doss1

I am trying to plan a 1 week vacation for my wife and I in September (or August if the opportunity is better), but trying to minimize travel time in and keeping expenses minimal.

We plan to fly into SLC via STL and then explore Yellowstone, but need some help with the finer details:

1.) After we spend one night in SLC, we plan to rent a car and drive to YellowStone national park. What is the recommended route to take?

2.) I understand lodging is difficult to find within the park itself. If our goal is to hike and explore the area, is this a MUST? Or, can we stay at a town outside the park and then drive back into the park the next day?

3.) Should we view the Grand Tetons BEFORE or AFTER YNP?

( Bonus question: If you weren't going to Yellowstone, what would be an alternative park that would be just as good BUT with less people/crowds? Glacier NP? )

cblaisd

I'd go south, instead, and do Zion National Park, the utterly amazing drive on Utah State Highway 12 through Escalante and Boulder and on to Capitol Reef park.

https://goo.gl/maps/CAvMGBSCmf52

djp98374

7 days is a doable but tight trip

for Yellowstone outside the park lodging is located in west Yellowstone and gardiner are the main sites. There is some in cooke city and Cody(but Cody is really too far as a base to visit from)

for Grand Teton lodging is in Jackson, Teton village, and other surrounding towns. Driggs is a little too far from the park.


day 1 to SLC, if you have some time after arrival and getting the car, drive some north of SLC.
day 2 to west Yellowstone in the early morning/early afternoon, half day in the park in Norris, Madison, old faithful, geyser basin area, night west Yellowstone
day 3 Norris, Madison, old faithful, geyser basin, night west Yellowstone
day 4 north loop---canyon, Lamar valley,, Mammoth, night Gardiner
day 5 Lake Yellowstone then 3pm to Jackson
day 6 grand Teton
day 7 AM grand Teton, PM to SLC
day 8 fly home


alternate to Yellowstone...

day 1 into SLC drive to Provo
day 2 to gobli valley SP. LWHC, Capitol Reef NP, night torrey
day 3 UT 12 am, Bryce PM, night Bryce
day 4 Bryce AM, to Page PM
day 5 Page till 3pm to Zion
day 6 Zion
day 7 Zion till 2pm, drive to SLC
day 8 flight home

--could sub North Rim of GC for Page

alternate

day 1 to SLC
day 2 to Moab
day 3-4 Moab
day 5 to monument valley
day 6 to Goblin Vlaley/LWHC then to Torrey
day 7 Capitol Reef till 3pm, then to SLC
day 8 fly home

TRRed

2. Lodging in and around both YNP and GTNP, including Jackson, are at a premium through the eclipse on 8/21 and for at least a few days after that. Staying in the park is, in some degree, like staying on site at Disney World: you can spend less time in your car getting to places you want to see, and some my be walkable from your hotel. Some facilities in park may start closing shortly after Labor Day. But the parks are certainly doable from gateway areas. And, excluding the eclipse, crowds usually start to diminishing by late August as kids go back to school.

For YNP, the gateway areas I would look at would be Gardiner, MT (at North gate), West Yellowstone (near West gate), Flagg Ranch area (near south gate), Cooke City (NE gate), and maybe some between East gate and Cody, but I agree that Cody would be a bit far for a commute. I am not aware of any 4* lodging facilities in any of those areas. Expect to find Best Westerns and Choice hotels, for example.

For GTNP, as I mentioned in another post, I like Togwotee Lodge, which is about 10 miles east of Moran Junction. Dornan's, south of Moran Junction, has some cabins, as I recall. And GTNP is also doable from a base in Jackson, including Teton Village. And also Flagg Ranch area.

3. The parks have individual identities. YNP is loaded with animals, good scenery, many walking trails (among other things). The Teton mountains in GTNP are majestic, particularly at dusk or dawn. I would see what accommodations you can get when and let that dictate what order you visit. River trips (from a gentle float to whitewater rafting) are usually available in the Snake River, starting in GTNP and flowing south of Jackson. I don't know what the water level is like this summer. The type of ride you want dictates where your trip starts.

Bonus: Assuming you are staying with SLC as a starting point, I have to agree on Zion and N. Rim of the Grand Canyon as an alternative for scenery. And throw in Rocky Mountain NP to that pot also. Glacier is an additional day's drive each way from YNP, so SLC is probably not a good jumping off point for that. In my experience, none of those compare with YNP (and too a lesser extent GTNP) for seeing a variety of (non-human) mammals. If you can change from SLC, Banff NP and Jasper NP in Alberta have a lot going for them. And Zion, et al, may be easier to access from Las Vegas.

TRRed