asimm

Hi all
ike many others I am stuck bw the 2 NP Yosemite and yellow

My visit is in Mid June 2019 and my interest is lush green beauty(I don’t like barren deserted land o), waterfalls, rivers & lakes, waterfalls

which do u think suits me

furthermore I would like to stay inside the park and I find that in yose no proper hotel nothing is cheaper than USD200/night . How about Yellowstone accommodation

keeping Ng above in mind am open to any other suggestions

thanks

tomfuller

I just answered most of your questions in your other thread. We have some beautiful green landscape in Oregon with waterfalls in several parts of Oregon. Check out Crater Lake NP.

emalloy

Of the two, I prefer Yellowstone, especially with a child. June is wonderful there with lots of baby bison, elk, etc. as well as lush waterfalls. Do bring warm clothing as there may be snow.

asimm

We plan to stay for 3 nights in any of these park

Emalloy - I also am falling towards Yellowstone for its animals, more lush green beauty and waterfalls

does it have accessible lakes / rivers? We are not much into hiking so looking for easy access

Tomfuller - Thsnk for the suggestion . The crater lake seems to ‘only’ have a lake and it also seems way out of my loop of SF/LAX/LV. What do u say

Michael

Yellowstone because it has a greater variety of wild animals. https://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca...7623124826386/ and subsequent pictures.

sludick

Yellowstone, but you will need to amend your plans for a SF/LAX/LV loop. See my response on your other thread.

Yellowstone is HUGE. That makes staying inside the park very desirable, and breaking up your stay into 2 or 3 different locations a good idea. That having been said, for more affordable lodging, check out the towns of West Yellowstone (west entrance) and Gardiner, MT (north entrance).

Gretchen

Staying IN parks in high season is always going to be expensive. Yosemite does have "camping" available in their tents.
The two parks are apples and oranges. I consider Yosemite a "wonder of the world".
Just a thought--using text language can be disruptive or non-comprehensible to some of us. At the least, annoying ;o)

charsuzan

Yellowstone is not in the SF/LAX/LV loop but it is a great place to visit. Stay in the park.

PaulRabe

First of all, you will NOT go wrong if you choose either one, so don't worry about making a bad choice between the two -- it CAN'T HAPPEN.

I have visited 62 national parks in my lifetime, as well as almost 200 sites administered by the U.S. NPS. Both places are definitely in my top five all-time recommended.

But if you put a gun to my head and demand I name my ONE favorite, I'll say Yellowstone. The uniqueness of its thermal features, along with the variety & accessibility of its wild animals, make it a place that can not be missed.

You also mentioned lakes, and Lake Yellowstone is larger and more accessible than any lake in Yosemite -- although Tenaya Lake is SPECTACULAR.

asimm

PaulRabe - thank you for your kind note, which is greatly appreciated

I too seem to be getting more interested in YELLOWSTONE, but keeping in mind that my basis loop is
SF/LA/LV and somewhere around, how do you recommend me to include Yellowstone in it + i wont to do the pacific highway trip by renting a car as have heard that its one of the most scenic drive in USA

I may have loved to drive from SF to Yellowstone, but its a long drive and heard that its a non-scenic and not a worth drive

Spending USD200-330/ for a return flight from SF to Salk lake city for 3 days, would it be worth OR is any other interesting things which i can add near Salt lake city

Thank you all, its getting interesting

sludick

Honestly, if all you can spend in Yellowstone is 3 days, it's not worth going. Two days will be eaten up just in travel, assuming you take the quickest way and fly. The park is huge, travel is slow thanks to animal jams and posted speed limits, and you'll need several days in the park at a minimum. If you are determined to stick to the loop you described, then save Yellowstone for another trip.

janisj

asimm: You have jumped back and forth between which park(s) you want to visit. Either of them are wonderful. Unfortunately Yellowstone is really not practical in your short time and with the California coast a must. Flying would be your only option . . . and with the travel time involved you would barely have one day in Yellowstone.

Eiher do Yosemite . . . OR another option since you want lush green scenery -- consider driving farther up the coast to the Redwoods National and State parks.

But Yellowstone - nope.

5alive

I agree that the California coast and Yellowstone do not belong on the same trip, unless she adds at least 4-5 more days.

Did the OP already buy airline tickets?

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janisj

>>Did the OP already buy airline tickets?

Patty

Ideally you'd want at least one week to explore Yellowstone/Grand Teton. I would not do it if all you have is 3 days.

asimm

I(he) am overwhelmed by the info and contribution people are making here, especially on my thread to help me out plant this trip

I agree that i am jumping from here and there, trying to get and do as much as possible in a trip, but as you may agree that initial planning would make you jump from one destination to another and you try to explore as much as possible and try to get your hands on all info from West to East.

I was interested in Yose and YS, but after reading a bit on both, i find that YS is much better in terms of easy access with car to lakes/waterfalls, lush green scenes, more wildlife and more accomodation options ranging for all budgets

One thing that is stopping me from YS is the distance/time/money to reach there, but a 6-8days plan would be better. Another thing is that i definately wont to do the scenic drive from SF to LA, so i need a suggestion on how to plan my route for all these

Few things i would like to clear
1. Flights are not booked yet, but since we are coming from a far country Pakistan, the airports of SF AND LA would be more suitable for us
2. The no of days for YS are atleast 3 nights, apart from the travelling days, but now since the distance is big, i too agree that i need to add more nights and add more destinations like Grand Teton etc or any other places around
3. The flights from SF OR LA to SLC seems expensive i.e USD200/return or above. Any other options or airport to select


Hope above will clear many things, my thoughts, my interest and more info and suggestion would come up to plan this trip

Thanks

marvelousmouse

I think Redwoods fits your itinerary the best, and it’s probably my favorite (tied with Yosemite). It definitely fits your lush greenery desires.

you don’t have the time for Yellowstone and it’s going to be costly to get there. Edit: but i see you can add on days for that area, good.

But I’d say $200/return is actually a decent price for LAX to SLC. That’s a route I check fairly often because I have a friend that lives near SLC. The lowest tends to be around 150- but that’s usually the inconvenient flights/can’t choose seats. You can look at flights into Boise- sun country flies there- but again, about the same price, I think.

how did your east coast adventure turn out? I remember following your thread last time.

sludick

I suggested SLC on your other thread as that has been the most economical we've found; the prices you mentioned seem to be pretty favorable. I think you'll find other options much pricier. I'll second the advice to just continue up the coast and visit Redwoods National (and state) Park. This would fit into your parameters and route so much better. A beautiful lush area not to be missed.

emalloy

I would fly into San Francisco,and when you are ready to leave there, rent a car and drive to LA, tour, turn in the car. Fly LA to Jackson, WY, rent a car, tour Grand Teton,Yellowstone, drive back to Jackson, turn in the car and fly home. This will probably involve a stop in either LA or SF on the way home. This could be done in the opposite direction if it worked out better for cost of flights.

You would lose at least 2 days driving from either LA or SF to Yellowstone and another 2 days to drive back. This would involve 4 days more cost of rental car, and 2 nights lodging along the way. It would make it possible to spend less time in the car and more time in the parks. The cost difference when you add it all up would be small.

MmePerdu

On my trip to Yellowstone I flew home from Billings, Montana and using emalloy's model, you might consider looking into fares to & from, and car rentals there, to compare as a possible less expensive alternative to Jackson.