8 days in YNP – is this too long?

Is 3 days in Canyon Lodge %26amp; 5 days in Old Faithfull Inn too long of a stay?

8 days in YNP %26ndash; is this too long?

It wouldn%26#39;t be for me. We normally try for 7 days and a day or 2 in Grand Teton National Park. It might be a little long to stay at Old Faithful, though.

Its a long drive from OFI to the main wildlife areas of Hayden Valley and Lamar Valley. If you keep calling, you might find other options as time passes.

I%26#39;d add a night at Canyon if possible. Roosevelt my second choice after Canyon. Beautiful location, good restaurant and nice front porch of the lodge with rockers. The cabins aren%26#39;t much and no inside bathrooms in the cabins. Only a short walk, though, to modern facilities. Roosevelt is at the entrance to Lamar Valley. Lake is also in a nice area. Cabins and hotel.

You might look at our website to see pictures of some of these places.

www.alandsuejohnson.com/yellowstone_home.htm

There%26#39;s some planning information there as well. Also, you might click the Grand Teton link on the left to see some of what that park looks like.

8 days in YNP %26ndash; is this too long?

If you don%26#39;t mind moving around a bit...I%26#39;d consider using a couple of those nights to stay in Grand Teton. Jackson Lake Lodge is nice. The Colter Bay Cabins are more reasonably priced. Or you could stay in Jackson Hole (just south of Grand Teton) where there are many more lodging options. I imagine you would want to explore Grand Teton for at least a day or 2 (Jackson Hole as well), and that would be a bit of a drive to/from Yellowstone in a day (unless you%26#39;re fine with being in the car most all of the day).

I would also spend more nights in Canyon than I would Old Faithful. Old Faithful area is nice for a short period of time. But the majority of the wildlife is in the Eastern sections of the park (Hayden and Lamar Valley)...making for a long commute if you want to do early morning or evening wildlife viewing.

I forgot to say that we are also staying 2 days in Jackson.

In viewing the map it seems that there is more to do %26amp; see in the lower loop.

Upper Geyser Basin with its famous Old Faithful Geyser, Lower Geyser Basin, Firehole River, Gibbon River and Falls, Monument Geyser Basin, Lower and Upper Falls, Yellowstone River, Mud Volcano and West Thumb Geyser Basin.

Can you see all this in less time?

I guess that depends on how much time you will want to spend at each place. But I%26#39;ve been able to sightsee all those places in less than a day%26#39;s worth of time. They are all very accessible to parking lots, and generally a short walk to/through them. Daily tour buses make their way through all these stops and more. But, if you really want to soak in Old Faithful Geyser for a 1/2 day or full day, spend some time at Firehole river swimming, etc.... then you could stretch out a few days to do those things. You%26#39;ll still be within a reasonable drive of Lamar Valley and Mammoth Hot Springs. So you can fit those in too. I think as far as scenery and wildlife are concerned, the area around Canyon offers more. But the area around Old Faithful has much more stops for geysers, hot springs and the like.

Thank you for all your advice %26amp; help. I can%26#39;t wait until the end of July to go.

With traffic, parking, etc., I would not even think of seeing the geysers, et al, in less than two days. But once there, I think you will find the wildlife, in the wild, captivating, and will spend time at a number of locations/viewpoints (which can be anywhere), and that can burn up much (good) time.

With all of that time available, lucky you ---

For wildlife viewing and photography:

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

Packing for your trip:

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

Two very worthwhile museums to visit:

Cody, WY www.bbhc.org/home/index.cfm…

North of Jackson

http://www.wildlifeart.org/

No 8 days is not too long, I agree, with other posters that 5 days around old faithful might be a bit much unless you take to the trails or things like that, there is so much to do and see in each are it just depends on how far you want to look for it. Have fun I would recommend getting a hiking book of sorts to spend some extra time or, do other things like some of the others have suggested.

You must go out to the Old Faithful area at 11 pm or so, lie down on a bench, and be blown away by the stars (and eventually Old Faithful in the dark).

Again thank you for all your tips %26amp; advise.

hello turtlemom,

with 8 days it gives you plenty of time to be creative. much to see around that area. For instance, west of jackson is driggs with spud drive-in theater or rexburg with bearworld. both memorable. In colter bay in teton mountains you can rent a boat at a very affordable price to get breathtaking pictures. north of west yellowstone is earthquake lake where the side of the mountain slide down after a recent earthquake. north of llamar valley is beartooth highway, that after 3 hours over the mountain, you end up in a neat town of red lodge. Also east of canyon is Cody with its fun rodeo. All in all, nope, 8 days will never be too long. Soo much to see and do. And this didn%26#39;t even include inside yellowstone. Have fun!!!