Is it possible to visit Yellowstone/Tetons without going broke??

[Karie]

We'd like to visit this place in the near future, but it seems like lodging is SO expensive!! We don't own a camper, so hotels is the way to go for us. What is the best time of year to go? Obviously, since we home school, we are more flexible than just June and July!

 

Any seasoned Yellowstone/Teton travelers out there that could give us some tips on where to stay, what to do, and when to go.....so that we can maximize our dollar?

 

Thanks!

[sixpence1978]

Well, my family went there this summer and didn't seem to do too badly.

 

We stayed at a condo just outside of Teton Village:

 

http://www.rmrentals.com/

 

This was great because the kids had their own twin beds in the loft and DH and I had our own room. We also had a kitchen so we packed our lunches and ate in for most of our breakfast and dinner.

 

Most of our day activities were hiking...so totally free. We also took a river float trip...that was our splurge, and it was so much fun.

 

The drive into Yellowstone from where we stayed in Teton was pretty long, but it was what we had to manage. In Yellowstone we mostly hiked and drove around. Other than buying the park pass into there, I don't think we spent anything else.

 

We checked a ton of books out at the library to find good hikes and any views that we should see.

 

HTH!

[elfgivas]

a tent? that's our solution, and we love it.

 

have fun - its an amazing place!

ann

[SailorMom]

Looks like you live close enough to drive.... we drove there and tent-camped. Had a wonderful time.

[Jamee]

Another tent camper here! we just did this this summer. Didn't go to the Tetons, but visited Yellowstone and several other National Parks. We stayed at KOAs pretty much the entire trip and had a fantastic time. We had a tent that was big enough for air matresses that we blew up with a pump that connected to the car and were ready in minutes, so it was really quite comfortable. As for when to go, I think the snows come early so late summer would probably be the best time to go. We were in Yellostone in early July and it still got down into the 30s.

 

Have fun! It's a fantastic experience.

[Karie]

We live in Colorado and tent camp in the mountains, but when on vacation, my husband likes a comfortable bed with shower/toilet, etc. :-)

[pqr]

a tent? that's our solution, and we love it.

 

have fun - its an amazing place!

ann

 

 

Absolutely. You can buy a passable tent that will take a family of 5 for about $60. Warm and dry and a lot of fun.

[KS_]

We live in Colorado and tent camp in the mountains, but when on vacation, my husband likes a comfortable bed with shower/toilet, etc. :-)

 

I really dislike camping (might go even so far as hate). When we go to Yellowstone, we like to stay at Old Faithful in the old rooms (with the bathrooms down the hall). I haven't checked the rates this year, but the older rooms w/o a private bath are reasonable (IMO) and they have a few rooms that have 3 queen beds that are on one of the balconies, which is a good option for a family and less expensive than the suites in the Inn.

[mom31257]

:lurk5: Just listening in! We would love to spend a big part of a summer out west, and the Tetons and Yellowstone would be places we want to visit. Dh was given a tutoring opportunity at his school. We think it might go all year long and would give us a really good amount of extra money. We hope we can do it next summer.

[ColoradoMom]

We stayed in the cabins at the Hot Springs and it was cheap. Of course, they are "cabins" so you're not getting anything spectacular. But how long are you really in your room? Most of the time you'll be outside doing stuff. I think it was like $40 a night or something ridiculous like that - about 5 years ago though.

[MamaSheep]

Hey! That's where I grew up! Earned college money cleaning those cabins ColoradoMom is talking about...lol. The lodging inside the park itself is usually pretty reasonably priced--the trick is availability. At least, if it's still like when I worked there (mumble) years ago. You would want to make reservations several months in advance. The small towns at the entrances to the park also have some smaller hotels that aren't always included in big listings or online booking services. I just asked for you on Facebook to see if any of my friends who still live in the area know of a good deal. I'll let you know if I hear anything.

 

I agree with whoever said late summer is probably your best bet. There was usually snow from sometime in September to about the middle of May, and at the higher elevations it hung around even longer than that. They usually plow out the roads about the end of May or so, but you can't even drive around the park during the winter. They do have some snow coaches and snomobile tours during the winter months, but you can't just drive in and look around like you can during the summer. Another advantage to late summer/fall as opposed to early or mid-summer is that a lot of the animals migrate down into the valleys (nearer the roads) for the winter, starting in late summer and fall, and you'll see more wildlife at that time of year. We used to walk through elk and buffalo herds pretty much every day to get to the little elementary school there, but there were rarely many animals about in the summer down where we lived.