So I want to take the girlfriend on a vacation. Shes never really been on one, and odds are the poor girl will be dragged through a lot of fishing trips and watch me blow tons on hunting trips if she sticks around (has for over 2 years so far lol). So, I asked if there is anything she has always wanted to do, and the only idea she could come up with was Yellowstone. It happens to be on my bucketlist as well, so would like to do it. I have some vacation time t burn up, and hopefully Obama took a good bit to much as always from me, and should be paying me back pretty soon. I wont have loads of money, but think I can come up with something. So, was wondering if the people who have been could give me some tips and info. Any recommendations (hotel, tours, maybe vacation packages), info, dos or do nots, etc. Thinking of going the end of May, need to use vacation days before June 3rd. Thank you guys and gals!
I've been there 6-8 times. I had a good friend that lived 1.5 hours north of the park and we would go out there to shoot prairie dogs and fly fish. We also did some fishing in the park. Awesome time. My wife and I went out there after he moved and we stayed at a hotel in Livingston for a few nights. It's about 1 hour to get to the park and the drive is beautiful along the Yellowstone River through Paradise Valley. It's been about 12 years since I've been there so I don't have any great advice, except to have fun.
We flew into Idaho Falls, rented a car...then to Jackson Hole, through Moose, and into Yellowstone...finally back to Idaho falls. I had a blast! That was over a week period.
I was looking to either fly into Jackson Hole or drive all the way. Would love the drive, would be extra cool to see more of the country. But think it might actually cost more over all doing that...especially if I rent a car to save my own. So might be ruling that out, not sure.
I would say it's still going to be cheaper to rent a car and drive. Flying into those local airports are very expensive and you still have to rent a car while you are there. There's a lot of things to see on your way, so it makes a great driving vacation. Expect to put several thousand miles on the car. We drove from NW Missouri and put on 3600 miles. You might want to research when everything opens. Their winter last longer than you expect. I'm not sure what the weather is supposed to be like the first week of June. The camping can be difficult during the peak season, but I' would think think that early you should be ok. We stayed in a little cabin outside of the north entrance. It took us a little while to get to the park, but the north entrance is not nearly as busy as the other entrance from the east side. There are great wildlife viewing on the north side as well. We saw hundreds of elk, quite a few deer, black bear, grizzly bears and a moose. We just went last summer, and I'm already looking forward to going back.
I've been about 5 times, but it's been about 10 years. general tips: - stay in Jackson Hole. It's just an awesome town. - you can skip Old Faithful. Most anti climatic thing of my life. - explore the Grant Tetons. They are absurdly gorgeous. - the most important thing is to get out of your car and hike. too many freaking people never get out of their car in National Parks
Oh....and seeing the back sides of the tetons from Idaho was pretty sweet. I'll admit... if I went back I'd stay in Jackson, explore the tetons, view wildlife in Moose....fish some around Jackson. Not even go into Yellowstone.
I've been there a few times and its a beautiful place. I've never been there in the spring and I would think late May might be pushing it weather wise and things don't really open up until early to mid May anyway, but you never know. It is calving season for many species so that would be neat and wherever you find the first fresh green grass, bears are sure to be close. Personally, I would avoid going in the peak summer season (June-August) as the real wildlife at this time is all the people on the roads, stopping every couple of miles to photograph the next animal along the road..the traffic jams get frustrating. If I had my choice, I'd go mid September to early October as there are far less people, the elk are bugling, bears are feeding heavily before winter and are very visible, and the aspen are turning.
I lived in the area for 5 yrs. The entire area is awesome from Yellowstone to south of Jackson Hole to the Idaho side of the Tetons. You really can't go wrong with anywhere you go it is all pretty fun. The Snake has some great fishing and Jackson and Jenny Lake can produce some whopper lakers. If you want to treat your girl to a nice night rent, a cabin at Dornans in Moose, with dinner on the deck of the Pizza Pasta restaraunt (dont let the name fool you the food is great) then go downstairs to the wineshop and get a good bottle to take back to the cabin. The cabins are a stone's throw from the Snake. You will thank me later
I went last July and had a blast I really loved Jackson Hole and after we went through the park I love whitewater rafting on the Yellowstone River and sitting in the swings in Gardiner Montana while watching the elk and deer graze through the town and across the mountain side.
Go before the kids get out for the summer, or after they return to school. During the tourist season the traffic getting in and out of the park is horrendous.
Very awesome country out there. The family and I went there 3 years ago and flew into Bozeman,MT, which was cheaper to fly into there than Jackson Hole, Wy. We rented a car and stayed in the Paradise Valley south of Livingston and approx. 20 min North of Gardinier,MT which is the North entrance to Yellowstone. We stayed in a cabin we rented from Patricia Blume Properties Two bedroom rental cabin is perched high above Tom Miner Basin in Paradise Valley, Montana , in the Carbella cabin, it had breathtaking views and was on a ridge all by itself over looking the Yellowstone River. Cant wait to go back, seen all kinds of wildlife and some monster elk, also seen a lot of elk, mule deer and antelope by the cabin.
Well the link I was trying to post was Patricia Blume | Vacation Rentals Montana, Yellowstone, Livingston & Paradise Valley, Montana. ... it was called the Carbella Cabin in the Paradise Valley with Patricia Blume Properties out of Livingston, MT
I think getting out of the car is most important also. If you see a sign and a side road, take it! There is something down there that will be cool. I've had my most memorable Yellowstone moments off the beaten path while fishing and hiking.
Gardner Montana is fantastic, stay at the best western, you can eat drink and gamble all the while watching elk graze.
If you stay in Yellowstone, expect to pay quite a bit for subpar hotels. However, if you do go this route, you need to try and get rooms as soon as you can. I had to book everything a year in advance. If you want to spend several days in Yellowstone I would centrally locate myself and explore a different part of the park every day. I made the mistake of moving around the park and staying at a different place almost every single day. It wasn't bad, but wasn't great. All the geysers and geothermal features in Yellowstone are neat at first, but it's like once you've seen one, you've seen them all. Like others have said on here, Jackson and the Grand Tetons are fantastic. If I go back I will definitely spend more time in Jackson, more time hiking/exploring, and less time driving. And another word of advice. If you end up staying at Jackson Lake Lodge, don't eat at the mural room. My wife wanted to eat there and we both thought it sucked. The view was incredible, but the food was way overpriced and not good. Spend more time in Jackson, there are several great places to eat.
Check VRBO for a cabin rental. Should be plenty of options for that area. We've used the site several times and have been very happy.
