Allotted time in each area

Have I allowed enough time or too much time for sightseeing, not really hiking?(drive time not included).

5 hours - Grant Village/West Thumb, plus dinner

at Grant Village(driving from Old Faithful area)

2.5 hours – Madison (driving from Old Faithful

area en route to Canyon area)

2 hours – Norris (driving from Old Faithful area

en route to Canyon area)

5 hours - Mammoth Hot Springs (driving from

Canyon area)

4 hours - Fishing Bridge(1 hour), Lake Village

(2 hours) %26amp; Bridge Bay (1 hour) plus scenic

boat cruise %26amp; lake butte sunset tours and

dinner at Lake Hotel(driving from Canyon area)

4 hours - Tower-Roosevelt, plus Wagon Cookout

(driving from Canyon area)

Do you have to be a early riser(before 8am)? Could you arrive in each area around 10:30am?

As my previous post, ';trip apporaching-confused';, stated, we%26#39;ll be staying 5 days(actually 4 days/5 nights)at Old Faithful lodge and staying 8 days (actually 8 days/7 nights) at Canyon lodge. Have full day/partial tours booked during some of these days. Still trying to finalize plans.

Allotted time in each area

You%26#39;re probably overplanning but here%26#39;s a few thoughts.

You could arrive in the areas around 10:30. It won%26#39;t affect your enjoyment of the thermal areas. It may dramatically affect the wildlife you see. The animals don%26#39;t like the heat so much either.

You%26#39;ll still see wildlife I suppose, especially bison and some elk. Maybe all the rest too but your odds are better earlier or at dusk.

2 hours for Norris is about right if it doesn%26#39;t include any drive time.

5 hours may be more than you need at Mammoth if it doesn%26#39;t include driving.

Do you already have the Upper and Lower Falls figured out. What about Old Faithful and the Upper Geyser Basin? Are you going into Lamar Valley?

Allotted time in each area

Thanks AKJ,

Thank you for your thoughts. I’m, traveling with a teenager, who’s likes his t.v. and x-box stuff, so I’m hoping to keep him really, really busy and well entertained.

Dusk might be the solution as long as we don’t linger too long due to the drive time back to the lodges. I have RA, so it’s hard for me to get started in the morning. I’ll just have to see how cold the mornings are %26amp; how it affects my joints.

Norris doesn’t include drive time. If I’m reading the maps correctly, it takes about 1 hour from Canyon to Madison then 30 minutes to Norris.

Mammoth doesn’t include drive time either. Maps show 1 hour 45 minutes from Canyon.

Upper %26amp; Lower Falls %26amp; other stuff is planned to be seen when I have an entire day open or 5 hours open another day or 4 hours open another day while staying in the Canyon area.

Old Faithful is planned to be seen while staying at Old Faithful lodge. Upper Geyser Basin will be seen during a tour %26amp; can be seen again on my own, if desired. Have several hours open on two different days. Lamar Valley will be seen on a Xanterra tour.

Just wanted to make sure you have your reservations made for your activities and dinners. I don%26#39;t know about Grant Village, but you will definitely need advance reservations at Lake Hotel.

Have Fun!

Hopefully when your teen gets a look at a bison herd, a grizzly or a big geyser, he%26#39;ll lost a little interest in the x-box for a little while. We%26#39;re usually too tired to worry about TV.

As far as getting out early or late, just do what you can do. You never really know what you%26#39;ll see where. We don%26#39;t usually go out at dusk. We have to get up at 3:00AM to catch our flight out and at 5:00AM the first day there and spend the rest of the time catching up. Lot of early bed times.

Here%26#39;s a link to a map we put together.

alandsuejohnson.com/yellowstone_map_pics/yel…

Canyon to Norris is about 20 - 25 minutes. Then you%26#39;re there. Madison is the next stop south.

Plans are good but don%26#39;t be afraid to kind of make it up as you go too. You have a lot of time available to you. You%26#39;ll also likely see a lot of things along the way to stop for so all times might be more than you expected.

No matter what Yellowstone is a wonderful place and you should have a great time.

Thanks heypaula717 and AKJ,

Yes, made dinner reservations as so as they were accepted for Old Faithful Inn, Grant Village and Lake Hotel. Activities have been reserved also.

Teenager can always surprise you. When we recently traveled to Grand Canyon National Park and Yosemite, he enjoyed himself. He loved Yosemite so much he wants to go back again. Both places had a t.v, so he could watch it at bedtime and while I had to rest due to my health issues. I’m packing books, cards, games and a portable dvd player %26amp; movies for those times, if needed, for YNP.

AKJ - looked at your website and printed off the map

One doesn%26#39;t have to be an early riser to enjoy Yellowstone, however the benefit of doing so is getting to places before the day-trippers and tour buses arrive. Your schedule looks fine, though if you don%26#39;t like the smell of sulfur you may find you need less time at Norris and other similar sites.

At OFI, ask for a seat in the original dining room area as it has a much better atmos. At Lake Hotel, go early and enjoy a drink in the sunroom before dinner.

The reading material we found available in the park was limited to books about Yellowstone%26#39;s history and nature. Some of them are very interesting, however if you think you%26#39;ll want other things to read, take them with you.