We have tentative plans to be in Yellowstone somewhere around September 10th for a few days. We were planning on staying in West Yellowstone after being in the Jackson Hole area for a couple of days. We would be entering the park via the South entrance and then doing the Old Faithful area and exiting out thru the West Yellowsotne entrance. The next day we were planning on dong the upper loop, gain entering via the West Yellowstone loop. However, I see on the N.P. website that a stretch of the road between Norris and Madison is now going to be closed on August 17th for the remainder of the season. From West Yellowstone to access the upper loop it looks like we%26#39;d to go north to Bozeman, across to Livingston to enter via the North entrance, which seem like a lot of extra driving. Since we are going to Glacier next and flying out of there, we need a one-way car rental. Billings doesn%26#39;t provide good options for that, at least not at reasonable rate so coming in from east entrance via Billings is not the best option. Is it the only option? Seems like that road closure is really going to put a cramp in people%26#39;s ability to do both loops no matter where they stay. Any suggestion on how to do both loops without too much backtracking or going way out of our way?
Norris%26ndash;Madison: Gibbon Canyon Road Closure
What about staying somewhere else other than West Yellowstone? Either right in the park, or Gardiner or Cooke City?
OR...if you do stay in West Yellowstone, you could enter YNP through that entrance, drive south past geyser area and Yellowstone lake, then up through Canyon to access the north loop that way. Still a lot of extra driving, but at least you%26#39;re in the park;-).
We%26#39;ll be in YNP a little bit earlier than you guys, and the road closure is impacting our trip a bit too. We%26#39;ll have to drive from Old Faithful Inn past the lake area, up to Canyon and then over to Norris to start one of our days. I guess the plus is that maybe we%26#39;ll see some wildlife driving early through Hayden valley!
Norris%26ndash;Madison: Gibbon Canyon Road Closure
If you can%26#39;t - or would rather not - get lodging in the Park, Gardiner might be a good place for you to stay. As you%26#39;ve seen on the YNP map, that SW section of the ';figure 8'; won%26#39;t be accessible - so will cause some backtracking no matter where you are.
I%26#39;m not sure I understand your question about the car rental. Where are you flying into? If you could clarify that, we can try to help with the options.
OK, here%26#39;s a few more facts: We got an incredible deal at a condo near Glacier so booked that for a week. Planning on doing day trips out of there and possibly doing Waterton Lakes. Original plan was to just fly in and out of Glacier airport. Then started thinking about maybe we should do Yellowstone %26amp; Grand Teton also. However, reserch revealed that is 6-8 hour drive (varies by posting) between Yellowstone area and Glacier, so this ruled out a day trip.
Starting exploring various airports to fly into near Yellowstone or Grand Teton and eliminate having to make the long drive in both directions. We defintely want to return out of Glacier. I went back and checked airfares today to various places (Billings, Butte, Bozeman, Jackson Hole, %26amp; Idaho Falls). All are about $50 of each other (yesterday Idaho Falls was $115 less than today). Problem is trying to find doable flights that don%26#39;t require 4 planes (3%26#39;s my limit and is actually the only way we%26#39;ll get to any of the airports listed above) and/or 4 or more hour layovers on at least one leg.
Next problem is car rentals. Picking up at one location and dropping off at another adds considerable cost. Dollar and Budget don%26#39;t even allow it when paired with Glacier. Hertz and Avis are off-the-charts- compared to Alamo and National. With both of them, only pick-up at Jackson Hole %26amp; Idaho Falls offers unlimited miles. I really don%26#39;t want to get into a situation where I have to worry about how many miles I%26#39;m putting on the car.
Right now, I haven%26#39;t made any flight rservations, trying to work out the logistics.
Doesn%26#39;t seem like doing the two loops is going to be easy no mater where we stay. I guess Gardiner would allow doing the upper loop without backtracking but still will require backtracking for the lower loop. Guess I%26#39;ll look in to options in Gardiner.
Thanks for the help.
Hi Barb,
The closing of the Madison to Norris road on August 17th is going to cause an inconvenience but its something that just has to be done to complete the construction in that area. A couple of years ago the Canyon to Tower road was closed for 2 straight years for construction. Even though backtracking is sometimes a pain in Yellowstone its not that bad. I%26#39;ve been going to Yellowstone every year for 30+ years and still haven%26#39;t seen it all. I always end up doing lots of backtracking because I like staying at Bridge Bay campground. It is amazing how many times I%26#39;ve driven a road and all of a sudden see something new.
Actually, having to go around the lower loop to get to Mammoth adds only about 70 miles. If the Madison-Norris section was opened it would be 49 miles from West Yellowstone to Mammoth. Going around the lower loop to Mammoth is 117-121 miles depending which way you go once you get to Canyon Junction. Like I said before you can backtrack multiple times in the park and see something new each time- especially animals.
Driving from West Yellowstone to Bozeman via Gallatin Canyon and then to Livingston and down through Paradise Valley to Mammoth is 175 miles. Both Gallatin Canyon and Paradise Valley are beautiful to see. Both roads are 2 lane and have lots of traffic. Bozeman has the Museum of the Rockies which has a great dinosaur display if you have time to stop there.
Deb
Just wanted to ask if you%26#39;ve checked Northwest Airlines? I made reservations to visit family in Schenectady - and there is a flight from Bozeman to Albany with just one stopover in Minneapolis. Worth looking into...
I%26#39;ll check the Bozeman flight but unfortunately, the limited miles with the ';affordable'; car rentals may put a cramp in that. Sorry, but not paying between $750-$1000 for a car rental with unlimited miles just to add a few extra days to our trip. That%26#39;s hundreds of $ to over double of what we%26#39;d pay just going to Glacier.I%26#39;m better off flying into Jackson or Idaho Falls ad getting one with unlimited miles for far less money. As I said, I don%26#39;t want to have to worry about how many miles I%26#39;m driving, especially since I%26#39;d now need to be driving more just in Yellowstone because of the road closure. Thanks for the replies though. Guess it%26#39;s back to the drawing board!
