Awesome.

I've only fished that side of the park a couple of times, on the Firehole and Gibbon. Our place is north of the park so we spend a lot more time in the Lamar drainage.

Mathguy64 said:

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aggieman00 said:

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Dorm 15 said:

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The road between Canyon and Tower Junction is still closed this season.

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Sorry if it's a dumb question but what does that mean? The road closures I've seen looking in the area say they are supposed to re-open April 15th. Are there some roads that will be closed in September?

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The issue is time. If that side of the figure 8 is closed it will be a 2.5-3 hour one way trip from the Lake Hotel area to the Lamar valley.

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Ah okay thanks. That's a bummer but we're used to driving so I will probably just factor the extra time into my schedule to get us out there.

Just one point of warning, in September you may get the odd snow storm. We were there in September and an overnight snow storm brought down a power line blacking out half the park for the morning. Roads were closed until that time while they were waiting to be plowed. It was a unique experience to be sure but you need to be aware of this potential interruption to your plans.

https://yellowstoneinsider.com/

Pretty good source for information.

FarmerJohn said:

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Just one point of warning, in September you may get the odd snow storm. We were there in September and an overnight snow storm brought down a power line blacking out half the park for the morning. Roads were closed until that time while they were waiting to be plowed. It was a unique experience to be sure but you need to be aware of this potential interruption to your plans.

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I was suppose to leave Jackson the morning after that storm but I decided to stay another day and I was glad I did. I drove back thru the Tetons taking pictures of the snow covered park for probably six hours that day. One of my most favorite vacation days of my life. It was crazy to think I hiked that same park two days before and the temp was in the 90s.

It snowed in Yellowstone every month of the year in 2020. Granted July and August were only dustings but it did snow.

Going to Jackson Hole and Yellowstone for the GF's bday the week before Memorial Day. Definitely going to hit up some of the suggestions in previous posts

We were in YS the week before Memorial Day. Crowds got worse and worse as the weekend approached, so if you want to do something that's popular, do it early in the week.

I am currently booking a road trip vacation for the summer, late July. We are gonna hit up Roswell for a day, Grand Canyon for 2 days, then head towards yellowstone, probably stopping in Salt Lake City for the night and then onto Yellowstone for a few days.

We are looking at staying in West Yellowstone. It's hard to find lodging already and West Yellowstone seems to have the closest lodging to old faithful, the park, etc. Jackson, Cody, and even into Montana just seem to be too far away from the main attractions of yellowstone?

At any rate, I try to Google Map the drive from West Yellowstone to Old Faithful, and it shows 191 is closed from West Yellowstone to Madison and then into Old Faithful. Is this portion of the road going to be closed in July? When will it open back up?


While im asking for input, other than the suggestions here already, any places of lodging or excursions (Roosevelt Chuckwagon dinner will be on the books today) I should consider for last week of July for about 4 nights (currently looking 27-31)? Should I bounce around or stay in one place? Is West Yellowstone sufficient, or spend a few nights there and a few nights in Jackson ($$$)?

Thanks for all the help.

Mormon Row is stunning
Inspiration Point - take the boat across Jenny Lake - hike up

I'd suggest more time in Jackson - much quieter and less tourists

Hopefully this map will help with estimating times.

https://www.yellowstonenationalparklodges.com/content/uploads/2017/04/Park-Map-with-mileage.pdf

The roads in the park are closed for a few more weeks due to winter closures. All roads should open with the exception of Canyon to Tower.

We liked moving around during our time. Started in Dornan's for a few days to see the Tetons, then a night at Old Faithful, then a few nights in Canyon. Still had driving at the end of everyday, but better positioned us. But we were able to get reservations in the park.

I feel the need to add this here. Grand Prismatic Spring, go to the overlook. In preparing for my trip, I saw that, but missed the trailhead at Fairy Falls, so we took the boardwalk. Don't do that. It is difficult to see at ground-level. You need some elevation to see it better.

moore42 said:

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I am currently booking a road trip vacation for the summer, late July. We are gonna hit up Roswell for a day, Grand Canyon for 2 days, then head towards yellowstone, probably stopping in Salt Lake City for the night and then onto Yellowstone for a few days.

We are looking at staying in West Yellowstone. It's hard to find lodging already and West Yellowstone seems to have the closest lodging to old faithful, the park, etc. Jackson, Cody, and even into Montana just seem to be too far away from the main attractions of yellowstone?

At any rate, I try to Google Map the drive from West Yellowstone to Old Faithful, and it shows 191 is closed from West Yellowstone to Madison and then into Old Faithful. Is this portion of the road going to be closed in July? When will it open back up?


While im asking for input, other than the suggestions here already, any places of lodging or excursions (Roosevelt Chuckwagon dinner will be on the books today) I should consider for last week of July for about 4 nights (currently looking 27-31)? Should I bounce around or stay in one place? Is West Yellowstone sufficient, or spend a few nights there and a few nights in Jackson ($$$)?

Thanks for all the help.

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It depends on what you're looking for. You can see most of the thermal features in a day. I would start first thing in the morning at Old Faithful and work north.

Last year, I stayed at the Canyon Lodges in the park, if I were to do it again, I would have picked the Mammoth area. I tried to do a lot of animal watching. The north side of the park is best for that.

Also, if you are an early riser, you will beat the traffic. If you're heading into the park at 9 am, expect heavy traffic. I would leave my room at 4 or 5 am, do things until noon or so, head back and grab a nap, then head out again around 2 or 3. I would eat outside of the park, then try more animal watching.

From 3 pm to 5 pm, traffic leaving the park is very heavy. After 5 pm, the park is wonderful to be in. If you try to hit the most popular features from 10 am to 3 pm, you will likely have waits just to get in the parking lots.

Since there is so much ground to cover in the Yellowstone/Teton area, I typically recommend splitting up where you stay if possible. Maybe stay in Jackson a couple nights to see the Tetons, West Yellowstone to make it easier to explore the geothermal areas in the south, and then around Gardiner or Paradise Valley (Montana) for exploring the northern parts of Yellowstone.

Also the areas you choose to spend the most time in Yellowstone are somewhat dependent on what you like to do. Most of the geothermal stuff is in the southern part of the park, but the better areas for animal sightings and hiking are in the north.

Are you traveling with kids or just adults? I'll actually be at our family place in the area the same week.

When did park lodging get so expensive? We went about 10 years ago and placed lien grant village and canyons had plenty of options for $100 a night or less. Now it's like 2x to 3x that.

Scotts Tot said:

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Since there is so much ground to cover in the Yellowstone/Teton area, I typically recommend splitting up where you stay if possible. Maybe stay in Jackson a couple nights to see the Tetons, West Yellowstone to make it easier to explore the geothermal areas in the south, and then around Gardiner or Paradise Valley (Montana) for exploring the northern parts of Yellowstone.

Also the areas you choose to spend the most time in Yellowstone are somewhat dependent on what you like to do. Most of the geothermal stuff is in the southern part of the park, but the better areas for animal sightings and hiking are in the north.

Are you traveling with kids or just adults? I'll actually be at our family place in the area the same week.

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I will be travelling with the whole fam, so 3 kids.

Have you managed to get anything booked yet? I've looked at the accommodations around our place and everything is either booked or exorbitantly expensive.