I know many of you have been there, and several live in the area. My wife wants to go somewhere in June, and she’s put me in charge of planning it.
I know I want to see Cody, Wyoming and as much of Yellowstone as possible in a week or so. I’d really appreciate suggestions on which town to fly into, places to see, places to avoid, good restaurants, places to stay, etc
Thank you in advance!
Avoid Jackson Hole. Yuppies with cowboy hats and boots and CROWDED! Cody, the whole damn place is great. The Irma is a good place to eat in Cody. You'll have a hoot checking out the tourists in Yellowstone. You'll enjoy yourself in Cody. Great town.
Cody Firearms Museum, spend a day there!
In Cody, eat at at the Buffalo Bill Hotel, or whatever it's named, after his daughter I believe. Great prime rib in an historic atmosphere. If you go to Jackson don't bother eating at the million dollar cowboy saloon. Way overpriced, poor service and so so food. The bar upstairs is historic and nice.
Go to the museum, a full day isn't too much there. The old trail town is neat as well. Good jumping off point for the park as well
In Cody, eat at at the Buffalo Bill Hotel, or whatever it's named, after his daughter I believe. Great prime rib in an historic atmosphere. If you go to Jackson don't bother eating at the million dollar cowboy saloon. Way overpriced, poor service and so so food. The bar upstairs is historic and nice.
That would be the Irma. F Jackson Hole.
Cody Firearms Museum, spend a day there!
This, While I know Jackson is a tourist trap,I think it's kinda cool.(just to say you say it)
In Cody for a nice breakfast “our place” if it’s still open, Cassie’s for a good steak. The museum is worth the day, Cooke city Montana and the beartooth Highway are nice rides.
Ronnie
At least a day at the museum, more of you’re a gun nut or if you get the time. There’s just so much there to take in. Great place!
If you’ve got an extra hour or two, take in the Buffalo Bill Damn on the Shoshone River. Both Wifey and I found it very interesting.
Yellowstone is wonderful and breathtaking, but crowded as well.
There’s just so much in that area to do and see. Spend at least a week, 10 days would be better. Good luck and have fun! I’m sure you’ll all enjoy it.
7mm
Cody Firearms Museum, spend a day there!
It will take far more than one day to see what's there. It would be a shame to go to Cody and not see all of what's there.
A great deal more than just firearms to see.
Great stuff there!
-Mike-
I’d fly into Billings. Go to the rodeo one night while you are there, and BE SURE to spend a day at the Buffalo Bill gun museum.
If you do the beartooth highway and like beer, be sure to drop in for a cold one at Red Lodge Ales.
Some roads may still be closed by snow in early June, so be aware of that. Late June is safer in that regard, but more crowded. Make reservations really early if you want to stay in Yellowstone Park. Don't forget Grand Teton National Park with some iconic views.
Stay in Yellowstone three days in one of the hotels there. Staying in Cody is a little far for day tripping. Then one or two nights in Cody and if you have time go to Little Big Horn battlefield in MT.
Weatherby has relocated to Sheridan WY and that is fairly close to MT.
If it was me I'd fly into Billings and out of Jackson. Spend time at LBH and Sheridan (one day), day or two in Cody then into Yellowstone for three days and out through Jackson. Jackson is touristy, but worth seeing and Grand Teton is on the way to Jackson via Yellowstone park.
Irma's is OK in Cody, but in fact there are no great restaurants in the whole area AFAIK. Bubba's is OK for BBQ and there's one in Cody. The higher end restaurants in Yellowstone are somewhat OK, but most of the food there is garbage. If Jackson has any real nice restaurants, it's news to me. But considering how much $$$$ is in the area there must be something. Been a while since I've been there. So go to Yelp for help.
I wouldn’t spend a week in Cody... fly into Bozeman, drive down to Jackson on the Idaho side, drive up through the Park to Cody... spend a couple days there, drive back to Bozeman through the Park, fly home.
Or, just fly into Jackson, do a loop up to Cody for a few days, and back to Jackson.
Depending on where you’re coming from it might make sense to fly directly into Cody. We have a commercial airport here that United Skywest uses but I think most or all of their flights go through Salt Lake City. Billings is only an hour and 45 minute drive.
The museum’s gonna take more than a day if you take your time and do it right. The east entrance of Yellowstone Park is an hour’s drive. From there it’s another 45 minutes to Fishing Bridge. But there’s a lot of good hiking before you get to the park. If rodeos are your thing there’s one every night.
We used to come to Cody or YS every summer for vacation. Then I retired and moved here. Feel free to pm me is you want more details about anything. And oh, if you want to carry concealed here you don’t need a permit. And if you want to open carry no one cares.
Cody Firearms Museum, spend a day there!
Spend two days there. When I get tired of looking at firearms history, I go up and look at the fantastic collection of Western art
Hi the museum for sure. I would skip Yellowstone altogether and got to the Tetons, less people (though in June it may not matter) and better scenery and hikes.
We spend 2 weeks in Cody almost every spring. Between Cody and the E. entrance to Yellowstone is the North Fork of the Shoshone River. Spectacular country w/ tons of wildlife to be seen from the road or while hiking[lots of bears] Almost every campground is at the base of a trail or a system of trails which are spectacular w/ amazing scenery and enough variety for anyone. The Proud Cut has great food, Cassie's has good food and great music on the weekends. The food at the Irma is mediocre but the bar on a Friday or Saturday afternoon is a local hangout and a real slice of Wyoming. I could live in Cody, great people w/ mountains to the West and Antelope country to the East. Breakfast at Grannie's or Bubbas. You will love it.
mike r
Go check out Atlantis..... Mount Zion....
You will need AT LEAST two days and more is better to take in Cody. Two days for sure at the museum. There are actually 5 museums in one building: firearms, western art, plains indians, natural history and Buffalo Bill. You simply cannot absorb it all in one day, you cant even absorb the firearms in one day. Make reservations early, like NOW, do not underestimate the demand for rooms etc during June, July and August. We were just up there for a couple of days in early October, I wanted one last trip through the firearms museum, it has recently been overhauled and is better than before IMHO. We stayed at the Irma Hotel, was kinda fun, even had flush toilets.
I have lived in Wyoming since 1940, minus my time in the service. I would rather someone beat me with a stick than make me go to Jackson.
Several times in the last few years we have had people post here on the Fire that they wanted to travel from somewhere back East , see Yellowstone, Jackson Hole and Cody all in the same 7-10 day trip.
Please dont try to do that, you will spend at least half your time staring at the back end of the car in front of you. Traffic moves very slowly in places and it is a LONG ways between stops, people who have never been to the West before are always amazed at how far it is from point A to point B. Have a nice relaxing time, see some sights, have a good time without dashing madly about trying to see it all in one swoop. Cant be done.
Drive the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway from the Yellowstone NE gate to Cody. Awesome drive. After 2 days in Cody, we made the loop back into Yellowstone through the east gate.
Stay in Yellowstone three days in one of the hotels there. Staying in Cody is a little far for day tripping. Then one or two nights in Cody and if you have time go to Little Big Horn battlefield in MT.
Weatherby has relocated to Sheridan WY and that is fairly close to MT.
If it was me I'd fly into Billings and out of Jackson. Spend time at LBH and Sheridan (one day), day or two in Cody then into Yellowstone for three days and out through Jackson. Jackson is touristy, but worth seeing and Grand Teton is on the way to Jackson via Yellowstone park.
Irma's is OK in Cody, but in fact there are no great restaurants in the whole area AFAIK. Bubba's is OK for BBQ and there's one in Cody. The higher end restaurants in Yellowstone are somewhat OK, but most of the food there is garbage. If Jackson has any real nice restaurants, it's news to me. But considering how much $$$$ is in the area there must be something. Been a while since I've been there. So go to Yelp for help.
If you fly into one city and out of another, what do you do about your rental car?
We did a whitewater rafting trip down the Shoshone River while in Cody. Rapids weren't huge which was easily handled by the family. It was another good way to see nature around Cody.
Not sure how much you're willing to drive. However, the Bighorn Mountains are worth the drive as is Devils Tower. That might stretch you for one week. However, we enjoyed every minute of it. Cody Museum was one of the highlights of the trip.
If you fly into one city and out of another, what do you do about your rental car?
Most of the major rental companies allow pickup and dropoff to be different places.
Any good choice of where to stay or more important where not to stay. Planning to be there mid May for a few days
I surely appreciate all the great suggestions! I hope I can return the favor some day. We won’t try to see everything in the region in a week. If we like it, it probably won’t be our last trip to the area.
Keep the ideas coming if you have any more. I’m sure I’m not the only one interested.
My cousins went up one summer to cowboy at the Cody Night Rodeo that a friend runs. They had days off to do whatever they wanted. One day they borrowed a raft and bought some cheap rods and reels. Floated some nearby river hammering the trout on nightcrawlers and Powerbait, stopped on a gravel bar and grilled a few up for lunch. Got back to town and some guy tells them that river is artificial fly and catch and release only! Fuggin Okies.
I know many of you have been there, and several live in the area. My wife wants to go somewhere in June, and she’s put me in charge of planning it.
I know I want to see Cody, Wyoming and as much of Yellowstone as possible in a week or so. I’d really appreciate suggestions on which town to fly into, places to see, places to avoid, good restaurants, places to stay, etc
Thank you in advance!
Make it an "or so" vacation. A week will hurry you to much and you'll be frustrated.
Maybe too late for this summer but try to get at least a 1 or 2 night reservation in the park. Two days in the park gives you a lot to see. Spend a day in Cody. Spend a day or 2 exploring the Wind River Canyon, Maybe indulge in a float trip. A day or so exploring the Big Horn Basin is time well spent. Drive the Powder River pass and enjoy some of the easily passable back country roads of the Bighorns (weather permitting)...
And don't be a dumb ass. Take a real camera...
I was through there on a bicycle in July, west to east.
Probly not applicable in this case but I believe camping out and traveling around on a bicycle is the best way to see Yellowstone. Campgrounds are 10 to 20 miles apart, no reservations needed. I blitzed through in three days, shoulda stayed a week. If I did it again I’d drive to West Yellowstone right outside gate, leave my car there and cycle in.
I’ll second the motion re: the mediocre food, actually awful in the immediate vicinity of Old Faithful.
Be aware that Yellowstone is an elevated Caldera, the surface of Yellowstone Lake alone is at 7,000ft, the passes around it up around 8,500 feet. Pretty high up for that far north. June could be nippy.
Sixty miles most all downhill from the top of Sylvan Pass in Yellowstone to Cody. Not far outside the East Gate I found Bill Cody’s old resort, Pahuska, had decent food. The next morning a little mom and pop joint on the south side of the highway on the west edge of town (just west of the rodeo ground) serveda decent breakfast at a reasonable price. Looked for the locals parked out front.
At least a whole day to see the museum in Cody if wife permits. If you do drive east to the Little Bighorn Battlefield from Cody, go east through the Bighorn Mountains to Sheridan and then north. Wanting to avoid the climb I went around through Billings, a boring drive.
At the LBH, after seeing the battlefield drive over the interstate into the Rez town of Hardin. On the main drag a short distance past the McDonalds there’s a cool-looking old pawnshop. Could be some interesting things there, it was closed when I blitzed through town.
I live 60 miles from Cody. Here's my list. Many were mentioned already.
Good meals at Proud Cut, the wife and my favorite place to eat. Cassie's is good but a bit pricey.
Bubba's BBQ in Jackson is much better than Cody's.
Must see....
The Museum.
The Beartooth and Chief Joseph highways.
North and South Fork highways.
The parks, of course, Yellowstone and Grand Teton, but a bit too many people for me in peak season, which will include your trip.
Sleeper alert: Bighorn Canyon National Park, 60 miles east of Cody. No crowds, great views. Take the boat trip at Horseshoe Bend. Or PM me for an even better boat ride, if I'm not fishing somewhere.
I live 60 miles from Cody. Here's my list. Many were mentioned already.
Good meals at Proud Cut, the wife and my favorite place to eat. Cassie's is good but a bit pricey.
Bubba's BBQ in Jackson is much better than Cody's.
Must see....
The Museum.
The Beartooth and Chief Joseph highways.
North and South Fork highways.
The parks, of course, Yellowstone and Grand Teton, but a bit too many people for me in peak season, which will include your trip.
Sleeper alert: Bighorn Canyon National Park, 60 miles east of Cody. No crowds, great views. Take the boat trip at Horseshoe Bend. Or PM me for an even better boat ride, if I'm not fishing somewhere.
Mostly this. The Irma is mediocre at best, I’d rather eat at the Cody Wendy’s. The proud cut is the best Place to eat in Cody.
Heart mtn I guess is interesting but also kind of depressing, if you want to know about it find something to read. Not much really to see there.
When you are in the parks get out of bed early and drive the good spots for critters or go see the geyser attractions. There will still be people out but the park is ALOT better before about 8:30am.
I don’t know why you’d want to fly into anywhere other than the Cody Airport.
Do not skip the beartooth hwy, some of the best scenery in the country and less people than in the Park.
With apologies to cyclists, Please don’t ride a bike around the park. They are the biggest road hazard there. I’m kidding, sort of, ok not really.
With apologies to cyclists, Please don’t ride a bike around the park. They are the biggest road hazard there. I’m kidding, sort of, ok not really.
If it helps any, I try not to be, more than most anyhow. And a bicycle gives you absolute freedom to camp at whatever campground where and when you want, spur of the moment. For everybody else besides hikers everything is booked up to the minute about a year in advance, or so I'm told.
As for hotels, same thing. If all the hotels in Yellowstone and Jackson (I've never been to Jackson) were booked, I'd look to the town of West Yellowstone right outside the park gste.
One thing no-one has mentioned yet; inside the park there is absolutely NO phone service. Well they say there is, but the way I heard it the one tower just gets overwhelmed by the volume of calls.
If you’re in the area- this was one of the best parts of a two week roast trip my wife and I took to Yellowstone/tetons.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/btnf/recarea/?recid=71639
We stayed at The Cody the night we came out of the East side of Yellowstone. Nice hotel and the owner was a good guy. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to go to the museum. Wish we'd have made time to do that. But had ahead of us a long 2-day drive back to Texas.
Stayed there once. Drove the Beartooth and Chief Joseph highways. Highly recommend that. Went to the dam, it was worth a look. Ate a Steak somewhere there that night. Don't remember the name of the place but it was probably the best food I have eaten in that part of the country. If I remember right it was west of town.
Old Trail Town. Very much for tourists, but I enjoyed it. It is right in Cody.
All good advice on the town of Cody. I too would recommend going to Trail Town. Jerimiah Johnson (mountain man) is buried there.
Two out of town trips I always recommend are going over Bear Tooth pass and a trip to see the Tetons.
Another out of the way trip that is interesting is a trip to the old ghost town of Kerwin. It's south of Cody and west of Meeteetse. It's a rough road and 4 wheel drive is recommend but I've made it up there with my 2 wheel drive pickup. A word of caution, you have to ford the river a couple of times and the runoff might be a bit high in June.
GreginTenn: Absolutely go to and stay a day in Jackson Hole, Wyoming!
DO NOT let anyone talk you out of that!
PERIOD!
It is a fun and clean town with excellent food and absolutely stunning views of the Grand Tetons and the Jackson Hole itself!
Eat at "Bubba's" morning, noon and night (breakfast, lunch and dinner - be sure and have the "workers special" for breakfast - it is not on the menu its a local thing!) while there!
I like to stay at the Elk Refuge Inn a mile or so north of town when in Jackson Hole.
Be sure and tour the galleries and be sure to tour the Chamber of Commerce building, store, display in Jackson.
DO NOT forget your cameras and binoculars while in Jackson Hole - take a tram ride up to the top of one of the ski mountains.
Be sure and set your clock to get you up before sunrise to view the sunrise on the Grand Tetons - few views on earth are more majestic than this!
Sunsets on the Tetons will take care of themselves.
I was just in Yellowstone Park two days ago and sadly the numbers of Elk, Moose and Bighorn Sheep are way down.
Wolves!
Run one over if you get the chance, in your rental car.
Be sure and plan a day around viewing the lower falls of the Yellowstone from "Artist Point" during mid-day when the sunlight illuminates, completely, the entire deep, grand canyon of the Yellowstone.
Years ago I used to hike to and mingle with the Bighorn Sheep on top of Mt. Washburn but again "the Wolves"!
It is still worth the hike for the view but few Bighorns have been seen by me on my last coupla trips up there.
Be sure to allocate at least an 8 (eight!) hour day for touring the museum complex there in Cody - two days would be better.
I also like Trail Town in Cody (Jeremiah Johnson is buried there) and do the rodeo in the afternoon/evening there in Cody.
A day trip south to the town of Meteetsee/Greybull River area will be rich with wildlife viewing (Antelope, Coyote, Prairie Dogs, Mule Deer) in June.
Enjoy your visit and again DO NOT forego spending MUCH time in Jackson Hole!
I have reservations for there coming up next month in fact - it will be my second visit there in the last 9 months.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy
Many thanks, guys! We're all booked and looking forward to the trip. The only places I've been to west of the Mississippi is Lake Charles, LA and Las Vegas, so this will be a new experience.
GreginTenn: Absolutely go to and stay a day in Jackson Hole, Wyoming!
DO NOT let anyone talk you out of that!
PERIOD!
It is a fun and clean town with excellent food and absolutely stunning views of the Grand Tetons and the Jackson Hole itself!
Eat at "Bubba's" morning, noon and night (breakfast, lunch and dinner - be sure and have the "workers special" for breakfast - it is not on the menu its a local thing!) while there!
I like to stay at the Elk Refuge Inn a mile or so north of town when in Jackson Hole.
Be sure and tour the galleries and be sure to tour the Chamber of Commerce building, store, display in Jackson.
DO NOT forget your cameras and binoculars while in Jackson Hole - take a tram ride up to the top of one of the ski mountains.
Be sure and set your clock to get you up before sunrise to view the sunrise on the Grand Tetons - few views on earth are more majestic than this!
Sunsets on the Tetons will take care of themselves.
I was just in Yellowstone Park two days ago and sadly the numbers of Elk, Moose and Bighorn Sheep are way down.
Wolves!
Run one over if you get the chance, in your rental car.
Be sure and plan a day around viewing the lower falls of the Yellowstone from "Artist Point" during mid-day when the sunlight illuminates, completely, the entire deep, grand canyon of the Yellowstone.
Years ago I used to hike to and mingle with the Bighorn Sheep on top of Mt. Washburn but again "the Wolves"!
It is still worth the hike for the view but few Bighorns have been seen by me on my last coupla trips up there.
Be sure to allocate at least an 8 (eight!) hour day for touring the museum complex there in Cody - two days would be better.
I also like Trail Town in Cody (Jeremiah Johnson is buried there) and do the rodeo in the afternoon/evening there in Cody.
A day trip south to the town of Meteetsee/Greybull River area will be rich with wildlife viewing (Antelope, Coyote, Prairie Dogs, Mule Deer) in June.
Enjoy your visit and again DO NOT forego spending MUCH time in Jackson Hole!
I have reservations for there coming up next month in fact - it will be my second visit there in the last 9 months.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy
This.
I’m sure you’ll both love it, and probably like Wifey and I, regret that you didn’t have more time. Yellowstone is spectacular, and Cody is a wonderful place by itself. I look forward to hearing about your trip, and I bet I ain’t the only one that’s jealous!
7mm