I have another thread about this in the Outdoor board, but thought I'd toss it out to the regulars here as well.


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I will probably be sticking to some of the more well travelled areas. I can't imagine being hiking off down a trail by myself and coming across a bear, moose, bison, wolf...wouldn't be a comfortable experience for me. So for now, the plan would be to drive the loop(s) and soak in the scenery and look for wildlife from the roadside. Might work in a ranger led hike or something.

For those of you who've been, how is traffic in the park? I know the speedlimit is only 45 or so, but I saw a couple of photos of "bear jams" and wondered how prevalent wildlife related traffic snarls are.

I'm thinking about flying in to Jackson, and spending 1 day in the Grand Teton NP.

On the second day driving to Yellowstone and seeing Old Faithful and basically the Southwest quarter of the lower loop and staying in West Yellowstone.

Day 3 taking in the entire upper loop and returning to West Yellowstone.

Day 4 taking in the Eastern side of the lower loop and returning to Jackson Hole that evening.

Day 5 fly home.

I'm not sure what I'll fill those days with, but I'll fill in the details later. Unfortunately, all the lodging in the park seems to be booked for late August. So I'll be staying outside of the parks. Does all that sound reasonable?

The tent cabins at Colter Bay would be a decent option, but I'm not sure how cold that would get at night.

http://www.yellowstone.net/topten.htm

I encourage you to go hiking. Even just a day trip, it is so wonderful to get away from all the people and enjoy the wilderness. If you are concerned about animals, you have to visit with the rangers before they will issue you a backcountry permit to make sure you know what to do with a bear and how to prevent an encounter.


It is amazing having a bison walk 25 yards away from you. Nothing like have a bear 10 yards away from you, watching you for 30 minutes. Get out of the car, hike down a creek, and spend the night. It will be the best part of the trip. Out of the times I have been to Yellowstone, the best parts weren't seeing Old Faithful or a bear from the road, but hiking the Lamar river and sleeping under the stars. Sure sometimes you aren't comfortable, but that is part of the beauty of it. I like THE HIKE!



Bad traffic jams happen in the park. Tourists see an animal and stop their cars, often times in the middle of the road or atleast blocking traffic. The entire highway stops while tourists take pictures of bears, deer, moose, mice, rabbits. You could actually stop you car (no animal in sight), get out to stretch your legs, and 20 cars would stop and join you and begin looking for the animal.

I apologize for my tantrum. I like the hike.[/edit]

[This message has been edited by Pro Sandy (edited 8/11/2008 12:04a).]

We've been 4 of the last 5 years - vacation in Jackson for a week and hit the parks.

GTNP - hike Jenny Lake up to Inspiration Point. There are plenty of people if you're worried about being alone, and you still see some incredible scenery.

There are several other lakes and easy hikes in the park that are less crowded - Cascade Canyon, the Amplitheatre, and others. The trails are well maintained and you typically have good sight distance so a bear isn't going to sneak up on you. We did a 6 and a 7 mile hike with our boys (8 and 12) and loved it.

Yellowstone - traffic can get heavy, but it's usually on the roads around Old Faithful. Take the lake loop over to Hayden Valley and up to Canyon - great drive. Mammoth on the north side is great as well, and Old Faithful is pretty spectacular.

Have fun.

I vacationed there two years ago. I recommend beginning your drives early - not just to minimize traffic but for optimal wildlife viewing and beautiful sunrises. Stop when you come across a groups of people with large telescopes. They are more than willing to share what they found. We watched a pack of wolves keeping a hungry bear away from an elk carcass. This was in the NE section of the park that is probably least visited.

I prefer it in winter on snownmobile. Summer...too many people and bears.