Yellowstone/Grand Teton/Jackson, worth an only 3 day trip? (Cody: spring break, rent) - Wyoming (WY) - City-Data Forum

adelashk · 08-11-2010, 12:01 AM

Hi all,
I have been looking for some information online about Yellowstone N.P. and the surrounding areas. There is a wealth of information, but I need some advice from Wyomingites and city-data regulars. I am planning to visit during the labor day weekend (Fri.-Mon.) On some websites it says visiting Yellowstone for less than a week is a waste of money, so is that true? I would also like to visit Grand Teton N.P. and Jackson (what is the difference between Jackson Hole and Jackson?)

I will rent a car. I am mostly interested in sightseeing as opposed to outdoor activities (so no kayaking/biking but maybe some hiking). I usually do not spend more than an hour at an attraction.

Would the labor day weekend suffice? Any brief itinerary suggestions?

Thanks

sunsprit · 08-11-2010, 03:15 AM

Jackson is the town, Jackson Hole is the area around it ....

IMO, you've set an impossible amount of "tour" within a three-day visit. You simply cannot go driving the distances between "attractions" at high speed and get to each point of interest ... even if you intend to spend less than an "hour" at each. It's not like the region is a Disney park where you can hustle from point to point, take a ride, and then move on to the next point of interest in the park as fast as you possibly can to cram as much entertainment in to each day.

What most folk don't realize is that the scenery between given points of interest is as much a part of the park experience as the points of interest. Given that the weekend you've chosen is the last ... and a major holiday weekend ... of the high tourist season, you can expect a lot of other travelers. The roads may well be packed with slow moving vehicles, including RV's, busses, and gawking tourists with no particular high speed travel agenda. Even if there isn't a huge traffic density, the roads in the area are such that it only takes one slow mover to bring all the traffic down to their speed.

So, if your goal is to take a vacation ... which implies relaxation and taking in the sights ... I'd suggest that you limit your trip to a single more specific, limited locale. Jackson ... and the Hole ... are worthy of a three day local area stay by themselves. Yellowstone is worthy of weeks of your time, and you still can not see a fraction of the park even at the end of the season before many points close down for the year (and you're going on a major holiday weekend!). Bridger-Tetons? Same thing ... you can spend weeks there at various locales and still not see a fraction of what the place is all about.

paintersspouse · 08-11-2010, 05:14 AM

I think you can see most of what you want to see.

My family was just here. They spent one day in Jackson, one day in Teton Park and one day in Yellowstone. They did all this driving back and forth from Alpine , WY. If you stay in a hotel in the Park for at least one night, you will have even more time to explore. Start early and map out your route and you should be able to see lots.

jbear182 · 08-11-2010, 06:26 AM

Anybody that says its waste of money to spend less than a week in Yellowstone is a fool. Obviously, you will only see a small fraction of the parks but even getting a small taste is better than nothing and well worth the money.

sunsprit · 08-11-2010, 08:21 AM

Last time I went to Yellowstone, this "fool" (thanks, jbear182 ... you don't know me or my values in travels) took a 22' sailboat to the Lake and spent 5 days on the water in the South portion (hand or sail propelled only, which made for a lot of solitude and quiet enjoyment of the place). It was hardly a comprehensive tour of the lake area and the scenery or wildlife that could be accomplished in that time ....

I'd guess we all have our different perspective on what makes for a vacation and "seeing" a place. If you think heading to a large geographical area to see just a couple of the "famous sights" out of many thousands of wonders is justified, so be it ....

jody_wy · 08-11-2010, 08:27 AM

Have left Star Valley at 6am and done most the loop in Yellowstone, that was not stopping at each stop, but the falls , fishing bridge , old Faithfull. Three Days with maybey one or two in Jackson and one ore two at a lodge in Yellowstone you could see alot. Would be no pack trips in to the back country.

paintersspouse · 08-11-2010, 08:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sunsprit

Last time I went to Yellowstone, this "fool" (thanks, jbear182 ... you don't know me or my values in travels) took a 22' sailboat to the Lake and spent 5 days on the water in the South portion (hand or sail propelled only, which made for a lot of solitude and quiet enjoyment of the place). It was hardly a comprehensive tour of the lake area and the scenery or wildlife that could be accomplished in that time ....

I'd guess we all have our different perspective on what makes for a vacation and "seeing" a place. If you think heading to a large geographical area to see just a couple of the "famous sights" out of many thousands of wonders is justified, so be it ....

"I will rent a car. I am mostly interested in sightseeing as opposed to outdoor activities (so no kayaking/biking but maybe some hiking). I usually do not spend more than an hour at an attraction."

I think the OP was quite clear. This is a sight seeing trip not a back country adventure.

sunsprit · 08-11-2010, 09:21 AM

Quote:

I will rent a car. I am mostly interested in sightseeing as opposed to outdoor activities (so no kayaking/biking but maybe some hiking). I usually do not spend more than an hour at an attraction."

I think the OP was quite clear. This is a sight seeing trip not a back country adventure.

Indeed, they were very clear that they primarily wanted to just get a windshield tour of the region.

But there might be a big difference in the traffic volume and movement on the roads and access to the highlight sights for the OP on Labor Day Weekend vs the activity that your family recently saw in their travels ....

It's one of the reasons why I avoid these tourist attraction areas, esp a major draw like Yellowstone, during prime holiday weekends. Everybody has the same concentrated time vacation window, and these places are packed to capacity with traffic and tourists desperate to "see" as many famous spots as possible in that very short time. It doesn't take much in the way of a disruption for traffic flow ... folk watching wildlife from the road, breakdowns/accidents, slow moving RV'ers and rubbernecking tourists ... to turn the traffic into a very slow moving crawl of stop-and-go snarl. Makes for less than a pleasant experience if one's plan is to bag as many highlights as possible in a very limited time frame. Add to that a high tourist volume heading to the restaurants which can turn a modest amount of time into a very leisurely experience for service and food by overworked/overloaded staff ... and the forces at work can severely limit what can be reasonably and efficiently accomplished in a 3-day holiday weekend.

My point remains, however, that the Yellowstone experience is far more than seeing a certain geyser, or a formation ... it's simply that awesome and overwhelming of a place and it's not a matter of prime sites separated by a short distance/time. It's a total experience, and very little of it is seen just from the windshield of a car. You actually have to get out and about to experience the place ... which takes time to do.

You'll see the same situation around Memorial Day, 4th of July, Spring Break, and ... Labor Day .... or travel over Thanksgiving or New Year's to many similar tourist attractions. Big difference between prime holiday weekend traffic loads and off-week loads, even in high season. These prime holiday periods simply max out many places/facilities .... If the OP had inquired about an aggressive travel plan during off peak and highest density use times, that could be an entirely different "windshield tour" of the region.

paintersspouse · 08-11-2010, 09:30 AM

Actually, Labor day weekend is the slower than it is now. The majority of the families with children are or have already started for home because of the start of school.

The locals know this.

dori36 · 08-11-2010, 09:34 AM

[quote=sunsprit;15427620]

Quote:

Originally Posted by paintersspouse

"I will rent a car. I am mostly interested in sightseeing as opposed to outdoor activities (so no kayaking/biking but maybe some hiking). I usually do not spend more than an hour at an attraction."

I think the OP was quite clear. This is a sight seeing trip not a back country adventure.[/QUOTE]

Indeed, they were very clear that they primarily wanted to just get a windshield tour of the region.

But there might be a big difference in the traffic volume and movement on the roads and access to the highlight sights for the OP on Labor Day Weekend vs the activity that your family recently saw in their travels ....

It's one of the reasons why I avoid these tourist attraction areas, esp a major draw like Yellowstone, during prime holiday weekends. Everybody has the same concentrated time vacation window, and these places are packed to capacity with traffic and tourists desperate to "see" as many famous spots as possible in that very short time.

Well said, Sunspirit. Having lived in Jackson for 7 years, I will concur and gently suggest to the OP that they consider a less busy weekend. You'll have bumper to bumper traffic in the Parks and if a bear, wolf or other interesting wildlife happens to show itself, there will be a major jam as people just stop their cars, leave them, and get out to take pictures. I won't go into how annoying that can be!

If OP has no other options for the weekend, I'd suggest Grand Teton Park coupled with a couple of nights in Jackson itself. No matter what, it's beautiful but can be very frustrating on the BIG weekends!

Another possibility is to stay in Cody (lived there for 4yrs) and enter Yellowstone from the east entrance. Cody will be busy but not as overwhelming as Jackson. There's plenty of gorgeous scenery up the Northfork on 50 mile drive to Yellowstone. Either way, have a great time!