elliepainter

Hi,
We're going to Yellowstone in June. Flying into Salt Lake and then driving. We have reservations at Flagg Ranch and Coulter Bay cabins. We have two 7-year-old boys, who love to skip rocks, fish, swim, raft, play games, swim in pools, lakes, etc.
Which lodging location is better for kids, better located to enable day trips to either park, Yellowstone or the Tetons?
What day trips would you take with two athletic boys who'd probably stand for 2 to 3 hours of hiking as long as there's a swimming option involved?
Any good tips for hotels to stay at on the road from Salt Lake City to Yellowstone?
Thank you so much. We're excited about our first trek to Yellowstone and the Tetons.

starrs

We stayed at Flagg Ranch last summer. I would definitely say choose Coulter Bay cabins instead.

PaulRabe

Swimming in June in the Yellowstone area? Make certain your boys are aware that the water will be bone-chilling cold.

http://www.ehow.com/how_4522972_go-s...onal-park.html

And don't even THINK about swimming in a hot pool.

www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/yoursafety.htm
www.wyojones.com/swimming_in_yellowstone.htm
http://www.ehow.com/how_4498783_find...-national.html
http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com...es-rivers-rise

the_scarecrow_in_oz

Swimming in any of the lakes in either of those parks will be out of the question as the water temps will likely barely be above 45 degrees F - if that. There are lots of "pools" in Yellowstone, but they are thermal features with water temps so high as to burn skin on contact. There is one option for swimming in Yellowstone. It's probably about a 2-3 hour drive from Coulter Bay. Immediately south of Madison Junction is a short, one-way road called Firehole Canyon Drive. Take this road and drive past Firehole Falls. The hotter the day, the better. As a precaution, have the boys wear life jackets.

Both parks have an extensive Junior Ranger Program in which children participate in a certain number of activities around the park and once the requisite number of activities has been completed, they get a junior ranger patch.

http://www.nps.gov/yell/forkids/beajuniorranger.htm

There is also a young scientist program, similar to the Junior Ranger:

http://www.nps.gov/yell/forteachers/youngscientist.htm

furledleader

The water may be way too high with runoff to safely swim at Firehole Canyon at that time of year. I'd be very cautious about 7 year old boys there if the water is high and fast, even if they have life jackets.

Fishing can be had with a guide by boat on Yellowstone Lake (out of Bridge Bay Marina), or from shore on Yellowstone Lake at places like Gull Point. The easily accessible shoreline at Lewis Lake (between the south entrance and Grant Village) is another option in Yellowstone. River fishing may be tough and dangerous if the runoff is making the rivers high and fast.

the_scarecrow_in_oz

>

Good point. Thanks Furled. I forgot about spring runoff.

cd

While visiting the Tetons, we stayed at Jackson Lake Lodge for a few days and then continued on to Yellowstone. I can recommend the raft trip down the Snake river. We had a couple of young boys on the raft we were on and they enjoyed it a lot. http://www.gtlc.com/activities/outdoor-fun-floats.aspx

starrs

I tried to post the weather forecast at the Moose Visitor Center last June 12th. In any case, "snow" was in the forecast. Take fleece sweatshirts (or plan to buy them there). You may not be aware of how cold it still is in June.

taitai

You MIGHT be able to swim in the Boiling River in June. Not sure how the run-off impacts that part of the river. Otherwise, I think you will be out of luck.

shraid

Like the others have said, hold the onions on the swimming. There should be plenty for you and the boys to do. Also stayed at Jackson Lake Lodge and it was great but I think Yellowstone has more for them to do. Check the ranger programs.

Dayle

Personally I think the Flagg Ranch is too far out from Yellowstone. It's a HUGE park and driving is slow for many reasons.

Keep trying to get lodging IN the park, maybe at multiple locations. Call twice a day, every day and you will probably be successful!

Don't even bother with on line.

tomfuller

Anyone know anything about Bear Lake on the ID-UT boundary on US 89? I see that there are Parks and a National Wildlife Refuge. It might be a place to swim in water of a comfortable temperature.

ElendilPickle

We went to Grand Teton and Yellowstone in June last year. It was a lovely trip! You'll see a lot of animals, but it will most likely still be cool during the day. There was still ice along the lake shores in Yellowstone. How brave are your boys?

I'll second the recommendation to take a float trip down the Snake River. We went with Triangle X Ranch - www.trianglex.com - and though it was cold, we really enjoyed it. Our guide was friendly and knowledgeable.

If you want a hotel with a pool, you'll have to stay outside the park. This is pretty easy to do for Grand Teton, but it's more of a drive in Yellowstone.

If you'd like to read our trip report and see pictures of our trip, click on my screen name.

Lee Ann

maj

Type different topics - like Yellowstone with kids - in the search engine above. There is tons of information on here (going back many years). In fact there is so much you can get easily confused.

How many days are you planning on being there? Although the Tetons and Yellowstone are right next to each other, they cover a very large area and it takes a while to drive around while you are there. Coulter Bay would be fine to visit the Tetons, but if you want to go to Yellowstone more than just a drive through, you would want to stay up there also. When you stay inside the parks there are very basic accommodations. No tvs, pools,internet etc. To visit Yellowstone you might think about staying in West Yellowstone. There are plenty of accommodations, chain hotels, etc.