At the beginning of the year, a few close friends and I planned a Road trip to Yellowstone. (Yellowstone is so famous that it hardly needs an introduction, but if you really are not familiar with it, please see the official website.) Unfortunately, everyone’s schedules kept conflicting, so in the end we could only go in mid-October. Because this was right at the transition from late fall to early winter, we had originally been excited to see the last of the fall foliage, but instead we were greeted by a major snowstorm. As a result, this Yellowstone trip ended up being much more complicated than expected, and we drove quite a few unnecessary extra miles. Thankfully, we had left plenty of time in our itinerary, so we still managed to cover most of the major sights.

Let’s start with some beautiful views from Grand Teton and Yellowstone to set the tone for this post.

Grand Teton east entrance

Old Faithful in Yellowstone

Yellowstone Road Trip

Before the road trip, we all sat down together and came up with a game plan. The main principle was to avoid backtracking, because both Yellowstone and Grand Teton are huge, and if you want to explore them carefully, you really do not want to waste time driving the same roads twice. Based on that, we mapped out the route below.

The plan was to depart from DEN, where I’m based, and drive 8 hours to Cody, WY, the town closest to Yellowstone’s east entrance, then stay one night in Cody. On day 2, we would enter Yellowstone through the east entrance and visit Fishing Bridge, Canyon@yellow stone, and Lower Waterfall, then stay inside the park at Canyon Lodge & cabin. On day 3, we would tour Yellowstone counterclockwise from the east and north toward the southwest, then drive through Grand Teton and arrive in Jackson hole, WY for the night. Day 4 would be for exploring Grand Teton. Day 5 was reserved as a buffer day. Day 6, we would return to DEN.

Everyone agreed with this plan. We figured mid-October should still give us a chance to catch some remaining fall colors. On the way to Cody, the weather was still sunny and bright, around 25 degrees C. Then by the very next day, it had turned into heavy snowfall. We mistakenly thought we might get to enjoy Yellowstone under a blanket of snow, so we happily headed toward the east entrance, humming along the way. There were very few cars on the road, and visibility was so poor that we could barely see any scenery anyway. After about 1 hour, we reached Yellowstone’s east entrance and were stunned to see a barrier across the road with “Closed” written on it. The ranger at the entrance booth walked over and told us the east entrance had closed just 1 hour earlier. Closed. Just like that. Since we could not get into Yellowstone, we also could not effectively continue on to Grand Teton afterward. The booth attendant gave us a phone number: 307-344-2117. This is Yellowstone’s automated road conditions line. If a road segment is closed, or an entrance is shut down, you need to call this number for updates.

Here is a Yellowstone road map so everyone can clearly see the different park entrances.

With no other option, we drove back to Cody. The round trip had already cost us 2.5 hours. At that point, we no longer had a hotel booking in cody, and we had no idea when we would actually be able to enter Yellowstone. So we sat down in the Subway inside Walmart, grabbed something to eat, and kept calling that road conditions number. Over the next 3 hours, the conditions were updated twice, and each time only the northeast entrance from Montana and the west entrance from Idaho were open; the other 3 entrances were all closed. We also called Canyon Lodge & cabin, where we had booked for that night. The staff member was very helpful and told us that even if we managed to enter the park at 3 p.m., the roads would be icy and driving would be very dangerous, so she did not recommend continuing. She also directly refunded our non-refundable reservation.

Next, we discussed staying in cody for another night to see whether the entrance would reopen and road conditions would improve the next morning. We all focused on finding the best-value hotel and eventually chose Super 8. We booked it using a Hotel.com gift card we had bought a few days earlier at an 85% cost, and the final price came out to about $90 per room per night. Overall, it was a pretty solid value. (Later on, I’ll go into more detail about hotel choices for a Yellowstone trip.)

After checking into Super 8, we asked the front desk what there was to do in Cody. The front desk highly recommended the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. Tickets were $19 per person. It is actually a collection of several museums, and after visiting, we felt it was well worth the admission price and lived up to its 4.8 Google rating. BTW, here is the official website.

Here’s a photo of the horse statue at the entrance to Buffalo Bill Center of the West, which presents the image of Buffalo Bill, the founder of the cowboy Wild West show.

Although it was disappointing that we could not enter Yellowstone on the first day, after finishing the museum visit, which took about 3 hours, we also felt that Cody itself was actually pretty interesting. Making the best of it, I guess. After staying the night, we got up the next morning and kept calling 307-344-2117, and while several roads inside the park had reopened, the east entrance was still closed. The front desk at Super 8 suggested we take the long way around to the south entrance, entering via the east side of Grand Teton first and visiting Grand Teton National Park before Yellowstone. After discussing it for a few minutes, we set off on another 5-hour drive.

This itinerary adjustment really was the definition of going the opposite direction of your destination, and it hurt a little. The weather along the way was sunny and beautiful. There was some ice on the roads, but it did not stop us from driving at 70 miles per hour. It was almost 3 p.m. by the time we reached the east entrance of Grand Teton, and we still had a 40-minute drive left to our hotel in Jackson hole. To avoid wasting even more time the next day, we started sightseeing as soon as we entered Grand Teton.

We visited the following spots:

  • Jackson Lake Overlook
  • Signal Mountain
  • Colter Bay Village
  • Lakeshore Trail
  • Chapel of the Transfiguration

Of these, the one I recommend most is Signal Mountain. Once you reach the top, the view suddenly opens up and the scenery is absolutely stunning. We spent a little over 3 hours visiting these 5 places, and it did not feel too rushed. We were still able to take our time and appreciate the scenery.

First, here is a photo of Chapel of the Transfiguration. (It was already 5 p.m. at the time, and people were still taking wedding photos nearby.)

And here is an overlook shot from Signal mountain. Since it was taken on a phone, it really does not capture how magnificent the scenery was. We had brought a DJI Spark and were planning to fly it for some aerial footage, but there was a very clear “NO Drone” sign at the summit.

Next, here is one of Grand Teton’s classic photo-stop landmarks. (This spot is outside the east entrance of Grand Teton.)

Although the timing was tight, we still managed to complete the sights we had originally planned for the afternoon of day 2. That meant on day 3 we only needed to head north into Yellowstone and tour the park. That night we stayed at the Hampton inn in Jackson hole. I had always thought Hampton inn was in the same tier as super 8, but this property completely changed that mistaken impression. I would give this hotel a 4.8 rating myself. It was excellent across the board, and I highly recommend it.

What had originally been our hiking day, day 3, ended up making up for the time we lost on day 1 because of the snow-related road closure. We drove from south to north, passed through Grand Teton, entered Yellowstone through the south entrance, and covered the main sights in about 6 hours. All in all, the trip was still well worth it.

That includes Old Faithful, which I already showed above, plus waterfalls, all kinds of geysers, and large wildlife.

Bison cross the road at any time, and people nearby immediately start snapping away with all kinds of cameras and telephoto lenses.

The scenery after snowfall is actually exceptionally beautiful too.

One regret from this Yellowstone trip is that we didn’t have time to do any hiking, but we still managed to cover almost all of the major sights. Even though the last two days were a bit rushed, we still thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I definitely recommend both Yellowstone and Grand Teton.

Recommended Hotels Around Yellowstone

If we hadn’t run into road closures from heavy snow, I actually think our plan was very good and quite complete: 4 nights total, with 1 night in Cody, 1 night inside Yellowstone, and 2 nights in Jackson Hole. As shown in the route map, there’s no backtracking, and I think this itinerary would work well in spring, summer, or fall (both Yellowstone and Grand Teton have plenty of camping areas, so if the weather and season cooperate, camping is absolutely worth considering).

Cody Hotels

We stayed 2 nights total: the first night at Comfort Inn, and the second night at Super 8. I honestly don’t particularly recommend either one. The overall environment at Comfort Inn was relatively poor, while Super 8 was a bit better, but the room was small and the breakfast area was even smaller. During our two days in Cody, we passed by quite a few hotels, and based on appearance and overall impression, I’d recommend these 2:

Best Western Premier Ivy Inn & Suites: This one looks impressive, and the location is great too. It’s not in downtown Cody (though Cody is small, and most places are walkable), so it’s not noisy.

K3 Guest Ranch Bed & Breakfast：This is a good lodge for spring, summer, or fall stays, and it’s also very highly rated.

There’s also a Holiday Inn right next to the Comfort Inn, but it’s in a relatively noisy area, so I wouldn’t really recommend it either.

Yellowstone Hotels

If you’re not planning to camp inside Yellowstone, there are several lodges you can stay at, but during peak season they can be incredibly hard to book.

Official website: https://www.yellowstonenationalparklodges.com/

There are 9 cabins and lodges in total, plus 5 campgrounds.

Pretty much any of them can work well—the key is being able to secure a reservation. If you want to visit Yellowstone, it’s best to plan as early as possible.

We chose Canyon Lodge & cabin, which was a very good option.

Jackson Hole Hotels

We stayed 2 nights at Hampton inn. It was clean, tidy, quiet, and the service and free breakfast were both good. I especially liked that there was hot water available in the lobby, and you could also have a few free hot chocolates every day :). The price was reasonable too, so I highly recommend this one.

If your budget is a bit more flexible, you can also choose this one: Teton Mountain Lodge and Spa, which definitely feels like a noticeable step up.

Summary

1. If you run into severe weather, call 307-344-2117, in advance to check road conditions, and don’t repeat our mistake.

2. Both Grand Teton and Yellowstone have incredible scenery. Whether you’re visiting the U.S. or already living here for school or work, I recommend doing at least one road trip here.

3. If the weather is good and the season is right, definitely consider camping to experience nature.

4. There were already quite a few Chinese tour groups even in the off-season, so there will probably be even more during peak season. If you happen to be there, maybe give a friendly reminder to those loud aunties :)))