Vacation questions: West Yellowstone and Grand Tetons

[Lee Deming]

We are close enough to take day trips(long day trips) from our house into Yellowstone. Those on here that get annoyed at the traffic have to understand that tourists are going to stop and gawk at the critters. We call them 'bear jams' and we do what tourists do too, even though we have been there dozens of times. Yeah, it isn't a 'wilderness' experience-so what? You'll still see over 1,000 wild bison and some elk, deer, antelope, coyotes and maybe wolves and bears. All of these in the Lamar Valley. I second the advice on the Cody museum-it is well worth the trip if you can make it. Also, if you go that way you should be able to drive near the top of Beartooth Pass. It has to be the most beautiful road in the world. I don't know how far you can get up there but it is an easy diversion from the road to Cody. Since the North entrance is closed, the drive to and through Jackson is also worth it and the shops are fun. There used to be a whiskey shop that gave out samples. Just take your time and keep your eyes open driving anywhere near the Park as there are quite a few critters that most people will never otherwise see all around the the Park. If you can get up to the top of Beartooth Pass there are dozens of Mountain Goats that hang out near the road and you can gawk at them too. Good luck and have fun. Oh, and keep in mind that the elevation is high there so watch the weather. We got snowed on in the middle of July one year.

 

[Joe Tee]

Not sure if this is a good spot, but here we go:

Taking the family on July 1-8 and flying into Bozeman. Will stay nights of July 1 and July 7 in Bozeman, and days of 2-7 off West Thumb in Grant Village.

Wife and I are moderately active, and have a 6 and 8 year old. Rented a jeep to let us be mobile.

What are your recommendations for some activities? Need a guide for it?

Would like to float the Snake or other body of water, see as much wildlife as possible, get in some scenic views, do some light hiking (2-3 miles is probably a max for my kids.)

What am I missing? What's the best way to get a good experience?

Jt...........I've done this a few times over the past 30+ years. I can say this about Yellowstone, it is a beautiful place!! The traffic is terrible and the last time we were there the road construction was pretty bad! Still, it's a jewel!! If you fly fish every river offers very good fishing. The geysers are unbelievable, Lewis Lake is crystal clear to the bottom, (at least it was). You might take a guide out from one of the shops in West Yellowstone. They'll put a small boat on the lake. You can watch trout going after your sinking streamers!!! The Madison River is a great fishery!!
A hike up to the station on Mt. Washington isn't too difficult. And if you would like to see a spectacular portion of the park, take a day hike up to Slough Creek in the N.E. corner of the park....... Bring bear spray...............Good luck, have a great time JT-Colorado

 

[LkeAF]

And be sure to bring some warmer clothing. This summer has been cool/wet so far. Around 30 degrees this morning with snow line @ 7500 ft just yesterday in central ID.

 

[338weatherby]

If you are anywhere near Cody on July 4th, they have awesome July 4th celebration! The parade is truly Americana at the finest! Called Cody Stampede!

Annual Cody Stampede Celebration & Parade

Parades, rodeos, fireworks and more! Kiddies Parade - July 2nd at 10:00 a.m. Stampede Parade - July 3rd and 4th at 9:30 a.m. Theme for parade this year: To be announced. Grand marshal: To be announced. 2020 parade applications on the Cody Stampede website, we will link to their form once it is...

business.codychamber.org

Cody museum is well worth the visit!

The nightly rodeos are great too. We stayed in Cody with the girls and made a couple of them. Very patriotic and fun.

 

[Lee Deming]

Jt...........I've done this a few times over the past 30+ years. I can say this about Yellowstone, it is a beautiful place!! The traffic is terrible and the last time we were there the road construction was pretty bad! Still, it's a jewel!! If you fly fish every river offers very good fishing. The geysers are unbelievable, Lewis Lake is crystal clear to the bottom, (at least it was). You might take a guide out from one of the shops in West Yellowstone. They'll put a small boat on the lake. You can watch trout going after your sinking streamers!!! The Madison River is a great fishery!!
A hike up to the station on Mt. Washington isn't too difficult. And if you would like to see a spectacular portion of the park, take a day hike up to Slough Creek in the N.E. corner of the park....... Bring bear spray...............Good luck, have a great time JT-Colorado

Yes, frick, I forgot a warning to bring bear spray.

 

[P7M13]

I second the advice on the Cody museum-it is well worth the trip if you can make it. Also, if you go that way you should be able to drive near the top of Beartooth Pass.

You're in for a lot of driving.
I'd also recommend taking 296 from Cooke City (NE entrance to Yellowstone) to Cody. It's an equally stupendous drive.
Cody is a cool town.
If you head down the Idaho side of the Tetons, Mount Glory is a fun day hike. Get the family to swim in the waters fed right off the snow fields so they can claim Polar Bear status.
About 2 months ago, the road between Livingston and the north entrance, along the Yellowstone River, had one elk herd of easily 300 head and multiple, smaller ones. I suspect they've moved up into the mountains for cooler air by now.
Although I appreciate the wildlife in Yellowstone, I loathe the crowds, and avoid the park. You can spend hours in bear jams behind tourons at the park.
In reality, anywhere you go in the area is packed with beauty and if you're lucky, you'll see tons of wildlife.
If you head south out of the Hole, turn left at Hoback Junction, the road follows and runs through the Bridger Teton NF. Between Bondurant and Pinedale, there are oodles of recreation opportunities, and you can spend days hiking and camping in the Gros Ventre and Wind River ranges.

 

[Rick Richard]

A couple of years ago me and a buddy were in Cody for an elk hunt. We had a couple of days before we had to meet the outfitter to head into the Thorofare, so I told my buddy since it was his first time there that we needed to see the museum. Upon entry into the museum there was a 67 or 69 SS396 Camaro on display and was to be raffled. He purchased 5 tickets for a $100 and….yep they contacted him a couple of days after we completed our elk hunt to inform him that he had won. No elk, but a nice "harvest" anyway.

 

[Ga6570]

sounds like a fun trip. a couple things to note.
the NE entrance at Cooke City is closed and will be for a while. the road is washed out.
the North Entrance from Gardiner MT to Mammoth was washed out in 6 places. that will be closed for a long time.
Bear spray - you cannot fly with bear spray. if you buy some for the trip, when you leave gift it to a local. the TSA at the airport will confiscate it and they dont need anymore, they have tons that gets confiscated.

the Lamar valley is closed but a lot of the south part of the park will be opening this week.

west yellowstone is accessible from bozeman via HWY 191, when you drive south through the Gallatin Canyon there are a lot of hiking options.

a short and beautiful hike is Ousal Falls in Big Sky, MT just off of Hwy 191. my kids love that one. the trail is well maintained and not difficult.

West yellowstone has many wonderful shops and stores. a local favorite is the old fashioned candy shoppe- it is called the Rustic Candy Shop, locally family owned, the kids would love to watch them make taffy right in front of them! or have the cut some fudge or caramels per your request. you can buy it by weight…

old faithful is a must. thats pretty simple and the museums and places around old faithful are well done. the hikes and walks around the park - most of them have simple hikes and boardwalks to get around. stay on the trails and boardwalks. when they say stay on the trail they mean it. the surfaces off the trail get ruined by inconsiderate people thinking its ok to walk off the trail…(its not ok) plus people walking off the trails have fallen into hot pots and been severely burned by the hot water and mud. some have died.

the tetons are beautiful! we always enjoyed the jenny lake area. several good hikes around there as well. very picturesque area.

Cody Wyoming is on the far east side of yellowstone. getting there from the tetons is a drive through the park. the cody parades happen frequently in cody - used to be almost daily in the summer.

the beartooth pass - We love beartooth pass. seriously high elevation, beautiful views. be cautious driving as it is sheer nothing on the side in some areas. access here is limited now as several roads and bridges washed out along rock creek last week in Red Lodge, MT. access from the Wyoming side is the way in if they have got the road plowed… they start that in may/june - it normally takes several weeks to get the road open for the season. they dont clear the snow in the winter. - do some searches for this. pretty cool to see the work it takes to open the road for summer.

despite some of the closures you should have a great time.

im in the bozeman area and live near the airport. - im happy to share more if you'd like… feel free to PM me…

thanks!!

 

[Mark37082]

I don't know if you have made motel reservations or not. But if you haven't, I suggest you say at a place called The Come On Inn...Me and my wife found it when we were out there. We rented a cabin in Cameron and got there a day early, before we could get in the cabin.

if you can avoid West Yellowstone, I would suggest to look elsewhere. This was the most disappointing part of the trip for me. $600 per night for a hotel room called a cabin. We stayed at a very nice place in Glacier for less than half the price of West Yellowstone.

 

[jpndave]

My family is from the St. Anthony/Parker area, grandma is still there and turns 96 on Tuesday so hopefully we'll be up there in the next few weeks to see her. I have been through the park and in the Idaho side/Island Park numerous times over the years. It is certainly different than when I was a kid. Winter is my favorite time to see it for a multitude of reasons but summer is great too. For sure watch for closures due to the flooding. That may actually play to your favor if it limits how many people are in there. The lower loop is tighter terrain and slower/more congested. A lot more geothermal and natural wonders there. The falls are cool that's worth taking the hike for. As mentioned old faithful is a must see if you haven't, lots of hot pots and other thermal activity. Kids will for sure remember the rotten egg Sulphur smell. There will be wildlife all through the park but the upper loop & Hayden Valley is more open/larger plains game, bison herds, etc. I've seen bears frequently. Along the river good chance of seeing moose and usually quite a few bald eagles. IME you don't need a guide (unless you are going in the winter then you HAVE to use a guide - I miss the good old days). Be patient on the lower loop, take food, water, sunscreen, bug spray (yes bug, bear spray is not really necessary unless you get off the trail/tourist areas or are really stupid) and a full tank of fuel. You might be sitting in a parking lot because someone thinks they saw something. Be careful about playing by the rules there. The park has gotten extremely militant about things and most rangers are waaay left of center anymore. Outside the park it's a bit different. Same goes for inside the park if you leave the tourist areas which you won't if you are asking these questions and haven't planned for it. I did weeks on Yellowstone lake afoot/afloat as a kid/scout and again, different world than the tourist side of things.

There are a bunch of places to float the snake. Mild to wild there. Mild just go yourself, rent the raft. If you want wild, you'll need a guide who knows what they are doing. I can look up where we rented rafts for the river, etc. if need be. We have done family reunions there in the past and it's a beautiful fun place. You'll surely enjoy it and make lifetime memories.

 

[jpndave]

if you can avoid West Yellowstone, I would suggest to look elsewhere. This was the most disappointing part of the trip for me. $600 per night for a hotel room called a cabin. We stayed at a very nice place in Glacier for less than half the price of West Yellowstone.

This is solid advice. We just stay with Grandma in St. Anthony then drive up and in when we are seeing Yellowstone. Grant Village, Island Park or surrounding area then get up early and go into the park. The old original lodge at old faithful is really cool to see if you have time. We've stayed there multiple times to make a more enjoyable trip not trying to cover so much distance in one day. It's nice to break up the trip, lower loop/upper loop, etc. not trying to catch all of it in one day. There is A LOT to see.

 

[bengineer]

If you get east of Jackson, cross the pass and hit the private military museum in Dubois. Expect to spend a day there.

 

[birddog 68]

If you get east of Jackson, cross the pass and hit the private military museum in Dubois. Expect to spend a day there.

Dubois is a nice little town. There's also a small little tie hack museum along with the military museum. We actually stayed in Dubois instead of Jackson since it was a third of the price.

 

[Gater]

Three don'ts don't squat with Spurs on don't swim in geysers and most of all don't pet the Buffalo. Just kidding my in laws live about 50 miles from Yellowstone and our family has been going to Wyoming and Yellowstone for over 30 years. You won't be disappointed. Unfortunately we had friends and didn't have to hire guides one suggestion take a good camera and plenty of film not sure how many pics a phone will hold but the Beauty never ends from sunrises to sunsets enjoy. Post some pictures when you return