On day three of our family road trip to Yellowstone, we headed north from our lodging at Headwaters Lodge Flagg Ranch, passing through the South Entrance & heading towards Grant Village. Our first stop was Moose Falls, which is close to the South Entrance. It was a short, moderately steep walk to the waterfall & provided wonderful photo ops (especially in the early morning light) — a MUST stop if you’re planning your own trip.
We spent our first night just outside the North Entrance of Yellowstone at Park Hotel Yellowstone in Gardiner, MT. LOVED it! Gardiner is a sleepy mountain town with lots of charm without feeling touristy. The Park Hotel is a family-run inn, beautifully decorated & in a prime location. A 1-night stay was expensive ($325), but it was comparable to what we’d pay during the summer within the park itself. Yellowstone in summer is NOT a cheap destination unless you camp or book early.
Clare: “Are you crazy? That’s only two months away & is the busiest time. There won’t be any lodging & we’ll have to fight the crowds. Plus, we just went to Greece & Alabama this month!
Eric: “If we go to Yellowstone with my family, then you don’t have to spend a week in Park City, UT watching baseball.”
Clare: “SOLD!”
And thus we found ourselves making last minute plans & scrambling for lodging at the 6th most visited US national park. Our original plans were to fly into Salt Lake City & attend a world series for his brother’s baseball team, so we just changed our flight dates. Lodging was the tricky part, as nothing was available within the park (except tent sites). We Colemans do NOT camp, especially in grizzly territory.
