A Week in Yellowstone - Enough to do? Where to stay?

My wife and I plan to spend a week in YNP (possibly at the Lake Yellowstone Hotel) in late September this year.

As we like horse riding, we%26#39;ve already booked a week on a ranch in Grand Teton. We then plan to head up to YNP.

We love hiking and watching wildlife.

I have two concerns:

Will there be enough to do for 7 days?

Is it a good idea to stay for all 7 days at the Lake Yellowstone Hotel?

Thanks!

A Week in Yellowstone - Enough to do? Where to stay?

the lake yellowstone hotel is a great place to stay. however, i%26#39;m not sure i would enjoy staying there for 7 straight days. i think part of the allure of going to ynp is seeing all the different lodges %26amp; staying at different places.

if it were me i would stay in 3-5 different places. i%26#39;d even go outside the park for a couple of days. the drive to red lodge across the beartooth pass is awesome. there are some really good hikes (black canyon) on this route too %26amp; you aren%26#39;t very far outside the park. there are some great bed-n-breakfast places there (galleghers irish rose). leave red lodge %26amp; take the chief joseph scenic parkway over to cody, spend the night (mayor%26#39;s inn b%26amp;b), go to the cody rodeo (it%26#39;s great), see the buffalo bill museum, %26amp; come back into ynp through the east entrance. it%26#39;s probably not 150 miles to make that loop %26amp; you will see some awesome scenery.

while you%26#39;re staying in grand teton national park make sure you go down to jackson for a day %26amp; evening. you%26#39;ve got to see the square, the million dollar cowboy bar, the shootout at 6pm, etc. it%26#39;s a great town.

lots of good hikes in the tetons (jenny lake has several %26amp; you can take the boat across to cut off some distance). i also love phelps lake overlook %26amp; if you get there, you%26#39;ll want to hike down to the shoreline. you%26#39;re going to love the area if you%26#39;ve never been.

A Week in Yellowstone - Enough to do? Where to stay?

Yes!! Between wildlife watching and hiking you can easily stay busy in Yellowstone for 7 days. The elk will be rutting. Bears will be busy feeding up for winter. Most of the mosquitos should be gone and most mud on the trails dried up. Be prepared for the possibility of colder weather and snow though. You might want to bring a travel guide book along. My favorite is Yellowstone Treasures by Janet Chapple. It has a mile-by-mile guide to the park roads.

It can be a long drive from Lake Hotel up to the Lamar Valley on the northeast entrance road where alot of wildlife watching is done, so consider a night or to in Gardiner/Mammoth or Cooke City/Silver Gate.

There%26#39;s definitely enough to see for 7 days. There are hikes to take and tons of wildlife. You might want to get some books or do some on-line research on hikes in the area over and above the typical boardwalks. I have read that two hikes, relatively easy, are Mystic and Fairy Falls. I think both are in the Old Faithful geyser basin. There are many geysers that erupt at various times, and you could spend time checking these out. I hear the Beartooth is awesome also, and you would have time to take it since you have a week.

I might split up the stay between two areas in Yellowstone if you can. If lodging isn%26#39;t available, I wouldn%26#39;t worry too much. You will have a wonderful time regardless of where you stay.

I would split my time between Old Faithful, Mammoth, Lamar Valley areas and Cody, Wyoming. I do not think that I would stay in the same place all week.

Yes, there is so much to do after your 7 days you will want to come back for more! There is so many different things to do and so much variety in scenery you will only scratch the surface. Last year we moved around a lot to have a couple of days to really concentrate on each area and that worked really well. However this year we will do 2 days at Mammoth to do the northern part then stay put at Canyon for 1 week before a week in the tetons. Canyon is pretty centrally located for most of the park and Lake Yellowstone Hotel just 15- 20 miles away. Lake Yellowstone is a beautiful hotel in a beautiful setting, we only stayed there one night but really loved it. Close by is Hayden Valley for wildlife watching then of course the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone with the upper and lower falls, the mudpots and West Thumb geyser basin. Other must sees are the other geyser basins- upper, middle, black sand, biscuit and Norris plus Artist Paint Pots and a drive through one I think Fountain paint pots. The terraces at Mammoth are really neat and can soak in the Gardiner River there where the Boiling River flows in. The Lamar Valley also is a must for wildlife watching, near by Trout Lake, Tower Falls, Calcite Springs, so many waterfalls, etc... to name just a few things. A few hikes would be Avalanche Peak, Mt Washburn, Natural Bridge, Mystic Falls, Fairy Falls, Storm point, The Hoodoos, Bunsen Peak, Elephant Back Mountain, Shoshone Lake, or a hike to the Petrified Trees. Sorry there is just so much (and I left out so much)- would love to answer any questions you may have if I can. Anyway don%26#39;t worry, you won%26#39;t be bored.

You don’t say exactly when in September, but I’m guessing Lake Hotel was the only availability. Often people are more successful by calling rather than using the web reservations. Also, don’t give up, there often are cancellations and rooms become available elsewhere.

There are advantages and disadvantages to various sites. Two years ago we stayed at Old Faithful Inn and Lake Yellowstone cabins, for a week total. We will be in Yellowstone this year the third week of September and will spend the entire time in the Old Faithful Inn. What people forget about moving is there is valuable time lost in the move (pack up, check out, move, check in, unpack) plus just the hassle factor. Unlike others, given that you love hiking and the outdoors and are not traveling with children, I suggest you skip West Yellowstone (which is not in Yellowstone) for lodging. You will enjoy the ambiance of Jackson much more – but I’m only recommending a visit – it’s too far from the park for lodging.

I love the Lake Hotel and have stayed there many times. We will definitely go over and have dinner one night and enjoy the lobby and views. But it is not as centrally located as Old Faithful. When you are planning to be there, chances are the only choices are Mammoth, Lake Hotel and Old Faithful. Since you have never been before, you may want to at least stay at one other location, as it would reduce some of your drive time to various locations. The Old Faithful Inn is landmark not to be missed, whether or not you stay there!

Some of the activities such as horseback riding and chuck wagon dinners will not be available in the park that time of year. Speaking of time of year, and I understand people trying to be helpful, but the Cody Night Rodeo will NOT be an option when you are there, its last night will be August 31st. Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t visit the Cody museums – they are world-class. You will have no trouble filling 7 days – do a search on this forum for itineraries and you will find many, many wonderful suggestions.

Someone else mentioned it, but frosts and light snow are certainly a possibility that time of year. Be sure to pack appropriate clothing to dress in layers and shed during the day and have gloves.

If you love hiking and wildlife there is plenty to do.

Our last trip was in September 2005 when we split 7 days between the Tetons and Yellowstone and we are heading back this year in June so that we will see all the baby animals.

This year we only have one day in the Tetons and 10 in Yellowstone (and we don%26#39;t do much hiking at all).

We are splitting our time between Old Faithful, Canyon, Lake, Cody and Gardiner so that we get to visit all areas of the park without too much driving.

Yellowstone is a different experience altogether, it is an awsome place and just seems to draw you back.

There is definitely enough to do. We spent about 6 1/2 days in Yellowstone and 1 1/2 in Grand Teton. We broke it up into 3 different areas of the park to save time. That said, if you don%26#39;t mind driving you could stick with one hotel. If you want to see wildlife in the Lamar Valley you want to get up really early one day. We drove in from Gardiner when we did that. I wrote about our trip on my personal yellowstone website which might be helpful for you:

http://yellowstonetravel.s.googlepages.com/

Have a great trip!

konabound, very nicely done!

Thanks for all the help!

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