West Yellowstone or Gardiner?

We are planning our first trip to Yellowstone NP in mid to late September. I am looking for suggestions for lodging in either WEst Yellowstone or Gardiner. Is either town better than the other, or are they pretty similar? We will be there for one week (probably Sept. 12-19, depending on lodging availabilty and flights). We don%26#39;t need anything more than a moderate priced, CLEAN, room. We do not plan on spending much time in our room, but rather, fishing, hiking, viewing wildlife, etc. My husband is an avid fly fisherman, so does one town over the other have better rivers for fishing? Is September a good time of year for fly fishing? And, can one fish right in Yellowstone?

And, how is the weather at that time of year? We are flexible, and can go in late August, as well (but I%26#39;m afraid lodging might be gone at that time if I don%26#39;t make reservations somewhere soon!)

We are also interested in mountain biking, but with a guided tour, not on our own.

Any suggestions for white water rafting or float trips?

Will we have time for a day trip into the Grand Tetons?

Thanks for any and all suggestions, I am VERY excited about this trip, but planning it has been almost overwhelming because of the vastness of the park itself, and how many different areas one can stay in to enjoy it!

West Yellowstone or Gardiner?

You%26#39;ll find the lodging you described in either town. Personally, I prefer West Yellowstone - more shops, restaurants, and things to do - such as touring the Grizzly Discovery Center - quite interesting.

Sept. is a great month to visit - the crowds are thinning and the weather is usually beautiful. Just check the YNP website to see when facilities will be closing so you don%26#39;t have any surprises on arrival: nps.gov/yell/…open_closedates.htm

Also, be aware that a section of the road between Madison Junction and norris will be closing for repairs on Aug. 17th.

Your husband will find great fly-fishing no matter where you stay. Sept. is a great time for it - the weather is cooling off and the fish are feeding again. Also, if you%26#39;re lucky you%26#39;ll hit the brown trout spawning period - an awesome experience for a fisherman! Just remember that if he fishes outside of the Park he%26#39;ll need to get a state fishing license. For fishing inside YNP he%26#39;ll only need a Park license (much cheaper). There are amazing fishing rivers and streams throughout the Park. This website has a lot of good info: flyfishingyellowstonenationalpark.com/stream…

Have Fun!

West Yellowstone or Gardiner?

West Yellowstone, for reasons provided above.

Yes to a day trip to the Tetons.

No mountain biking in the parks.

How many, ages, of ';we';? If kids, need to know that.

You might consider trying for a Western Cabin in the park, much more convenient than in and out every day.

Canyon, Lake, Old Faithful, good locations, though the last one is a bit far from the valleys and wildlife viewing.

A couple of Inside Pages might help you plan, pasted below.

You have plenty of time to explore YNP; don%26#39;t be overwhelmed, once there, go with the flow, don%26#39;t worry about backtracking as things and views and, certainly, wildlife, changes.

For wildlife viewing and photography:

tripadvisor.com/Travel-g60999-c96653/Yellows…

Packing for your trip:

tripadvisor.com/Travel-g28973-c100586/Wyomin…

If you have 7 nights, then you may want to consider staying at more than one location, particularly given the conbined size of YNP and GTNP.

I recently returned from a 7 night trip to both parks and we decided to stay 2 nights in Gardiner, 3 nights near Old Faithful and 2 nights in Jackson. In hindsight, I wouldn%26#39;t have done things differently because this helped reduce the amount of driving on many days. The obvious disadvantage is having to move accommodation more (but that doesn%26#39;t bother me very much).

The above posters obviously prefer West Yellowstone (I haven%26#39;t been there so can%26#39;t make the comparison with Gardiner). We drove down from Bozeman so Gardiner for us was an obvious stop and I thought it was a perfect location for touring the northern part of YNP (it%26#39;s only a couple of miles from the entrance to the park and Mammoth). Having said that, I wouldn%26#39;t have wanted to stay there much longer than the two nights we did. There is a fairly decent choice of hotels/motels in Gardiner and a few dining options (although not everything was open when we were there at the start of May).

Whatever you decide to do, have a great trip!

Just returned from Yellowstone on 5/22.

3 nites Old Faithful Inn

2 nites Wyoming Inn in Jackson

I would say that West Yellowstone was the nicer of the 2 towns mentioned for reasons stated in other replies. Be aware that there is MAJOR road construction south of Yellowstone on the way to GTNP.

(it might be finished by Sept.) A visit to GTNP is a definite if in the area, and I found Jackson to be very convient to the southern portion of GTNP, as a day trip would be a very long day and long drive back to either location.

Other options are Moran Junction and Jackson Lake/Signal Mtn area. (albeit more expensive)

Thanks, all, for your suggestions! Every bit of information is helpful for such a trip as this.