just4me

I am planning an August 2009 trip (up to 2 weeks) to Yellowstone, Grand Tetons and Mount Rushmore with my 12 year old son. He likes to fish, I like to hike, and we both like easy biking, love seeing nature and learning about the area. I currently have reservations for 3 nights at the Jackson Lake Lodge and 2 nights at the Canyon Lodge at Yellowstone. Should we book a night at Old Faithfull Lodge?

I think we’ll stay in Cody on our way to Mount Rushmore. Is Cody a good place to stop on the way to Rushmore? Where to stay? How much time should we spend at Rushmore? Where should we stay while at Rushmore?

The type of tours we have taken in the past gave us a good overview of the area, then we went back and explored on our own.

Any tours, guided fishing trips, excursions, float trips -fun things to do to suggest?

I have yet to decide where we will fly into from California. At this point, I’m thinking of San Francisco to Jackson Hole.

Any suggestions for a mom with her 12 year old son would be appreciated. I’m taking advantage while my son still doesn’t mind travelling with his mom.

althom1122

I'd skip Mt. Rushmore. I forget how far it is, but as I remember, it's a very long drive. It's a beautiful sight, but as for how long to spend there - I'd say an hour. If it were on your way (say if you were driving out West from the East Coast), it would make sense to stop there. But I wouldn't drive all the way from Yellowstone just to see Mt. Rushmore.

just4me

I heard it's about a 10 hour drive and that probably is too long for just one attraction. Anything else in the area worth seeing?

travelinandgolfin

We may be planning something similar (except for Mt. Rushmore), so I'll be interested in the responses you get.

spirobulldog

We were in Yellowstone for 3 nights and Tetons for 1 night this past June. We enjoyed Yellowstone the most. We could have easily stayed there 2 or 3 more days and certainly could have used another day or 2 in the Tetons.

I would prefer Roosevelt Lodge over Canyon if it was available. I would definately go for 2 nights at Old Faithful Inn. You will want to spend a full day just geyser gazing. Do not miss Castle Geyser. It only goes twice per day, but, oh my, is it worth waiting for. Much different experience than Old Faithful. Daisy Geyser and Riverside Geyser are two easy ones to catch. We really liked riverside as well. Roosevelt/Canyon area is a great area. Our least favorite area in Yellowstone was the Mammoth area.

We usually do quite a bit of hiking and had planned on doing some in Yellowstone. However, there is so much to see right on the road that we did very very little. We just got caught up in watching bears. We stopped counting after 15 or so. We didn't see any bears in Tetons, but did see a Moose up very close and had her all to ourselves for several minutes. We enjoyed the 50's style diner in Jackson Lodge.

Take an old yellow bus tour, and be sure and check out Lake Hotel and Old Faithful Inn, even if you don't stay there. You'll have a great time, anything or anyway you do it there.

A pretty cool thing in Jackson is the Alpine
Link for my pictures-Click "view all" then find Yellowstone

Slide.http://www.photoworks.com/members/in...g_Spirobulldog

kansasmom

This past July we spent four days in the Mt. Rushmore area. There is certainly plenty to do there in addition to Mt. Rushmore -- Crazy Horse, Wind Cave, Custer State Park, wax museum, etc. But...it is a long drive from Yellowstone/GT. However, it is a beautiful area in its own right, and my son and daughter (both 11 at the time) really enjoyed it. We stayed in Keystone at the Rushmore Express. I posted a trip report when we returned; hopefully it will come up if you search under my name.

Gretchen

A float trip on the Snake is nice, particularly at sundwon when the animals come out to feed. I am sure there are outfitters in Jackson that can arrange fishing, which is, of course, wonderful.
I like Yellowstone, of course, but prefer the Tetons.
I think I would pretty much stay in that area.
There are chuckwagon dinner tours in the Tetons.

cd

Old Faithful Inn was my absolute favorite place to stay! There's even a second floor deck where you can take a drink and watch Ole Faithful while you rest in the evening. Also, just walking out your door to all the geysers with no driving is wonderful. I think your son would also enjoy taking the chuckwagon dinner tour on horseback from Roosevelt Lodge. It is a trail ride to a designated spot where you will have steak and entertainment. You can also take a wagon if you don't want to ride.

We stayed at Jackson Lake Lodge in the Tetons and enjoyed the Snake River raft trip they offer.

We did drive to Mt Rushmore where we stayed about an hour and then headed to Custer State Park for a couple of days. We did love the place, but IMHO cannot compare to Yellowstone and the Tetons.

Barblab

Since you have two weeks I would keep Rushmore in your plan. It may be a long drive but you could break it up by visiting, as you say, Cody, as well as Devils Tower NM. You can easily spend a couple hours at Rushmore enjoying the film, museum and trails around the monument.(It is an amazing sight unlike anything else I can think of. Well, maybe Crazy Horse, but that is a work in progress and is worth a visit while you are in the area too.) To what others have suggested I would add a drive through Badlands NP, which is really interesting.

AlJ

Since you have up to two weeks, why only 2 nights in Yellowstone. Personally, I'd skip the Mt Rushmore thing and stay around Yellowstone. Your son might enjoy a rodeo in Cody without all the extra driving.

I'd also find a way to spend a couple more days in Yellowstone if you can. Old Faithful would be fine since you're at Canyon anyway.

Here's a link to our Yellowstone information. Trip reports, pictures with comments and planning information including some maps. It might help you gain some information about the park and your son might enjoy the wildlife pictures. We were last there in June.

http://www.alandsuejohnson.com/yellowstone_home.htm

We spent two nights at Jackson Lake Lodge. We had mountain view rooms. I like JLL but Signal Mountain looks nice too. We only had one full day in the Tetons but put a trip report together for it. It will let you see what one group did. We enjoy some hiking but aren't avid hikers.

http://www.alandsuejohnson.com/grand_tetons_top.htm

Can't help much on the tours. We generally do our own thing in Yellowstone.

LHS

Another thing to consider with Mt. Rushmore in August is the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally August 3rd thru 9th. Lodging is expensive during that time. Mt. Rushmore and the northern Black Hills are filled with half a million motorcycles. The Rally is not an event geared for minors.

If you plan to fly back to SF from Rapid City, flights during that time are also more expensive.

The drive from Mt. Rushmore to Jackson Hole is about 9-10 hours, 6 to Cody. So, if your return flight is through Jackson, a side trip to the Black Hills will make 2 of your days travel days.

If you include the Mt. Rushmore evening lighting ceremony, take the short hike to the base of the mountain and the sculptor's studio you can fill 3-4 hours. The towns of Keystone or Hill City are most convenient to Mt. Rushmore.

Photodog

Instead of Mt. Rushmore you might want to consider taking the Beartooth Hwy to Billings and then onto Little Bighorn Battlefield or the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman.

Or a much further drive to Glacier Nat'l Park. Along the way you could stop at the Na'tl Bison Refuge near Moiese and nearby St Ignatius Mission in town of same name with its hand painted frescos.

Due to road construction they have started a free shuttle service in
Glacier along the Going to the Sun Road. This way you can park your car at Logan Pass, take the Highline Trail to Granite Park chalet and either spend the night or continue walking down The Loop Trail and take the shuttle back to your car. Behind the visitor center at Logan Pass take the boardwalk (higher up changes to rock) up to Hidden Lake. Almost guaranteed to see mountain goats.

At Yellowstone the osprey young may still be on their nests when you arrive. Check out the top of the hoodoos along the scenic drive in Canyon area. There is another large nest at a pullout just before you get into the Tower Jct area. In Gardiner try Helens and get a buffalo burger. Walking through the upper geyser basin under moonlight is nice. If you want a rustic night get one of the cabins at Old Faithful.

In the Tetons try the Oxbow from late afternoon on. Animals are always coming through the area is also excellent moose country. Another place to look for moose is around the Jackson Lake Lodge.

Any any case get an America the Beautiful pass at your first stop. Costs $80 but is good for all entrance fees at federal parks, monuments, BLM etc sites for a calendar year for everyone in the car.

If you fly into Jackson Hole you are going to be paying a premium for car rentals. Bozeman is only 80 miles from an Yellowstone entrance and offers many more rental options.

dwooddon

I agree with the advice to skip Mt. Rushmore on this trip. It's beautiful and worth a visit but it is a very long drive from the other areas you are visiting. I've done that exact trip but I would not have wanted to do it with a 12-year old.

I also second the suggestions in previous posts about the Beartooth Mountain Route and a visit to the Little Bighorn Battlefield. The Beartooth is actually two highways on the northern route from Yellowstone to Cody. Closer to Cody, it also includes the Chief Joseph Trail, one of the most spectacularly scenic roads in America. Be sure and stop at Dead Horse Point to admire the westward view.

I have a few pictures from the trip I mentioned at http://www.worldisround.com/articles/336163/index.html if you'd like to look at them.

Enjoy the trip. It should be exciting to see it through the eyes of a 12-year old.