Yellowstone, grand tetons and Glacier National Parks

Grand Tetons is a family favorite. We typically camp, but we have stayed at Jackson Lake Lodge. Its not as central as other options if that's important to you. Do you plan on hiking? I would recommend at least 2.5 days in the Tetons.

I think your time in Yellowstone is about right. For Glacier, it depends, again, on whether you plan any hiking. When we've gone we've stayed a few days on the east side and then some time on the west side.

You are going to have a marvelous trip! Is there any reason you aren't going to the Grand Tetons first? If you go to Yellowstone first, then south to the Tetons then way north to Glacier you're adding miles and driving time.

Like KD, I am puzzled about the order.

From SLC going to Teton first makes logistical sense,; then to Yellowstone and Glacier last.

Is flying home from SLC carved in stone? Have you looked at flying home from Missoula, Butte or Spokane?

A quick look at rental cars on Costco, shows about a $50-60 one fee( SLC to Spokane vs the rate with a return to SLC).
The cost of gas to go the extra 300 miles to SLC would be about the same.

What I found from my trip (Yellowstone and Glacier) a week ago was that I had to book Yellowstone lodging around lodging availability in Glacier, since I wanted in the park for both. Glacier has fewer options. I booked way early but Glacier was harder. Regarding that, staying at Apgar does not get you a reservation for the Going to the Sun Road like MacDonald does. So check carefully. Glacier was, for me, much more crowded than Yellowstone.

I went to Glacier first (reason above) and between the two stayed in Choteau at a darling bed and breakfast. I wanted morning and part of the afternoon at Glacier on the way out but also wanted to get down the road a little bit. Choteau was a cute little town for that stop - I had no idea. Let me know if you want the name.

I agree that with the info you have included so far, I would stay Grand Tetons -> Yellowstone -> Glacier. Or the reverse.

At the Grand Tetons, I have stayed twice at Colter Bay Village.

In September, I’d go to Glacier first due to weather possibilities, then down to Yellowstone, finishing up in Grand Tetons.

The reservations for Sept 2026 open on Sept 5, so later this week.

I think your time in Yellowstone is excellent. If you reverse your trip doing Glacier first, I’d consider heading to Gardiner (gateway town) or Mammoth (in park lodging) first for 2 nights, OF for 2 nights and finish at Lake for 2 nights.

Ive only driven West Yellowstone to SLC a couple of times and honestly I just wanted to get there. Living in N. Idaho I drive Coeur d’Alene to Gardiner on I 90. I’m a parkie gal and don’t really stop on the way. I have spent some time in Butte (fine if you are a fan of open pit mines!), have driven the Pintler Scenic Loop off I90, have done the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman (distant past). Honestly, none holds a candle to the National Parks you’ll be visiting.

hey hey Heather
years ago we did a 10 day road trip (bay area ca to jackpot NV to driggs to yellowstone to coeur d'alene to hood river to florence oregon then back to bay area. long ride but one of my favorites.
tetonvalleycabins.com
pick a cabin, bought few things from grocery store, sat in hot tub with our glass of wine. drove to jackson hole million dollar cowboy bar with saddles as seats (not the most comfortable). we had lunch and a cocktail at the jhplayhouse.com (welcome to the wild west) check menus and music days
stop by the elk antler arches at town square.
after 2 nights in driggs we drove to hebgen lake out of west yellowstone, about 45 minute ride. we rented an old dolphin motorhome on the lake, it was crazy and lots of fun. we packed up picnic with our trip back into yellowstone, stopped off the road that had picnic table to enjoy and relax. my friend drove and we just went wherever, old faithful, the snow lodge, falls along the way, lots of traffic so bring your patience, lots of animals all over, gorgeous flower fields, hills, mountains, take it all in.
drove north up through big sky/bozeman/missoula to coeur d'alene 7 continuing on. i understand why it's called big sky country, that's all you see is blue skies with farms & ranches. have a great trip we enjoyed it so much
aloha

We did a National Parks tour with Gate 1 Travel a couple of years ago. It was great. We covered Mt. Rushmore and other sites on our way to Yellowstone. Spent 3 days in Yellowstone and it was great. Tour ended in Jackson, Wy.
We didn't do Glacier Park, but are looking at doing that with Amtrak, taking the train from Chicago to Seattle and spending three nights in Glacier.

I agree that the routing is strange, but you will be at the mercy of the parks system of availability. Maybe you could fly into or out of Montana instead of RT SLC. For Glacier, our favorite area is the Many Glaciers area, staying at the Swiftcurrent cabins. For Yellowstone, consider staying further north of Old Faithful at Roosevelt or Mammoth Hot Springs.

"For Yellowstone, consider staying further north of Old Faithful at Roosevelt or Mammoth Hot Springs."

IF OP is considering travel in September 2026, Roosevelt closes on Labor Day which next year is Sept 7. Mammoth is open as are most of the other lodging areas.

BTW, to book your in-park stays for Yellowstone book only thru the official concessioner, Xanterra, at
www.yellowstonenationalparklodges.com

Do NOT book thru a 3rd party as there are 2 websites that sound official but are 3rd party travel agents who charge a 10% booking fee and have terrible cancellation policies.

When you go to the above Xanterra site pick the flexible dates option, even if your dates are not flexible, lol. It allows you to access the calendar for the full month for every lodging option so for myself it's easier to plan.

Thank you so much everyone. Well I was given bad information and Glacier is already sold out for the month of September 2026. I was told that it started the 5th like Yellowstone. Little more background. We are two couples traveling together from Massachusetts and SLC provides many non stop flights whereas only seasonal service non stop to Jackson, flights and rental cars will be much cheaper coming from Boston. My error on the routing. We can clearly start at the Grand Tetons and I believe it was Pam that suggested 2/2/2 options for Yellowstone which sounds like a great plan versus my 2/4 version. Any thoughts on staying at Coulter Bay Village Cabin in the Grand Tetons versus lodging outside the park. Any other opinions on how many nights in the Grand Tetons? We usually stay in the parks when we can but Jackson does not seem too far. I am thinking we will book Yellowstone/Grand Tetons and hope for some cancellations in early September before we book our flights.

Finally, I am very appreciative for those who have already commented and please keep the info coming. This is not my normal style to have not done more homework in advance of asking on forums so I do apologize for not being more up to speed on things.

Thank you.

If you’re not going to include Glacier this time and are going to fly in to SLC, I would probably go to Yellowstone first, then Grand Tetons. It’s about a 5.5 hr drive from SLC to the West Entrance at West Yellowstone and about 5 hours from SLC to Jackson so not really much difference time-wise.

Many fly in to SLC for those very reasons. Although car rentals have evened out some since things got more back to normal after Covid, sometimes the rates out of both Bozeman and Jackson can be eye-watering. I drive over so haven’t rented but on TA some report good rates booking thru Costco although people still generally get the best rates out of SLC.

Do not fret about Yellowstone lodging and think you have to he on the website at the stroke of midnight plus 1 minute MDT on the morning of the 5th. Unless you want the rooms at the Old Faithful Inn that are in the “old house” there will not be a problem with booking. There is also quite a bit of movement in reservations alyou may not see that intil 5-6 weeks out from your travel dates.

Sorry about Glacier. It’s out of my skill set, lol so no advice!

Heather, Just so you know, Pam is a real expert on Yellowstone and you can bet your house on her advice being current and correct!

Oh, Judy…that is so very kind of you!

I should have added that I would do Grand Tetons last because you have so many good dining choices there. It’s nice to end a trip with some special meals. Food is Yellowstone is fine, just often ordinary. I do usually eat out of a cooler when I’m in the park, though.

I forgot to mention Colter Bay. I have not stayed there but it’s a good location for the park and wildlife. It’s not convenient if you want to go to Jackson for dinner as you’d want to be back “home” by dark. I’ve not stayed there. I’ve stayed most often at Signal Mountain Lodge but mercy, their rates have really skyrocketed since they were bought out so not sure that will work for me in the future. I really liked the location and liked the Lakeside retreat rooms with the balcony.

I will say that I did NOT book Glacier over a year in advance. Cancellations do come along. I moved lodges at least once, based on getting one night at Many Glacier (all I was willing to pay!) and rebooked Yellowstone twice because of that. So if you DO want to add Glacier, it’s not impossible. People will book immediately and then firm up their plans later (because of favorable cancellation policies) and you’ll find space due to that (I learned this from Pam).

I’m another who is happy to snack or cook on a Coleman stove (in allowable locations). So I don’t make my decisions based on food options. Food in all the parks is expensive.

Hello again, I well understand that there are frequent cancellations and that if you monitor all the time you stand a good chance at snagging something at Glacier since have done it at Grand Canyon and Yosemite. My concern is that on the 5th will be booking Yellowstone lodging. I am thinking of potentially booking Yellowstone and Grant Teton starring on say 9.5.26 and then scouring Glacier for cancellations starting 9.1. This will be done prebooking flights to SLC. That being said our lodging at Yellowstone is based on Pam's recommendations if we are coming from Glacier then Mammoth for 2 nights 2 at OF and Lake lodges 2. If Glacier does not happen am I going way out of my way with that lineup of lodging order from SLC. After Lake Lodge we would then head to Grand Tetons.

It’s a dilemma for sure!

It’s wise to get now what you want for Yellowstone. And also understandable if you don’t want to play the reservation cancellation watching game (I did it over morning coffee).

I looked back: for an August 2025 trip, I made my first reservations early Oct. 2024 starting with 1 night at Many Glacier since I knew that was going to be the hardest, then added Yellowstone (2 different places). Mid Oct. I found west Glacier nights. Then at the end of Oct., I found better west Glacier and switched all my Yellowstone dates. So I spent a month on it.

My trip wouldn’t be everyone’s (and truthfully it created less efficient travel flow for me) but just didn’t want you to think it’s not possible.

I like the Colter Bay cabins, but they are rustic (reminds me of resort cabins from the 1960s).

I put our last Yellowstone-Tetons trip together in May for a September trip. With the exception of Mammoth being unavailable, I was able to get everything I wanted. Last week I got Grand Canyon reservations for next month and worked backwards from that reservation. I was even able to score a night in Bryce.

I know when my daughter booked her Glacier lodging she was up for 3 hours in the night when reservations opened. She reserved some and paid. She looked again (same night) and things she thought she might like better opened up, so she booked those, also. She spent a few days deciding what she wanted to cancel, so I think you could see some cancellations sooner than later, as people finalize their plans.

Thank you Texastravel Mom, I envision my morning coffee the same way over the upcoming weeks/months. I will be possessed.

mnannie, thank you for your comments did you stay somewhere else at Grand Teton, where did you stay in Yellowstone and would you do it that way again?

Glacier back to SLC is going to be a haul. Are you Delta fans? You could fly back to SLC from a number of Montana cities then fly home. It’s an 11 hour drive from Many Glacier to SLC, that seems a poor choice unless the fare and rental car is especially cheap @ SLC.

People make nonstop flights to be of paramount importance, but I don’t. I’m connecting tomorrow, it always works out (for me) and the bags make the connection, also. It’s just not a big deal.