plambers

There is not much price difference so wondering if suv is needed for July trip. 2 adults and 2 kids.
thoughts?

Dayle

No reason for an SUV unless you plan to go off road. There are some 4x4 roads in GTNP but most fi
rst timers don't have time for them.

november_moon

And most rental car companies don't allow off-road driving with their vehicles anyway, even if those vehicles are 4WD. Whether you rent a car or an SUV is really a matter of preference rather than need.

ElendilPickle

We drove our Toyota Camry, which was fine for the three of us.

Lee Ann

tomfuller

Depends entirely on how much junk/luggage you are hauling.
I was in Yellowstone last August with my 2000 Toyota Echo.
The back seat was empty and the trunk wasn't even full.

plambers

thanks all. will save the $ with the full size.

EastCoastCanadaGuy

Did those areas, and several other national parks, in 2010,and not once did I need a SUV

Gretchen

Why would you need a SUV for 4 people.

utahtea

As an owner of several SUV's over the years I would recommend against renting one for a few reasons for Yellowstone. If it's a larger SUV it's harder to find parking in many of the small turnouts in Yellowstone. It also will not have a trunk so if you have any valuables they are easier to see in the back of a SUV. If you have food/ice chest in an SUV there's no trunk to hide it from bears while hiking.

Now as to why an SUV for four people. There is plenty of room for everyone to have space and great window viewing opportunities. Depending on the SUV you ride higher than a car and that can come in handy for site seeing. Also....I feel much safer when in a bison jam in a larger SUV than a smaller car!

EastCoastCanadaGuy, We were in these areas in 2006, 2008 and 2012 and every year we go to several other National Parks and there are ALWAYS SUV's driving around.

Utahtea

plambers

Hi-it would be a smaller suv. Used to have an Explorer and really liked it. i like being higher up and the viewing would be better. Also thought maybe we could fit more luggage in suv. we will also have a cooler with us. do like the idea of having a trunk where our luggage will be hidden. thanks again all-will stay with full size car..

Gretchen

Oh, I LOVE my Tahoe!! Higher up makes me feel much safer. But if it is a small SUV, the luggage space will possibly not be great, although you can pile it higher.
Might suggest packing in duffles--they can squish--and if you have a laundry stop (we did 6 weeks one time), we put dirty clothes in a separate duffle, and then the others got "smaller" for a while.

hikrchick

My DH and I rented a Toyota RAV-4 on our trip this past September. Boy were we happy when it started to snow ... ;-) Of course you won't experience that in July, so I'll mention the other reason we liked it was that after a hike we could pop open the back and sit in there and use it as a clean space to have our lunch.

utahtea

hikrchick, We have had a couple of inches of snow fall on us in Yellowstone in mid-July years ago! I remember the date because it was on my brother's birthday. It didn't stick around long the next day...but it's always possible!

Utahtea

StantonHyde

I loved having my mini van in Yellowstone with kids. Plenty of room for EVERYTHING!!