somerville45

Hello

I am traveling to Grand Teton and Yellowstone for our first exposure to our countries National Park system this july. My boys are 9 years old and we are not very outdoorsy. I feel O.K. with what we are doing at Grand Tetons and I am looking for recommendations for Yellowstone.

We are staying the first 2 nights at Canyon Lodge in the Park

Day 3,4,5 stay at Old Faithful Inn.



We are doing a chuck wagon dinner in Jackson Hole and our rainy day plans are to visit Cody

I know there is the figure 8 driving loop but interested in your thoughts on specific things to do/ hikes to take that are easy and safe.
Also, do we need to hire a guide or do you think self guiding is fine.
I welcome suggestions and thank you in advance.

Kindly-

Courtney

emalloy

I did self tour in Yellowstone and if you are willing to go to the park service page you can find lots of information on the hikes, features etc. that you might want to visit. The animals were awesome when we were there.

If you would be more comfortable, look into ranger led hikes.

StantonHyde

Go to the nps.gov page and visit the Yellowstone section. Find the park newsletter. It will have all the info on short hikes and walks and ranger led talks as well. Do your kids like Junior Ranger activities? You can download the workbook ahead of time. These are fun to do. Check in at the visitors centers if you have any questions. If you click on my user name you will see my trip report for Yellowstone with kids. It was a while ago, but its still pretty much the same park There is a ton to do just by walking the geyser basins etc--areas that have plenty of people and thus you are not really at risk for bears. We went to Cody as our rainy day option and loved it.

There is absolutely no reason to have a guide in Yellowstone. It is really easy to visit!