Yellowstone - Where to stay outside of the Park?

[Disappointed]

It is too late to get a room inside the park for early June, so, I was told that the best place would be toward the West Entrance. Looked up Tripadvisor but also would like to hear other advice.

I did call the Lake Hotel inside the park and they told me the only night available is Monday, June 5th. Nothing else available in the first half of June.

Would love to spend a night at Grand Teton before spending couple of nights in the YP but Grand Teton is toward the South Entrance? Not much accommodation around the South Entrance?

MP

 

[euro]

I don;t have an answer but I'll be curious to see what suggestions come in as my DW and I are considering Yellowstone/GT too. I think we have decided to try for the Sep/Oct window though.

 

[Montecfo]

West Yellowstone is a good bet. Small town but accessible to the park. I cannot remember where we stayed. I do recall we went to community theater there and it was quite good.

 

[gcgang]

You're right about the South entrance. You basically end up in Jackson Hole, which is a cool place, but pricey and limited accommodations. But maybe some of the online home stay options would show something.

West Yellowstone has a bunch of Motel6/Best Western type places. Pretty "blue collar" town.

Mammoth is the north entrance. Gardner is the adjacent town, much like West, only less touristy. Staying an hour further away would put you in Livingston. A place between Livingston and Mammoth, in the heart of the aptly named Paradise Valley, is "kitschy" Chico Hot Springs. Chico is a rustic, 100 year old resort, with a hot springs heated pool and a gourmet restaurant. One of DWs favs.

The east entrance would put you in Cody. They have nightly rodeo. Bigger town that caters to tourists.

 

[audreyh1]

We enjoyed staying in Gardiner. Great access to the park.

 

[zinger1457]

To get accommodations inside Yellowstone you need to start make plans about a year in advance. During my last visit stayed a week at Worldmark in West Yellowstone, very nice place, 1BR unit will full kitchen. Trying to combine Grand Teton and Yellowstone in 3 days is too much, it's not even enough time to see all of Yellowstone.

Grand Teton NP is worth a separate trip by itself, they also have places to stay inside the park but like Yellowstone fill up early. Teton Village and Jackson Hole are both decent places to stay if visiting Grand Teton NP but too far to travel if visiting Yellowstone IMO.

 

[Teacher Terry]

WE spent 4 days in YS and 2 in GT. You really need that much time. YS has much more to see then the GT.

 

[timo2]

If Gardner is full, Livingston MT is not that far. Some of the park workers commuter from Livingston. A little farther is Cody wyoming.

 

[Disappointed]

I am thinking about California ->Salt Lake City -> Grand Teton -> YSNP, so I think the west entrance is the most logical? Or it really does not matter?

 

[Disappointed]

Forgot to ask where to stay at Grand Teton? Should we stay in Jackson Hole? I remember staying at one of those small cottages at Grand Teton, very rustic, the room was small with musty smell. There was a main building with a very nice and huge dining room, don't remember the name though.

 

[ohyes]

We visited Yellowstone last September. Following advice I read on Trip Advisor worked. I called one or two times a day (most days) and changed reservations at least one time before we got what we wanted. We got what we hoped for about two weeks before we left home. One of the reservation clerks, early on, assured me that we would get what we wanted if we just kept "checking back".

Most assuredly, I did not believe her.

Until, one day, it happened. I think we started checking about a month before we left home.

June is likely way busier than September, but calling often is worth a try. Staying inside the park would save serious time each day.


Enjoy your trip. One of our best road trips ever.

 

[rodi]

We stayed in Gardner when we couldn't get inside the park (2 trips ago).

The park is huge... on our last trip we stayed at 3 different sites within the park - a few nights in Canyon Village, a few nights in Lake Village, and a few nights at the main lodge. We planned our hikes/viewing around where we were...

On the same trip we stayed in Grand Teton in some cabins at Colter Bay on Jackson Lake.

 

[Rambler]

We stayed at the KOA at west Yellowstone in the RV.

BUT, KOA also has what they call Kamping Kabins that you may want to check out. Not exactly 5 star accommodations but some folks enjoy them. In any case, the KOA is quite nice, and in a nice location.

 

[Ronstar]

We stayed at the Rusty Parrot Lodge in Jackson. Great place.

 

[bssc]

We have stayed in both Jackson WY and West Yellowstone. There are a wide selection of hotels but it really is a haul to get into Yellowstone.

 

[audreyh1]

Grand Teton NP - Signal Mountain Lodge is great. Great place, great location, good restaurant.
Jackson Lake Lodge is fine, also a good location.
One visit we stayed at a cabin in the Gross Ventre area, this was much closer than Jackson Hole. I think these were the Budges Slide Lake cabins. That was really nice. I remember it was pretty fast getting to Moran Junction.

 

[inmygardn]

We stay in the Northeast if we can't get in the park because it's closest to Lamar Valley. There are a couple of small towns (Silvergate and cooke city) that have small hotels or cabins. The general store in Silver Gate also rents Swarovski spotting scopes which are excellent for serious wolf watching. If you seriously want to stay in the park keep checking everyday...people do cancel but you have to move fast!

 

[mh]

We stay in the Northeast if we can't get in the park because it's closest to Lamar Valley. There are a couple of small towns (Silvergate and cooke city) that have small hotels or cabins. The general store in Silver Gate also rents Swarovski spotting scopes which are excellent for serious wolf watching. If you seriously want to stay in the park keep checking everyday...people do cancel but you have to move fast!

+1 I think Lamar valley and Hayden valley are the best parts of Yellowstone - the spotting scopes are a a great tip - or if you have a good pair of binoculars bring those. If they are not that good rent the scopes well worth it

 

[inmygardn]

Jackson Lake Lodge is probably the place with the huge dining room you remember. We stayed in a lodge room, not a cabin and the rooms were fine.

 

[clobber]

We stayed at Kelly Inn - West Yellowstone just outside the park in summer 2016. Nice and clean in a good location. It is right across from the visitor center and walking distance to all the main restaurants.

One caveat: we found the food in West Yellowstone to be terrible. I'm not a 5 star restaurant kind of guy, but it was truly not good. If you are a eat to live person you will be fine. If you are live to eat, ugh.

 

[kitesurfer2]

we are going in September. I am trailering my motorcycle to so Dakota where my wife will fly in and meet after a couple days in the black hills, we will make our way to Yellowstone and the tetons. she will fly back from Bozeman, mt and I will continue on to Colorado and texas. we love camping.

 

[Winemaker]

The family and I stayed at Flagg Ranch years ago. The units were new, many activities and a great restaurant. It was located between Yellowstone and Grand Tetons, it was a great location then, I just can tell you its current condition but I can't believe it would they would let a beautiful place like that deteriorate.

 

[DrRoy]

Too bad about YS in park. It really saves a lot of time. West Yellowstone is likely the next closest. Plenty of hotels there. In Teton NP we stayed at Signal Mountain Lodge, closer to the central peaks than Jackson.

 

[l8_apex]

Just one note of warning - park visitation has been increasing every year and you're going during the busy season. Expect delays at each/every park entrance and also expect random delays within the park as there is a wildlife routinely near the roads which often causes traffic jams as folks want to take pics. Also note that speed limits inside the park aren't at 60-70, they're much lower.

If you're staying in West Yellowstone, plan your day so that you go through the entrance either very early, or later in the day.

 

[gcgang]

They say there are only two seasons in YNP: Winter and road construction.