Where to stay in order to avoid tourist traps

Dear all,

my husband %26amp; me are planning a trip to the Rocky Mountains in September 2008. Right now, we are just beginning to piece together an itinerary and are a little worried about making the wrong choices and ending up in all the wrong places (that is to say, tourist traps). We are really, really looking forward to this and would hate to be disappointed because we stuck to the standard tourist guide books too much.

Would any of you have any suggestions on where to stay and what to do (we will have about 1 week at Yellowstone) - and what places to avoid if possible (no matter what the guidebooks say) to have a really memorable stay?

May be there are some useful websites I haven%26#39;t found yet ...

Any comments or suggestions would be an enormous help!

Thanks a lot!

Silke, Germany

Where to stay in order to avoid tourist traps

Hi Silke and welcome to the forum.

I don%26#39;t know about TT%26#39;s in the area. Besides Yellowstone also visit Grand Teton NP and do the drives on Beartooth Pass (212) and Chief Joseph hw(296) and also visit places like Cody and Jackson.

This site may be helpful: www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit

Tet

Where to stay in order to avoid tourist traps

It%26#39;s also a matter of affordability. Given your week in YNP, go to the website Tet noted, and then go to the Lodging section. Lodging can be hard to secure in the Park (Xanterra does the lodging), but well worth it to avoid driving in and out of the park to, say, West Yellowstone. Look carefully at the park lodging photos and descriptions, as it ranges from very basic cabins to standard motels. No matter where you stay, it will be a memorable trip. We%26#39;ll also be there for a week in early September, one of many return trips to the park.