WorldMark West Yellowstone, YS National Park & Surrounding Area

[Icc5 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Icc5]

Hi Boca, thanks for suggesting this formum as I frequent this one every day also.
Since you are at Worldmark, Yellowstone I thought you might be able to give some insight into things to do, places to go,see, avoid and maybe a little of your itenerary (time wise for driving) so we get some ideas for our trip there next month. We are a party of 5 with 4 older adults and my 18 yr. old son.
We love to make long drives (every other day) and for this trip will have a minivan for our rental. We fly in to Bozeman and should hit the resort at about 7PM.
Please post about food choices you come across (feeding 18 yr. old is like being a feeding expert at a zoo).
Will be glad to read your insight from now until we head there.
Thanks,
Bart

[BocaBum99 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close BocaBum99]

WorldMark West Yellowstone

We arrived yesterday to WordMark West Yellowstone from WorldMark Estes Park. It took 11 hours with stops to travel 555 miles. I used my new GPS Navigator, but we had trouble losing satellites in the mountains.

It was a long trip, but gorgeous especially once you get to Dubois, WY. My favorite part of the trip was seeing the Grand Tetons. It was the most stunning nature we have seen on this trip and a pleasure and unplanned surprise. We will be going back to take a day trip there.

I would highly recommend staying at these WorldMark Estes Park and WorldMark West Yellowstone for a back-to-back vacation. It really works. And you get to drive through the Grand Tetons and 75 miles of Yellowstone on your driving day.

The WorldMark West Yellowstone is in a perfect location about 1/4 mile from the West entrance of Yellowstone Park. It's right near town and there is a ton of stuff there.

The resort is brand new. Typical WorldMark furnishings. My sister says it's her favorite WorldMark. I like it, but I do prefer Estes Park since it is right on the river. The views at this resort are only so-so.

Any questions about this resort, let me know.

[BocaBum99 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close BocaBum99]

Well, I'll do my best.

Today, we went to the geysers. There are about 5-6 main geyser areas within about 30 miles from the resort. I would take at least a half day if not all day to check them out. They are all quite different are really neat. We need to go back later in the week since we got rained out.

Old faithful was interesting, but in the same area, they have the Grand Geyser and a bunch of others that would be worth trying to see.

After speaking to several Rangers, I want to go to the northern part of the park in an attempt to see bears. We have seen tons of bison, elk, chipmunks and a couple of bald eagles in the last 24 hours. A bear sighting would make it perfect.

My sister wants to go on two hikes. One to a huge waterfall and another to a beaver dam.

We will definitely be taking a full day to see the Grand Tetons.

That is currently on the docket.

[taffy19 Gold Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close taffy19]

Boca, enjoy your vacation at Yellowstone. You will love the Grand Tetons even more. That area is absolutely beautiful and the snake river too. Have fun and show us your great pictures, if you have time.

[kapish Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close kapish]

Thanks for the note Jim. I would love to hear your day-by-day activities at WM West Yellowstone. I am curious as to whether staying at the WM resort outside the park would be OK when comparing to staying inside the park. Thanks.

[jlwquilter Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jlwquilter]

I, too, would be very interested in what you do in and around Yellowstone, on a day to day basis, as my family will be vacationing there this time next year. We'll be staying at an RCI exchange - West Yellowstone Village... not nearly as fancy as what you've got (lucky dog!).

[chellej Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close chellej]

The paint pots are my favorite of the geological freatures. The chuck wagon dinner out of Roosevelt is really fun if you have a free evening.

Do not miss the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Artists Point is my favorite and this is my favorite area of the park.

If you have time and head south into Idaho & Island Park Area:

Warm River for feeding fish & flyfishing
Cave Falls - This is at the southeast edge of yellowstone - Access to the park is by foot only here but if you have some hikers or fishermen, Bechler meadows is great. Cave falls is nice for a picnic. These are not far from Ashton.

Upper and lower Mesa Falls - this is a loop that you can drive

Big Springs - You can rent a canoe at Mack's Inn & they will drop you at Big springs & you float backdown to Mack's Inn. There is also a historical house at the Springs which is very interesting to go through.

Sawtelle Peak - you can drive to the top and the views are amazing. One year there was still snow in July - my kids thought that was really cool

There is a loop that goes to Hebgen Lake and there is a park service site were there was an earthquake - I think it is called Quake Lake - It is a reallly nice drive & stop at the info center.

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

Sounds like a wonderful trip - keep posting so we can hear what you are doing on this trip and what OP ends up doing/seeing on his.

Are u staying at a TS this trip?
Which one and where is it located.
Are there any National Park Lodges in this area that are worthwhile visiting/spending a night?

I know chelle is a knowledgeable person regarding this area!

[BocaBum99 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close BocaBum99]

Sounds like a wonderful trip - keep posting so we can hear what you are doing on this trip and what OP ends up doing/seeing on his.

Are u staying at a TS this trip?
Which one and where is it located.
Are there any National Park Lodges in this area that are worthwhile visiting/spending a night?

I know chelle is a knowledgeable person regarding this area!

Pat,

Bart will be at the same resort I am at now. It is the new WorldMark West Yellowstone. This is a great place.

What I want to do more than anything now is rent an RV and travel around this entire region of the country at campgrounds. Timeshares get you part of the way, but you do a lot of doubling back and forth to get back to your unit.

We were going to take a couple day detour through Glacier National Park. But, my wife decided we would have to do that later. Our biggest issue is packing and unpacking between locations. We have 8 weeks worth of stuff. So, it is a significant effort changing venues. But, when we get there, it's just like home with a home office and personal items.

[Elan Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Elan]

Boca, if you have the time I'd highly recommend Mesa Falls. Really cool, IMO.

[chellej Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close chellej]

Pat

There are a lot of different accomodations in Yellowstone. I really enjoy Old Faithful Inn in the old part. The bathrooms are down the hall, the floors creak, pipes clank, but it is just worth it to experience at least once.

Teton Park has some really nice accomodations. Jackson Lake lodge is great and on the pricier side Jenny Lake Lodge. Lodging with Grand Teton Lodge Company

[Thirsty Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Thirsty]

We just returned from a Yellowstone trip Saturday night. Some of our highlights are.

Yellowstone Park
• Driving on the Beartooth Mountain Byway to Yellowstone. It boarders the North East entrance. If you have the times do it. It took us about 6 hours to drive the 70 miles.
• The Wild West Rodeo south of West Yellowstone. It is a very small mom and pops rodeo but it was fun.
• Rafting the Yellowstone River although I would do the Gallatin River next time.
• We saw a black bear and its cub, a black wolf, a gray wolf, a few coyotes, a Bull Moose, 2 eagles and lots of the elk and buffalo in the park.
• We like The Black Sand Basin, Biscuit Basin, and Midway Basin of all the geysers. They are smaller but there is much more color.
• Staying a night at Old Faithful Inn
• Firehole River Canyon Drive
• The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone seen at Uncle Tom’s Trail.
• Old Faithful

The Teton Area
• Jackson Lake Lodge back patio for watching wildlife
• Oxbow Bend where the Teton reflect in a pond. The morning is the best time to see the reflections because of the angle of the sun.
• Schwabacher road also is a great place to see the Teton reflecting in a small pond.
• Mormon Row where the most photographed barn
• We saw a Bull Moose and a Cow Moose on Moose-Wilson Road
• Jenny Lake is a nice place to see the Tetons from.
• Chapel of the Transfiguration at Menors Ferry

Mesa Falls
• We saw the best rainbow at this waterfall. I would highly recommend it. It is about 50 miles south of West Yellowstone.

[vintner Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close vintner]

We will be in Yellowstone Tuesday. We are close to Boca, but have no idea where I could find Boca.

We are in a resort about an hour north of the west enterance. Will do the lower loop (Old Faithful) on Tuesday, and the upper loop (Mammoth) on Friday.

We are going to Virginia City, Ghost Town. Has some shows and things I would like to see, but with the drive, will make it a nice day trip without the shows. This was recommended by our resort manager.

Boca, I'll wave as I go by your area.

[Marti Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Marti]

WorldMark West Yellowstone (#A411)

101 Gray Wolf Ave
West Yellowstone , MT , 59758 USA
406/TBD
WorldMark, The Club

Unit Information:
Studio/1-bath: sleeps 2 (565 or 624 square feet)

1-bdrm/1-bath: sleeps 4 (818 to 1,041 square feet)
Master - King

2-bdrm/2-bath: sleeps 6 (987 to 1,243 square feet)

These units have two configurations:

Master - King / Guest - Queen
Master - King / Guest - Twin Beds

3-bdrm/2-bath: sleeps 8 (1,272 to 1,590 square feet)

Master - King / Guest - Queen / Second guest - Twin Beds

3-bdrm/3-bath Presidential Penthouse: sleeps 6 (2,141 square feet)
Master - King / Guest - Twin Beds / Second guest - King

All units except for presidential units have a queen murphy bed in the living room.

WorldMark owns
2 studio, 27 1-bdrm, 67 2-bdrm, 10 3-bdrm,
and 2 3-bdrm presidential units, 108 total units

Will have to add this one to our RCI wish list

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

Sorry I missed the resort name in the title guys

This is a great thread!