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Yellowstone NP

enisthemenace

enisthemenace

Well-Known Member
Dec 5, 2009
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Runnells, IA
Wanting to take the family to Yellowstone but having difficulty finding a decent place that is affordable. It doesn’t have to be anything special, and certainly doesn’t have to be in the park itself. Within reasonable driving distance. Just a place to sleep, really, plus a place to throw some logs down to have a small fire at night. Would like a cabin at some reasonable altitude.

As far as “affordable”, I know the Teton area is not gonna work, for example.

Any suggestions out there?
 
Big Horns although at a certain altitude you can't have fires.

But with that night sky, you don't need a fire.
 
Try Idaho, pretty country along the Snake and not that long of a drive. Don't know what is a reasonable drive is for you.
 
enisthemenace said:
Wanting to take the family to Yellowstone but having difficulty finding a decent place that is affordable. It doesn’t have to be anything special, and certainly doesn’t have to be in the park itself. Within reasonable driving distance. Just a place to sleep, really, plus a place to throw some logs down to have a small fire at night. Would like a cabin at some reasonable altitude.

As far as “affordable”, I know the Teton area is not gonna work, for example.

Any suggestions out there?
Click to expand...


Try West Yellowstone. Just outside the park. Quite a few motels.
 
No cabin recommendations but my family (my mom and 2 sisters) took a trip out there in May a couple years ago and rented a 25 ft Class C RV and had a blast. We stayed at the Tetons the first night and then 3 nights at campgrounds in Yellowstone. It allowed us to get up early and hit up a couple spots before it got too crowded which was nice.
 
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CycloneSarah said:
No cabin recommendations but my family (my mom and 2 sisters) took a trip out there in May a couple years ago and rented a 25 ft Class C RV and had a blast. We stayed at the Tetons the first night and then 3 nights at campgrounds in Yellowstone. It allowed us to get up early and hit up a couple spots before it got too crowded which was nice.
Click to expand...

If the family is OK with it, I also highly recommend the campgrounds. Last I was there no reservations needed, although get to the next one before noon during high season or all the sites might be gone.

Staying inside the park give you a huge head start on getting to the attractions inside the park versus the long commute that comes with out-of-park lodging options.
 
We had to cancel our trip to Switzerland so we decided a road trip was in order. We've never been to a national park and are not real the "outdoors" type of people. A few things we've learned.

#1 We're buying so much unnecessary ****. Bear mace, new back pack, binoculars, shoes, pants, cooler, gopro 8, guide book,etc. It's comical how much crap we bought and will only use on this one trip.

#2 We're staying in Ft. Collins(2), Jackson(2), Gardiner(2), Cody(1), Custer(1), and Sioux Falls(1). We're staying in hotels in each of these places, not a big fan of camping.

#3 The people on FB swear by an app called Gypsy Guide. Download it for offline use, since cell service sucks.

#4 I'm a planner. I have every day pretty much planned out on Google Maps. The Grand Tetons seem more of a place where you just kind of check out the views where Yellowstone has a lot of places to actually visit but we've also allowed a lot of time to just kind of wander.
 
Stayed 7 nights in Yellowstone at Canyon Village Campground and 7 nights in the Tetons a year or so ago. Much better to stay in the park, people who are not familiar with it do not understand how large it is. By staying in the park you can get to different attractions earlier to beat the crowds. If you do not get an early start, traffic can be terrible, plus you have times were Bison herds are taking up the roads and you may sit for a long period of time. We hiked about 6-10 miles each day, bear spray is a must, we ran into 3 grizzly's and 2 black bear on our hikes. If you go to see Old Faithful, make a day of it, there are a ton of other geysers there. We were lucky enough to catch it on a good day where we saw 7-8 go off. Most lodges have restaurant and bar areas to eat, not overly priced.
 
We stayed in West Yellowstone about a month ago, easy drive to the west entrance of the park, which is right in the middle so you can do North or South loop easy. It was maybe 10 minutes from our hotel (Holiday Inn Express) to the entrance of the park. West Yellowstone had tons of little restaurants, etc that are all walkable from the hotel.
 
dmclone said:
We had to cancel our trip to Switzerland so we decided a road trip was in order. We've never been to a national park and are not real the "outdoors" type of people. A few things we've learned.

#1 We're buying so much unnecessary ****. Bear mace, new back pack, binoculars, shoes, pants, cooler, gopro 8, guide book,etc. It's comical how much crap we bought and will only use on this one trip.

#2 We're staying in Ft. Collins(2), Jackson(2), Gardiner(2), Cody(1), Custer(1), and Sioux Falls(1). We're staying in hotels in each of these places, not a big fan of camping.

#3 The people on FB swear by an app called Gypsy Guide. Download it for offline use, since cell service sucks.

#4 I'm a planner. I have every day pretty much planned out on Google Maps. The Grand Tetons seem more of a place where you just kind of check out the views where Yellowstone has a lot of places to actually visit but we've also allowed a lot of time to just kind of wander.
Click to expand...

For bears the key is not having food around. They make odor free ziplock bags that can help. I was on high Sierra trail for 8 days last fall and we had one very close encounter. It was right on our tight trail. The tiny bear bell we brought and standing our ground strong worked well, it was quite close but not in spray range. None of our other encounters have been close enough to feel like action was needed.

Don't keep any food or wrappers in your car, that could actually be more likely an issue depending on what you leave in the car.
 
It has been a few years since I've been to Yellowstone. Last time I went I stayed five nights all at the Brandin' Iron Inn in West Yellowstone (Brandiniron.com). I feel it is a comfortable inn close to Yellowstone's west entrance. West Yellowstone is as close as you can get to Yellowstone NP without staying inside the park. I believe if you leave Brandin Iron one hour before sunrise, you can reach Old Faithful before sunrise. In addition it's also only 3-4 blocks from the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center. I would recommend going and viewing the grizzlies and wolves they have so you really get an idea of how large both are. If you are lucky you in the park, you may see both but your view will likely be from a long distance. At the Discovery Center they are CLOSE.
 
We've stayed in Cody, West Yellowstone (hotels) and at a B&B north of Gardiner. We hope to camp next time we visit. Yeah, hotels can be expensive and more so toward Jackson Hole. Have you checked out any of the KOA's to see if they have openings? They usually have camping cabins - just bring towels & sleeping bags. Buffalo Bill Village in Cody has cabins that are reasonable: https://www.buffalobillvillage.com/

Definitely take your time in the park. Food inside the park is a little pricey & if you want to save a little, pack a cooler of food and have a picnic. Pack for all 4 seasons. I've been there in August when it's snowing/sleeting and another year it was 32 degrees as we drove in the park, though it warmed up. The last year we went, the weather was perfect. Get there early to see Old Faithful so you can get a good seat.

If you have the time, spend a day in Cody. Definitely visit the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. It is amazing and has grown over the years. I was there in 1981, 1998 and 2009 and each time it was different. Interestingly, they brought Buffalo Bill Cody's boyhood home from LeClaire, IA and it is now located at the center. Go see the western shootout outside the Irma hotel. It's kinda cheesy, but fun. You can reserve a seat, though it costs. Old Trail Town is pretty neat. They've moved historical buildings to the site, including a cabin used by Butch Cassidy, Sundance Kid and other outlaws. Jeremiah Johnson's gravesite is also there, along with some others. When we took our sons (they were 9 & 11), we went river rafting with Wyoming River trips and the boys talked about it for years. Buffalo Bill Reservoir/Dam was kinda of a neat quick thing to do.

Another thing I'd highly recommend is Beartooth Scenic Highway.


Not sure if you have boys or girls. When we got there, one of the first things our boys said about Yellowstone was "You can fart here and no one would know it!" LOL
 
We found a relatively cheap Airbnb in Gardiner for a few nights last September. We had pretty good access to the Tower Junction and Canyon Village areas. We also stayed a few nights at the Old Faithful Inn, and while definitely not cheap, it was a super cool experience.
 
We tent camped in Canyon last year. Words cannot describe how great an experience this was. Campgrounds are great. There are also a bunch of cabins/townhouses in this area if you are not a camper. Not much risk of bears in this area, but you still must be wary of leaving food out. We kept everything locked in our van every night.

I'd recommend staying in the park if you can manage it. The park is HUGE. We were there for 5 full days and saw a bunch, but we could probably go back 2 more times and still not do or see all we want. To give you an idea, Canyon is centrally located, but it's easy to spend over an hour driving to your point of interest. And you really want to get to your location before 9am to beat the tour buses and the crush of people. By lunch time everything is packed and parking can be a nightmare.

If you stay off park, I can only imagine how much that adds to travel, unless you keep to areas near your entrance. However most of the points you will want to see are literally at all corners of the park.

However since the Grand Canyon is really close to Canyon campgrounds, we had a great time going there roughly an hour before dusk...basically anytime after supper time. It was great for pictures and by then the park has completely emptied out.

Also, remember you are camping at like 9,000 feet. We went the week after July 4th, and one night the low was 33F. Most nights it was about 36-40F.
 
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RLD4ISU said:
We've stayed in Cody, West Yellowstone (hotels) and at a B&B north of Gardiner. We hope to camp next time we visit. Yeah, hotels can be expensive and more so toward Jackson Hole. Have you checked out any of the KOA's to see if they have openings? They usually have camping cabins - just bring towels & sleeping bags. Buffalo Bill Village in Cody has cabins that are reasonable: https://www.buffalobillvillage.com/

Definitely take your time in the park. Food inside the park is a little pricey & if you want to save a little, pack a cooler of food and have a picnic. Pack for all 4 seasons. I've been there in August when it's snowing/sleeting and another year it was 32 degrees as we drove in the park, though it warmed up. The last year we went, the weather was perfect. Get there early to see Old Faithful so you can get a good seat.

If you have the time, spend a day in Cody. Definitely visit the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. It is amazing and has grown over the years. I was there in 1981, 1998 and 2009 and each time it was different. Interestingly, they brought Buffalo Bill Cody's boyhood home from LeClaire, IA and it is now located at the center. Go see the western shootout outside the Irma hotel. It's kinda cheesy, but fun. You can reserve a seat, though it costs. Old Trail Town is pretty neat. They've moved historical buildings to the site, including a cabin used by Butch Cassidy, Sundance Kid and other outlaws. Jeremiah Johnson's gravesite is also there, along with some others. When we took our sons (they were 9 & 11), we went river rafting with Wyoming River trips and the boys talked about it for years. Buffalo Bill Reservoir/Dam was kinda of a neat quick thing to do.

Another thing I'd highly recommend is Beartooth Scenic Highway.


Not sure if you have boys or girls. When we got there, one of the first things our boys said about Yellowstone was "You can fart here and no one would know it!" LOL
Click to expand...

We looked at a couple of KOAs. 2 BR cabin w/o a bathroom is $154/night. I could do that. Wife? Not so much :D
 
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