Grand Teton and Yellowstone vacation
finnishspitz
Wife and mom of 2 (16 yr old and 11 yr old)
14 Jun 2006
based on 16 votes
Timing, animals,hiking guides,hotels,food
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| I would recommend going early in the season, unless you are planning on staying in a campground as some of them don't open until mid-June. We were there the last day of May and into early June. The traffic was almost non-existent, we didn't need reservations for meals and the animals were still about. We stayed at Togowotee Mountain Lodge right outside the park. It was very convenient and nice. Cabins have 2 queen beds, a sleeper sofa and kitchenette. Laundry services available. Their restaurant doesn't operate during the "off season" which for them is summer, so plan accordingly. Take the boat across Jenny Lake and go to the falls, it's worth the hike. Continue up the mountain to the first overlook. Now you have a decision to make. You can go on up to Inspiration Point. It is very steep and when I saw the last part of the "trail" to the top it looked too narrow and dangerous to keep going (sharp curves, straight down, no railing or edging) and I made my kids go back down with me. We did a horseback ride while we were there, I think we went into Bridger Teton National Forest- anyway the scenery was lovely. We got the first ride of the season. We also scheduled a floating raft trip. We saw beaver and elk on the raft trip. Be aware that even floating trips can be dangerous. The river is running very swiftly because of the snow melt. A raft that same day hit a fallen tree, overturned and 3 people died. Yes they were wearing life preservers, the current pulled them under the tree. On a happier note, we saw a moose and her calf right in front of the Jackson Lake Lodge. The lodge also has good food in their grill. Signal Mountain is a lovely drive with a stunning view, but the mosquitos at the top are the worst in the park. The Trapper Grille at the Signal Mountain Lodge has good food as well. Colter Bay has a nice little grocery store. Nice flushable toilets can be found at the visitor's centers and at all the lodges. We spent 3 days here, we could have done 4 easilly. |
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2. Yellowstone National Park
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From Grand Teton we went back up into Yellowstone (we originally drove down from Cody) The east entrance into Yellowstone goes through a pass, which is beautiful. There was still enough snow for my kids to slide downhill and build a snowman. When you're from south-central Texas that is very exciting. We spent 2 nights at Snow Lodge at Old Faithful. It's beautiful, clean and has a good (reasonably priced Grill) and a good (expensive) restaurant. There is a great laundry on the 2'd floor. They have hairdryers, 2 double beds, desk, and 2 chairs. You can walk to Old Faithful right across the street. The Old Faithful Inn, which we would have loved to have seen, isn't open until later in the season. We did the hike to Fairy Falls which is very worthwhile. Beware the hiking guide books, though. The mileage is from the trail head and the trailhead may be a mile or 2 from where you have to park. When you get to fairy falls there is a little sign for Imperial Geyser .5 mi. It was the best geyser we saw. It went off every 30 seconds or so and each time it erupted differently, straight up, spirals, like rolling waves. It's about 10-15 feet high, but we watched it for about a half and hour. Some trails are closed early in the season because of the bears- and they are definitely there. Don't hike Mt. Washburn hoping to see big horned sheep, there weren't any, but there was a grizzly bear at the bottom. We saw more moose in Grand Teton. Bears,elk, antelope and buffalo were more plentiful in Yellowstone. We didn't see any swans, but the white pelicans and Canada geese were there. Do not expect to see wolves, mountain goats or big horn sheep on a regular trip. Biscuit Basin is worth your time if you want to see active thermal features. Mammoth Hot Springs is not bubbling or erupting very much, I guess they haven't had enough snowfall in recent years. It's still a pretty drive and worthwhile if you have the time. We spent 3 nights in the Canyon Area at the Cascade Lodge. Cascade has 3 floors but no elevators. Dunraven, its twin, has an elevator, but it was out of order. New, clean. Rooms are huge with 2 double beds, table, 2 chairs, easy chair, small ottoman. Bathroom is tiny, shower tub has a lid on it like a casket top and is dark. The rooms could use more lighting as well. No hair dryer. Of course no phone or tv. You will have to drive to "Canyon Central" for food, it would be a very long walk. The laundry facilities are at the campground which was not open yet. The nearest were in Fishing Village. Avoid the cafeteria at Canyon if you can, it was awful. If you must eat there, select a salad or the carving station. The problem with the food in Yellowstone is that it is all the same- run by the same company, unlike Grand Teton. After 5 days it gets very old. I heard that the food at Roosevelt was the best, but they weren't open yet. Do try the ice cream at the Yellowstone General Stores. You won't tire of that. Be sure to get it at the General Store, the grilles and restaurants are different I think. If you like to shop, the Tower General Store has different merchandise than the others- check out the painted antler jewelry, clips. We spent 5 days in Yellowstone and could have done 1 or 2 more for activities/ hikes but we would have needed to leave the park and get something different to eat! |
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3. Canyon Village Yellowstone
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| There are 2 decent places to stay here. Cascade and Dunraven Lodges. Be prepared to hike 3 flights of stairs as Cascade has no elevator. We had to drive past the "cabins" and they were dead depressing to look at. Imagine small wooden boxcars on stilts. They had very small windows, needed painting and really just looked like a shanty. The people staying there were sitting outside (no porches or chairs) swatting mosquitos. I can't imagine how disappointed they must have been when they saw them. Stick with the restaurant here and avoid the cafeteria, it's worth the extra money. The location is very good. If you don't like scary, narrow mountain roads with no guard rails, then don't drive between Canyon and Dunraven Pass/ Mount Washburn. The rest of the parks roads seem much better than here. |
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Compliment finnishspitz
