Posted by Derek Sedillo on March 31, 2007 at 7:19 PM
Hello,
I am starting to plan our first family trip to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons this June. I was wondering if I could get some recommendations on places to stay? Ideally I would like to stay as close as possible to photographic locations (wildlife and mountian scenery) I don't want to spend too much time on the geysers.
The three main areas I want to focus on starting North are:
1. Wildlife: I hear that northern Yellowstone is an abundant place for wildlife, especially between Mammoth Hot Springs, Tower Roosevelt and Cooke City. So I will probably try and stay somewhere in that area for a few nights.
2. Waterfalls: Lower Falls - Canyon Village is right there, so maybe Canyon Village Cabins.
3. Teton mountain majesty - Somewhere not too far from Oxbow Bend, Snake River overlook, and other grand scenics. I was thinking possibly Jackson Lake or Jenny Lake Lodges.
At first I wanted to camp. But my wife requested basic lodging. With three small children I can understand her request.
Any ideas on good places to stay near cool photo ops appreciated.
Thanks,
Posted by Doug Andrews on March 31, 2007 at 7:50 PM
Good luck getting reservations in the park for this June. Its not uncommon for them to be booked 6+ months in advance. However, here are some suggestions.
1) The only nearby lodging in that area is the Roosevelt Lodge. Unless you call right after someone cancels a reservation, you ain't gonna find any availability. Cooke City has very few lodging, but again is likely booked. There is more lodging availiable at Mammoth. Gardiner, MT, which is five miles north of Mammoth and literally at the park entrance will have more lodging options than Mammoth.
2) Canyon Lodge and cabins are fine. Again availibility now for this June may be severly lacking. Check out xanterra.com for all in-park lodging options.
3) Jenny Lake Lodge is nice but super pricey. Like around $300-$400/night and is almost guaranteed to be booked for this June. Jackson Lake Lodge is close to Oxbow Bend and is cheaper than Jenny Lake, but still $100+ per night. Check out Colter Bay cabins. Usually less than $100/night and often a little more availibility than Jackson Lake Lodge. Colter Bay is located about 15 minutes north of Jackson Lake Lodge. Check out gtlc.com for in-park lodging.
Posted by Derek Sedillo on March 31, 2007 at 8:30 PM
Thanks Doug,
I will definately check out the current availabilities. It is amazing how much prices vary between the different options that you mentioned. Jenny Lake Lodge sounds over the top.
I am somewhat flexible as long as we are not 'too' far from where we plan to venture out during the day. I prefer not to be on the west side of Yellowstone or all the down in Jackson.
Derek, actually, Jackson isn't too far a drive from Teton locations and lodging should be less costly and more available. It helps, though, to have a plan for the day so you know where you want to be for the sunrises. Don't know if you're aware, but www.photographamerica.com has good photographer's guides to the Tetons and Yellowstone.
Need someone to carry your bags?
Ken
Posted by Fred Stearns on March 31, 2007 at 9:32 PM
Derek,
The facilities in Yellowstone Park are run by Xanterra. http://www.travelyellowstone.com/. The National Park run a web site at http://www.nps.gov/yell/index.htm. In Yellowstone, none of the cabins in the park had indoor cooking facilities. The fine for cooking in the cabin was rather high.
These are not inexpensive! However, if you do some checking around, you will find that there is some variation in price.
Have a great stay. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit last fall. We even had a bit of snow.
Posted by Brent Murphy on March 31, 2007 at 10:24 PM
If you just planned to shoot the Tetons, Jackson is definitely a great place to stay, and easier than staying at a lodge. I traveled to Jackson for work for a couple years, and could easily get out and shoot sunrise at any of the popular locations and still be back in Jackson for my morning meeting. You should easily be able to get from Jackson to the main spots within 20 minutes. Many are even closer.
This doesn't help with Yellowstone, though.
Posted by Mel Ladewig on April 1, 2007 at 12:09 AM
First off Derek, the geyser basins and hot springs are a major part of the landscape of Yellowstone and can offer very nice photographic opportunities.
As far as your lodging options in the park, Mammoth springs and Canyon are going to be your best bets for what you want to accomplish. I second Brents suggestion about Jackson. We stayed in a condo type place for about $100 per night there. I think it might have been called Sol Vista.
I agree that you might have a difficult time finding lodging other than tent camping in the park right now. There are a number of hotels in West Yellowstone and the Madison river corridor seemed to have alot of Elk and Bison in September as well as bald eagles west of Madison campground. Don't know if they may be returning to through the area on their way to the high country in June. By July we didn't see all that many Bison in the park. I would guess they moved into the interior.
In July, We saw alot of bears along the northern part of the park. We also saw some coyotes and Bison.
If the falls are your primary landscape focus for the park, you're going to be doing alot of driving. Upper and lower Yellowstone falls are of course the largest in volume of water, but there are also falls on the Madison and Firehole rivers on the other end of the park and Tower Falls to the north (which was tough to photograph when we were there because the lower viewing area had been closed).
For mountain scenery in Yellowstone, the area on the north of Mount Washburn was very nice and the hike up Washburn was enjoyable (but windy).
I agree that finding something in Yellowstone on this short of notice will require some luck. If you find that you need to look for alternatives, here's a link to the K-Bar-Z Ranch that our friends own. It's about 40 minutes from the northeast entrance (Cooke City entrance). This has been our basecamp for many trips to Yellowstone and the nearby Beartooth Mountains.
The web page doesn't really show it off at its best, but everyone we've sent there has loved it. The Barnett's are hunting/fishing guides, and some of the most genuinely 'good' people you'll ever meet. The food is home-cooked and absolutely fantastic. It's rustic and simple, inexpensive and the cabins are great, even if minimalistic. For our tastes it's perfect, but if you're looking for something that's refined, you might want to look elsewhere. Cooke City and Silver Gate are just outside of the Park, but they tend to get booked up quickly and early.
For shooting locations, the Lamar Valley is typically very good for wildlife. In addition to Yellowstone Falls, look into Tower Falls. The Norris Geyser Basin is fascinating - it's not as much about geysers as it is about an amazingly colorful and otherworldly landscape. We typically avoid the Mammoth area as it's insanely crowded.
I did some checking on in-park availability and it is almost entirely booked. There are a few open 'single' days here and there in Canyon and at Roosevelt Lodge. But that is it. This is pretty much the same thing in the Tetons as well. So I will probably grab one of the single nights in the park and stay the rest of the time outside.
Brent, thanks for the tip about Teton access from Jackson. It seemed a bit far when looking at it on a map. So it really helps hearing from people who have been there.
Rick, thanks for the K-Bar-Z Ranch recommendation. I checked their website out and it looks pretty cool.
Ideally it would be nice to just wake up and be on location. But since everything is pretty much booked in the parks I need to readjust my plans a bit.
Since Lamar Valley is known for good wildlife viewing I want to stay as close to there as possible. I will probably wake up pre-dawn for some early morning wildlife shoots, then go back and pick up the family for more mid-morning adventures.
Is the drive to the Lamar Valley about the same from the Mammoth/Gardiner area as the one from Cooke/Silver Gate in terms of windy mt roads?
Derek - the drive from Cooke City to the Lamar Valley is like driving down I-25...only faster... There's really nothing challenging about the driving in the Park, other than the volume of traffic and occasional bison jam. It's flat, not terribly windy and it's all paved. You could do it in a 1973 Dodge Dart with bald tires and two spark plugs missing (or even bald spark plugs and two missing tires...). The only driving skill you'll need there is probably some patience. Actually, that part of the park doesn't seem to get toooo crowded.
I haven't driven in from Gardiner, but a quick Google Earth tour showed a similar, flat approach to the valley.
If I had my druthers, I'd stay/come in from Cooke City just so as to avoid the Mammoth Springs area. If you end up planning on a lot of activities on the western side, then Gardiner may make more sense.
If you do stay in near Cooke City or out at the K-Bar-Z, I'd suggest saving a 1/2 day to drive the Beartooth Highway (Hwy 212) over the Beartooth Plateau to Red Lodge, MT. From the junction with 296 to Red Lodge, it's a stunning drive. Around sunrise or sunset is the best.
Posted by Mike McNeill on April 1, 2007 at 8:02 PM
Hi Derek,
I'm planning the same trip. I leave for my place in Estes Park June 9th with plans to do Yelloestone and Teton NP after a few days in Colorado. I booked a room at Grant Village because it was the ONLY Village that had openings. I also booked a place in Cotler Bay because Jenny lake area is expensive. I am sooooo looking forward to this trip with my large format camera it's killing me!!! I'll leave at 4 AM to get to a spot before sunrise so I didnt care were I stayed! LOL
Keep in touch. Maybe we can meet for a shoot and a beer!!!
Bummer about the time frame Derek. I was perusing a Yellowstone forum and saw the Super 8 in Cooke City is booking rooms for $35 a night BEFORE Memorial Day. If anyone is interested you can call them at 406-838-2070. I've noticed that the campgrounds near the north end of Yellowstone aren't or will just be opening when I'm there 5/18 to 5/22 so I booked a room for 3 nights. For Grand Teton you might check out Signal Mountain Lodge. Their rates appear to be about as low as anything in the park.
Posted by Mike McNeill on April 1, 2007 at 10:07 PM
Hi Derek,
I'm planning the same trip. I leave for my place in Estes Park June 9th with plans to do Yelloestone and Teton NP after a few days in Colorado. I booked a room at Grant Village because it was the ONLY Village that had openings. I also booked a place in Cotler Bay because Jenny lake area is expensive. I am sooooo looking forward to this trip with my large format camera it's killing me!!! I'll leave at 4 AM to get to a spot before sunrise so I didnt care were I stayed! LOL
Keep in touch. Maybe we can meet for a shoot and a beer!!!
Posted by Mike McNeill on April 1, 2007 at 10:07 PM
Hi Derek,
I'm planning the same trip. I leave for my place in Estes Park June 9th with plans to do Yelloestone and Teton NP after a few days in Colorado. I booked a room at Grant Village because it was the ONLY Village that had openings. I also booked a place in Cotler Bay because Jenny lake area is expensive. I am sooooo looking forward to this trip with my large format camera it's killing me!!! I'll leave at 4 AM to get to a spot before sunrise so I didnt care were I stayed! LOL
Keep in touch. Maybe we can meet for a shoot and a beer!!!
Posted by Derek Sedillo on April 2, 2007 at 10:26 AM
Cool Mike,
I am trying for mid-June right now. But I will flex the dates depending on availabilities.
Have thought about what you would like to shoot yet? Are you going to do both large format landscapes and 35mm wildlife? It seems like there are *so* many possibilities that I want to narrow down what I will be shooting primarily. Initially I was just going to do landscapes (waterfalls and mountains). But with all the wildlife in the park I can't help but try and do some of that as well.
I know my mornings in the Tetons will be focused on capturing grand scenics:
1. Oxbow Bend
2. Snake River Overlook
3. Schwabacher’s Landing
4. Mormon Row
In Yellowstone I want to capture morning light at waterfalls:
1. Lower Falls
2. Possibly Tower Falls, etc...
3. Lamar Valley for wildlife
Posted by Mike McNeill on April 2, 2007 at 4:20 PM
Derek,
Im planning on the same shots in Teton NP, as well as Hidden Falls and a Tetons Pano from the summit of Signal Mt.I also want to get Lower Falls in Yellowstone, and I also want to get some shots of Mammouth Springs and possibly some gysers. I really dont have a lens long enough to get good wildlife shots, 70-300 4-5.6 being my largest lens. Thinking about renting a 500mm or 600mm if the cost doesn't break me! and possibly buy a 1.7 teleconverter.
Posted by Brent Murphy on April 2, 2007 at 4:32 PM
Actually, you don't necessarily need a big lens for wildlife in the Tetons. Much of the wildlife is pretty large, so a 300mm would be great. This shot is a 300mm at Oxbow Bend. And this one is actually 24mm on Mormon Row. (FYI - I was in my car. I don't normally like to get that close to bison!)
I have lots of photos of moose and bison from the Tetons, mostly with a 300mm, and it was the perfect lens for those large mammals.
Brent brings up a good point about close proximatey to some of the animals. I am sure there are also occasions when you are going to want more length for eagles, wolves, bears, etc...
But I think the best wildlife shooters are also good hunters and find ways to get closer. I just don't want to get too close to wolves, grizzlies or bison. Dave Showalter pulls 'em pretty good with his 600mm.
Posted by Mike McNeill on April 2, 2007 at 10:01 PM
Derek
Wow you're right, the prices aren't bad at all!!! I'll have to go with the Nikkor 80-400 with a 1.7 teleconverter!!
Oh I will attempt wildlife shots as well. I always do when I'm in RMNP during the elk rut, but just not the same when you have a 600mm lens!!! I'm going to concentrate mostly on landscapes with the 4x5, but wont hesitate to stop at a good moose, wolf, or bison either!!!
Posted by Derek Sedillo on April 10, 2007 at 11:11 AM
Thanks to all for the tips on where to stay.
We now have reservations from June 10-17. We will be starting out in the north east corner of Yellowstone at the Grizzly Lodge in Silver Gate Montana. Then we'll be at Colter Bay in the Tetons. I also talked my wife into camping two nights at Flag Ranch. This did require the purchase of a new tent which hopefully won't leak.
Mike, maybe we can catch morning light somewhere if you are there during the same time frame. When are your reservations?
I also found out that it will be wildflower season in the valley. Lupine start as early as the first week of June. But it has been a dry winter up there this year - only half the normal snow pack. They missed all the snow we got hit with. So I am hoping for more rain and snow prior to June.
Posted by Mike McNeill on April 12, 2007 at 8:31 PM
Derek,
We're staying in Grant Village June 13th to the 16th, and then Cotler Bay June 16th to the 19th. I'd be more than happy to share some morning light!!
Discussion
20 repliesI am starting to plan our first family trip to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons this June. I was wondering if I could get some recommendations on places to stay? Ideally I would like to stay as close as possible to photographic locations (wildlife and mountian scenery)
The three main areas I want to focus on starting North are:
1. Wildlife: I hear that northern Yellowstone is an abundant place for wildlife, especially between Mammoth Hot Springs, Tower Roosevelt and Cooke City. So I will probably try and stay somewhere in that area for a few nights.
2. Waterfalls: Lower Falls - Canyon Village is right there, so maybe Canyon Village Cabins.
3. Teton mountain majesty - Somewhere not too far from Oxbow Bend, Snake River overlook, and other grand scenics. I was thinking possibly Jackson Lake or Jenny Lake Lodges.
At first I wanted to camp. But my wife requested basic lodging. With three small children I can understand her request.
Any ideas on good places to stay near cool photo ops appreciated.
Thanks,
1) The only nearby lodging in that area is the Roosevelt Lodge. Unless you call right after someone cancels a reservation, you ain't gonna find any availability. Cooke City has very few lodging, but again is likely booked. There is more lodging availiable at Mammoth. Gardiner, MT, which is five miles north of Mammoth and literally at the park entrance will have more lodging options than Mammoth.
2) Canyon Lodge and cabins are fine. Again availibility now for this June may be severly lacking. Check out xanterra.com for all in-park lodging options.
3) Jenny Lake Lodge is nice but super pricey. Like around $300-$400/night and is almost guaranteed to be booked for this June. Jackson Lake Lodge is close to Oxbow Bend and is cheaper than Jenny Lake, but still $100+ per night. Check out Colter Bay cabins. Usually less than $100/night and often a little more availibility than Jackson Lake Lodge. Colter Bay is located about 15 minutes north of Jackson Lake Lodge. Check out gtlc.com for in-park lodging.
I will definately check out the current availabilities. It is amazing how much prices vary between the different options that you mentioned. Jenny Lake Lodge sounds over the top.
I am somewhat flexible as long as we are not 'too' far from where we plan to venture out during the day. I prefer not to be on the west side of Yellowstone or all the down in Jackson.
- Derek
Need someone to carry your bags?
Ken
The facilities in Yellowstone Park are run by Xanterra. http://www.travelyellowstone.com/. The National Park run a web site at http://www.nps.gov/yell/index.htm. In Yellowstone, none of the cabins in the park had indoor cooking facilities. The fine for cooking in the cabin was rather high.
Similarly, Grand Tetons has their own web site, http://www.nps.gov/grte/index.htm. They also have places to stay within the park. These are listed at http://www.nps.gov/grte/planyourvisit/lodging.htm.
These are not inexpensive! However, if you do some checking around, you will find that there is some variation in price.
Have a great stay. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit last fall. We even had a bit of snow.
This doesn't help with Yellowstone, though.
As far as your lodging options in the park, Mammoth springs and Canyon are going to be your best bets for what you want to accomplish. I second Brents suggestion about Jackson. We stayed in a condo type place for about $100 per night there. I think it might have been called Sol Vista.
I agree that you might have a difficult time finding lodging other than tent camping in the park right now. There are a number of hotels in West Yellowstone and the Madison river corridor seemed to have alot of Elk and Bison in September as well as bald eagles west of Madison campground. Don't know if they may be returning to through the area on their way to the high country in June. By July we didn't see all that many Bison in the park. I would guess they moved into the interior.
In July, We saw alot of bears along the northern part of the park. We also saw some coyotes and Bison.
If the falls are your primary landscape focus for the park, you're going to be doing alot of driving. Upper and lower Yellowstone falls are of course the largest in volume of water, but there are also falls on the Madison and Firehole rivers on the other end of the park and Tower Falls to the north (which was tough to photograph when we were there because the lower viewing area had been closed).
For mountain scenery in Yellowstone, the area on the north of Mount Washburn was very nice and the hike up Washburn was enjoyable (but windy).
The web page doesn't really show it off at its best, but everyone we've sent there has loved it. The Barnett's are hunting/fishing guides, and some of the most genuinely 'good' people you'll ever meet. The food is home-cooked and absolutely fantastic. It's rustic and simple, inexpensive and the cabins are great, even if minimalistic. For our tastes it's perfect, but if you're looking for something that's refined, you might want to look elsewhere. Cooke City and Silver Gate are just outside of the Park, but they tend to get booked up quickly and early.
For shooting locations, the Lamar Valley is typically very good for wildlife. In addition to Yellowstone Falls, look into Tower Falls. The Norris Geyser Basin is fascinating - it's not as much about geysers as it is about an amazingly colorful and otherworldly landscape. We typically avoid the Mammoth area as it's insanely crowded.
I did some checking on in-park availability and it is almost entirely booked. There are a few open 'single' days here and there in Canyon and at Roosevelt Lodge. But that is it. This is pretty much the same thing in the Tetons as well. So I will probably grab one of the single nights in the park and stay the rest of the time outside.
Brent, thanks for the tip about Teton access from Jackson. It seemed a bit far when looking at it on a map. So it really helps hearing from people who have been there.
Rick, thanks for the K-Bar-Z Ranch recommendation. I checked their website out and it looks pretty cool.
Ideally it would be nice to just wake up and be on location. But since everything is pretty much booked in the parks I need to readjust my plans a bit.
Since Lamar Valley is known for good wildlife viewing I want to stay as close to there as possible. I will probably wake up pre-dawn for some early morning wildlife shoots, then go back and pick up the family for more mid-morning adventures.
Is the drive to the Lamar Valley about the same from the Mammoth/Gardiner area as the one from Cooke/Silver Gate in terms of windy mt roads?
Thanks again for all the advice,
I haven't driven in from Gardiner, but a quick Google Earth tour showed a similar, flat approach to the valley.
If I had my druthers, I'd stay/come in from Cooke City just so as to avoid the Mammoth Springs area. If you end up planning on a lot of activities on the western side, then Gardiner may make more sense.
If you do stay in near Cooke City or out at the K-Bar-Z, I'd suggest saving a 1/2 day to drive the Beartooth Highway (Hwy 212) over the Beartooth Plateau to Red Lodge, MT. From the junction with 296 to Red Lodge, it's a stunning drive. Around sunrise or sunset is the best.
I'm planning the same trip. I leave for my place in Estes Park June 9th with plans to do Yelloestone and Teton NP after a few days in Colorado. I booked a room at Grant Village because it was the ONLY Village that had openings. I also booked a place in Cotler Bay because Jenny lake area is expensive. I am sooooo looking forward to this trip with my large format camera it's killing me!!! I'll leave at 4 AM to get to a spot before sunrise so I didnt care were I stayed! LOL
Keep in touch. Maybe we can meet for a shoot and a beer!!!
I'm planning the same trip. I leave for my place in Estes Park June 9th with plans to do Yelloestone and Teton NP after a few days in Colorado. I booked a room at Grant Village because it was the ONLY Village that had openings. I also booked a place in Cotler Bay because Jenny lake area is expensive. I am sooooo looking forward to this trip with my large format camera it's killing me!!! I'll leave at 4 AM to get to a spot before sunrise so I didnt care were I stayed! LOL
Keep in touch. Maybe we can meet for a shoot and a beer!!!
I'm planning the same trip. I leave for my place in Estes Park June 9th with plans to do Yelloestone and Teton NP after a few days in Colorado. I booked a room at Grant Village because it was the ONLY Village that had openings. I also booked a place in Cotler Bay because Jenny lake area is expensive. I am sooooo looking forward to this trip with my large format camera it's killing me!!! I'll leave at 4 AM to get to a spot before sunrise so I didnt care were I stayed! LOL
Keep in touch. Maybe we can meet for a shoot and a beer!!!
I am trying for mid-June right now. But I will flex the dates depending on availabilities.
Have thought about what you would like to shoot yet? Are you going to do both large format landscapes and 35mm wildlife? It seems like there are *so* many possibilities that I want to narrow down what I will be shooting primarily. Initially I was just going to do landscapes (waterfalls and mountains). But with all the wildlife in the park I can't help but try and do some of that as well.
I know my mornings in the Tetons will be focused on capturing grand scenics:
1. Oxbow Bend
2. Snake River Overlook
3. Schwabacher’s Landing
4. Mormon Row
In Yellowstone I want to capture morning light at waterfalls:
1. Lower Falls
2. Possibly Tower Falls, etc...
3. Lamar Valley for wildlife
Im planning on the same shots in Teton NP, as well as Hidden Falls and a Tetons Pano from the summit of Signal Mt.I also want to get Lower Falls in Yellowstone, and I also want to get some shots of Mammouth Springs and possibly some gysers. I really dont have a lens long enough to get good wildlife shots, 70-300 4-5.6 being my largest lens. Thinking about renting a 500mm or 600mm if the cost doesn't break me! and possibly buy a 1.7 teleconverter.
This shot is a 300mm at Oxbow Bend.
And this one is actually 24mm on Mormon Row. (FYI - I was in my car. I don't normally like to get that close to bison!)
I have lots of photos of moose and bison from the Tetons, mostly with a 300mm, and it was the perfect lens for those large mammals.
All I have is my Canon 70-200 4L with a Kenko Pro 1.4 TC = 280mm * 1.6 crop factor = 448mm. But I'm still thinking of renting a prime lens - Canon 400 5.6L. The prices really aren't that bad at a few on-line sites here:
http://www.rentglass.com/shop.aspx?type=Canon
http://www.lensrentals.com/item/canon-400mm-f5.6-l
http://www.ziplens.com/CanonEF400mmL_p/c-400f56-c.htm
Brent brings up a good point about close proximatey to some of the animals. I am sure there are also occasions when you are going to want more length for eagles, wolves, bears, etc...
But I think the best wildlife shooters are also good hunters and find ways to get closer. I just don't want to get too close to wolves, grizzlies or bison.
Wow you're right, the prices aren't bad at all!!! I'll have to go with the Nikkor 80-400 with a 1.7 teleconverter!!
Oh I will attempt wildlife shots as well. I always do when I'm in RMNP during the elk rut, but just not the same when you have a 600mm lens!!! I'm going to concentrate mostly on landscapes with the 4x5, but wont hesitate to stop at a good moose, wolf, or bison either!!!
We now have reservations from June 10-17. We will be starting out in the north east corner of Yellowstone at the Grizzly Lodge in Silver Gate Montana. Then we'll be at Colter Bay in the Tetons. I also talked my wife into camping two nights at Flag Ranch.
Mike, maybe we can catch morning light somewhere if you are there during the same time frame. When are your reservations?
I also found out that it will be wildflower season in the valley. Lupine start as early as the first week of June. But it has been a dry winter up there this year - only half the normal snow pack. They missed all the snow we got hit with. So I am hoping for more rain and snow prior to June.
We're staying in Grant Village June 13th to the 16th, and then Cotler Bay June 16th to the 19th. I'd be more than happy to share some morning light!!