yellowstone,grand tetons montana vacation

I am looking at taking a vacation this summer .I would like to see grand tetons,yellowstone and lower part of montana. The things I would like to do above the sightseeing is white water rafting,fly fishing,horseback riding,chuck wagon dinner,any other ideas that you could recommend etc.

Could anyone give me some insight on decent hotels along the way,how many days to schedule(we will be flying into salt lake city),things to see,outfitters to use etc. Thanks for your help.

yellowstone,grand tetons montana vacation

From Salt Lake City I would drive to West Yellowstone(6 hrs.) and see Old Faithful area one day, then next day go to Mammoth area and make my way to Cody. In Cody you will want to spend several days seeing museums, etc. While in Cody you can see the Beartooth Highway/Red Lodge area of Montana and then take the eastern entrance into YNP and make your way thru the Grand Tetons to Jackson Hole. If you plan to stay in YNP make reservations quick because some are already filled for the summer. We stayed in new Best Western in West Yellowstone last year and Wyoming Inn in Jackson Hole. This year we are staying at Cody Cowboy Village in Cody. We did raft trip on Snake River with Barker-Ewing. Horseback riding is offered in YNP and Grand Tetons.Running Bear Pancake house in West Yellowstone has the best pancakes in the world. For elk, seafood and steak the Gunbarrel Restaurant in Jackson Hole is great and affordable.The drvie from Jackson Hole to SLC is about 5 hours if you take the route thru Wyoming like we did last year.

yellowstone,grand tetons montana vacation

There are several outfitters in the general area for guided trips. It%26#39;s been my experince that making lodging reservations is far more important than excersion reservations. If you can%26#39;t find what you want in the park I like West Yellowstone, but that might depend on wich way you%26#39;re traveling.

Staying in Jackson in the summer month can be very spendy, even at Motel 6. You might want to try Teton Villiage. It%26#39;s a slower pace, usually better priced and an easy drive to GTNP or Jackson.

Unless you really want to visit a big museum, I%26#39;d skip Cody. The museum is really pretty neat but it%26#39;s a whole day inside.