tandjg

My wife and I are planning at 14 day road trip from Birmingham Al to Yellowstone in early July. We are in our mid to early 40's and my son is 13. We don't mind small hikes 2-3 miles. We are in good shape. We do want to possibly raft in Yellowstone. We would like to Visit Grand Tetons as well. We have never been and have no clue what to see along the way. We love the outdoors for sure. We like to be active. We also want to hit route 66 somewhere. Any suggestions on the route to take to see and do the most in these 14days would be great. We may camp a few nights, tent camping, and motel some nights. We are looking for a nice experience with our 13 year, something to pull him away from being plugged in. LOL: Thanks for any suggestions and tips in advance.

Gretchen

You need to allocate your days in Yellowston and the tetons and get reservations right away.
Fly fishing is great in the tetons.
I would decide how many days in the tetons and Yellowstone--maybe 7 all together..
Then 2 days to drive home OR go east and see the Badlands and then home. So that might be another 3 days.
So now you are at maybe 4 to get TO Tetons. It is a full 2 day hard drive, etc. etc. so you may not have too much time for things "along the way
It will be a GREAT trip!!

HotWheels

The SD Badlands, Black Hills (home of Mt Rushmore) and Devils Tower, WY would all be "along the way", if traveling east to west across SD into WY up to Tetons/Yellowstone. (Plan for unexpected road constructions in your drive time.) If you could spare 1 day, you could see both the Badlands & Mt. Rushmore, with an overnight stay in the area (try Rapid City, Keystone or Hill City, SD). Perhaps this could be your "stop for the night" area on your way home.

sludick

The crowds may set records this year, given the Centennial celebration (they did last year as well). Here is some information on camping reservations to help you out; suggest you secure spots ASAP: http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/campgrounds.htm

We wish we had brought our son to Yellowstone when he was that age.

starrs

You need to decide if you want to "make time" and just get out there (and back) as soon as possible and use more time in the parks. Be sure to spend almost as much time in the Tetons. I spend more. One thing we did with kids was to stay at camping cabins at KOAs on road trips so we could drive long days, just toss sleeping things (we used sheets and quilts instead of sleeping bags in summer), enjoy a pseudo camping night - without the hassle of setting up camp. The kids loved it - and the pool, of course.

The float trip at the Tetons is gorgeous. It's not white water rafting but fun. You can add a whitewater section if you want. The cookout at Roosevelt is great. If you are in the Tetons on a Monday the free Hootenanny at Dornan's is great. Maybe go to a rodeo in Cody.

Firm up your dates and keep calling or checking online until rooms IN the park free up. Canyon is pretty much centrally located in Yellowstone or try to get something north (Mammoth or Roosevelt) and something south (Old Faithful). Colter Bay cabins in GTNP are cool - original ranger cabins moved into a village. Jackson Lake Lodge is great as are the cabins at Dornan's and/or a hotel room in the town of Jackson.

starrs

Here's a sample route -
Day 1 - Birmingham to Kansas City, MO - 10 hours, 42 min driving
Day 2 - KC to Cheyenne WY -9 hours 20 min driving
Day 3 - Cheyenne to Jackson WY - 6 hour 42 min driving

Day 4 - tour GTNP - spend the night in GTNP or Jackson
Day 5 - tour GTNP - ditto
Day 6 - head to Yellowstone - southern loop at YNP - Old Faithful
Day 7 - more YNP - ** Old Faithful or Canyon
Day 8 - YNP - upper loop - Roosevelt Cookout - Roosevelt or Mammoth
Day 9 - YNP - upper loop - Mammoth or Canyon
Actually - you get whatever locations you can snag and adjust accordingly
Day 10 - Cody - rodeo and sightseeing

Day 11 - start heading south - maybe to Durango CO - long drive day
Day 12 - Mesa Verde NP - drive to Santa Fe - 3.5 hours -
Day 13 - see Route 66 - drive to Oklahoma City - about 8 hours
Day 14 - drive to B'ham - about 10 hours

Route 66 -
http://www.route66guide.com/new-mexico-route66.html
Day 11 could be through the desert SW and Monument Valley/ Four Corners - famous for westerns
http://www.americansouthwest.net/utah/monument_valley

That's not a normal routing but you mentioned Route 66

tandjg

Thanks everyone for the information. If I were to cut out trying to see route 66, I guess go back the same way we came?

starrs

Or a different route. There are a half dozen ways to go. The main thing is to realize the amount of time just to drive to get there. You need to decide if you just want to drive and "make time" or if you want to stop and see things along the way. I don't really like to drive more than 500 miles or 8 hours a day, but will for long drives like that. Some families do it driving straight through by switching drivers.

YOU have to decide which you prefer. You have about 27 hours out and back. How long do you want those drive days to be?

Gretchen

Starrs and I have said similar things. She has been more exact. Decide how long you want to spend IN the Tetons/Yellowstone and then decide how fast you want to get to them and home from them.
Maybe don't chase a long ago icon of Route 66.

starrs

I just stumbled over this (working on a completely different project) but here's a way to connect to Route 66 on your first night in MO -

Wagon Wheel motel in Cuba MO
http://www.wagonwheel66cuba.com/

The reviews are excellent.

Now I want to go!

starrs

topping

jgassner

Did you end up doing this trip? I am in Birmingham and strongly considering taking my girls on a rod trip to Yellowstone. Not looking to. real the bank on lodging though. Not really sure where to begin. If you took the trek would you mind sharing what your itinerary was?