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Old 03-21-2013, 11:42 AM
 
181 posts, read 441,448 times
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We are planning on flying into Denver in late June (SLC is so expensive) from Nashville arriving on a Friday night. I figure we will spend Saturday in Denver but head north on Sunday when things may be closed in Denver.

We want to end up in Yellowstone. Certainly either coming or going the Tetons would be great. We are flying out 8 days later out of Denver on the following Saturday.

What we like to do is random. Drive, stop, eat, and no schedule. Because of this I fear hotels may be an issue in June especially around the park.

#1 Does anyone have suggested towns to stop at along the way while driving just to sight see? I plan on spending the night from Denver to Yellowstone so we can break up the trip so we are flexible on towns to spend the night.

#2 Do you have a good alternate route back that is different?

#3 Do you feel we may have problems finding a room with no advance reservations? I know on the park itself it would be impossible but what about surrounding towns like Cody that are a little ways away from the park?

I know people will say you need 3-4 days in the park but we don't want that much time. I only want two days at most in the actual Yellowstone Park. The rest of the time on the road seeing other things or even back in Denver a day early to see things we missed before heading out.

We will have one child who is 12 traveling.

Thanks.
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Old 03-21-2013, 11:58 AM
 
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Any decent sized town along I-80 will have lodging and eats for you.

We stayed at Rock Springs, WY on I-80 before heading north on 191.

If you can, do book 1-2 nights at the Old Faithful INN which is right next to the geyser. It's an old legendary place and a "must" IMO. Make such reservations now, though it may be too late already.
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Old 03-21-2013, 12:04 PM
 
Location: Greater NYC
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We always drove straight from Denver to Jackson. We like the Tetons as much as Yellowstone and have stayed there with a day trip to Yellowstone when we wanted to avoid the crowds. Jackson is terrific.
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Old 03-21-2013, 12:22 PM
 
Location: denver, co
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i made this trip in the summer of 2008. we did the drive from denver to yellowstone in one day, and i remember most of being pretty boring outside of a monsoon i drove through someplace outside casper. there isn't much to see in terms of towns and scenery until you get closer to grand teton np. as i too am a no-schedule guy when i'm on vacation, bear in mind that there may not be a whole lot of options once you hit wyoming in terms of hotels and restaurants, etc outside of the larger towns like laramie, casper, rawlins, etc. you can't quite just stop wherever as there may not be hotels for long stretches of the drive - i'd pick a town to shoot for where you want to spend the night.

i tend to not want to spend a lot of time in one particular park as well, but you may want to consider a few more days in yellowstone. i was not prepared for how large yellowstone was and how long it took to get around the park. there's traffic in the summer (especially if there's wildlife about), and it's not like the sites to see are all next to each other.

afterwards we headed further north to glacier np (blows yellowstone out of the water imho) and the drive up there was spectacular. if i were to do it again, i would maybe skip yellowstone and instead see grand teton.
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Old 03-21-2013, 12:29 PM
 
Location: Greater NYC
3,176 posts, read 6,199,889 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mundele View Post
afterwards we headed further north to glacier np (blows yellowstone out of the water imho) and the drive up there was spectacular. if i were to do it again, i would maybe skip yellowstone and instead see grand teton.
I agree, Glacier is spectacular. It's all subjective, of course, but I much prefer Glacier and Grand Teton (even though it's small) to Yellowstone.
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Old 03-21-2013, 06:08 PM
 
181 posts, read 441,448 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mundele View Post
i made this trip in the summer of 2008. we did the drive from denver to yellowstone in one day, and i remember most of being pretty boring outside of a monsoon i drove through someplace outside casper. there isn't much to see in terms of towns and scenery until you get closer to grand teton np. as i too am a no-schedule guy when i'm on vacation, bear in mind that there may not be a whole lot of options once you hit wyoming in terms of hotels and restaurants, etc outside of the larger towns like laramie, casper, rawlins, etc. you can't quite just stop wherever as there may not be hotels for long stretches of the drive - i'd pick a town to shoot for where you want to spend the night.

i tend to not want to spend a lot of time in one particular park as well, but you may want to consider a few more days in yellowstone. i was not prepared for how large yellowstone was and how long it took to get around the park. there's traffic in the summer (especially if there's wildlife about), and it's not like the sites to see are all next to each other.

afterwards we headed further north to glacier np (blows yellowstone out of the water imho) and the drive up there was spectacular. if i were to do it again, i would maybe skip yellowstone and instead see grand teton.
I am glad to hear that about Glacier NP. Actually we wanted to do Yellowstone and GNP but thought it was to much time on the road. GNP seems like a long haul. I agree I wanted to see the Tetons and spend time there.

I wonder if we could see the Tetons, spend a long day in Yellowstone and then head to GNP and return back to Denver or is that to much?

Can I assume that the Tetons and GNP is a car trip? Drive, get out and admire the scenery, and move on? Maybe some short hiking trails to a nice site?
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Old 03-21-2013, 06:37 PM
 
Location: Pacific Northwest
125 posts, read 259,275 times
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I like your idea about the Tetons, a buzz by Yellowstone and then up to Glacier. I too, like the Tetons and Glacier better than Yellowstone.

One thing to keep in mind about Wyoming. If there is a rodeo in any of the Wyoming cities, all the motels will be full for 100 miles around, we ran into this when driving through once.

Might check the events calendar for the month you are traveling.

Also June in the Rockies can be quite chilly especially at night so be sure and bring some extra layers of warm clothes.
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Old 03-21-2013, 06:49 PM
 
181 posts, read 441,448 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rail-to-Rail View Post
I like your idea about the Tetons, a buzz by Yellowstone and then up to Glacier. I too, like the Tetons and Glacier better than Yellowstone.

One thing to keep in mind about Wyoming. If there is a rodeo in any of the Wyoming cities, all the motels will be full for 100 miles around, we ran into this when driving through once.

Might check the events calendar for the month you are traveling.

Also June in the Rockies can be quite chilly especially at night so be sure and bring some extra layers of warm clothes.
Oh wow, did not think about or know about the rodeos that can affect things. I have been places when events like that are going on and you are right you have to travel an hour or two in order to find a room. Good advice.
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Old 03-21-2013, 08:28 PM
 
Location: Coos Bay, Oregon
7,138 posts, read 10,995,920 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 62mike View Post
I am glad to hear that about Glacier NP. Actually we wanted to do Yellowstone and GNP but thought it was to much time on the road. GNP seems like a long haul. I agree I wanted to see the Tetons and spend time there.

I wonder if we could see the Tetons, spend a long day in Yellowstone and then head to GNP and return back to Denver or is that to much?

Can I assume that the Tetons and GNP is a car trip? Drive, get out and admire the scenery, and move on? Maybe some short hiking trails to a nice site?
Do it. You will not be sorry. The only concern I'd have, would be trying to do it in eight days. You are talking about a 2,200 mile trip (assuming you deadhead straight back to Denver from GNP). You are looking at driving an average five hours a day to stay on schedule. If you could add an extra three or four days, it would make it a lot easier for you, and give you more time to stop on check things out along the way.

https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=D...&via=3&t=m&z=6
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Old 03-21-2013, 09:39 PM
 
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I would consider taking amtrak from Denver to SLC and then renting a car from there to yellowstone. The train ride is absolutely beautiful and the drive from SLC is significantly shorter.
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