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What do you think of my Yellowstone itinerary - August 2017?

What do you think of my Yellowstone itinerary - August 2017?

Old Apr 11th, 2017, 05:34 AM
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What do you think of my Yellowstone itinerary - August 2017?

Traveling with 3 kids, ages 5-8

Day 1 - Arrive Jackson
Days 1, 2 - Overnights Jackson Lake Lodge
Days 3, 4 - Overnights Canyon Lodge
Day 5 - Overnight Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel
Days 6, 7 - Overnights Old Faithful Inn
Days 8-14 - GTNP

Does that sound good? Anything I should not miss? Hike and restaurant recommendations? Its our first time in Yellowstone - thanks for your advice!
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Old Apr 11th, 2017, 07:00 AM
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Flying into Jackson or SLC? What month? Did you get reservations already?
I don't like flying into small airports in small planes with small children - YMMV.
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Old Apr 11th, 2017, 07:00 AM
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Have you made your hotel reservations in the park yet? If not, you may not get what you want, although I stayed in September with no reservations for 5 nights and just went where there were cancellations. Otherwise, it looks fine to me, though I'd add a night to Mammoth.
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Old Apr 11th, 2017, 11:04 PM
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Flying into Jackson, have hotel reservations already, going this August.
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Old Apr 12th, 2017, 02:07 AM
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What are you going to do join GTNP for a week?
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Old Apr 12th, 2017, 07:12 AM
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Triangle X in GTNP
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Old Apr 12th, 2017, 07:27 AM
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Looks good to me! While in the Mammoth area, check out the Firehole River (on the way to Gardiner, Montanta) for swimming if that is your cup of tea. Gardiner is close to the park entrance, less touristy than West Yellowstone, and good for picking up groceries, doing laundry or have a nice non-park lodge meal. You might be ready for that by day five.

There are so many great hikes, and just walking the thermal areas is amazing. We got a book ahead of time and also did some online research to study up on hikes that seemed to fit our needs.
Yellowstone is one of most amazing places we have ever been.
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Old Apr 12th, 2017, 08:21 AM
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I would stay the whole time at a central location. We stayed in Lake village and did day trips on the figure 8 loop in the park.

From my trip report:

We were 15 persons participating in the extended celebration. For two evening meals we picnicked at the Bridge Bay picnic site; it was close to Lake Village where we stayed and has grills for outdoor cooking. In the morning we had good coffee provided by one of the younger families and communal breakfasts at the Lake Lodge. For the other two evenings we were there my wife and I had an anniversary meal at the Old Faithful Inn and the next night the whole group had a celebratory meal at the Yellowstone Lake Hotel. The Old Faithful Inn meal was a big disappointment; we ordered off the menu and the dishes ranged from mediocre to ordinary. It probably would have been better go buffet style. We should have had our meal at the Yellowstone Lake Hotel, even though it would have meant eating there two days in a row. The menu was more interesting and the preparation was excellent. I recall fried green beans (perhaps too underdone for most tastes) and a rare bison steak, my wife had lamb chops cooked to perfection.

During the day we were on our own. We did not do more than car touring with short walks in part because I am having problems with a heel and must wear a medical boot when walking outside. But we covered most of the Yellowstone figure 8 loop. For those short on time, I would recommend one essential circuit: The road from Old Faithful to Canyon Village. Old Faithful and the geyser area around it will provide a sense the volcanic activity, with more activity visible near Hayden Valley. The circuit provides lake views, river views, Hayden Valley where we saw many bisons, and finally the Yellowstone Falls near Canyon Village. We did not see any bears, but a couple of elks, a fox near our lodging, and lots of bisons. On our way out of Yellowstone we were held up for half an hour or more by a herd of bisons walking along the road between Madison and West Yellowstone, some individual animals wandering on the road itself, then the herd crossing the road, and then crossing back right in front of our car. https://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca...7671428492876/ The speed limit in Yellowstone is 45 mph with frequent slow downs because of animals on or near the road.
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Old Apr 12th, 2017, 08:58 AM
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"I would stay the whole time at a central location."

Since accommodations are booked, according to the OP, it's likely a moot point. While staying in 1 place has its benefits, we arrived for 5 nights ready to camp, but as mentioned above, got cancelled cabins night by night, stayed in 3 locations (Old Faithful, Lake & Mammoth) and for my first trip to Yellowstone it seemed a perfect way to explore and get a feel for each area. Either way, you can't go wrong.
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Old Apr 12th, 2017, 09:00 AM
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We were booked for two locations and the organizer managed to change the reservation for 15 to a single location. It does not hurt to try.
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Old Apr 12th, 2017, 05:34 PM
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londonmile,

Your plan looks great as it is. Don't change a thing. Yellowstone is a HUGE park and much driving is required. No reason to backtrack to a single location every day. Much more efficient use of time for a short trip to move to different areas of the park.
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Old Apr 12th, 2017, 07:42 PM
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I think this sounds pretty good, although if you could shift your night at Mammoth Springs to either Canyon Inn or Old Faithful, it would reduce the packing and unpacking to some degree. We did Yellowstone from the Old Faithful area and then the Canyon area.

A few suggestions, some of which you may already have identified:

1. Grand Tetons: The trip by shuttle boat from the south end across Jenny Lake to the west side, where you can do a short hike to see Hidden Falls and a view over the lake from Inspiration Point, is well worth doing and not too lengthy.

2. Check and see if there's a rodeo on to Jackson while you're at GTNP. We saw one there in early August. It's a real piece of Americana, and your kids would love it.

3. The float trips on the Snake River north of Jackson are fun and relatively tame. The ones south of Jackson are a whole different story and would probably terrify your 5-year-old.

4. If you have time to do any shopping/browsing in Jackson, there's a photographer named Thomas Mangelsen who has a gallery there that's worth stopping into, even if you can't afford to buy. Spectacular images of wildlife and western and international scenes.

5. Yellowstone: We did a hike to a thin but very high waterfall called Fairy Falls from off the west side of the road below Grand Prismatic Spring (which is north of Old Faithful). It's about five miles round trip, which may be a bit much for your younger kids, but you can scramble up a hillside just off the trail a mile or so in and get a stunning view of Grand Prismatic Spring.

6. There's another popular swimming area along the Firehole River north of Grand Prismatic Spring but well south of Mammoth (the other one is north of Mammoth, and heated by a hot spring, but pretty shallow). You have to hike a short distance down a somewhat steep trail to reach it. This is not just a wading area, however; while there is an area near the shore where smaller kids can play, further out the water is cold, deep, and fast-moving.

7. There's a great view of the Yellowstone River and the Hayden Valley from a high point at the eastern end of the Crater Hills: very popular for trying to see wolves at the edge of the treeline across the valley (best with binoculars).

8. The Old West Cowboy Cook-out (reached from the Roosevelt Corral on the road east of Mammoth) is a classic Yellowstone tradition that would probably be perfect for kids the age of your children. You ride to the cook site in covered wagons and then have steaks, the usual fixin's, and cowboy coffee (if you want it).

Here are links to a couple of albums I put up on Flickr with GTNP and Yellowstone pictures:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/276859...57607392566551

https://www.flickr.com/photos/276859...57607389467948

Have a great time!
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Old Apr 13th, 2017, 01:48 AM
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Thanks everyone (esp jeffergray for all those great ideas)!
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Old Apr 18th, 2017, 10:10 AM
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If you want to do the cookout, make reservations well in advance.I think your kids would love it.
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Old Apr 19th, 2017, 05:36 AM
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Great photos jeffergray!

I've been trying to locate the (north of Grand Prismatic Spring) swimming area on Google imagery. Is it Firehole River Swimming Hole?
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Old Apr 19th, 2017, 01:53 PM
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Yes, think that is the one, Googs. http://www.yellowstonepark.com/fireh...n-scenic-drive.

I think Boiling River is the thermal soaking area closer to Mammoth on the way to Gardiner.
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Old Apr 19th, 2017, 04:52 PM
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Triangle X??
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Old Apr 20th, 2017, 07:41 AM
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Fantastic National Park. I like your itinerary. We did one a bit different with less time and loved it too. More time is better IMO. I wrote a trip report about it check under my profile it was about 5 years ago our kids were 9 & 8 at the time. We spent our first night in Red Lodge Montana so we could drive the Bear Tooth Highway....that was a great experience as well. Safe travels!
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Old Apr 22nd, 2017, 01:45 PM
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Yes, Googs -- Jayne1973 nailed it! That's the one. The waterfall is dramatic, too. Glad you enjoyed the photos.
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Old Apr 24th, 2017, 05:23 AM
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Oh a waterfall too, jeffergray. Superb!

Great concise trip report familythattravels! I also was caught up in your many other wonderful trip reports. I now think I need to take the family to Italy. Hahaha.

I don't want to steal this thread, but desire an opinion on Bear Tooth Hwy. We're (kids 9 & 12) driving from Medora, ND to Mammoth HS Hotel in June. It will add 1-3 hours with stop if we take the Bear Tooth Hwy route and am wondering if worth it as we drove through Rocky Mountain NP last year. Thoughts?
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