I have been looking to fly into Jackson from Indianapolis to see both Grand Teton NP and Yellowstone, but the flights have been expensive and I realized rental car is very expensive too.
I am switching gears and looking to fly into Billings as the flights and car rentals are reasonable and just see YNP. Trip length is 5-7 days.
I have overlapping reservations in Old Faithful Inn, Lake Yellowstone Hotel and Mammoth Springs Lodge so I could decide which route we take.
Can anyone help me put together an itinerary? We don%26#39;t mind changing hotels but we will be traveling with a little one so not too long in the car nor any hectic days.
I see Billings airport is 3 1/2hrs from YNP but is it the real driving time? I see that up there everything is variable. Should I book a hotel somewhere on the way for the first day we get there. If so, any suggestions are welcome.
How should I plan my stay in the park so I could cover the 8 and how many days would you suggest at each hotel/lodge?
Thank you very much for your help!
Billings to YellowstoneOne deciding factor in determining your route into Yellowstone would be the time of year that you are planning this trip.The section of US 212 that runs from Red Lodge, Montana over the Beartooth Pass and enters YNP through the northeast gate is one of the most scenic stretches of highway in the country. When open, it is the highlight of many people%26#39;s trips, but it also CLOSED between mid October and Memorial Day weekend(scheduled). For about the same driving time, you could always drive from Billings west on I-90 to Livingston, then down Rt 89 to enter the park through the north gate at Gardiner, MT. However you choose to, or are able to, enter the park, you will have access to the entire park.
To keep with your original plan, have you considered flying into Salt Lake City?(SLC) From SLC it%26#39;s about a five hour pleasant, scenic drive up to Jackson. Jackson could make a nice forst night stop, and that would allow for your original plans to visit GTNP on your way up to YNP.
Billings to YellowstoneYes! I looked into Salt Lake City and Bozeman as well but figured Billings would be a nice point with decent price %26amp; distance. We will be coming in first week of July. Does it take much longer to drive on the beartooth highway?
I was thinking first night in Mammoth Springs, 2 nights in Lake Yellowstone hotel and 2 nights in Old Faithful Inn. Does that sound like a good plan to visit all the major attractions? Not very much into wildlife, don%26#39;t shoot me, but love geysers.
We always use Bozeman for the convenience, but that%26#39;s why they have choices. The great thing about Yellowstone is there is something there for everyone, so no hard feelings re: the wildlife. There are plenty of us who visit Yellowstone just for the wildlife. So it all balances out. And interested or not, plan on seeing plenty of bison and probably elk if nothing else!
The trip over Beartooth Pass will be great in July. How long it might take will depend on traffic, and on how many stops you make and how long you spend enjoying the amazing views, so you will be partially in control of that. The same can be said for ANY driving around that you do once inside the park as well. As often noted on here, you can not take a known distance and convert that to time inside Yellowstone. There are just too many variables.
Your plan from there on looks fine to me. If you can tear yourself away from the geyers one day :-), from your base at Old Faithful you could still make a day trip down to enjoy The Tetons, too.
Thank you very much for all your suggestions! I didn%26#39;t realize we could do a day trip to Tetons from Yellowstone. I thought it would take atleast an overnight stay. If that is the case I would love to visit the Grand Teton NP too.
Where are the major attractions located in Yellowstone? Which base should we stay longer to be able to cover things in that area?
I live in Billings and go up over Beartooth Pass multiple times during the summer/early fall. Sometimes I just go over to camp/hike in the Beartooth Mts. Other times as an entry into Yellowstone Park. I%26#39;ve also gone west on I90 and down through the North entrance at Gardiner. From Bilings to Cooke City it is 120 miles. From Billings to Gardiner its 170 miles.
Timewise (straight driving) they are pretty much about the same. Billings to Gardiner is I90 (speed limit 75 mph) until the last 54 miles on Hwy 89 (speed limit 60 mph). Billings to Red Lodge is about 10 miles on I90 and then on HWY 212 for another 50 miles. HWY 212 speed limit is 60 mph. The last 60 miles is up over the pass and to Cooke City. The speed limit there varies. You%26#39;ll drive anywhere between 15-25 mph on the north switchbacks. The top is flat with gradual turns and hills- you can usually drive between 35-50 mph there. The south switchbacks are not as steep as the north ones but are more ';curvy';. Until you get down to the bottom you%26#39;ll probably drive between 20-35 mph depending on the area. Once you get to the bottom of the south switchbacks you can pretty much drive about 50-60 mph the rest of the way to Cooke City depending on the stretch of road.
If you are flying in and out of Billings, I would recommend going into the park one way and coming out the other way. Both drives are very scenic. If you could only do one way, I%26#39;d definately choose Beartooth Pass. I%26#39;ve been going over it for 30+ years and am still awestruck by it each time. There are many pullouts along the way to stop and take pictures. In July there will still be snow off the road that you can walk to and have snowball fights.
Lodging for the first night would depend on your arrival time into Billings and your route. Let me know and I can make some recommendations for your first night.
Deb
As my little one doesn%26#39;t travel too well, we will be taking the I90 route on the way in. We usually barely make it to the hotel on the day of arrival. We should be arriving by 12:30 into BIL, if there are no delays. So any suggestions re. where to stay and which hotel would be great. I think it would be too much trying to get into the park before night fall that day.
How old is your child? Red Lodge is home of the Beartooth Nature Center which is a non-profit animal center that rescues wild animals that can not be returned to the wild. They have a really neat center with a huge variety of wild animals(google Beartooth Nature Center for their webiste). Right now they are in a small center but have purchase 20 acres out of town and are in the process of fund-raising for the move. They do a really nice job caring for the animals and telling their stories. My daughter, grandson and I go there every year for Mother%26#39;s Day and look forward to it each year. You would have plenty of time to drive to Red Lodge after your 12:30 flight and then would be able to get up in the morning and drive up over the pass and into the park.
If you prefer to stay in Billings there are lots of hotels available. You would definately have lots of time to unwind from your flight and take off for the park the next morning.
North 27th Street is really easy access exit 450 for I90 where you turn west and drive about 15 miles to the exit 434(Laurel) where you turn south to go to either Red Lodge (northeast entrance over Beartooth Pass) or Cody (east entrance). If you want to enter through the north entrance (Gardiner) you%26#39;ll stay on I90 until you get to Livingston and turn south to Gardiner.
For ease of driving off the interstate in Billings to a hotel and finding a place to eat I would probably recommend getting a hotel off Exit 446 (West Billings). You can drive through town to get there but probably the easiest (tho longer) route later at night would be to drive down N 27th until you get to I90 (maybe about 4 miles) and then turn west on the exit to I90. You would then drive maybe another 5 miles to get to Exit 446. There are a variety of hotels south and north of that exit. Three hotels I would recommend north of the exit are Spring Hill Suites by Marriot, Quality Inn Homestead, %26amp; C%26#39;Mon Inn. South of the exit- Holiday Inn and Billings Hotel %26amp; Convention. North of the exit are many different and easily accessible restaurants- In very close vacinity are: Outback Steak House, HuHot, Texas Roadhouse, Brunos (Italian), Fuddruckers, Red Lobster,Denny%26#39;s, Olive Garden, Old Chicago. Up the street about a mile is a Famous Dave%26#39;s and a Johnny Carinos (and some other hotels). On the south side of the interstate there is a Cracker Barrel.
The easiest way right now to leave the airport is down Airport Hill onto North 27th Street which runs through the middle of the downtown area. The reason I say ';right now'; is there are doing major construction right in front of the airport this summer to put in a round-about. Right now they%26#39;re just moving water/utility lines. Once they start actually building the road part there will be some detours. If you private message me a few days before you fly out I can give you directions for easiest way to access I90.
Deb
If you can drive over the Beartooth Highway from Billings to the northeast entrance, you must have tunnel vision. My trips over there have always required stops to view the scenery.
Here is a map of the park with the attractions listed. The map is clickable to zoom in to read the names and you can click and drag it to view other areas. Bring binoculars and watch for wildlife, planning on lots of stops to do so.
nps.gov/PWR/customcf/apps/maps/showmap.cfm…
Thank you very much for all the detailed info re. staying in Billings and also the link to the park map. That%26#39;s perfect. My little one is 3 and it will be a long day for her (as we live 1 1/2 dr to airport on departure, change of flights from mid-west etc), so we will be staying in Billings and going to the park the next am.
Thanks to every one for all your help planning this trip! Wanted to see the park forever and we are finally making it there.
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