Please sign in to post.

Yellowstone and Jackson

Posted by on

Help! I am planning to fly into and out of Jackson, WY this July for 8 nights. I was originally planning to spend the entire time at SpringHill suites in Jackson, and hire a private guide to drive us into and around Yellowstone for one day (a friend did this and recommended it). Then I started to think whether it was worth staying 2-3 nights inside Yellowstone itself, then driving back to Jackson for the remainder of the trip. The best hotel for our needs that shows availability still is the Canyon Lodge in Yellowstone.
Our flight to JAC would get in close to 9pm- so while I would prefer to break up my stay between only 2 hotels, my thought is to do a quick one night stay somewhere within 10-20 minutes of the airport just for the night we arrive. Then, get up the next morning and drive to Canyon Lodge in Yellowstone. Stay 3 nights (unless 2 is enough?) and then drive to our hotel in Jackson for the remaining 4 nights before we fly out of JAC home.
Questions:
1. How far is the drive from a hotel in Jackson to Canyon lodge?? Maps right now won’t show me bc if winter road closures. Should we break up the drive/make a stop for lunch?
2. Is the wagon ride and cookout far from canyon lodge? I have no concept how far things are in the park from one another but that sounded fun to me.
3. Any recommendation between spring hill suites (recommended to us by a friend) vs The Wyoming Inn of Jackson Hole or Snow King Resort Hotel and Luxury Residences ?

Thanks so much!!

Posted by
15099 posts

I would definitely spend nights in Yellowstone. The drives take longer than you think they might. I'd be willing to say your friends who did a day trip have not traveled any other way. Staying IN the park is awesome. You are there early AM and in the evening when day visitors have gone back to their hotels at the gateway cities.

IF you have the time, I recommend 4 nights in Yellowstone at 2 different locations. This gives you 3 full days to tour the sights. For myself I usually spend TWO weeks each year in just Yellowstone, lol.

  1. Here is a link to a map of approximate drive times within Yellowstone. Drive time matters more than mileage. All the repeat visitors to Yellowstone will have driven segments in less time than shown but it's a good graphic to get your head around slower times on narrow roads with the possibility of wildlife jams.

https://www.yellowstonenationalparklodges.com/content/uploads/2017/04/Park-Map-with-mileage.pdf

It's an hour to 1.5 hours from Jackson to the South Entrance of Yellowstone depending on where you are leaving from.

To get the inaccurate drive times on google maps or other online mapping programs, change the time from "leave now" to some time in June.

2 - The cookout is from Roosevelt Lodge, about an hour north of Canyon. You can get back to Canyon before full darkness if you don't tarry after you get back from the cookout. This does go over a mountain pass so you will want to drive it in the daylight. Many people enjoy this experience a lot. It does get booked out so if there is a possibility you'll do it you should book. You would not want to stay further away from Roosevelt Lodge than Canyon or Mammoth.

3 - I'd go with the best price AND the best cancellation policies. I usually stay at Signal Mountain Lodge in Grand Tetons so no personal experience with any of the 3 you listed.

Book your Yellowstone nights ONLY on the Xanterra website at www.yellowstonenationalparklodges.com Do not book on a 3rd party website that "sounds" official. They charge a 10% booking fee and have terrible cancellation policies.

Once you decide how many nights in Yellowstone, I'm happy to help you figure out how to divide up your time in the park.

Posted by
107 posts

Personal preference but Jackson is one of those places I hope to never return to. It’s expensive and there are no mountain views. After one night there I would spend the rest of the time in park lodging, stay in both parks. Day tripping from Jackson to Yellowstone is nuts, it’s quite far.

Posted by
801 posts

How far is the drive from a hotel in Jackson to Canyon lodge??

Google Maps says approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes when I set the date to July.

Add Reply

Please do not reply to violations of our Community Guidelines.