We're planning a visit to Yellowstone and Grand Teton in mid-June next year, and looking for some really memorable things to do that showcase the parks at their best. Thinking private tours, guided adventures, interesting food experiences, off-path excursions. I know these types of activities are pricey, and we are willing to spend the money. What would your top suggestions be?

If it helps, we are interested in hiking, wildlife, canoeing/kayaking, rafting, stargazing, biking. Also open to soft adventure like hot air ballooning.

Thank you for any ideas.

Take a fly fishing lesson on the Snake River.

Barker Ewing float trips are awesome. Check out groups associated with Yellowstone and Grand Tetons--something like Greater Yellowstone Institute or things like Friends of... They have some great excursions and classes--especially for seeing the wolves. We really enjoyed our "rodeo" lesson outside Jackson and a visit to a Bird of Prey place outside Jackson as well.

Also learn about the Gros Ventre Slide--the largest land movement ever recorded.

The future of Yellowstone Forever is in doubt https://billingsgazette.com/lifestyl...24ff62af6.html

There is a Grand Teton Association https://www.grandtetonassociation.org/18/home.htm

Jackson and Grand Teton have miles of bike trails. Normally I wouldn't recommend biking in grizzly country (that's how a ranger in Glacier died) but the trails are in areas with good line of sight. Carry bear spray on your hikes and basically everywhere as we just encountered a grizzly right in Mammoth Hot Springs near the visitor center on Monday.

Mid-June is a great time for wildlife. Bears will be out. Grizzlies are most commonly seen anywhere between Oxbow Bend and Leeks Marina in the Tetons. We saw them nearly every day in this region over the course of a week. In Yellowstone they're everywhere. The two most dominant, largest and most visible wolf packs in Yellowstone are currently the Junction Butte pack in the north and the Wapiti Lake pack in the south. Both number in the double digits. The Junction Butte pack has denned in Slough Creek for many years and this year had 18 pups. The pups are currently 6 weeks old. Adults can be seen in Lamar Valley. Wapiti Lake pack can be seen in Hayden Valley, around Yellowstone Lake and sometimes even around Old Faithful. We saw both this week. Elk live in Mammoth Hot Springs and Gardiner and will have calves so be careful walking around and exiting your accommodation. My husband opened the door to our Gardiner accommodation one time and came face to face with an elk. Bison will have calves (red dogs) as well and we saw two tiny baby pronghorn.

Thank you! Great suggestions!

The best advice we received (and followed) was to ask the Rangers what their favorite hikes are...get out of the car and go on the trails they recommend. Take the 1 hour horseback ride out of the Canyon Lake area. Hike different parts of the park - there is nothing so incredibly diverse as Yellowstone.

Honestly we booked a wildlife tour that was scheduled for Day 3 and we had already done most of it ourselves by that point. Yellowstone is an incredibly user friendly park. I do recommend staying in two different areas (we spent four days total overnight in the park and split between two locations) because it is huge.

Enjoy - it's incredible!!!

capecod73 - what 2 locations were they, and did you have a preference?

We stayed at Canyon Lodge and Old Faithful Lodge. The rooms at Canyon were great - OFL is beautiful to walk through, the deck to watch the geyser go off is great, but the room reminded me of my dorm room from 25 years ago.

Canyon is a great location. If we returned I’d stay there again and also somewhere in the northern section of the park.

Would the wolves be out in the afternoon? If not, what time appx in the late afternoon/evening? thanks so much

Wolves can be out any time of day. Around the den (if you're there during denning season) they were active in the early morning. If there's a carcass around they can be in the area for days.

We are glamping at Drean Catchers, first time.

A float trip on the Snake River, inside GTNP.

Wildlife is usually out early morning and dusk.

If you want a treat and challenge do the Mount Washburn hike. It's located not very far north of Canyon.
Not very long but really something. It starts at 8,800 feet and goes up to 10,243 ft. Take with some warm clothes. The weather could change and elevation is interesting.
Also, there's a ranger station at the top. They used to let you warm up there. Not sure is they do now.

Another thing. There are two trailheads. One is about 10 miles north of the other. So when you start down make sure you take the same one you cam up. otherwise your car won't be near you. I was there with my daughter and granddaughter about 6 years ago. My daughter left a couple of minutes before us to go down. That resulted in a few interesting hours.