July trip to yellowstone!

My wife and i are thinking of going to the park in mid July. She has never been and I haven%26#39;t been for 19 years. I now no that this is late planning. I love to take pictures of nature and wildlife. So I am pretty excited. If we can get a room in the park should we? If we can%26#39;t were else should we stay? We will be there for 4 or 5 days. I want to get some good scenery pics and some wildlife if possible. Any advice would be great.

Thanks Darren

July trip to yellowstone!

Yes, stay in the park. www.travelyellowstone.com is the website for reservations. For you this late, its also where you find the 800 number to call. The website isn%26#39;t always current. Take what you can and if you don%26#39;t like them, you may be able to change later.

Canyon is the most central location. Easy access to wildlife in Hayden Valley and Lamar Valley. Very close to the upper and lower falls in the grand canyon.

Lake hotel / cabins or Lake Lodge cabins would be my second choice.

Roosevelt Lodge would be third. You may not get a cabin with a bathroom though. Its only a sort walk to one though. I really like it up there and its close to Lamar Valley.

I also enjoy photography. I put trip reports and a lot of our pictures on our website. There%26#39;s also some planning information and sample itineraries. You may find something useful.

www.alandsuejohnson.com/yellowstone_home.htm

Don%26#39;t delay in calling about a room. Its OK to stay two different places to cut down on driving.

July trip to yellowstone!

Well when it comes to staying in the park I am not going to say that you should or shouldn%26#39;t. That is a decision that only you can make. It seems that most people on this forum push staying in the park, but here are a few things to consider:

Pro%26#39;s of staying in the park:

Location - this includes not having to drive out of the park to get to a hotel, not having to get up as early if you are doing wildlife viewing, and the location itself.

No phones, air conditioning, tv%26#39;s, or swimming pools

Con%26#39;s of staying in the park:

No phones, air conditioning, tv%26#39;s, or swimming pools

Less dining options

Gas, lodging, and food is more expensive

More options for hotels

I also don%26#39;t think there is a fridge/micro in the park hotel rooms (not absolutely sure on this)

This is something you need to decide. How important is it to have a phone, or air conditioning, or tv, or a swimming pool. If they are not important and being as close to the park as possible then I would highly reccomend staying in the park.

But if you would really like to have a tv or air or whatever else then you should possibly consider staying out of the park.

We went in July 2007 and stayed in Gardiner. We stayed outside the park since we planned late and after investigating the park hotels we decided they weren%26#39;t for us. We found them to be too expensive for what you get. For us the location wasn%26#39;t a big issue.

We drove to and from Gardiner daily and let me say that the drive isn%26#39;t a big deal.

Your other option if you don%26#39;t want to stay in the park is West Yellowstone.

But the final decision depends on what you want and need in a hotel.

Have a fun trip!

Something else to consider and this even applies to staying in the park. You%26#39;re going in July and you really should be up early and in Hayden Valley or Lamar Valley for wildlife. That isn%26#39;t too bad for Lamar from Gardiner / Mammoth but you almost can%26#39;t get to Hayden Valley early due to the distance. Its also a pretty long drive from up there to Old Faithful.

You could also consider staying in Cooke City if you want (or have to) stay outside the park. You have to drive through Lamar Valley to get into the park and that isn%26#39;t too painful. Don%26#39;t know if will make any difference but here%26#39;s a map we put together showing ESTIMATED driving distances. A herd of bison can make it take a bit longer.

alandsuejohnson.com/yellowstone_map_pics/yel…

You%26#39;ll have a great trip no matter what. Kind of hard to go too far wrong.

My suggestion is to stay in the Park. I don%26#39;t think I%26#39;m being ';pushy'; - It%26#39;s just my opinion that if you want to really experience YNP that%26#39;s the best way to do it. Along with Canyon and/or the Lake area, I would consider a night at Old Faithful.

However, if A/C (rarely needed in this area), TV and swimming pools would make your stay more enjoyable, there is ample lodging in both West Yellowstone and Gardiner that would meet those requirements.

Wherever you decide to stay, you need to make your reservations as soon as possible.

Good Luck!

Thanks all,

I was able to get 2 nites at canyon and 2 nights at lake hotel. The tv,pool and a/c are not a big deal to us. I figure we will be on the go most of the time. It will be a little more expensive in the park but I think it will be worth it.

AKJ, Just checked out you link. You have spent a lot of time on it and your pics are great. My wife and I found your site about 4 days ago and it was a lot of help in making our decision. What type of camera equipment do you take to yellowstone?

One of the great things about AKJ%26#39;s photos is that underneath each one it tells the kind of camera used, resolution,etc.

Sounds good. Have a great trip!

Here is a collaborative Inside Page that might help with re: wildlife viewing and photography:

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