Facing an unfavorable European exchange rate, some home improvements paid for this fall, and a whole host of homeland travel that we have yet to tap into, Stu and I have decided to stay stateside this summer and visit Yellowstone National Park and the Beartooth Corridor. As we are BIG nature lovers and enjoy walking/hiking, and have never been to this beautiful part of the country, this sounds like the perfect destination for us this year. (Jane, you may have also had some influence in our decision!)

I am presently trying to map out some logistics for us. Leaving from Philly, there are no direct flights, so we will connect somewhere and try to aim for either Bozeman or Billings, I'm thinking. This will depend on our itinerary, so I'm working on that now.

We will be in the region for a week to 10 days (still working on this, too), and as much as I'd like to see the Grand Tetons, I think we will leave that for another trip. So, (and I'm open to suggestion on this), I'm thinking two bases - one near the eastern Yellowstone area (near Cody or Redlodge, with proximity to the Beartooth Pass and area), and the other base closer to the Western end of Yellowstone. We would like to stay within the Park, but from what I gather, there is no internet access, which is something we both like when traveling. For our Western portion of the trip, I'm thinking of staying in the Gardiner area? or maybe West Yellowstone?

I am open to your ideas and suggestions/experiences. Thanks in advance...

The Tetons are so close, you live so far from the area, and you do have a nice length of time, so I would recommend you include the Tetons as well.

I don't care for the gateway towns--I think staying in the park is a much better experience (you end up driving a lot less, too). Though I admit that if you are staying in hotels (rather than camping), you are then at the mercy of national park concessionaire food, which is not good. But I've put up with it to stay in the very cool Old Faithful Inn.

You say summer--I'd avoid July and August. Early September or even June are much less crowded.

We've been to Yellowstone twice - once in early-ish June and just this past late Sept. Both times we stayed in Park concession lodging. June in a Western cabin at Canyon Village and Sept at the Mammoth hotel. I'd call Xanterra to ask about wifi reception. In both cases, it was great to stay in the park to be out early mornings and/or dusk for wildlife viewing. As Christy said, park food is not great, but we bought a cheap styrofoam cooler and carried lunch makings with us. We found we were most fascinated by wildlife in the Hayden and Lamar valleys and spent more time there than touring thermal features. YMMV. At both ends of the season, lodgings and food service start closing, so you need to check the concessions calendar carefully. Overall, we liked June a little better - late Sept. was still pretty crowded. Glad to share more details. We basically have flown Philly/Denver/Billings and rented a car. Drove west to Livingston, then South to the park. Out the NE entrance and over the Beartooth Hwy to Red Lodge/Billings/Little Big Horn battlefield. Beartooth Highway was closed one year due to rock slides, so check Montana highway conditions; snow may be a factor there too, even in June. Red Lodge has an attractive main street with lots of cafes and shops, but that's not really our thing, so we much preferred focusing on the park.

Hi Terry, we can piggy back on each other's planning Word of advice: You need to make your in park reservations ASAP. I had a problem making mine a few months ago and getting what I wanted at Old Faithful Inn and the Canyon Village. The thing is that you pay up front but can cancel at any time for full refund. So, that means that what is not available at one time may come available as people cancel. So...it is a c...shoot, really.

Oops, I neglected to include the fact that our visit will be during busy July. It's the only time I could get off from work this year, and I was lucky to get that. Our dates should be something like the 7th to the 17th, or in that vicinity.

I'm really waffling about where to stay. As much as I would love an "immersion" experience inside the park, we really do like having internet access, and enjoy touching base with family, and a little nighttime TV. Doesn't look like that can happen inside the park, unfortunately, unless I'm missing something. Good advice to give Xanterra a call - the Yellowstone website says no Wifi/TV, though.

I don't think we would want to change our accommodations more than twice, so I'm basically thinking West park vicinity (Mammoth, Hayden valley, Norris, Old Faithful, et al) and East park vicinity (Beartooth Pass, Cody, Lamarr, et al). Christy, against your advice, I am not including the Tetons at this point, as I don't want to find ourselves in overload mode, but I'm not totally excluding the possibility, either. I also don't expect that this will be our only/final trip to the general area - there is just too much to see and discover, I realize.

One thing you should consider in your planning, especially since you're going in July, is that traffic in the park can be incredibly slow -- lots of cars, lots of reasons for them all to stop in the middle of the road to look at the bears, wait for the buffalo to cross the road, etc.

Check the mileages for the routes you think you'll want to take commuting in and out of the park, and see if it makes sense if you can only average 15 or 20 mph. It might not be that bad, but it will give you an idea what you might encounter.

Also, I don't think Cody is a reasonable place to stay if you plan to go back and forth to the Beartooth Highway. Red Lodge would be much better. (Just for access to the Beartooth route. It would be a terrible place to stay to access the rest of the park!)

Thanks, Chris. I should clarify that we would just like to visit Cody to see the museum there, not for a stay. I have read on other threads that it is a worthwhile visit, so thought we'd try to include it.

Yes, the museum in Cody is well worth a visit!

Terry

If WiFi is what is keeping you from booking IN the park just ask for a netbook with 3G access for
Christmas (or rent one). Then your cellular provider can hook you up with internet access most anywhere in the US. And Yes, cellular does work in Yellowstone.

The advice about 15 miles per hour is excellent. Another thing you need to consider is that at the height of summer admission INTO the park through the gates can add 1 - 2 hours to your day. Seriously. It is why we stay in the park. With 10 days I'd divide my time between Mammoth Hot Springs, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and Old Faithful. That way you can drive loops of different areas and not spend all day in the car just getting to a location.

Also back country hiking in Yellowstone is becoming more and more limited. 20 years post the big fires the dead trees have now decayed and rotted to the point where a sudden shift in the wind can bring them toppling to earth. I don't know if people have been killed by the trees but old time loggers will tell you that the worst place to cut is in a burn area. They call them widow makers because a large branch will lodge against another then they both fall and people are killed.

Teton is an hour max south of Yellowstone. We actually took a raft trip from Yellowstone that started at the lake in Teton Ntl Park.

quote:

Originally posted by Jane:
Hi Terry, we can piggy back on each other's planning Word of advice: You need to make your in park reservations ASAP. I had a problem making mine a few months ago and getting what I wanted at Old Faithful Inn and the Canyon Village. The thing is that you pay up front but can cancel at any time for full refund. So, that means that what is not available at one time may come available as people cancel. So...it is a c...shoot, really.

Jane

If there are special rooms you want keep calling. Grand Canyon (particularly the rim side rooms) is notorious for booking 18 months in advance. But I have literally walked up to the counter on the 4th of July and gotten a rim side room because people have cancelled.

People book and cancel almost continuously. It used to drive me absolutely bonkers when I worked at the park. The kicker was we couldn't start a "wait list" for desirable rooms. So somebody who had been trying for a year could get bumped by somebody who just got lucky and called at the right time. The same thing holds true in Yellowstone.

Call Xanterra and find out what time they clear their internet reservations. That would be when I would call back.

Hmmm, velly intellesting. I actually do have a 3G iPhone, but hate using it for the internet b/c the screen is so small; it's cumbersome to go on the net. But I also have a MacBook, and just googled about connecting to the internet using the iPhone as the modem, and apparently it can be done. Who knew? I'll contact my carrier tomorrow for info about any hidden charges. And you say that phone reception is good in Yellowstone? That would be a real plus, then. I think we could even forego the night-time TV; maybe download a few movies onto the laptop before we leave. Staying in the park would be awesome, I think.

Thanks for the tips, Mary!

We were at Mammoth Hot Springs and there is this guy on his cell phone making some deal. I could have KILLED him. So yes, the phone reception in the park is good. It actually is how the rangers communicate and how they coordinate search and rescue.

Either download a couple of movies or grab a couple of DVDs. Also Old Faithful is lit at night so you can watch it.

There are some great night time tours conducted by the rangers. When you come into the park you get a "newspaper" of what is happening in the park for the next week including the different ranger led tours. Star gazing in Yellowstone is incredible.

Well, I spoke to my carrier, AT&T, and connecting to the internet with your iPhone, called tethering, is actually NOT ALLOWED under their terms of service. ARRGH. I guess they haven't figured out a way to track your usage (and charge for it) yet! In any event, I still think we will stay in the Park (you've all convinced me), and have begun the investigation/reservation process.

Will keep you all posted... Thanks for the great input so far.

Terry, we will be in Jackson Hole and then Yellowstone July 9 - 18. In Yellowstone July 14 - 18 (leaving the 18th)--Canyon Village the nights of July 14 and 15 and Old Faithful Inn the nights of July 16 and 17. What are your dates? Wouldn't it be super if we overlap some?

Jane, that would be awesome. I think we may have some overlap - I'll let you know when I know for certain.

At Mammoth, the dining room is in a building across the street from the hotel and cabins. There was one TV over the bar in the small lounge adjoining the dining room. As I recalled, in Sept. there was mostly sports, with the sound off. I'm not sure about TVs at any other lodgings in the park.

Well, it took long enough, but our dates are now solidified! We will be leaving Philly on Monday, July 12, plan to stay in Redlodge, MT for three nights (there's a nice rental I'm considering there that has a 3 night minimum - no problem - it will make a great base for us to see the area, including day trips along Beartooth Highway/and some day hikes, and a trip to Cody to the Buffalo Bill Museum); after Redlodge, we will spend the next 5 nights in Yellowstone, inside the park.

So, my next question to you all - I am thinking that I would like to make Canyon Village our Yellowstone base. Good idea? There are still vacancies there - what do you all recommend? The Western cabins is where I'm leaning.

Terry, if you go to Canyon Village it looks like you will get there the day we leave

Darn! I would have loved to meet up with you all. Where are you going after that? Where are you staying when in Canyon Village?

We stayed in a Western cabin for 3 or 4 nights in June 2005, with our teenage daughter. It was part of a four-plex type arrangement, with one wall shared with a neighboring cabin. Only heard noise from children next door one night. Cabin was probably built in the early 60s, not luxurious at all, but fine for our needs. It was cold in early June, so we used the wall heater a lot. Not sure what temps would be like in summer and I am pretty sure no A/C. Perhaps take or buy a small fan if not provided.

We had two double beds, a table with a couple of chairs, the sink in an alcove near the front door, and a bath with toilet and shower/tub. The separate sink was a godsend for three of us. There was a coffee-maker, and a view out onto a grove of trees. There were plenty of other cabins nearby, but it still felt pretty private.

We mostly drove to the Canyon Village visitor center, restaurants, etc., even though the walk would not have been difficult. Canyon is rather centrally located in the figure-eight layout of Yellowstone's roads. We could get to Hayden Valley for evening wildlife viewing in a few minutes.

There was an assortment of restaurants/cafeterias at Canyon. We especially liked the counter seating in the General Store, where we could get a fairly early breakfast without much of a wait. We packed picnic supplies for lunch, and did often have a wait for dinner in the restaurant. They provide beepers so you can browse the gift shop, have a drink in the lounge, etc. Fun to talk with all the young and older staff who seem to love working at Yellowstone.

Thanks, Con. The cabins sound very much like the ones at the North Rim in the Grand Canyon, also run by the Xanterra company. Nothing fancy, but a nice place to lay your head at night.

Terry, we're staying at Canyon Lodge and then moving to Old Faithful Inn across from Old Faithful for two nights.so maybe we can still meet up.

We've stayed at the North Rim as well, on an Elderhostel trip. We were warned all along that those cabins would be "very, very basic", and I have read reviews of those basic cabins on TripAdvisor. We found on arrival that our group had been upgraded to what we considered luxury - 4plexes, but each cabin with front porch, rocking chairs, a gas fireplace. I would say Canyon Western cabin is a step down from those, but still perfectly adequate. Perhaps both were lacking good reading lights? We are both readers, so routinely carry clip-on book lights when we travel.

Another vote for the western cabins in Canyon. A friend and I stayed there for 4 nights last summer. Nothing luxurious, but clean and perfectly adequate. The immediate area, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and Hayden Valley, is spectacular and, as Con says, Canyon is the most central place from which to reach the rest of the park.

Cathy

We are officially reserved now at the Western Cabins for the last 5 nights of our trip; I am very happy with this selection.

For the first 3 nights of our trip, we'll be staying in Red Lodge, MT, at the Yodeler Motel . This will be our base to take a hike or two from a Beartooth Highway trailhead, and also take a jaunt down to Cody and check out the Buffalo Bill Museum.

I also received my Day Hikes im the Beartooth Mountains book today!

Terry,

We will be arriving in Jackson Hole on June 30, staying in Yellowstone at the Lake Yellowstone Lodge for two nights. After that, we're moving to Teton Village for three nights, flying home on July 5th. Thought it would be fun to stay through the 4th for the festivities. Hope you have a great time, it will be my first time there, going as an accomodation to hubby who wags behind me in Europe on short notice!

You may want to look into making some dinner reservations for a couple of nights while you're in the park, but I think you have to wait until 60 days from your check-in date if you're not staying in the place where you want reservations. We were able to reserve for dinner at the Lake Yellowstone Lodge, but not Old Faithful Inn. I'll cancel if we can get them closer to our travel date.

The other thing we've reserved is the park-sponsored campfire dinner booked through the Roosevelt Lodge. I think it's about $65 pp. You either ride one of their horses to the campsite or ride in one of the covered wagons. Probably a little hokey, but sounds like something fun to do.

The only other thing we've planned is a Snake River rafting daytrip from Jackson. As we plan other things, I'll try to inform, if you're interested. Sounds like you'll have the luxury of time.

Regards,
Jennifer

Thanks, Jennifer, for all your advice. I'll look into it. I would definitely appreciate any updated information you may want to share, too. Sounds like you have a really nice trip planned. I really have a lot of "catch up" travel to do in the US, too. So many places I have never been.

We'll be leaving a week after you come home, but I would greatly welcome any reports back from you. We will have to compare trip reports!