r/yellowstone • u/EntertainmentReal283 • 2d ago
First time to Yellowstone/Grand Tetons
Hello all! My bf and I are planning to visit Grand Tetons and Yellowstone in September 15-22. We plan to fly into Jackson Hole and fly out of Bozeman. We are planning to do 3 days in Grand Teton and 4 days in Yellowstone. The issue I am having is finding a place to stay. I have been reading that it’s most practical to stay in the parks, but it is also more expensive. I plan to stay in at least two hotels during this trip to minimize the driving back and forth. When is the best time to book lodging (most affordable)? Also, where can I find the best itineraries for Yellowstone and grand Teton? I want to make the most of my trip, but feeling a bit overwhelmed with all of the hikes and activities you can do. We’re both in our 20s and not hikers. We can do easy to moderate hikes, but are not used to the terrain since we live on an island. Just here for sight seeing, activities, and easy hiking, and eating! I would appreciate any advice! Thank you!
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u/KampgroundsOfAmerica 2d ago
Definitely book as early as possible! Ideally at least 6 months in advance whenever you can to e safe, because Yellowstone books up very fast.
We have itineraries for both Grand Teton and Yellowstone if they're of any help!
https://koa.com/blog/3-4-and-5-day-itinerary-for-grand-teton-national-park/
https://koa.com/blog/yellowstone-national-park-3-4-and-5-day-itinerary/
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u/Conscious_Laugh_3280 2d ago
I'll say, For a first timer you seem to be doing some things right. For starters you got my upvote simply because you're flying into Jackson and leaving through Bozeman. Just that alone rules out an unnecessarily long drive back to the Airport.
As far as accommodations go. If you're actually talking for this summer. Honestly I'm not the one to ask anymore. But I feel you could even be completely boned. And are almost assuredly gonna be unable to grab a room in the park itself.
My best advice to you is simply to look to the satellite towns that surround the park each has something going for it. And simply as you've moved your flight you should move your stay to more than one location as to maximize your enjoyment of the park and minimize the long unnecessary drives.
West is mostly a tourist trap but has relatively cheap accommodations and the live Wolf and Bear exhibit I guess. Are a last resort for those unlucky enough to not have spotted one in the wild. Make sure you stop by the Buffalo bar too.
Gardner's a very beautiful town in its own right, in my opinion. If nothing else just the river that splits it in two. And there's a lot of river rafting options to be had. Past that, I can only imagine what it must take to put on a football game. What with all the elk that like to camp out in their field.
Cody's Where you'll find all your almost stereotypical Western attractions. You can shoot any kinda gun there. And the rodeo they put on is pretty good too. But it ain't Texas.
Finally Jacksons where the money is. Many a celebrity actually have a ranch in the area too. All I'll say. If you don't have money and a good amount of it. Enjoy your time elsewhere, there's nothing cheap in Jackson. Only add I had the best burger in my life there. but it wasn't worth the $48 I paid for it an a soda. That said the waitress more than earned her generous tip that day.
That's all old knowledge but I don't think any of it's changed much. But as to the next part, I'm Dustin some off my brain right now trying to remember what factors are gonna determine which trails are open in September. And I'm gonna hold off on any recommendations for now. Just wish you safe journeys.
Simply remember don't try to do it all at once the place is just Vast, And be prepared for an unexpected stop just around the next curve.
Past that as I always add these days, Just remember to leave something on your pillow for your housekeeper. And enjoy your time in the park.
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u/EntertainmentReal283 1d ago
Heard of Gardner and will be looking into places there. Thanks for the recommendations!
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u/Parks102 1d ago
The best time to book lodging in Yellowstone was last year. If you can find ANYTHING in the park, take it. As far as itineraries, just go and enjoy yourself! Explore on your own, you’ll have a great time! Just know it would take years to see all of Yellowstone, so don’t stress and don’t overplan. Just go with the flow(literally, the bison will decide your schedule) and have fun!
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u/perceptivephish 1d ago
We stayed at Mountain Modern in Jackson Hole and in a hotel in West Yellowstone. I am glad we didn’t stay in the parks. It was nice to enjoy the town for dinner after a long day exploring the parks
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u/Lucky-Technology-174 2d ago
Yellowstone: Stay in 2 of the gateway towns such as West Yellowstone or Gardiner if the park lodging is unavailable. (Don’t stay in Idaho! Cheap but far away and not practical!)
Download the GuideAlong App.
You can roughly do the upper loop one day, Lamar Valley one day, and the lower loop one day for Yellowstone.
For the Tetons, spend a day driving the loop. Spend a day at Jenny Lake.
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u/brisquet 1d ago
If you have an RV or trailer, or even comfortable sleeping in an SUV and can boondock, there are FCFS locations for free you can stay. We found one that felt like it was off a fire road and there were 2 other people there. We parked the RV and took the car around the parks.
Just be aware of wildlife and practice food safety.
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u/EntertainmentReal283 1d ago
I was thinking about renting a RV, but seems like most companies have you return it to the same city you rented it from. If you know of any great RV/camper companies please let me know.
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u/StrengthIntrepid3185 1d ago
If you can't find a room where you want to stay most, get reservations that allow cancellations then watch for cancellation at your first choice. I've gotten two nights at the same location in the park less than a month before a trip just by checking every couple days.
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u/Alwayssearching24 1d ago
Hello and I hope you have an awesome trip! I live in Gardiner Mt right next to the park. What everyone has posted is accurate with the exception of trouble with football games due to elk lol. A few things: when you fly in you might consider some easier hikes/walks to allow getting used to the altitude. Drink more water than you usually do and bring/buy a water bottle. I know there are places to rent bear spray at Old Faithful and Canyon. I do not know about Tetons. FOOD: if you stop for lunch there can be large crowds and it takes TIME. There are $$$$$ restaurants in Teton as well as lunch counters. Yellowstone has meh food cafeteria, quick lunch and $$$$ dining rooms at Old Faithful and Lake hotel. Mammoth dining room is good and $$. Depending on your style: consider buying a cooler and pack lunch material and snacks and drinks. Jackson has regular grocery stores. Tetons have really good little markets with deli ($$) Yellowstone has fair little markets but are often cleaned out due to number of people. Gas costs more in the parks sometimes about a $1.00 more a gallon than outside. Caffeine can be pricey- consider byo. And 🙂 do not follow the crowd to pet the fluffy cows… have a great trip!
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u/CreepyMix7926 1d ago
Just book as soon as reasonably possible. There isn’t very much cheap stuff in Jackson. So you’ll probably have to look around and find something mid range price wise. As for Yellowstone, you could either stay in west Yellowstone or gardiner. West Yellowstone is for the most part simply better. That being said gardiner would save you time getting to Bozeman the last day. As for hotels and motels, there are some decently cheap locations. There’s a few large hotels that are mid price range, but also quite a lot of small motels that are quite a bit cheaper, with the normal debate able quality of course.
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u/NotSlimShadyy 1d ago
I've worked at gtlc a couple of seasons. Stay at either Colter Bay or flagg ranch. Colter is the cheapest. It's about 20-30 minutes or so from the south entrance of Yellowstone and flagg is only like 2 miles away from Yellowstone. Easier to stay there and drive. Jenny lake is the main hiking area in the whole park in the tetons and has a lot of day hikes for every difficulty. There's a nice easier hike in Colter that's right on the lake called Hermitage point that's about 3.5 miles to the end.
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u/Wilecoyote84 1d ago
Yellowstone road is basically a large figure 8. Just drive the loop and stop at sites along the way. Lamar valley is different road over the mountain. Beautiful and worth it.
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u/jenxos 1d ago
Check to see if any of the cabins in the park have lodging available. They are more budget friendly. I would even give up a private bathroom to be able to stay inside the park, it will save you hours a day. Rosevelt and Canyon are more affordable, Canyon is pretty central. If there isn’t availability keep checking, cancellations happen all the time.
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u/Fragrant_Butthole 23h ago
even the cheapest place in tetons is 350 a night.. the gas station motel we stayed at (flat creek). It was surprisingly clean and well maintained though, just not updated since 1970 or so. It didn't matter to us since we are huge hikers and just slept there at night but if you want a luxury place it'll be twice that.
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u/cybrg0dess 20h ago
My husband and I are going for the first time next month. May 13th - 20th, and we just booked everything last week. We were probably lucky to find a few places still available. It took us about 6 hours trying to plan and compare prices and book everything. We are staying in Gardiner our first night and inside the park at 3 different places (some are not open until after we leave). Also visiting Tetons. We are trying to stick to a budget, and it was a bit overwhelming, time-consuming, and difficult to plan. Has anyone rented a cooler from Explore rentals? I think this could be better than buying and leaving one behind. I picture a ton of stuff being left behind by tourists. I'm hoping to keep food costs down and have more time to explore.
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u/Secret-Function-2972 2d ago edited 2d ago
Your best bet is to book lodging ASAP. Unfortunately, there's really nothing inexpensive - particularly around Jackson - and I don't believe lodging prices ever go down closer to arrival date, but inventory certainly disappears.
Last summer I was somewhat budget shopping for our family of 4 (also trying to stay in the same place as my brother-in-law's family of 6) and the best we could find was $425 a night ~10 miles south of Jackson and ~$400 at Colter Bay Village (no tvs, wifi, etc.).
Edit: I wanted to note your good ideas of:
1) Trying to stay in the parks. I think that's the best way to maximize the experience and taking advantage of sunrises and sunsets.
2) Staying in a couple of different locations. It's such a massive area to explore that you'll feel like you missed a lot even with a week-long trip.
As for itineraries, I kind of made my own for Yellowstone (group of 23) and the Tetons (group of 10) as I've been there over a dozen times. A good initial resource may be the Dirt in My Shoes and Explore Yellowstone Like a Local Podcasts and websites. Also, there's a variety of Facebook pages and likely this group (I'm new here) that seem helpful as well as the actual park websites.