Going to Yellowstone- Advice....

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Give me some advice on things to do, where to spend the most time, etc...

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....will you come back and post a review?

The mistake I made with my family was trying to see everything in Yellowstone in 2 days. The park is huge and crowded during the summer. I’d take 3-4 days at Yellowstone. Grand Tetons is just as awesome but the park is smaller and easy to get from one place to another. Jenny lake was an easy enjoyable hike. Be sure to drive the park early in morning and in the evening for best chance to see wildlife.

In the Tetons, Jenny Lake! Take everyone.

Randy, I have made that trip twice in June. Same. Took my kids and parents.

Both times we went, we stayed in Big Sky Montana at the Ski resort. It was awesome. Not only do you get to enjoy the park, which is about 30-40 min drive away, you also get to enjoy the mountain at Big Sky. Lots to do there and tons to see

There are all kinds of housing/cabins there. We stayed in a huge cabin right at the sky lifts. It was a little pricey but with my parents paying half, it was not bad. Big Sky has really grown up and is a great little town. There are some pretty good hiking trails right out of the lodge there.



The first time we went, we flew into Jackson hole, the second time, we flew into Bozeman which is right at Big Sky

Fly to Montana or South Dakota and leave from Salt Lake City or soux falls.... you can make an griswald level road trip

I just booked flights to Salt Lake City for May 26 to June 2. We will drive the Jackson for 3 nights and I just booked reservations at the Canyon Lodge (2) and Old Faithful Inn (1) in the park for 3 nights before 1 night back in SLC. I hope this thread helps me too!!

ETA - I have flexibility...4 nights in YNP, 2 in Grand Tetons or 3 and 3. We dont really hike except for "easy to moderate trails etc... that are an 1-3 hours type hikes.

Advice would be great.

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If you like to hike you’re going to wish that you had more than 6 days but if not that’ll be perfect. Bring warm clothes, you could very easily end up getting some snow then.

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We are not avid hikers and the reason we are going last week of May is to avoid the heavy crowds of the summer. Will pack/prepare for snow. Hopefully we can drive and take short hikes to see great vistas and scenery like we did in Yosemite. I'm pumped up about this.

Went last year on the week of the 4th of July and it wasn't too crowded. The only real crowds was in the afternoon by the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Early June could be a mess mud and mosquito wise. It could be bone dry also, depends on the spring snow.

I had the wife and our two sons(6 and 8). We camped at Lizard Creek in Tetons for the week. I think it was like $18 a night and has flush toilets and running water to wash dishes. It is about 15 miles from the south Yellowstone entrance so easy to do both parks. Lodging in Jackson was well over $300 a night. I would plan to do 60-40 or 70-30 Yellowstone, It is a much much larger park.

Jackson is just a little tourist town, we went for dinner and groceries a couple times. Pretty meh compared to the parks.

All the hikes are worth it and great. Take every pull out and see all that you can.

We drove up from Denver and spent the first night in Thermopolis then got up early and drove into Tetons from the East entrance. The east entrance seems to be the least used but the views going into the park are amazing.

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How long should we plan on spending in Jackson/Tetons?

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If you stay in Jackson Hole you can day trip it to the Tetons. Only 20 minutes from town. A couple of days in the park there is good. Plenty of wildlife and some neat hiking trails. Jenny lake late in the afternoon is awesome.

Trying to do Yellowstone without staying in the park is a grind. Honestly it is expensive to stay in the park but when you start looking at total mileage and time spent on the road coming in/out of the park it isn’t that bad. In June expect plenty of traffic and driving in the park less than 25 mph is common. Throw in some wildlife stopping traffic and people pulling over on narrow roads, and plenty of RVs and it slows even more.

To give you some idea it will take 1 1/2 hours to get to South entrance from Jackson Hole and another 1 1/2 to get to Old Faithful. This is without really stopping. From OF to Mammoth Falls it is almost 2 1/2 hours without stopping. It’s a lot of car time if not staying in the park.

We have never stayed outside the West entrance but that would be a great first night after doing Old Faithful and Grand Prismatic. Then Maybe Gardiner outside the North entrance close to Mammoth Falls on the second/third night.... Gardiner gives you best access to see a lot of the North/NE part of the park (Lamar Valley where the really wild wildlife is... grizzlies, wolves, etc...) then head back down off east side of the loop to catch upper and lower falls before heading back down out the South entrance where you first entered.

Been to Yellowstone a few times in late October and traffic not that bad but still slow going. Once in early August and it was almost pointless to try and pass anyone. Probably much better in June than August but don’t think you are going to be able to rush around the Park because that ain’t happening. Plan on driving about 20 -25 miles or so in an hour wherever you go in the park. Use that to plan.

No matter where you guys end up going or doing it will be awesome. If you are in the park for a day, a week, or a month.... you can’t see it all anyway. Good luck

We like staying in downtown Jackson to walk to the restaurants/bars. The drive from town to Teton is through town (fastest) and on to Yellowstone. Jackson has great restaurants, is near the Elk Refuge and some fun things at Snow King for kids.

I am not a huge fan of Teton Village but we always ride up Rendezvous mountain on the tram.

There are tons of different trails for hikes and the Snake River raft trips are a must.