Best hotel pts for Yellowstone?

The only chains hotels I see are in West Yellowstone, which is about 1hr drive. Is that a good base for exploring the park, or should I stay closer (maybe even camp)? Did I miss anything closer?

 

I've been to Yellowstone twice. Don't forget Grand Tetons which is "almost" connected. They are distinct and different but both areas beautiful.

We all are here to figure out how to maximize points which allows us to go to more places for less money. However, this is a case where being IN the park is the best idea. Staying 1 hour away is definitely better than not going at all, but that's 2 hours a day in travel taken away from actually experience the place.

I camped both times; that was all we did as 20-year old guys many years ago. My last trip took my 2 teenage boys with me and we mixed camping with "cheap" lodges. At that time (which was now 10 years ago) the lodges were relatively cheap. No, not the fancy lodges with the huge picture windows (the one in the Grand Tetons is spectacular!), but there are always more hotel/motel-like accommodations to choose.

This trip predates my creation of trip reports so I'm working only from memory. I do have pictures; I'll review these for clues. I'm sure others will offer insight ... it's a very popular park. And for good reason.

 

Definitely. I went to Grand Teton recently and really enjoyed it. Even the drive from Idaho Falls (not daily; just to fly in/out) was extremely liberating. America has some great open roads.

This is so true and took me a while to grasp. It's put me in a difficult situation now because I *love* to discover and book good deals, but almost dread actually staying in them due to missing out on the full experience.

I had a feeling this might be the case. How close are the cheap hotels to the park? Although, I really should just camp.

In Grand Teton our daily drive into the park was 15-50 minutes, depending on where in the park we wanted to go. The town was freaking expensive even in mid Sept. We paid $150 for Motel 6.

Cheers.

 

Again, it's been a long time, but I did a quick check ONLY on this site, which may not be the right one, but use the prices as a guide:

Code:

https://www.usparklodging.com/yellowstone/?gclid=CJXjw8LRq9ICFR61wAodPNwEvQ

There is a wide price range, but if you look, most of these are INSIDE the park. In 2006 we stayed in Grant Village, which I don't remember being as expensive as the current $230 price tag. However, a black bear walked right behind the complex while one of my sons was staring out the window. We got out back to catch it walk slowly into the woods. This trip turned out to be a great one for bear sightings.

Note that this is currently the highest-priced one. There are much cheap options both inside and outside the park.

We stayed in a cabin outside (but next to) Jackson Lake lodge in the GTs, which was way cheaper than the main lodge itself and worked out well. However, a quick peak at their prices show that the park lodges (which are NOT run by the park but rather an outside third party) have figured out what the market will tolerate. There is still a $69 cabin at Colter Bay (again, in the GTs), so hope is not lost.

Camping would be your cheapest option and I miss doing this. My wife refuses to sleep in a tent. My kids are out on their own (which is absolutely a good thing ), and none of my friends can no longer fit trips like this into their schedules or family-life in general!

 

How long will you be in Yellowstone? I was a permanent ranger in the Tetons and could give you some recommendations, depending on your interests, time, etc. With the help of a friend who was a long-time permanent ranger at Yellowstone, I also set up an itinerary for some French folks (with whom I did a home exchange a few years ago), and I'd be happy to send that to you. It's great to do some advance planning because otherwise you can end up doing a lot of backtracking while sightseeing. Let me know what time of year you are going and how long you will be there and I will send you info.

 

You can use cash-point cards to pay for non-brand lodging. We used to use our Chase Arrival credit for park cabins and Airbnb. Not all travel cards have a broad definition of what constitutes a travel expense so be vigilant.