smallchocolatecandy

We have 11 days and will fly into Kallispell MT, spend 4 days in Glacier, then drive to Yellowsone. We are planning to stay in Livingstone, MT. 2 nights in Yellowstone, 2 nights in Grand Teton and then fly out of Jackson Hole

How long is the drive from Glacier to Livingston? Any tips?

Livingston to Yelowstone??

Thanks

jere1mt

Browning to Livingston 300 mi 56 more from Livingston to the park. You might want to give yourself more time in Yellowstone, cut a day in Glacier or the Tetons. Consider driving into Billings and taking the Beartooth Hwy into the park thru Red Lodge and CookeCity, its a drive you will not forget. Other questions on Yellowstone contact me [email protected]

bwcallen

It's hard to choose among these places, but I agree with jere1mt--I'd lean towards cutting a day from Glacier and spending it in Yellowstone. We made a very similar trip three years ago flying in and out of Bozeman, with 14 nights in between. We spent 4 nights in Yellowstone, 3 in Grand Teton, one in Helena, 4 in Glacier (one merely arriving just before sunset), 1 in Missoula and 1 in Bozeman before flying home. Everyone agreed--more time in Yellowstone.

The Yellowstone/Glacier drive is a big one. We left Yellowstone and spent a night in Helena to do the 'Gates of the Mountains' boat ride on the Missouri starting at Holter Lake; very well worth it. From there, we headed to Great Falls and the Lewis & Clark Museum, and then 2.5 hours to East Glacier. We skipped I-15 and took US 89 across the Montana hills and plains. I'd highly recommend it. Beautiful, empty country, especially in late afternoon/early evening, with the Rockies always out the window to the left and the late sun lighting up the fields. I still remember cresting hills and seeing the road laid across the next ridges like a ribbon. We met a family from LA at a state rest stop and greeted each other like old friends--the company was a surprisingly welcome change.

Google says Helena/Great Falls/East Glacier is 225 miles and 3.5 hours. Add in 3-4 hours each for the boat trip and the museum, and it was full day but a good one.

Another option: take a day off Grand Teton. Yellowstone is a minimum 4 day destination; you can find lots of things to do in Grand Teton, but a 3/1 split is fairer to both places than 2/2.

smallchocolatecandy

Thanks for the info. Never been out west so the drive will be all new in terms of scenery. Planning to do many short hikes in each park rather than a long one--that's why the many days in Glacier. Glacier was the start of the trip. As we planned Yellowstone and Grand Teton were added. We will definetely consider the 3:1 split between Yellowstone/Grand Teton. I suspect that this is only the first trip of many...

wis_hiker

I can only guess, but as captivating and wonderful as Yellowstone and Grand Tetons are, I'm going to BET that the beauty and magic of Glacier is what lures ou back to the mountains!

AlJ

We made a similar trip to yours a couple of years ago. The trip was to Glacier but we started in Jackson just to see the country. When I realized I had to pass through Yellowstone, I added a 3 day stay there. We saw the Tetons almost by accident. We just got back from a 7 day stay in Yellowstone and a 2 day stay in the Tetons. You're in for quite a nice trip.

If it were me, I'd make the drive to Yellowstone in one day. I'd shorten the Teton Trip to one day. If you spend one night, you'll still have an afternoon to look around. The park isn't that large and presents beautiful drives.

We put trip reports and pictures on our website, if you'd like to see our view of the parks.

www.alandsuejohnson.com
Yellowstone and Glacier links on the left. If you start with Yellowstone 2006 you can follow our whole trip.

If you don't have reservations and this trip is this summer, better get moving. If you do have them, then consider your plans already good and enjoy them. Its actually pretty hard to not have a good time out there.