Road Trip to Montana, Wyoming, Idaho & Oregon
 

Hi, My wife and I are from the UK and we're hoping to spend 3 weeks on a road trip in the USA, in late-summer 2014. We'll probably start by flying into Chicago (or New York) from Manchester, then fly straight on to southern Montana (Bozeman or Billings?), pick up a rental car and look around that area for 3 or 4 days, then drive through Yellowstone (Wyoming), across Idaho towards Portland, then drive across to the Oregon coast where we'd like to stay for the final (3rd) week. Any suggestions on worthwhile towns and areas to see along the way would be appreciated.

I would suggest Billings. Then drive The Beartooth Hwy to Yellowstone. You are already late for Yellowstone Lodging. Get it ASAP!! I would suggest spending at least 1 day in Tetons National Park too.

Mount Hood and Mount St. Helens(near Portland are both worth a stop. Don't miss The Columbia River Gorge area near Portland. Tons of great waterfalls/hike in this area.

If you like books, then Powells Bookstore is a must stop in Portland. Stumptown Roasters in Portland is the BEST coffee ever-yes ever.

If you have a week(or even 5 days), you could drive the entire coast and even see The Redwoods in northern California.

A bit out of your way, but Crater Lake National Park in Oregon is an incredible spot.

Idaho is one of the few states I've never been to, so can't help you at all there.

Topping

Billings is a good starting spot and spirobulldog's suggest of the Beattooth Highway is an excellent idea. The Lamar Valley in Yellowstone is on the route if you enter via Beatrtooth and well worth a visit. After the Tetons =, if you have tinme, I;d swing north and also go to Glacier Nat. Park, The Going-to-the-Sun Road is another spectacular drive.
If you go soth on US 93 after Glacier you can visit the National Bison Preserve after seeing Flathead Lake and before connect with I-90 for the fast way into Washingotn. Follow I-90 to US 395 and thence to I-82/84 that will let you follow the Columbia River all the way to the Gorge and into Portland.

Going from Yellowstone (exiting through West Yellowstone, consider driving through the Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. Past the refuge there is a great touristy breakfast/lunch stop in the middle of nowhere called Yesterday's Calf-A.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...17942088/show/

the first nine pictures in the series.

You might enjoy the classic Timberline Lodge - high on the slopes of Mt. Hood. http://www.timberlinelodge.com/

And Sun Valley Idaho is a pristine - ski resort town - first ski lift/chair in the US - and home to many world travelers - and the drive along the Middle Fork of the Salmon River is beautiful.

http://www.visitsunvalley.com/ and https://www.google.com/search?q=sun+...w=1167&bih=449

Thanks for your replies. I'll take a look at them all in detail and work out an itinerary.

Yellowstone and Glacier would be an incredible trip, and adding the other states would be a great way to top off the trip. You may want to check road conditions depending on how late in the summer you are going. Some highways like Beartooth and Going to the Sun Road could close if snow falls early.

Thanks, but Glacier seems to be in the opposite direction to where I'll be heading (south to Yellowstone and then north west towards Portland), so I doubt us getting there this time.

Maybe look up glaciallakemissoula.org to see if any of the story there piques your curiosity.

And so far, we have you driving from Yellowstone to the Oregon Coast, so although Glacier is 360 miles from West Yellowstone, it isn't extremely out of the way, particularly as you are visiting from so far away... as you would still go <I>"across Idaho towards Portland"</i>.

At any rate, <b>IF</b> by chance you took some interest in the whole evolution that was Glacial Lake Missoula, you could further justify getting back up to northern Montana depending upon your chosen path toward the west.

We like Bozeman, but I don't know much about Billings, so can't compare. I would echo the encouragement to book your Yellowstone lodging (preferably in-park through the National Park Service website: http://www.nps.gov/yell/index.htm.). For Grand Teton National Park, you can stay in Jackson, Wyoming, which is a "sophisticated Old West town" and just drive into the park from there.

We have done the drive from Seattle to Yellowstone/Jackson area more than once, and it has some stretches of dull freeway, which will be similar for getting to Portland. Others can weigh in on where to stop along the way from Western Wyoming to Portland because we haven't done that direct route. I do recommend staying in the downtown core of Portland, which has a personality all its own and is easy to navigate with a lot of good restaurants. Hopefully you are planning on some time in Cannon Beach while on the Oregon Coast, which is quite scenic.

It sounds like a wonderful trip. Keep in mind that you need a minimum of 3 or 4 nights in Yellowstone to cover it because the driving inside the park is slow and there is a lot to see. Try to stay in one of the Old Faithful accommodations for at least a night or two. It's great to walk through the geyser basin in the early evening and morning. Food inside the national parks is not great, so be forewarned. On the other hand, Jackson has some good restaurants, and Portland is a foodie destination.

There is plenty of good food to be found in National Parks. All of it isn't great, I will admit. I think Roosevelt Lodge has good food. I like Lake Hotel and the main dining room at Mammoth. Snow Lodge is good. The Hamilton Store, just outside Old Faithful Inn is good for breakfast or a burger. it's more like a cafe. You should for sure see Old Faithful Inn, but I think the food there is just so so.

I would stay "in park" at the Grand Tetons instead of Jackson. Food at Jackson Lake Lodge main dining room and the 50's style counter downstairs are both really good. Jenny Lake is another option-it is probably the most expensive lodge inside a national park.

The national park lodging isn't for everyone, but we really enjoy staying at them.

Here is the website you want for your lodging in Yellowstone.
http://www.visityellowstonepark.com/

Here is the website for most of Grand Tetons.
http://www.gtlc.com/
You could also stay at Dornans or Signal Mountain. These are operated by a different company than GTLC.

Both parks have simple cabins, if that's more your style or budget. We like the cabins at Roosevelt and Colter. They even have tent cabins at Colter, if you want to go super budget.

More good ideas, thanks. Maybe when I sit down and work out the mileage I won't be too phased by the long journey to Glacier. Our two-week Texas and Deep South road trip last year stretched for 2,000 miles which wasn't a problem, and it sounds like this trip will be at least as much. My wife won't thank me for staying in a lodge unless it has good amenities (although I'm sure they do have these days) because she's partially disabled and comfort is important. I'll be aiming for 2 nights in Portland, and Cannon Beach is also on the agenda.

That reminds me, I stayed at the most cozy lodge-like location in <i>West Glacier, MT</i>.

It was across the street from the <b>west entrance to G.N.P.</B>... and then a block or two south, and on the west side of the road that runs north-ish to south-ish past the front entrance to the park.

We just visited the Oregon coast for the first time this past September and it was spectacular! As mentioned in one of the posts above, the Columbia River Gorge area is a must, especially a stop at Multnomah Falls, one of the most photographed waterfalls in the world.

Along the Oregon Coast there are too many state parks and scenic areas to mention, but Cannon Beach is a must. You will love it!

For more detailed information and pictures on our trip along the Oregon Coast, Multnomah Falls and the Columbia River Gorge, please check out our blog:

http://discoverthewest.blogspot.com/...ver-gorge.html
http://discoverthewest.blogspot.com/...mah-falls.html
http://discoverthewest.blogspot.com/...ast-north.html
http://discoverthewest.blogspot.com/...ast-south.html

Idaho - Craters of the Moon National Monument, Shoshone ice cave, Boise (old state prison)

Great Photo's...Thank you Wave725

Starting to make our plans...and getting excited!

Have you found the car rental company that won't charge you a one way drop off fee?
You can get from western Montana to Portland (or Seattle) without a rental car by using the Amtrak Empire Builder.
Good luck with your planning.