Island Park, Idaho

We have a Disney Vacation Club and I was hoping to exchange a week next year at the Island Park Village Resort. I%26#39;m hoping to use it as a base.

How far it is to Yellowstone and Grand Tetons?

What is the best airport to fly into?

Thank you.

Island Park, Idaho

Can%26#39;t help you with the time share deal, but from Island Park to Old Faithful in the soutwestern area of Yellowstone is about 60 miles, and The Tetons are another 40 or so miles south of there.

The closest major airports to Island Park would be Idaho Falls at around 80 miles, Bozeman, Montana around 115 miles, Jackson, Wyoming around 120 miles, and during the summer there is commercial air commuter service into West Yellowstone, Montana, about 30 miles away.

Island Park, Idaho

I would add just a bit to Hawkeye%26#39;s info.

Old Faithful is relatively close to where you will be staying, on the west side of the park. It will be much farther to go to many of the sites you will want to visit in Yellowstone.

The other thing you need to know is that the speed limits and the wildlife/tourists will also slow you down.

It%26#39;s not an ideal location, but if you can exchange your week, then the attractive price makes it doable. Just plan on lots of driving.

Thank you for the info. I think that might be the only way we will be able to afford to go on vacation is use our timeshare. I figured the park is so huge that I would be driving a lot any how. I like that I would be closer to Old Faithful and Grand Tetons. Now we just have to see if I can get space or not.

What else would you suggest we see and do?

Good morning Your Highness!

I wanted to add the point that Shell made in my initial response, but since you mentioned the time share deal I thought that you were probably pretty well set on that.

Anyway what I also failed to mention was the fact that from Island Park, you will be about 30 miles from the closest park gate, the west gate, and Yellowstone IS all about driving. A week will give you plenty of time to explore all of Yellowstone and The Tetons, so for me to list all of the ';must sees'; would be pointless. Yellowstone is something to be experienced, not merely seen. The best advice that I can give anyone is not to overplan your days. Take your time, and let the parks dictate the pace. Do not set goals, or ride around with a ';check list.'; There is no need to put yourself on a strict schedule, and don%26#39;t think of back tracking as a bad thing. All sorts of interesting things can happen behind us as we drive around!

I can recommed the book, ';YELLOWSTONE TREASURES'; for some great advanced reading, and if you are hikers, you might want to pick up one of the many good hiking guide books for Yellowstone. You can also visit the following web site for tons of info and help in planning your trip.

www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit.htm

Relax, enjoy, and I%26#39;m sure that you will have a wonderful time.

H

We are staying at Island Park this June for a week to explore YNP. On the timeshare forum www.tug2.net many, many people say it is the absolute best timeshare to see YNP. I haven%26#39;t seen any complaints about the driving etc. Most timeshare people are thrilled to get an exchange and use their already pd for week. I will let you know how it goes. We are travelling with myself, husband 13 and 9 yr old. Can%26#39;t wait. There might be ';better'; lodging options but none as economical as a timeshare exchange. Check out the tug website and I think it will ease your concerns. It did mine.

Hawkeye thank you for noticing my title!! LOL I was laughing so hard - love someone with a sense of humor!!

Thank you for sending me to tug2.com I didn%26#39;t see much about this property. Yes, it helps with the budget to have a place to stay for ';free';. I only need to worry about air, car and food.

We are using our first exchange this year in Rangeley Maine and can%26#39;t wait. We usually go to Acadia or Wells. I think I will put in for a couple, this one, one near Glacier National Park and probably one in CO. Unfortunately, the one in Estes Park is a two bedroom and we don%26#39;t have enough points. And they don%26#39;t have any properties in Alaska:( Oh well.

I was watching parts of National Geo. last night it was about the guy and his bear in Yellowstone - it was getting me so exciting about going. I just love nature and the beauty of God%26#39; country.

Thanks again and I%26#39;ll keep you updated if I get the exchange.

Island Park%26#39;s ';main street'; stretched about 30 miles in length so your drive to get to the West Entrance really depends upon where in Island Park you are staying.

Make sure to get the new National Geographic Geotourism map because it has some wonderful places to visit in Island Park and the western part of Yellowstone...see other post or email me for a website. IT IS FREE and worth it!

I just recently received my Natl. Geo. Map and it is awesome!

Thanks so much for the info yellowstonefan :-)

Yellowstonefan, I would love to get one of the maps. Could you please tell me how I go about getting one. Thank you!!

Princess - Just go to this website www.yellowstonegeotourism.org. and look on the right-hand side of the page. There is a sign-up there. They will mail it to you in a couple of weeks. (You can also download a .pdf version.)

no clue how to use it