Please help planning our trip to Yellowstone and Grand Teton

Our family, which includes kids ages 14 and 11, arrive in Billings, MT on July 3, 2009 at approx. 11 a.m. We have reservations for July 4, 5, %26amp; 6 at Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone. We leave Billings, MT at noon on July 10th. We have an active family who would like to do some white water rafting, hiking, horseback riding, etc. My questions are:

1. Where should we stay the first night? In Gardiner? Is there good rafting there? Can we fit that in before arriving at Old Faithful Inn? Is there any particular place you would recommend that we stay?

2. Should we stay 2 or 3 nights in Yellowstone? I was also thinking about staying somewhere between Yellowstone and Grand Tetons. We like nice accomodations. Does it make more sense to do white water rafting in this area and spend 4 nights here and maybe go to Jackson Hole, too, or should we keep 3 nights at Yellowstone and 3 nights in this area?

3. What would be the best way to exit the park so that we have a chance to see some different scenery on the way out? Should we stay in Billings on the 9th?

4. I would appreciate any suggestions for ';Must See'; sites, activities, restaurants, etc.

Thank you so much for any and all suggestions!!

Please help planning our trip to Yellowstone and Grand Teton

Sounds like a fun trip. Stay the 3 nights in Yellowstone, there really is not much between YS and Tetons! Plus you will need the time to see that big park.

Day 1 July 3 arrive Billings. Drive to Gardiner. You will have some time to visit Mammoth Hot Springs inside YS park, possibly over to Tower Falls.

Day 2 July 4 Drive to Old Faithful area. See Geyser Basins etc.

Day 3 July 5 Old Faithful area to Lake. Maybe kayak, hiking in that area.

Day 4 July 6 Old Faithful to Canyon area. Horseback riding, hiking. Also see Hayden Valley.

Day 5 July 7 To Tetons. Stay in Jackson or if you can get reservations, maybe inside Teton Park.

Day 6 July 8 Hiking to Inspiration Point across Jenny Lake. Float trip or raft trip.

Day 7 July 9 Drive to Red Lodge MT via Beartooth Highway. Long day of driving.

Day 8 July 10 Depart Billings.

Please help planning our trip to Yellowstone and Grand Teton

Your trip will be enhanced if you bring binoculars and, given the kids%26#39; ages, more than one set if possible. And ask folks with scopes if you can take a look. The wildlife will astound.

Here%26#39;s something we put together to help people plan their visits to the park.

alandsuejohnson.com/yellowstone_planning_a_t…

There%26#39;s other pictures and sample itineraries there as well.

Thank you Thank you for the great information! For our 2 nights in the Grand Teton area, should we stay at Jackson Lake Lodge? As I said, we would like to do some white water rafting and horseback riding at some point in our trip. Would Jackson Lake Lodge be the best spot or should we be looking at some other resort/ranch in the Jackson Hole area? Also, have the rooms been redone at Jackson Lake Lodge? Some of the reviews indicate the rooms are very dated. Thanks again! Kim

Also, where would you suggest we stay in the Gardiner area? I don%26#39;t see alot of good reviews for hotels in the area. Thanks!

we make this trip every summer %26amp; always enter the park in the gardiner area. we stay in pray,mt at a nice place called chico hot springs. it%26#39;s just a super place to stay. lots of different types of rooms available. they have a natural hot springs pool that is very popular, a great restaurant, a spa, %26amp; also horseback riding excursions are booked here as well.

there is a white water rafting excursion out of gardiner that would be easily made that morning after leaving chico (probably a 20-30 minute drive).

montanawhitewater.com/pages/yellowstone_trip…

you should try to stay in jackson at least one night if possible. it%26#39;s a great town that you %26amp; the kids will love. the rodeo is something that%26#39;s a must on wed or sat night. the shootout on the square every evening at 6 is worth seeing as well. lots of great restaurants in town. teton village is worth going by if you have time. lots of things to do in the summer at this ski resort. ride the tram to the top of the mountain %26amp; hike down...or hang glide down with an expert. they have a ton to do for kids like the climbing wall.

one thing we%26#39;ve really enjoyed doing that your family might as well is to rent a canoe at a place called dornans which is just outside grand teton national park. they will load the canoes on your car %26amp; they are very easy to load/unload. we drive up to jackson lake dam %26amp; put in there. it%26#39;s about a 3 hour trip down to the pacific creek takeout. make the detour thru oxbow bend for a good chance to see wildlife. it%26#39;s a fairly smooth water raft trip but moves enough that you don%26#39;t have to work yourself to death. this is something we did last year %26amp; will repeat each year. we also enjoy sitting on the deck at the dornans restaurant in the evening to watch the sunset. they have great pizza, pasta, salads, %26amp; sandwiches. the view is unreal overlooking the snake river %26amp; staring at the grand tetons.

www.dornans.com

jackson lake lodge is a nice place to stay. don%26#39;t know what your budget is but jenny lake lodge is super. it%26#39;s expensive %26amp; includes 2 meals, bikes, horseback riding, %26amp; is a great place from which to make all the jenny lake hikes. there are also several options at signal mountain lodge %26amp; colter bay.

a few more thoughts...

great places to eat in jackson include the sweetwater restaurant, rendesvoux bistro, the blue lion, %26amp; many others.

we%26#39;ve always enjoyed eating dinner at the lake yellowstone hotel but it%26#39;s hard to get reservations if your not staying there. possible but you might not get a prime time. seeing the hotel is worth the trip.

if you get a chance to go to red lodge there are two places that are my favorites. the pollard is the nicest hotel %26amp; gallegher%26#39;s irish rose is a great b%26amp;b. red lodge is a neat town that we enjoyed walking around.

don%26#39;t know if your plans will take you to cody but the cody rodeo is absolutely the best around. a must see if you are there one night. it starts at 8:00. unlike the jackson rodeo it operates 7 nights a week in july %26amp; august. you could spend the better part of a day at the buffalo bill museum %26amp; the irma hotel is worth going by if only for lunch one day.

If you stay in the Gardiner area, check out the ';Boiling River';. It is a hot spring that feeds into the Gardner river.

You should spend at least three nights in the park - four would be even better. Gardiner would be a good first night spot. Chico Hot Springs is great but it is about an hour north (away) from the entrance to the park at Gardiner, if that matters to you.

You should definitely visit GTNP; it is only 60-60 minutes away from Old Faithful. The boat ride at Jenny Lake provides a much shorter route to Inspiration Point and is worth the fee. An interesting side trip off the main route in the park is the Gros Ventre Slide.

After your time at Old Faithful/GTNP, head towards the northeast section of the park through Lamar Valley then take the Beartooth Highway back towards Billings.

Great great ideas! We are going to stay at Jackson Lake Lodge the evenings of the 7th and 8th. The hotel indicated that they redid all of their rooms over the Winter. Does anyone have an opinion as to white water rafting in Gardiner vs. Jackson? We have 2 kids ages 14 and 11 so don%26#39;t want anything too crazy but we have done some incredible rafting in Costa Rica as a family so don%26#39;t want anything too tame, either! Thanks!!!!