Seeking some help with my rough itinerary for June

Hi there YNP experts

This is my first visit to YNP and I%26#39;m planning a 8 day trip with rough plans below. As I%26#39;m late in my bookings, am left with constraints with accomodations so am trying to fit the route around that.

June

20 Fly from NYC to Billings (arrive 2pm) - like to drive through Beartooth towards YNP direction. I understand it takes around 3 hrs to get to the park for this route, so I%26#39;m open to stay outside the park. In any case, park lodging that I could find for this night include Mammoth and Canyon - but I%26#39;m not sure whether it makes sense to stay in the park due to the problem with day 2.

21 Unable to find lodging in the park... not sure what to do yet. Should I just stay outside the park for day 1 and 2?

22-23 Canyon

24-25 Old Faithful

26-27 Staying at Jackson Hole, visiting Grand Tetons.

28 Fly out of Jackson Hole (Depart 2pm)

Seeking some help with my rough itinerary for June

You may want to consider staying night 1 in Red Lodge and then drive the Beartooth Highway the next day, staying either just outside the NE entrance in Silver Gate or Cooke City or inside the park if you can get a cancellation! Call Xanterra as well as check online.

Then you can explore Lamar Valley to Tower Falls on day 2, then move into the park for the next few days. day.

Seeking some help with my rough itinerary for June

Re: the 21st, I suggest you reserve a room in, say, W. Yellowstone. Keep calling Xanterra (calling, do not rely on the website) until a room opens up. Then, cancel your earlier reservation. Be sure of the cancellation policies of the motel you select.

I vote for in the park lodging, to experience the park, to avoid driving back and forth to/from the park, the entrance lines (which usually are not too bad), to avoid driving at night, to be nearer key areas.

The estimate of three hours drive time from Billings to the northeast gate of Yellowstone is based on a non-stop trip. Your actual time will vary depending on traffic, how may stops you make, and how long you spend enjoying the awesome scenery. Landing at 2 PM, and after an all day trip across the country, you might consider spending your first night in Red Lodge, then continuing your trip over the mountains in the morning when you are refreshed. For your second night, staying in Mammoth would allow you time to explore the northern sections of the park, before heading down to Canyon, then Old faithful, and finally Jackson.

All that being said, I assume that you have spoken with Xanterra directly regarding lodging in the park, and not relied solely on their web site. If you have not done so, I strongly urge you to call them toll free at 1-866-439-7375, and keep calling right up until your departure date. Changes happen, and they can not keep their web site up to the minute.

I like Casa Azul%26#39;s suggestion. We actually did this. Stayed in Red Lodge and left first thing in the morning for the Beartooth. One advantage of doing this, if you are into photography,is that the morning light (East to West)makes for beautiful picturesin the morning light.

We stayed in Cooke City (Super 8)that night, going into the park and visiting Lamar Valley for the evening and then the following morning headed into the park again and went to Canyon for our first set of in park lodging. I found it the perfect solution as we saw a lot of wildlife in the evening in Lamar.

Have fun!

Dear all, thank you for your suggestions :)

I%26#39;m trying to make the worst case scenario planning, ie. assumes no cancellations opens up for 21st in the park. I like the idea of staying at Red Lodge for the 1st night, but am not sure whether the timing may be too generous. As I%26#39;ll be coming from Billings around 2pm, I imagine I can reach Red Lodge within 1 hr, while the main scenic Beartooth drive is between Red Lodge and Cooke City. Hence, Day 1 might be too light on the itinerary?

Hawkeye - I%26#39;m unable to get any in park lodging (incl Mammoth) for 21st, hence the trickiness how to avoid going to and fro too many times. But I guess going thru Lamar Valley 3x is unavoidable if I stay outside the park in NE.

Pozj - thanks for the tip on the morning light! haven%26#39;t thought abt that! :)

Hi Mintee -

Flying into Bilings and then driving the Beartoth Pass the same day may be a bit much. The Beartooth pass is a hard drive, not at all like the cornfield interstates of the midwest. I would take it easy in Billings for the night, or Red Lodge as someone else suggested.

On the morning of the 21st I would spend the entire day enjoying the drive from Billings or Red Lodge through the beautiful Beartooth Pass. This will rop you down into Cooke City, which is the notheast entrance to Yellowstone. And guess what? You are in luck because Cooke City has lodging. Check out the lodging options at the Cooke city chamber of commerce:

cookecitychamber.org/cooke_city_montana_busi…

Cooke city is GORGEOUS and is at 7500 feet in the mountains. I find it to be prettier than most of Yellowstone. If you like being in the mountains, this is a good spot.

That takes care of your June 21 lodging problem in the park.

The rest of your trip looks pretty tight, but I think you will be spoiled by the beauty of the Beartooth drive and Cooke City area early on :)

You should see plenty of wildlife. Spend some time in the Lamar(the valley you drop down into about 20 miles from Cooke City into Yellowstone) and Hayden Valleys (just south of Canyon).

As for your Grand Teron stay I alwys, always recommend Colter Bay cabins because of all the amenities in Colter Bay Vilage and the absolute beauty of the location. Also, the cabins are quiet. Jackson is a very small but very busy town. You will not find the peace there that you will at Colter Bay inside the park itself. And you went on this trip to get away from that sort of thing, right?

Hi Mintee,

I live in Billings and go up over Beartooth Pass multiple times each year. With a 2pm arrival, I would not recommend going over the pass that day. By the time you get your luggage (they are slowwwwww) and your rental it will probably be close to 4pm by the time you get out of Billings. I would highly recommend staying overnight in Red Lodge and going over the pass the next morning. This will give you time to rest the first night and not feel rushed going over the pass. There are so many beautiful places along the road to stop and take pictures. If you like short hikes I can recommend some on the south side of the pass before you get to Cooke City that are just breathtaking (and not too strenuous).

Another option for the 21st is staying in Cody. Stay in Red Lodge the night of the 20th. Go over the pass and turn left on Chief Joseph Scenic Highway (just east of Cooke City) and drive to Cody. The Buffalo Bill Museum is really a nice place with 5 different museums in the same complex. They also have a really good nightly rodeo at 8pm. On the morning of the 22nd you can drive in through the east entrance to Fishing Bridge, turn north and drive to Canyon where you have reservations.

Deb

Deb many thanks for your advice! I will reschedule my itinerary to fit Beartooth into the morning trip of Day 2. :)

I have also read your advice in other threads on what to expect when driving Beartooth. As I%26#39;m a newbie to driving, may I ask what does %26#39;switchback%26#39; mean when driving on Beartooth hwy? I%26#39;m seen you use this term in another thread.. thanks!

wolverine, thanks for the advice too :)

I will do the beartooth after a night%26#39;s rest as suggested. have already managed to get roosevelt for night 2 so will do a red lodge to roosevelt for day 2. I guess that shd be doable.

Cheers and thanks again all!

ojon