glacier,yellowstone, and the tetons- can it be done?
 

Hi, we have about 10 days for our vacation, and are interested in all three parks. Yellowstone, The Tetons, and Glacier. We love to do day hikes, horseback, rafting and all the adventure stuff. Can we do all three without doing a disservice to ourselves, and does anyone have any itinary suggestions?How long of a ride is it from Yellowstone to Glacier, and is there anything to see in between?

It's well over 400 miles and one full day of driving between Yellowstone and Glacier. If you can fly into the Glacier area and out of the Yellowstone area, that would save a day of driving back and then I'd say you had enough time to do all three parks.

If you are flying in and out of Salt Lake City, then I'd say just stick to Yellowstone and Grand Tetons because you will lose two days of getting to and from SLC.

Utahtea

As always, I agree with Utahtea :-)

We tried to do the trip you described and couldn't fit in Teton. We flew to and out of Great Falls, MT. Glacier was incredible as was Yellowstone. Either park could occupy your entire 10 days.

Since we hadn't seen the country before, the drives weren't too bad (80 mph as I remember). Since we were trying to get from point A to B, we didn't spend much time with the sites in between (but I can tell you about the cleanest laundromat in the world in Bozeman, MT). Have fun.

Mike Honeycutt

Sorry to read that you must squeeze so much into ten days. We did Tetons & Yellowstone in twelve days (six in each park) & did not get to see as much as available. We missed entirely the East quadrant of Yellowstone. If you do not mind seeing the sights from your car, you will find success. If you want to hike & explore, might you extend your time?

Your choice is essentially between seeing a lot of territory superficially and seeing a smaller area in more detail.

The drive from West Yellowstone, which is outside the park, to Glacier National Park is about 400 miles, as stated above, depending on where in a large park you want to go.

You will find a lot to do regardless of your decision.

As for what to see inbetween, there is not a whole heck of a lot unless you drive out of your way. In Bozeman, the Museum of the Rockies is a fabulous.
It has undergone considerable upgrading in the last 3 years and for me it is a premier attraction.

http://www.montana.edu/wwwmor/

We visited the museum last summer and if time permits by all means do stop.

O.K., judging from all your responses, we're trying to cover too much ground. We really want to do some hiking, and are not interested in seeing it all from the car. We don't mind a little car touring, but we really don't want a whole lot of it. My question now is, which parks should we see? Yellowstone and the Tetons, or Glacier and that area?We want to be wowed!

Yellowstone and Tetons.

I agree with Starrsville - Yellowstone & GTNP.

Though our family loved both places (we too are an outdoor/adventure kind of family), I have to vote for Yellowstone and Tetons too. To me there is no more fantastic place on earth - beautiful mountain scenery (esp. Tetons), animals everywhere, plus the incredible geothermic features. You won't lack for adventure here. But you can't go wrong whatever you decide because Glacier is great, too.

Also agree - Yellowstone and GTNP. Do a search here on "Boiling River" - site in Yellowstone where you sit in merge point of river and hotspring. Not to be missed (if search does not work, report here - but I have raved about it so many times on this board it is bound to show up)

Look for "Your Dream Vacation to T & Y"

Here's gail's post on Boiling River -
Second favorite was Boiling River - near north entrance to Park. Area where river and hot spring merge and you hike in and sit in semi-sheltered by rocks area that forms a natural jacuzzi of varying temperatures depending on where you sit. Entrance and parking is near Continental Divide sign - map and sign from parking lot guides the way, but not in most guide books

My parents worked for the park service in Yellowstone several summers...and no you can't do all three maybe Y and GT...you must realize how long mountain roads take and the bumper to bumper traffic at times...Also yellowstone is all about the hikes, and a geyser basin walk can take half a day..don't do it save Glacier for another time..Hire a guide for fishing on the lake..Go down to Jackson Hole and do a river raft one day..rent a boat on Jenny lake...take a ranger hike in the high country and see the bighorns if there are any left...go to west yellowstone or maybe carson city
you wont be bored..see bear,moose Buffalo,and elk..oh my

Hi
I'm new to this site and just read your discussion about which parks would be best to see. We have been planning to go to Glacier. Is Yellowstone that much better?

Zimmer,

How much time do you have for this trip and what did you plan to do at Glaicer?

Utahtea

We have about 10 days as well. We are looking for a less touristy place where we can hike and canoe.

I have spent several one week vacation's in Grant Teuton's staying in Teton Village. It's perfect for hiking into the mountains, seeing all types of wildlife (if you get up at 6 am) you miss any crowds and get to see the most beautiful scenary in accessible hikes (2 to 12 miles round trip). We drove to Yellowstone and back in one day. I know we didn't get to the best part but the forest fire has burned a lot of the woods and there were many more people than at teutons. I echo the idea of only doing these two. There is a great hiking book that we used Hiking Grant Teuton National Park. by Bill Schneider (falcon guide). Wish there were the same type of guides all over. BTW I'd stay in Teton Village if you can rather than Jackson Hole, unless you like to shop. Much closer to the mountains.