mtnquest

I am trying to plan a trip to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons for my family (w/ 3 kids) for next summer. We would like suggestions for a 3-4 hour horseback riding trip in the Tetons or Yellowstone. We are novice riders. I would also be interested in any ranch or chuckwagon experiences anyone has had. Thanks!

marigross

We did horseback/chuckwagon in the Tetons and loved it. Scheduled through the nps.gov website. Husband is an experienced rider so he went in the horse. Since we were going to do some more riding during the vacation my daughter and me chose to ride on the wagon (and delay the stiffness for a few days more...

The path was through the forest so it is totally suitable for inexperienced riders. There was a Fajita dinner which was decent but not special.

gc

There's a cowboy ride from Jackson Lake Lodge that's great. You're lead through the river plain by "cowboys" to a chuck wagon where you get a good meal, sing cowboy songs around the campfire and feed the fattest prairie dogs you'll ever see.

Corny, maybe, but great fun, especially for kids.

Also, don't miss the shootout in Jackson.

mtnquest

Thank you, marigross and gc for your replies. I will look into both. gs, do we have to stay at Jackson Lake Lodge to go on that trail ride?
Also, can anyone recommend other 'must see' or 'must do' activities on this trip? Are there any recommendations on places to stay while touring? Thanks.

cd

We did the Roosevelt Lodge Wagon Train Cookout and it was a blast. You can either choose the Wagon Train or go horseback to the cookout. After arriving at your Yellowstone hotel, go to the activities desk and sign up. They will give you all the info you need.

mtnquest

Thanks, everyone, for the riding and meal suggestions. Do you have any other suggestions that would be fun things to do when we aren't in the car? I'd like to break up the car time with fun activities. Thanks again!

NorCal_Jo

How long is your trip? There are many posts regarding yellowstone and Tetons on this site so take a look. The first thing I suggest if you have not been to Yellowstone or Tetons before is to try to roughly map out your trip by days. It takes longer to get places then you would think due to winding roads, wildlife sightings, stops to look at vistas, and traffic in Yellowstone(hopefully not too bad). Must see's in the Tetons are to take the kids on a hike - the most popular hike starts on the far side of Jenny Lake to a waterfall and Inspiration point. Depending on the age of your kids, I recommend that you perservere through the first mile of the hike to the falls/inspiration point which is the steepest and most crowded (but beautiful) and continue on a few more miles or so in the canyon - the hike pretty much flattens out after the first mile and would be a lot of fun for the kids if you take a picnic lunch. Another fun activity is to take the tram from the Teton Village up to the top of the mountain - buy tickets right at the tram and take a one-way or roundtrip to the top - great views without the hike and you can hike around on the top of the mountain and watch backpackers head off on long hikes. There are also fun and easy hikes around and between Jenny Lake and Jackson Lake. I think you can rent bikes as well. In Yellowstone, as a kid, I absolutely loved all the paintpots and geysers. In Yellowstone, you typically drive the "loop" to the major sites and there are plenty of places to stop and let the kids run off energy. For example, definitely walk down to one of the waterfall vistas for the upper/lower falls in Yellowstone canyon- incredible. There are many "walks" through geyser/thermal areas with mudpots etc. Very cool. There are also junior ranger programs for the kids in both parks I believe.

mtnquest

NorCal_Jo, thanks so much for the advice. I'm still planning and trying to figure our timeline, but we will probably have 7-8 days to work with. I have been perusing the other Yellowstone/Teton posts and have found them very helpful. I was in the Jackson area for a few days recently, and was able to venture into the Teton Park and some of Yellowstone while there, but this will be the first trip for our family. The little I saw left me wanting to get the rest of the family up there for a real trip. Your recommendations were most helpful....thanks so much!