Originally Posted by
LemonThrower
oliver, i am planning a similar trip for august this year.
we are doing glacier becuase we have family nearby, and have tacked on tetons/yellowstone.
we fly into JAC. 2 nts. there. we want to cross the border into Idaho just to say we did it, see a few things in Jackson, wife so some shopping. Will take a ski lift to the top just for the view; kids may take the summer toboggan down, etc.
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Going into Idaho isnt that big of a deal. An alternate path to Yellowstone from Jackson is to to Idaho Falls then to West Yellowstone. Its an option if you want to get cheaper lodging for one night.
Day 2 all day till sunset in Jackson then drive about 2 hrs to Ifaho Fallas/Rexburg then in the AM drive to yellowstone. Many chain hotels are there so if you have points you could stay for free.
Originally Posted by
LemonThrower
we decided to do this relatively late so we are taking lodgings that are available. I'm told the view from the jackson lake lodge is unbeatable and is about half the price of jenny lake lodgings. its also a bit more centrally located.
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Its central in the sense of being closer to Yellowstone...but Yellowstone will be still a long back and forth drive if you want to explore the northern part
Its also farther from the city of Jackson. You have this lodge and then Coulter area of lodging/camping facilities.
Originally Posted by
LemonThrower
if you are going to yellowstone, there are accomodations in between tetons and yellowstone on what used to be the rockeffeler property. i forget the name. some of them are rustic/bare minimum, but to me the attraction is that you base yourself a bit further north with each lodging change.
i can't add much more. at the risk of stating the obvious, Old Faithful Inn is the most difficult property to get a reservation for.
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Its called Flagg Ranch
Originally Posted by
LemonThrower
we are planning to take the bear tooth highway out of the park which takes you NE and a bit and out of the way from Glacier, but apparrently worth it, and then an all day drive to glacier. the moon guide gives a couple of alternatives. We plan to drive all around Glacier and go to Waterton, so we'll probably take the most direct way to Flathead, with the caveat that we'll drive around the more scenic eastern shore of flathead lake on our way to Glacier. There is a post somewhere on flyertalk with the directions.
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Oliver isnt doing both at the same time. these are two seperate trips done in different summers. Teton/Yellowstone is this year, Glacier is next year.
The beartooth highway is on the top 5 of most scenic in the USA. Going out of the park that way really isnt much of an issue to get to Glacier.
You just go to the east side from there by driving from Billings to Great Falls then up to Glacier.
With Glacier you really need to stay some nights on the east side. Its 2 hrs to get to the other side one way. On the east side you have more hiking and entry point options.
Originally Posted by
LemonThrower
we'll probably buy the annual pass for $80 but i have read that a weekly pass is only $25.
One of the things we want to do is whitewater rafting. I get the sense that the rafting is better near glacier than around yellowstone.
i mentioned on the other thread that i like the Moon series of guide books.
we are renting a car in JAC one way and returning at FCA. paying about 300/week for the car this way, but its cheaper than flying between JAC and FCA.
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The $25 for a week is just for one park. Yellowston, Glacier are about the same. Thats $75. Purchasing the $80 annual pass is good for 13 months. If you buy it in early July 2013 its good to the end of July 2014.
Originally Posted by
LemonThrower
since you seem to have some flexibility, i think the earlier you go in the season, the rivers/waterfalls may have more flow, and the wildflowers may be more abundant, but you may have more concerns about snow and adverse weather. I think this applies more to Glacier than to Yellowstone. If i had more flexibility, i might do the week after labor day just to avoid some of the crowds, although you are bumping into colder weather and more precip.
Yellowstone is similar to Glacier in the weather. Yellowstone is one of the coldest spots in the lower 48. Its expected to see freezing temps and snow in June.
The issue with Glacier is more the higher elevation and that years snow pack. Much of the roads go through Valleys except going to the sun road where you go over Logan Pass so its can be snow up there, but fine at the lower elevations. In a heavy snow year you are going to still see snow at Logan Pass covering the trails.
With Yelowstone much of it is relatively flat except for a few exit points. Yellowstone is in a valley surrounded by mountains. The entry points follow mountain passes. or lower elevations near water.
In the mountains you can get thunderstorms on any day. the continental divide gets wins to come up the slopes and create clouds and instability which then generates showers and thunderstorms. there are days where you could be in Kalispell and its nice and sunny but the mountains its socked in with rain. This is true with all dense mountian ranges in the summer.