Vacation questions: West Yellowstone and Grand Tetons

[Ga6570]

not a bad bit of advice to not hotel in west yellowstone. but you dont need to avoid west yellowstone altogether. especially if you are flying in to bozeman… West Yellowstone is a tourist town. that should be enough said…

very true on not needing bear spray if you stay on the established walks and trails. (not making a backcountry hike) but do bring/buy bug spray and sunscreen. high elevations mean sunburn faster…

lots of great advice on here. you just get to weed through it all and decide what is best for you and your situation!!

 

[Papa762]

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?

This summer??? Better check well.

 

[WYO300RUM]

Thanks for all the input so far. I do have access to the news and have kept up. We had reservations inside the park on the North loop and they were canceled last week.

This whole thing is plan B as I already have vacation time off and plane tickets and keep rented.

As of now entrances all but North loop will open June 23.

Keep them coming on the input. Love the museum idea and others.

Plan on staying in Cody and go in the east gate. North and North west will be closed for a long time. You will be able to go into South gate also. Like said they are going to go by license plate number , odd even number/ day. Research .

 

[Mike Matteson]

Better do some in studying on going there. Major flooding and bridges are out. Still raining there too.

 

[Lefty G-gear]

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?

UPDATE: Yellowstone National Park’s south loop will reopen to the public on June 22 - Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service)

park roads, closure, flood

www.nps.gov

 

[Old Rooster]

Bring binoculars!

 

[BearDawg]

My parents have a place in west Yellowstone so we're up there quite a bit.
-Cody museum
-As for animals Hayden valley is a must and what the other guys said is true.
-mammoth hot springs is my families favorite
- if you're fishing you can do it along the bank at Henry's or hebgen which are pretty good that time of year with a black Wolly bugger or a worm will work
-I believe Jackson is doing fireworks on the 4th and it's been a few years since we went down to them but they were fantastic
-my favorite place to eat is in Ashton Idaho called big juds

Hopefully this helps. Save travels!

 

[BillLarson]

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?

Glacier....Baniff

 

[Welderboy11972]

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.

I didn't pay anywhere near $600 for that room. I'm thinking it was in the $160-$180 range. I would of slept in my truck and taken a bath in the Madison River before I'd pay that kinda money for a room. The cabin in Cameron was $1500 for the whole week. But this was in 2014 when I was out there.

 

[epags]

Yellowstone -Tourist crowds? I think not:

Grand Tetons - no traffic

Have a great trip and go slow to enjoy the views and to spot critters.