quickest route

My husband and I are planning a trip in October from 2nd to 23rd. Could someone please tell us the quickest and best route to yellowstone from denver.

thankyou

sandra

quickest route

Hello, Sandra --

Quickest route will take about I-25 north to Cheyenne, I-70 west to Rawlings, then take state highway 287 North to Yellowstone. It will take you at least 9 1/2 hours. The state highway is 2 lane, the others are all divided 4 lane highways.

Most facilities will be closed or closing in the park that time of year. This is fall information from the National Park Service on Yellowstone:

Fall Road Closures: October 13, 2009: Roads close to the public at Tower Fall to Canyon Jct. and Long Lake via Beartooth Pass to the Montana Stateline. (GATES CLOSE AT 8 A.M.).

November 1, 2009: all park roads closed to the public at 8 a.m. except from the North Entrance to Upper Mammoth Terrace, and Mammoth via Tower Junction to Northeast Entrance. Cooke City via Colter Pass to the Long Lake gate is not maintained for wheeled vehicle travel.

Fall: Fall weather is unpredictable; roads may be closed temporarily by snow or other weather conditions. Snow tires or chains may be required.

quickest route

Fastest road already been given but it also depends on your route. Do you want to visit the northern part of Yell first entering via Cody or do you want to drive up via Jackson and Grand Teton NP? Yes, weather in october (and actually all time of year) is unpredictable but crowds are gone and I love this area off season. I would not want to drive in one day from Denver to Yell esp. not after a long flight from Australia.

Tet

Thankyou for your reply. We would like to go through jackson and grand tetons then onto yellowstone and we realise we can%26#39;t do it in one day. There must be neat places to stay on the way to jackson.

Hi Sandie56,

There sure are some neat places on the way. Here are some links that will give you some information about the rea you are heading in to. Happy Trails !!!

http://www.byways.org/explore/states/WY/

http://www.nps.gov/oreg/

Is it absolutely necessary to fly into Denver? Is Yellowstone the major attraction to you? Paying the extra price to fly into Jackson, Wyoming will save you about 8 hours or more of driving each way.

If your purpose of the trip is to see the ';lay of the land'; between Denver and Yellowstone, please disregard the previous.

Hi there,

We are flying into denver cause we will be going to durango,silverton etc after yellowstone. We were in that area for 2 days 3 years ago and fell in love with it.Thought it best to do wyoming bit first because of the weather and closures. It is so good to be able to go on this forum for advice, you guys are great!!!!

Sandie

I do think driving via Cody comes in mind. You%26#39;ll love Cody and its Buffalo Bill MNuseum. On one of our trips we arrived Denver early in the afternoon and drove same day to Laramie for the night. Then next day the drive to Cody via Rawlins and Thermopolis(Mineral Hotsprings). From Cody you could enter Yell by its east entrance, take a couple of days to explore via upper and lower loop and drive via Grand Teton NP to Jackson, a nice place. It will take 2 days then to drive from Jackson to Ouray/Silveron/Durango. Best way to do that is to drive from Jackson to Rock Springs and via Flaming Gorge (beautiful) to Vernal (Dinosaur NM, unfortunately the Quarry is still closed) for the night. Then next day via Grand Junction (lovely Colorado NM) to Montrose and Ouray. If you haven%26#39;t been to Ouray yet, please try to stay at least one night. Just keep in mind, end of october also in that area, weather can be unpredictable and there can be snow. The San Juan Skyway is awesome but also takes a long time. Don%26#39;t forget to visit Mesa Verde NP. If you need more info just let us know.

Tet

Hi Sandie !!! ... and if you feel like taking a good warm dip, try Pagosa Springs, right near Durango, real enjoyable.

http://www.pagosahotsprings.com/

Thankyou so much for all your suggestions. We have stayed in Ouray 1 night before and loved it, will stay again this time. Cannot wait to go. Probably go to yellowstone via Cody then down to Jackson etc. Hoping we do see snowfall as I have neve seen it snow. Will run around in it if it does. Hope to see bears in yellowstone, real bad. What are my chances. As I said cannot wait to head out to the real west... Cowboy take me away!!!!!!!!!

Sandie

You could try Hotham Heights, Vic one day. We%26#39;ve just been there and a lot of alpine country. No snow on our Ozzie trip this time of year of course. You might see bears and you might not. Bring your binoculars and be patient. If you want an unbelieveble beautiful mountain drive, try Beartooth hw from Cody (will be a detour and chances of roadclosures) and enter Yellowstone by its NE entrance. Beartooth hw is one of the best mountaindrives in the USA but take extra time for it.

Tet