Yellowstone and Yosemite advice please

[The Joker]

Hi Guys, looking to spend a month in the US in July and hitting a few spots. Plan is to fly in and out from Bozeman and spend 4 nights in Yellowstone.

Also will be driving from LA to Yosemite for 4 nights then onto San Fran.

Accommodation in the parks seems limited. Any advice where to stay, location is important, don't have to see everything just some of the big ticket numbers.

Will be with brother and 2 nephews and looking for something comfortable (Lodge/Hotel) rather than camping.

Thanks

[mtrunner]

Hey I live in Bozeman, please feel free to PM me with any questions you may have. My biggest advise is if you plan to stay in Yellowstone park, book your rooms now. https://www.yellowstonenationalparklodges.com/ Old Faithful Inn is a pretty neat place to stay. If there is nothing available within the park for the days you are coming, you can stay in West Yellowstone which is at the entrance of the park (West End).

If you want you stay near the North Entrance, about 30 minutes outside of the park is a place called The Sage Lodge. Gorgeous hotel and is also near Chico Hot Springs. Chico Hot Springs is a great place to go for a nice soak and also has accommodations as well.

If you stay a night or two in Bozeman, I highly recommend staying near main street (downtown Bozeman) where most of our restaurants and bars are. The Armory is the nicest hotel but AC Hotel, Element, and The Lark are all also great options. Let me know if you need restaurant recommendations etc. As an FYI, Bozeman is about 90 minutes from the entrance of the park, either North or West Entrance.

[DLRIDES]

Originally Posted by The Joker

Hi Guys, looking to spend a month in the US in July and hitting a few spots. Plan is to fly in and out from Bozeman and spend 4 nights in Yellowstone.

Also will be driving from LA to Yosemite for 4 nights then onto San Fran.

Accommodation in the parks seems limited. Any advice where to stay, location is important, don't have to see everything just some of the big ticket numbers.

Will be with brother and 2 nephews and looking for something comfortable (Lodge/Hotel) rather than camping.

Thanks

@mtrunner covered most things, I would add that the N entrance at Gardiner can be forgotten by many, and usually has some availability. Reserve as far in advance as possible, don’t forget Airbnb and VRBO. 4 days should cover Yellowstone area very well.

Watch some Yellowstone videos on YouTube by “We’re In The Rockies” channel, they have several.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-W52tN8lHk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRGpFMdpTno

[The Joker]

Gary & Don, thanks so much for this invaluable info, I've been researching all day and watching the vids, will book accommodation this weekend.

[The Joker]

Any knowledgable Yosemite people here, looks like i need to book accommodation ASAP. Ta

[Redfoot]

We stayed IN the park at one of the Yellowstone lodges- not Old Faithful. It was nice, but very spartan. Dining is very limited in the park as well, but we had some excellent Chinese food in West Yellowstone- they get so many Chinese tourists, they have to be on their game.

In my opinion, 4 days is way too much time for Yellowstone park, unless you have some hikes or very specific things you want to do. You can hit all the main spots in 1-2 days, easy. I think 2 days is good, and would highly recommend the other 2 days in Grand Teton NP instead of 4 in YS. Stay in Teton Village and easily access the park. Very nice accommodations and excellent food available.
I enjoyed Teton more than Yellowstone (except for seeing bison!) You can hit Jackson as well- very nice town.

Enjoy and feel free to ask any more specific questions- the locals already responded so I thought I would give the tourist take!

[Duey]

For Yosemite stay at the Wawona hotel

It's out of the valley and the mobs of people.

If you want it quite request Washburn cottage rooms 2, 4, 6 or 8

or for the view and experience request the Annex, room with a bathroom.

9 hole golf course, pool, nice hiking trails
https://www.travelyosemite.com/lodgi...=google_places

Very peaceful and special

[brandrea]

This is what I love about TRF … ask a question and you almost always get real world travel advice

[AzPaul]

Do not approach, pet, try to ride, or take a selfie with the bison.

[mtrunner]

Originally Posted by AzPaul

Do not approach, pet, try to ride, or take a selfie with the bison.

Amazingly several try every year. It's mind blowing.

[dba]

Originally Posted by Duey

For Yosemite stay at the Wawona hotel

It's out of the valley and the mobs of people.

If you want it quite request Washburn cottage rooms 2, 4, 6 or 8

or for the view and experience request the Annex, room with a bathroom.

9 hole golf course, pool, nice hiking trails
https://www.travelyosemite.com/lodgi...=google_places

Very peaceful and special

I love Wawona but it's away from all of the big ticket items the OP was looking for, which are in the Valley.

Originally Posted by The Joker

Gary & Don, thanks so much for this invaluable info, I've been researching all day and watching the vids, will book accommodation this weekend.

The Valley is crowded, no doubt about it but there are places to stay. The Ahwahnee is very expensive but it is very nice. When my wife and I along with her daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren go, we've been successful at the Yosemite Lodge, which is a full service hotel. We've also stayed at Camp Curry in the cabin tents, with gang bathrooms servicing 10-15 tents. We've also stayed in the Stoneman House, which are very basic rooms, with private bathroom, but no TV. They're in the heart of the Valley and it's easy to grab the shuttle bus that makes the tour. WiFi coverage is sparse, so enjoy the scene. Have a great time.

[Thenwcomr]

Beautiful up there this time of year.

[The Joker]

Originally Posted by Redfoot

We stayed IN the park at one of the Yellowstone lodges- not Old Faithful. It was nice, but very spartan. Dining is very limited in the park as well, but we had some excellent Chinese food in West Yellowstone- they get so many Chinese tourists, they have to be on their game.

In my opinion, 4 days is way too much time for Yellowstone park, unless you have some hikes or very specific things you want to do. You can hit all the main spots in 1-2 days, easy. I think 2 days is good, and would highly recommend the other 2 days in Grand Teton NP instead of 4 in YS. Stay in Teton Village and easily access the park. Very nice accommodations and excellent food available.
I enjoyed Teton more than Yellowstone (except for seeing bison!) You can hit Jackson as well- very nice town.

Enjoy and feel free to ask any more specific questions- the locals already responded so I thought I would give the tourist take!

It's 3 full days in the park, day either side is for getting in from New York, then flying out to Vegas. If the nephews (13, 15yo) weren't along I'd do more, but they are the laziest creatures I know. I'd like to drive down from there through Utah national parks then onto Vegas but the drive looks too long. Trying to balance seeing stuff and some down time, the kids won't want to be stuck in cars and planes everyday.

So far the schedule looks like

5 nights in NY
fly to Yellowstone for 4 nights
fly to Vegas for 6 nights
drive to LA for 5 nights
drive to Yosemite for 4 nights
drive to San Fran for 4 nights.

[The Joker]

Originally Posted by brandrea

This is what I love about TRF … ask a question and you almost always get real world travel advice

Agree. Thanks all for the advice everyone.

[The Joker]

Originally Posted by dba

I love Wawona but it's away from all of the big ticket items the OP was looking for, which are in the Valley.



The Valley is crowded, no doubt about it but there are places to stay. The Ahwahnee is very expensive but it is very nice. When my wife and I along with her daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren go, we've been successful at the Yosemite Lodge, which is a full service hotel. We've also stayed at Camp Curry in the cabin tents, with gang bathrooms servicing 10-15 tents. We've also stayed in the Stoneman House, which are very basic rooms, with private bathroom, but no TV. They're in the heart of the Valley and it's easy to grab the shuttle bus that makes the tour. WiFi coverage is sparse, so enjoy the scene. Have a great time.

Does anyone know the official website for the accommodation inside Yosemite. Is it one site like Yellowstone?

https://www.nationalparkreservations.com Maybe??

[Carguy87]

We have stayed at Yosemite view Lodge in El Portal before and it was nice enough. Rooms are dated but it was clean and quiet and mostly just other families / nice folks staying there. It sits directly on the Merced river so if you get a room or suite that backs up to the river it’s the perfect way to end the day drinking beer on your balcony watching the water run.

[Carguy87]

Also for must things to see rent/bring a telescope or high power binoculars and go down into Yosemite valley and watching the rock climbers on El Captain….so cool to see in person. There’s so much great stuff to do and see you guys will love it.

[Duey]

Originally Posted by The Joker

Does anyone know the official website for the accommodation inside Yosemite. Is it one site like Yellowstone?

https://www.travelyosemite.com/lodgi...=google_places


lodging to choose

[JGDSSD]

when i went to yellowstone I flew to Jackson WY.Drove to the park stayed in Old faithful lodge 2 nights then canyon lodge and over to Mammoth cabin for 2 night. I was really glad I scattered my hotel stays all around the park. Then I went back to jackson for 2 nights and rafted the snake river with a outfitter.

[hambone1983]

I'm a national park junkie and a hiker, so the way I like to experience a park often kind of informs my lodging choices. For instance, I don't believe there is a finer in-park lodge than the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite. It will be overrun during the day in July, as the entire valley will be. That being said, if you're looking to do some back country stuff, you will be going the opposite direction of the heavy traffic if you stay in the valley. Plus once it clears out after dark you get a sense of how special the place is. I've also stayed outside the park, no traffic at all coming in from Tioga Pass but a lot of driving. So you pick your poison.

[hambone1983]

I also HIGHLY recommend the Cub Inn, a B&B in Groveland. I generally don't care for that kind of lodging, but that place is really nice, Joe is a fantastic host and the breakfasts are top notch.

[Chute]

If Yosemite is anything like Yellowstone, your cell phone probably won’t work, there is minimal cell coverage in US national parks. So either bring a GPS device or download a GPS app that works with no cell service

[The Joker]

Originally Posted by Duey

https://www.travelyosemite.com/lodgi...=google_places


lodging to choose

Thanks Duey for that, and thanks to everyone that suggested, I've been at this for days and checked them all out.

I've booked Canyon Lodge at Yellowstone, seems to be a good start point to do the bottom/top loop, there was no availability at the old faithful properties.

And at Yosemite I booked the Wawona hotel for 2 nights and Curry village tents for 2 nights. Thought I'd spilt it, was a little concerned about the travel down to the valley. There was no availability at the Valley Lodge or Ahwahnee.

[DLRIDES]

Originally Posted by The Joker

Thanks Duey for that, and thanks to everyone that suggested, I've been at this for days and checked them all out.

I've booked Canyon Lodge at Yellowstone, seems to be a good start point to do the bottom/top loop, there was no availability at the old faithful properties.

And at Yosemite I booked the Wawona hotel for 2 nights and Curry village tents for 2 nights. Thought I'd spilt it, was a little concerned about the travel down to the valley. There was no availability at the Valley Lodge or Ahwahnee.

Enjoy your trip !

If you like the scenery at Yellowstone and Yosemite, plan on your next trip to the Rockies being to Glacier National Park, Banff National Park, up the Icefield Parkway to Jasper National Park. Those three dwarf Yellowstone and Yosemite in epic scenery.

[Duey]

Originally Posted by The Joker

Thanks Duey for that, and thanks to everyone that suggested, I've been at this for days and checked them all out.

And at Yosemite I booked the Wawona hotel for 2 nights and Curry village tents for 2 nights. Thought I'd spilt it, was a little concerned about the travel down to the valley.

Don't be concerned at all with the drive to the valley. The valley is where all the traffic is.

You're close to Glacier Point and Mariposa grove for the Big trees.

Walk the valley loop at Wawona it's beautiful and quite. Go play 9 holes or at least walk it in the evening, lots of deer there. Swim in the pool, there's nobody there during the day.

Have a great time