two top, Lion head and all points in between. Bison, coyotes bigger than in Pa, Elk herds, moose on the trails. Locals are very great people, more natural scenery / attractions than you appreciate in a lifetime. This is an adventure you will always remember , plus the flight into Bozeman airport is an experience in it self!

 

[Whitwabit]

don't plan on staying there in the park unless you already have reservations .. all the places to stay will be full ..

 

[scooterfiend]

after school begins

Several members suggested going to Yellowstone NP after school begins in the fall.
I concur.

 

[ancient-one]

We went in early May 1976 which was nice because their wasn't many fools that went that early. We stayed in the lodge two nights but should have been longer to see everything. The park was wonderful to see but the first night at the lodge their heat went out and it got pretty cold that night and the lodge was very cold the next morning. The roads at the Lodge altitude were snow free but when left there going north the road had been opened by snow plow and it was a little tricky.

 

[DeathGrip]

Guard your "pick-a-nik" basket, and be on the lookout for Yogi and Booboo.

Yellowstone not Jellystone Booboo.