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Old 08-25-2008, 03:25 PM
 
131 posts, read 479,657 times
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Hi,

We are considering a visit to Yellowstone NP next summer. Which is the most convenient airport to fly into? Can you recommend lodging for a family with 2 kids aged 4 & 7? What do you consider the best time of the year to visit?

Any other advice re Yellowstone will be much appreciated!

TIA.
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Old 08-25-2008, 04:06 PM
 
Location: Sheridan, Wy
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Are you wanting to come up from Jackson to see the Tetons and then on into Yellowstone?
Or just stick to visiting Yellowstone? You could fly into Jackson.
I wanna say there is an airport in Cody, but I can't say for sure. There are a couple Cody residents that could probably answer that question for you.

I would highly suggest Going to Xanterra's website, they run all the lodging in Yellowstone National Park, and looking at rates and availability. People book reservations up to a year in advance. The further out you book your reservation, the more of a choice you get to where you want to stay.
There is lodging for all budgets. I highly suggest staying in the park, it is lots of fun. You can stay in cabins, or motels/hotels, lodges, a lot of variety.

If you want to stay outside the park there is Cooke City, Mt that is on the North East Entrance; Gardiner, Mt; West Yellowstone, Mt at the West entrance.
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Old 08-25-2008, 05:16 PM
 
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Yes, there is an airport in Cody and a lot of people who are going to the park fly into there. There is also lodging in Cody, but again, you should book well in advance because things fill up fast. Depending on how many days you will be staying could help determine where you want to stay. You may want to split up your time and spend part of the time at on hotel, part another, etc. That's what I would do. I'd plan my trip to go to certain parts of the park or the surrounding areas for "x" # of days, etc. and plan your overnight stay depending on that. I like to go in the spring shortly after the park opens as I love to see the baby animals. It's not as warm then and you could run into some bad weather (you could even do that during the summer, though!) but there wouldn't be as many people in the spring. Having a child in school may be hard for you to go other than during the summer, though. If you can be more specific about how much time you have, etc. I could give you more info. You could always fly into Billings which has a bigger airport and go to Red Lodge & over the Beartooth Pass to the park. The pass is spectacular, but it doesn't open until late in the spring, depending on weather. We'll help you all we can!
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Old 08-25-2008, 06:52 PM
 
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,726 posts, read 58,079,686 times
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Could fly to Bozeman as well and come in through the NW entrance or West Yellowstone. My vote is to not miss the NE entrance as GEOR.. recommended. You can get a park map with places to visit and pick a central area to 'headquarter', but I really like the old fashioned lodges for that 'rustic' feel.

I would stay in the park, maybe a couple different areas & also in Tetons.

Since I don't really like the crowded 'peak' season, I would choose early September, as it is warmer than late spring, and snow is off to allow more access to sites. Off season allows you to drive around without a slow / traffic jam, tho I bet that has diminished with fuel prices. There is a chance of brief snow in Sept, but we have had great weather even into Oct in our several trips, we often try to go late Sept to see aspen colors. It can be a tad cold to tent camp in the fall....

Wear comfortable and strong shoes with good support, and enjoy some hiking back off the prime areas. There are some spectacular day hikes in the Tetons. I would try to get a canoe / raft trip on the Snake, from Jackson Dam down to south of Teton park. It is a great way to see the views and sneak up on wildlife. (Little tougher with a 2 yr old ) The river trips have been some of our best. Unfortunately the 2 yr old is a bit young for exhaustive day trips, and won't remember the beauty. When our kids were younger they preferred wearing their swimming suits to the threads on the waterslides in Thermopolis. When the kids were really beat (sleeping in back of VW camper van), mom and dad could then enjoy the scenery more. We bought them squirt guns to keep cool in that hot beast, they remember that! They loved to soak mom and dad from the rear seat. Both were in diapers and in car seats on one of those Yellowstone adventures.

Last edited by StealthRabbit; 08-25-2008 at 07:02 PM..
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Old 08-25-2008, 08:33 PM
 
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Avoid West Yellowstone, it is a cheesy tourist trap, reminds me of ghastly I-Drive in Orlando. I really like the Northeast entrance. Gardiner Montana is a quaint tourist town and has some decent authentic western restaurants where you can get a 1st rate bison burger. Teton is nice to the south and you can stay in Jackson, but Jackson is very expensive. The entire area is nice and the park is wonderful, your entire car can go in and out as much as you want for $25. I've vacationed all over the United States and Yellowstone is my favorite vacation. I went in early June which is right before the rush. I would not go peak time because of the extra crowds. All the roads are single lanes so if you go when the tour buses are there and people start stopping for an animal, you can get stuck a half hour just because a buffalo is crossing the road. I'd still go anytime of year but keep that in mind.
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Old 08-25-2008, 10:08 PM
 
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My parents flew into Jackson, as that was the cheapest flight available at the time.

We stayed in West Yellowstone this summer and thought it was fine. It's certainly closer than Jackson. While I really like Jackson, I won't stay there again, since it take two hours to get to the main part of the park. It's a pretty drive, but it wastes too much time. It's a great town for shopping and eating :-).
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Old 08-26-2008, 03:31 PM
 
Location: Nuevo, CA
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We were in W. Yellowstone a couple of weeks ago and stayed at our resort, (WorldMark Resort). We found it very convenient to access the park and enjoyed the Wolf & Grizzly Discovery Center as well as the IMax Theatre. Idaho Falls and Bozeman both have airports that I have used and they were both very convenient.

Enjoy!

Diana
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Old 08-30-2008, 05:33 PM
 
Location: Way on the outskirts of LA LA land.
3,051 posts, read 11,594,269 times
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Since your kids are young, check out the National Park Service's Junior Ranger program that is available in most, if not all, National Parks. It is a great way for kids to learn about the park they are visiting, and is informative for parents, too. At Yellowstone, the kids can get a "Passport" at one of the villages, and get it stamped at each one they visit. I think, if I remember correctly, that they get a free ice cream cone if they get it stamped at all five of the villages in the park. This was something that was sponsored by Xanterra, the park's concessionaire.

It is a wonderful place to visit with your family, and I enjoyed doing so with my kids a couple of times in the last few years. Allow lots of time to explore, or make plans to go back, because you'll probably want to anyway. Enjoy your trip!
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Old 08-30-2008, 07:52 PM
 
Location: Pahrump, NV
330 posts, read 1,096,162 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by weesy68 View Post
Hi,

We are considering a visit to Yellowstone NP next summer. Which is the most convenient airport to fly into? Can you recommend lodging for a family with 2 kids aged 4 & 7? What do you consider the best time of the year to visit?

Any other advice re Yellowstone will be much appreciated!

TIA.
Normally, I would say fly into Casper....but Jackson has been having some really great rates lately (much better than through Casper). That being said, hotels in Jackson cost an arm and a leg (even the Super 8).

You may be best off flying into Billings or Bozeman or Denver and driving to Yellowstone as far as rates go. Usually it costs just as much to fly from, say, Casper to Denver as it does from Denver to Minneapolis. There are a ton of kid-friendly things to do in Casper (if you choose that route)....but even south of Cody (in Thermopolis) is a water park with the hot springs....cool...but stinky (like sulfur)...kids usually love that.

A big thing to remember in YNP, is to NOT leave any food out at night. Bears are a problem and will tear a car apart to get to it. Not to scare you, but some people just don't "get it". Another thing is that no matter how "tame" the animals may seem (and how close you may get to them)....they are still wild animals and very unpredictable. I've been through there when parents have tried to put their child on the back of a "tame" buffalo. The outcome was not good. Or people try to feed the bears (yep, by hand!)....and lose that hand! Common sense seems to leave people when they get that close to nature.

Have fun and take TONS of pictures.
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Old 08-30-2008, 10:16 PM
 
1,872 posts, read 4,221,574 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tekape View Post
Normally, I would say fly into Casper....but Jackson has been having some really great rates lately (much better than through Casper). That being said, hotels in Jackson cost an arm and a leg (even the Super 8).

You may be best off flying into Billings or Bozeman or Denver and driving to Yellowstone as far as rates go. Usually it costs just as much to fly from, say, Casper to Denver as it does from Denver to Minneapolis. There are a ton of kid-friendly things to do in Casper (if you choose that route)....but even south of Cody (in Thermopolis) is a water park with the hot springs....cool...but stinky (like sulfur)...kids usually love that.

A big thing to remember in YNP, is to NOT leave any food out at night. Bears are a problem and will tear a car apart to get to it. Not to scare you, but some people just don't "get it". Another thing is that no matter how "tame" the animals may seem (and how close you may get to them)....they are still wild animals and very unpredictable. I've been through there when parents have tried to put their child on the back of a "tame" buffalo. The outcome was not good. Or people try to feed the bears (yep, by hand!)....and lose that hand! Common sense seems to leave people when they get that close to nature.

Have fun and take TONS of pictures.
As far as the info about Thermopolis.....yeah, it would be a fun place to stop if you have time or you're passing through there.....but it really doesn't have a water park as was mentioned. There are 2 commercial businesses in the state park there that have hot mineral pools. One has a fun indoor slide and the other has a tube indoor slide and a large outdoor slide (this one only open in summer of course) along with the regular swimming pools and the hot tub type pools. A lot of tourists go to both places and have a good time. If you stay all day the cost is fairly inexpensive, but please don't think you're going to a "water park" as there isn't one! There is also a state owned & run "bath house" that is just for soaking in the mineral water. I lived in Thermop for 13 years and support both businesses. I just wanted you to be aware of what's there! Other than having the big state park to play in and the dinosaur museum (I'm not very familiar with that....haven't heard anything about it for a long time) there isn't much there to do with young children. Hope this info helps
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