Yellowstone Questions

Because you are Flying in, I guess we should know whether you are renting a car or renting an RV. That makes a difference in where you stay inside or outside.

I'd stay in the park and book a couple of nights at Old faithful lodge. We flew into Jackson hole and rented a car there. Hopefully your traveling during the off season, much nicer without all the crowds.

I would stay at the old Faithful Lodge.

Just because the GPS shows 60 miles doesn't mean you'll be able to Transit that distance, even within half a day. I'd suggest you pick a section of Yellowstone and focus your trip and your lodging in that area. there's no reason to go outside the park unless you miss how the rest of the world looks.

If you decide to stay outside the park, IMO the best choice is West Yellowstone. Lots of motels and only a mile at most from the west entrance. The majority of thermal features are between Madison Junction and Old Faithful. Madison is 14 miles from West Yellowstone and another 16 miles to Old Faithful. If you are short on time, you may want to limit your tour of Yellowstone to the lower of the two loops as the majority of points of interest are there.

FYI, we met our son and several friends 3-4 times for Yellowstone and Grand Teton. He flew into Jackson Hole airport and they rented a car to tour the area.

Stay inside the park.

Otherwise, you'll spend so much time going in and out and into the attractions you will want to see.

Yes, generally, you can get into the park thru any of the gates (depending on weather and time of year) ... earlier in the morning the better. At times, the gates line up due to rangers checking passes, and collecting entrance fees. If you plan on entering daily, you may save money buying the annual pass for $80, which gets you into all Nat Pks for a year and gives you a few other discounts.

We always camp inside the park when we go, so others on here might recommend a good outside spot to stay.

We stayed in the park at fishing bridge. Fishing bridge is centrally located down it’s an easy drive anywhere in the park. If you stay in west Yellowstone or Cody, your looking at a long drive to either end of the park. And if you do it for 3-4 days your seeing all the same stuff going in and coming out. Personally staying in the park in a central area like fishing bridge area is the best choice.

I'd stay in the park and spend all your driving seeing the sites not commuting. And, yes, the entry station lines can get long and slow.