sluggo

My husband and I are planning a Sept. 2-15 visit to national parks in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho for our 40th anniversary. It'll be our second visit to Yellowstone (stayed 4 days in June 2003) and Grand Teton (stayed 2 days the same trip), and our first to Glacier and Craters of the Moon.

I need to nail down the schedule so I can book national park lodging ASAP. (In the past I've done so a year in advance so I feel a bit panicky.) Here is what I have come up with:

DAY 1 – Fly from Hartford to Spokane, rent car and drive 50 mins to C’ouer d’Alene, Idaho
DAY 2 – Drive 5 hrs to west side of Glacier National Park
DAY 3 – Explore more of the west side, spend the night on the east side
DAY 4 – Another night on the east side
DAY 5 – Drive 4½ hrs to Missoula MT
DAY 6 – Drive 4 hrs to the upper loop of Yellowstone
DAY 7 – Upper loop
DAYS 8 and 9– Lower loop
DAY 10 – Grand Tetons
DAY 11 – Drive 3½ hrs to Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho and spend the night in Shoshone
DAY 12 – Drive 30 mins from Shoshone to Twin Falls (for the falls), then 2 hrs to Boise
DAY 13 - Fly home

I seem to have an extra day to spend! Current plans have us spending no more than two days in one lodging, so perhaps tacking on an extra day for just relaxing and doing very little in a beautiful setting is needed.

Should we spend it in C'ouer D'Alene? Missoula? (Or another town/city between Glacier and Yellowstone?) Twin Falls or Boise? One of the parks (keeping in mind our earlier trips)? Somewhere else along the route?

We love great scenery, short walks (not hikes), photography, museums and things to do and see that are very different from Connecticut.

Thank you very much.

tomfuller

Since you are flying to Spokane and renting your car there, why not spend the "Extra" night in La Grande or Pendleton Oregon?
Take the car back where you rented it and fly home from Spokane.
Spokane has a beautiful park along the river which was once the site of a World's Fair.
Just east of La Grande are the Wallowa Mountains which are very scenic.
Let's hope there is not an early snowstorm that would prevent you from traveling over the Going to the Sun Road in Glacier.
If you end up spending a night in Spokane, check out the Davenport hotel.

amer_can

By all means The Davenport!!! Restoration at it's best. Historically relevant to Spokane, which is a nice town. Going to the Sun should still be open unless there are very early snow storms. The "beautiful park" site of a worlds fair was just a messy old railroad marshalling yead prior to 1974.Terrible then but beautifully handled to become a downtown focal point for a vibrant community. If you get near Boise there is an Oregon interpretive center in the area.Well worth a look see! Glacier Park Lodge is quite a place to stay, an old Railroad hotel with nice grounds.

wave725

You should be okay as far as snow in Glacier since that's at the first part of your trip. On the 4 times we've been there, we usually stay until mid-September. On the west side, be sure to do the Trail of the Cedars Loop (one flat mile of paved and boardwalk trail). You'll see some ancient hemlocks and go by avalanche gorge. Be sure to get there early in the morning as parking can be an issue:

http://www.hikinginglacier.com/trail-of-the-cedars.htm

Plan on a full day driving across the Going to the Sun Road. There are lots of places to stop for spectacular photography and some short walks. Pack a lunch or take a snack as there's no place to buy food along the way.

http://www.hikinginglacier.com/glaci...e-sun-road.htm

Be sure to stop at Logan Pass Visitor's Center. The hike up to Hidden Lake Overlook from there is spectacular and there's usually mountain goats at the overlook, but the steps on the boardwalk can be an issue for some people - especially coming down. I would recommend going out as far as you like for some great photography. If you prefer a flat trail, you could walk out on part of the Highline Trail(across the street from Logan Pass) and turnaround whenever you want. It's one of the top trails in the park for scenery.

http://www.hikinginglacier.com/haystack-pass.htm

Some other places to consider along the way are St. Mary Falls - a round trip hike of about 1.5 miles to a beautiful waterfall. Stop at the Goose Island overlook - although the best photo opportunities are in the early morning.

Once you get into St. Mary's, stop at the Park Café for dinner and be sure to try one of their homemade pies - they are spectacular!

Reservations will definitely be an issue on the east side, especially the Many Glacier area. Under the old management company (Glacier Park, Inc), you could get usually get lucky be calling everyday to see if there were cancellations in Many Glacier Lodge or Swiftcurrent Motor Inn - not sure how Xanterra is doing it since they just took over January 1st.

Fishercap Lake - which is just a short walk from the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn parking lot is a great place to spot moose early in the mornings. We've had great luck seeing moose along the Swiftcurrent Nature Trail:

http://www.hikinginglacier.com/swift...ture-trail.htm

Congratulations on your 40th anniversary. Your trip sounds fabulous. What a great way to celebrate! You will love Glacier.

sluggo

Thank you for sharing details about Glacier, wave75. I appreciate having the benefit of your multiple visits and am less concerned about snow spoiling anything.

I'm thinking of staying in Jackson when we visit Grand Teton, having stayed in the park last time) and adding the extra day there to visit the National Elk Refuge. It's mating season, which should make for an - ahem - informative visit!

As for tomfuller and amer_can, a Washington/Oregon visit is in our plans for another year.

spirobulldog

Sounds like a pretty good plan to me. I would stay in the park though and not Jackson. I know you've been there before, but I prefer staying in the parks.

Tomsd

The elk in the Park are beautiful. A few years ago - drove by a line of cars pulled off to the side of the the road - and finally got up to where they were all stopped/taking pics - of two big, beautiful bull elk - each with a 6 x 6 rack (called "Royal").

The two magnificent lads were just munching away - heads down - hardly paying any attention to the admiring band of people gathered about 30 yards away.

Myer

I would always try for inpark lodging. Especially if you hope to see wildlife. They are most active early and late so if you're outside the park you'll be doing a fair amount of night driving. You've got to be careful at night as you don't want to hit any animals.

In Glacier, other than Trail of the Cedars nothing on the west side compares to the east side.

At Logan Pass you can do as much of the Hidden Lake Overlook as you want. In the first couple of hundred yards behind the Visitors Center just look in all directions and there's enough spectacular scenery.

If you cross the main road and do the start of the Highline Trail, be aware that there's a very steep portion and the road is 200 feet down. There's a cable and the trail isn't as narrow as I would have thought. But still. . . The area around the Visitors Center may have mountain goats putting on a show.

St Mary Falls is also a nice short hike with a very nice waterfall.

I would try and get at least a day in for the Many Glacier area. That's scenery and wildlife central.

You mentioned that you don't want to do any hikes. If you can convince yourself I would do the Iceberg Lake hike. It's a bit long (about 4 1/2 miles each way) and takes a good part of the day but it's easy. Other than the very beginning that's a bit uphill, it's pretty tame. Spectacular scenery and Iceberg Lake is amazing.

Many Glacier may be a place to add that day.

Just about 15 minutes walk from the end of the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn parking lot is Fishercap Lake. I make sure to be there late in the afternoon whenever I'm in Many Glacier. We have just about always seen some combination of Moose (male, female young) and deer (male, female, young).

Also, there's a good chance of seeing grizzlies roadside in Many Glacier. I some one on the Iceberg Lake hike, along the main road. Last summer I saw a silver grizzly about 20 yards from the road.

You can see photos from these trips at:
www.travelwalks.com

sluggo

Meyer, thank you very much for the details. I'm sure we'll venture out on many trails for as far as we are comfortable. Your Glacier and Yellowstone photos are beautiful and make me eager for September to be here.

Although we've always stayed inside the national parks (Bryce, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Grand Teton), this time we'll spend two nights in Jackson. Almost all of Day 1 will be spent in the park. It's a cute little town, and a break from the seven nights of in-park lodging we'll have on this trip.

voyager61

I like Jackson for a base while visiting GTNP, because Jackson has good restaurants, some fun shopping and just a nice feel for touristing...I think you made a good decision.