Where to stay near Yellowstone, but not in Yellowstone

[eastmemphisguy]

It probably won't be practical for you, but the Beartooth Highway/US 212 between Yellowstone and Billings is probably the best mountain drive in America. More scenery and switchbacks than I ever thought possible.

[FACDaddy]

Another option barely mentioned is Cody. We don't get as much traffic but it's a beautiful town and the drive from Cody to the park is amazing! You can often see elk, deer, sheep, and even bison or bear outside the park on your way.

My recommendation is to stay in an area known as North Fork or the town of Wapiti. It's between Cody and Yellowstone, making the drive 30 minutes to the park or 30 minutes to town. Best of both worlds!

Cody is a destination in and of itself. Sure, Jackson is nicer but it's WAY more expensive and I think there is as much - if not more - to do in Cody. We have the world-class Buffalo Bill Center of the West with a Buffalo Bill museum, natural history museum, Plains Indians museum, firearms museum and art museum. You can easily spend an entire day there! We have the only nightly rodeo in the country and it is a blast and inexpensive. White water rafting, world-class fishing, hiking, biking, art galleries, shops, live music, dancing, and much more.

You can live in a hotel in town but my recommendation is to find a vacation rental home. These include houses, mountain cabins, and a variety of living options. They have full kitchens, all the linens, and a lot more privacy/space than you would find at a hotel and they typically run for the same price - sometimes less. Check out Cody WY Lodging | East Yellowstone Lodging | Vacation Rentals for a selection. You should probably book by January because the good ones fill up fast!

[FACDaddy]

And as eastmemphisguy says, the Beartooth Highway is AMAZING! From Cody you just drive north about 20 minutes and turn off. It's a beautiful road with plenty to see. At the end you will enter the North-East entrance of Yellowstone which I believe is the least traveled. It takes you into the Lamar Valley which is the least traveled and a great place to see wildlife without all the crowds.

[eiafjam]

If you happen to stay in Cody or visit, go by the Heritage Bistro at 1532 Wyoming Ave. WOW...great place to eat.I am not affiliated just been there about 20 times and have yet to have a bad meal.

[georgiainwyo]

Originally Posted by eiafjam

If you happen to stay in Cody or visit, go by the Heritage Bistro at 1532 Wyoming Ave. WOW...great place to eat.I am not affiliated just been there about 20 times and have yet to have a bad meal.

Wow. I have lived in Cody for a couple of years now and have lived close most of my life and I have never heard of this place! I thought we had tried every eatery in town! It is strange that no one in any of my civic groups has mentioned it, either, as we are always looking for different places to meet. I looked in the phone book and it isn't listed, either. Odd. I'll have to check it out!

[Unsettomati]

In mid/late June 2012, we stayed in the town of Gardiner, Montana, just outside of the North Entrance.

While some might point out that this leaves you rather far from some sights in the park (ie, the ones on the opposite side of wherever your out-of-the-park location happens to be), I think that is irrelevant because I think it's a mistake to try and see the entire park. Yellowstone is enormous - you can stay in one quarter of the park and still have more than enough things to see and do for an extended stay.

The longest day-trip we made was to Old Faithful - vastly overrated, in my opinion. I much preferred the less-developed thermal areas (and they're all less developed than the small tourist city of Old Faithful - even Mammoth is much smaller and less built up) that were closer to their natural state and closer to the wilderness.

The choice of Gardiner was governed by our approach - we were coming from the northeast (from Minnesota via North Dakota), and Gardiner was more convenient than Cooke City (Northeast Entrance).

I really do urge you to spend less time driving to everything, and more time intimately experiencing those things in the park that are near where you are staying. Even if you never plan to return, it's a matter of quality over quantity.

Originally Posted by eastmemphisguy

It probably won't be practical for you, but the Beartooth Highway/US 212 between Yellowstone and Billings is probably the best mountain drive in America. More scenery and switchbacks than I ever thought possible.

Amen. We made this approach, and the drive over the Beartooths was spectacular. Further, it allows one to enter the park at the Northeast Entrance, and the Lamar Valley is as spectacular as Yellowstone gets, at least for me.