Visiting Yellowstone park/Grand Teton (Laramie, Cody: live, drive, east coast)

[ScottStielow]

Originally Posted by Wardendresden

Jody, that guy is from Hawaii and may be unfamiliar with how aggressive the elk can be during rutting season. And September is definitely rutting season!

I don't get out the vehicle anywhere close to elk in September or October. Did see a video of an elk in Yellowstone charging a moving pick-up truck--smack into the side. Knocked the elk down. The truck stopped. Elk got up, backed up, and charged again!!

I may be living in Hawaii. But i was born and Raised in Washington State.
In my back yard was the Cascade Mountains. I think i know how to behave in the Mountains around wild animals when out camping and fishing. I even had a black Bear walk into my tent one night while sleeping. I woke up, not yelling, told the bear to leave, and he left. He was looking for food, he went to the nest camp site and found some food. I guess i wasn't good food for dinner that night.

Have a good night.
Scott

[kram79]

Is flying to Bozeman any better than Jackson hole if the prices are similar?

Any suggestions or recommendations would be appreciated...

[MisfitBanana]

Originally Posted by kram79

Is flying to Bozeman any better than Jackson hole if the prices are similar?

Any suggestions or recommendations would be appreciated...

I would personally go with Jackson Hole, though accommodations may cost more. It's a great little town, and it's right outside of Grand Teton National Park. I mean, less than a five minute drive, basically. I think Bozeman is about two hours away from Yellowstone (Jackson Hole is about an hour or so away from Yellowstone).

Additionally, there's the National Elk Refuge in Jackson, which can be worth a visit. I think it's a little better in winter, when you can do a horse-drawn sleigh ride through the refuge amongst giant elk herds, but in the summer it's still really pretty.

[WyoNewk]

Cody is another option that would be better than Bozeman, IMHO, but I'd pick Jackson over both of them if price was the same. If it's late enough that the Beartooth Highway is open, Billings would be good. It's not closer, but you'd have the prettiest drive to the park over the Beartooth. Airfare to Billings is probably less and car rentals might also be cheaper in Billings. I used to fly into Billings regularly and get a rental car for a day or two. I even got a Rent-a-Wreck there once. It was cheap, but I wouldn't do it again.

[Wardendresden]

If you chose Bozeman, I wouldn't stay there. I'd go down to Big Sky. It's still 50 miles from Yellowstone and you have to drive it every day, but it's a much more scenic drive IMO than the drive from Jackson to Yellowstone (about the same distance). But you are right at the Grand Tetons in Jackson.

The other thing Big Sky has is a nice lift to the top of the ski mountain and beautiful scenery from the top of it. Also you are closer to West Yellowstone and about six or seven miles before you get there, you can drive west toward Earthquake Lake and get the story and the view of how a late 50's earthquake (I think that's right) changed the topography in the area.

Going back to Big Sky in the evening, if you are staying at altitude (another thing to think about as it is 9000 feet at the top), you will drive up a very curvy road that literally is covered with deer, a few elk, and an occassional moose. So drive slow.

But Jackson will have more amenities if you decide to stay there. We've been at both and like them equally well. The drive from the airport to Jackson is an easy one, but the Bozeman to Big Sky road is curvy and probably 50 miles as well. Beautiful in the daytime, but potentially scary day or night because a lot of the locals are trying to get home--and they want to get there quickly.

Either way, you'll find plenty to keep your attention.

P.S. I still wouldn't count on just "finding" a place to stay. Make a reservation well in advance.

[NDak15]

Originally Posted by Wardendresden

If you chose Bozeman, I wouldn't stay there. I'd go down to Big Sky. It's still 50 miles from Yellowstone and you have to drive it every day, but it's a much more scenic drive IMO than the drive from Jackson to Yellowstone (about the same distance). But you are right at the Grand Tetons in Jackson.

The other thing Big Sky has is a nice lift to the top of the ski mountain and beautiful scenery from the top of it. Also you are closer to West Yellowstone and about six or seven miles before you get there, you can drive west toward Earthquake Lake and get the story and the view of how a late 50's earthquake (I think that's right) changed the topography in the area.

Going back to Big Sky in the evening, if you are staying at altitude (another thing to think about as it is 9000 feet at the top), you will drive up a very curvy road that literally is covered with deer, a few elk, and an occassional moose. So drive slow.

But Jackson will have more amenities if you decide to stay there. We've been at both and like them equally well. The drive from the airport to Jackson is an easy one, but the Bozeman to Big Sky road is curvy and probably 50 miles as well. Beautiful in the daytime, but potentially scary day or night because a lot of the locals are trying to get home--and they want to get there quickly.

Either way, you'll find plenty to keep your attention.

P.S. I still wouldn't count on just "finding" a place to stay. Make a reservation well in advance.

I agree that I wouldn't stay in Bozeman. Livingston is another good place to stay and it's only about 25 miles from Bozeman and 50 from the North Entrance to the Park. You could also consider Gardiner for a place to stay as it sits right next to the entrance. This is a jaunt from Grand Teton but if you make an early morning of it it can be done. I also agree with what was said about making a reservation early and with what WyoNewk said about Cody.

[kram79]

Thanks for all your responses so far....very helpful!

Is living in West yellowstone a good idea for Yellowstone park considering the lodging inside the park is sold out? It seems to be in the middle of the figure 8 grand loop rd. so we were thinking that could be a reasonable location?

[tigergal]

Originally Posted by kram79

Thanks for all your responses so far....very helpful!

Is living in West yellowstone a good idea for Yellowstone park considering the lodging inside the park is sold out? It seems to be in the middle of the figure 8 grand loop rd. so we were thinking that could be a reasonable location?

Before we actually moved to the Yellowstone area, we vacationed out here frequently. We'd spend a couple of nights at Gardiner (for easy access to the West side of the park), 2 nights at Cooke City (for easy access to Lamar Valley, Tower, and Canyon), and a couple of nights in Cody for access to this area.

Now we just spend every night in Cody.

[WyoNewk]

Yes, West Yellowstone is a good base location for much of Yellowstone. It's quite small but has decent accommodations for tourists. Tigergal has an excellent suggestion in moving around a little if you plan to be there for a week. Make it a couple days in West Yellowstone, then move to Gardiner and/or Cooke City, then maybe down towards GTNP/Jackson Hole. We usually have a 5th wheel camper to haul around so prefer not to move too often, but if you've just got suitcases in the trunk of your car, I'd try some different places. (We used to move around more when we had a truck camper.) Jackson and Cody are both worth a stop too.

[tmp4]

I'm headed to Yellowstone this Friday. Have some East Coasters coming to visit for Memorial Day weekend. Can anybody outscoop the Park Service website and tell me if all the roads have been plowed yet? I sure would like to drive the full figure-8