As I previously posted my family and I are planning a two week adventure next summer to Glacier, Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. As we are not "hikers" we will be doing most of our sightseeing by car and short hikes. We definitely want to see Yellowstone and Grand Teton, but are also interested in Glacier and Mt. Rushmore area. With two full weeks, is it feasible to get it all in? We would be renting a van and driving from place to place so never having been to any of these sites, I was wondering what the driving time would be between each and if anyone could suggest the best route (beginning and end) that would cut down the time in the car? I originally figured on three days Glacier, four days Yellowstone and three days Grand Teton, with some days in between for travel. But is it possible to use the extra days going over to see Mt. Rushmore and the surrounding areas? Any suggestions would be so appreciated. Thanks all!!
GNP, YNP, GTNP plus Mt. Rushmore?
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A few years ago we flew into Kalispell, spent 4 nights in Glacier, drove down to Gardiner (which took most of the day -- we did stop a few places to take pictures). Stopped at Mammoth, Tower and Norris Basin the next day on the way to West Yellowstone, where we spent 3 nights. We never did make it to the Beartooth Highway, but saw the rest of the Yellowstone sights. We spent one night in Jackson and then went out the east entrance (where there were constructions delays) through Cody to Mt. Rushmore area. We spent the night on the way right before Devil's Tower and then two nights in Rapid City -- flew out of there. Total of 12 nights. If you aren't hiking any long hikes, you could probably cut a day out of Glacier and also Grand Tetons. I wouldn't cut any days off of Yellowstone. We had been to Yellowstone and Tetons the year before and knew what we wanted to see and about how long it would take. You can spend much more time in each place -- in fact we want to go back to Yellowstone to see the northeast entrance and also spend more time in the Tetons. I don't know what the best route is -- that one worked for us for what we wanted to accomplish. Be sure you check out what roads in Yellowstone will be closed next year -- that can make a big difference in your plans.
Yes, it's doable, and you will love it--but 3 days in Grand Teton is too many, and four days in Yellowstone, if you are not hikers, but rather car stoppers and lookers and scenic path walkers, is too many. If you have extra days, Mt. Rushmore, Badlands National Park, and fab caves in South Dakota should certainly be on your list!
Thanks maj and sylvia for the input. I'm really having a tough time trying to put this itinerary together. Sylvia, it sounds like you think I'm planning too many nights in each location. I wouldn't want to waste too much time at any location at the expense of missing out on another. I do know that while in Glacier we want to take the "Going to the Sun" road and also to do a whitewater raft ride. We want to see all the highlights of Yellowstone and do a float trip in Grand Teton. My family is divided about wanting to see Glacier, but at the same time, Mt. Rushmore and the Badlands. How do I find a happy medium where we can savor the time in each place and at the same time not spend all our time in the car? We're looking into condo rentals in most of these areas and wonder how much time do we have before everything is booked? Now that our boys are "grown" we really need the space to spread out and a motel room just doesn't cut it anymore. Any suggestions also on vacation rentals in West Glacier, West Yellowstone or Jackson? Any help would be most appreciated!!!
I agree with Maj, I wouldn't cut any days from Yellowstone. We're not big hikers either, but to really see all the different areas of the park and all the different geyser areas, it really takes 4 days.
I think two days at Grand Tetons will be plenty for what you want to do.
Is it possible to fly into one location and fly out of another one to cut down on driving. Say fly into the Glaicer area, drive down to Yellowstone and Grand Tetons, then drive to Mt. Rushmore and fly out of Rapid City?
Utahtea
Where will you be renting the van at? Can you rent it in one town and leave it in another? If so, this will kep you from backtracking.
The Black Hills and Mt Rushmore are a good 8 hour drive from the Tetons with nothing in between. There are two commercial caves and Rushmore in the Hills. about 2 days there.
Below is what I would recommend. The following is a straight line. The days I show are the actual time seeing things, not goofing off and sidetrip stuff.
Jackson white water raft trip. 1-1.5 days.
Grand Tetons see it on the way to Yellowston.
Yellowstone 2 days.
Glacier Park 2 days.
Then head up into Canada. Banff area
You can drive through the Badlands without really stopping (just look out the window), and Mt. Rushmore is really just a stop, get out and look, and leave kind of destination. That means a whole lot of driving for a relatively brief amount of time seeing what you're there to see. There are other things to do along the way, as others have suggested, but if the focus is on seeing Mt. Rushmore and the Badlands, you'd probably be able to get there and back to the other parks in 2.5-3 days. If you started at Glacier, went to the S. Dakota parks, and then went to Grand Teton, followed by Yellowstone, you would do a rather large loop and could finish up at Glacier. The round-trip airfare/car rental would be probably be alot cheaper than one-way airfare and car rental.
Your original itinerary had 10 days accounted for. If you drop a day from GT, you'd have 5 days to drive from park to park to park, so it should be doable.
I wouldn't recommend doing it the way I've described it because of all the driving, but there are always trade-offs. If the family really wants to see Mt. Rushmore/Badlands, it's doable, but at the expense of more windshield time. That might not be a bad option considering that you plan on doing most of your sightseeing by car anyway.