Posted by Bruce Jensen on August 19, 1997 at 11:22:00:
In Reply to: First Trip Itinerary posted by Susan Liles on August 19, 1997 at 07:01:25:
Susan - congratulations! You are in for the trip of a lifetime! If you could only pick one place to stay in the park, Canyon would probably be it, especially for wildlife. Canyon is centrally located, has the Grand Canyon and several nice hikes right there, and is convenient to a number of fine wildlife locations, including Hayden Valley (my personal favorite) and the north side of Mt. Washburn, where there are numerous elk and pretty sure sightings of grizzly bear. Lamar Valley is excellent also, a little farther from Canyon but not too bad (Tower-Roosevelt is much closer).
The geyser activity is so remarkable this year, it would be worthwhile to spend at leats a couple days at the Upper Geyser Basin to see the famous geysers and many of the not-so-famous ones as well. The Old Faithful Inn, Lodge or SnowLodge cannot be beat for this type of access. Many good things along the northern part of the Grand Loop are easily viewable duringa daytrip from Canyon, including Tower Falls (a must-see early in the morning with its big rainbow), Calcite Springs, Undine and Wraith Falls, Mammoth Hot Springs (also a must-see), and Norris Geyser Basin (a really fine basin, but if you have only a day to spend with the geysers, spend it at Upper Basin this year).
Frankly, it seems better to settle in at one or two place(s) and then drive a little bit; it's a big park, but it is easier to just put down your luggage and drive around "lite" (this way, you spend more time seeing things than moving around). On my trip in July, I spent 3 nights at Canyon and 5 at Old Faithful, which was just about perfect for the itinerary I followed (lots of wildlife followed by intense geyser-gazing). Really, no matter what you decide, with even a little effort you'll see more than you anticipate in this most rewarding of all places in North America. Have fun, and good luck!...Bruce
: We are planning our first trip to Yellowstone the week of September 1-8 and
: are trying to plan our daily schedule. We want to see as much of the Park
: as possible, with wildlife being our priority, along with some day hikes.
: We are flying into Cody Sept. 1 and will spend the night there. On Tuesday A.M.,
: we plan to drive into the park and have reservations at Canyon Tuesday night.
: That's all we have planned so far. I had thought about staying the 3rd night
: in Gardiner, MT. Does it make sense to stay at a different place each night?
: From reading your trip reports, it sounds like Lamar Valley is a really good place
: for wildlife spotting. How much time should we allow for exploring this area?
: Maybe the 4th and 5th nights we'll head for the West Yellowstone side. Is this
: schedule too ambitious? Also, since the nightly ranger programs will have ended
: by then, do you think it is worthwhile to pay for one of the personalized tours?
: Any suggestions you have for 7-day itinerary is welcomed!
:
: I have really enjoyed reading all of the information provided on the Total Yellowstone
: Page, especially the trip reports! As you can I am really excited.
: Thanks,
: Susan