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Posted by Granite Head (209.252.105.51) on 20:16:23 03/19/13
In Reply to: Winter 2014 posted by John
If you want to stay in the park - Mammoth Hotel and/or Old Faithful Snow Lodge, you should make reservations as soon as you decide on your dates. As far as the interior goes, you can get good packages from Xanterra that include the coach ride, a couple of nights at OF, breakfast, ski rental coupons, and maybe a coach side trip to one of the other geyser basins or a sno-mo trip to Hayden/Lake. You have to make a deposit but they will refund the full amount up to a certain number of days before your reservation, if it comes having to cancel.
Having said all that, I like to stay in Gardiner where I can get a kitchenette to make my own COFFEE and sandwich (peanut butter, always peanut butter, sometimes with banana of course) to take into the park. Gardiner is really sleepy in the winter, and if you want to be at Lamar just when it gets light, you have to leave Gardiner well before any of the restaurants open. My fave is the Absaroka Lodge (www.yellowstonemotel.com/)but they have only a couple of rooms with kitchenettes ("suites") so you definitely have to book early. It's a nice place, warm, clean and quiet, if not exactly the Ritz.
Something else I've learned: in all seasons, it pays to reserve your rental car as soon as you know your dates too. Then check back regularly, sometimes the price drops as the date nears. Just make a new rez, cancel the old one, no penalty. Case in point: I reserved for this June back in November, and the price has gone UP by $150. Maybe it will go way down before June, maybe not, but I'm covered either way :-)
PS Rental car companies don't do snow tires even in ski country, they tell you the cars have "all weather" tires. In fact they seem to be OK even on those icy stretches between Blacktail Plateau and Tower Junction. Just be aware of the possibility of black ice.
Hope that helps!
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