Need help with National Parks trip in 2017
 

My husband and I are both retired; we are in our 60's. We are from New England, and want to visit as much of the U.S. as we can before we get too old! We initially hoped we could drive across country for 2 months; however, due to commitments and responsibilities for our elderly parents, that won't be possible. We now plan on exploring a different region of the U.S. for a month at a time. For example, do a month-long trip every 6 months or so, something like that, or maybe yearly. For September 2017, we would like to visit the Rockies and surrounding states, primarily including the national parks. Before I continue any more planning, it would be helpful to know if it is possible to visit the following states in one month. We would fly from Boston to perhaps South Dakota first, rent a car, and then fly home from Denver.

These are the states we have in mind:
South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah and Colorado.

Briefly, we would be interested in visiting the Badlands and Mt. Rushmore in S. Dakota, TR National Park in North Dakota, Glacier National Park in Montana, Craters of the Moon in Idaho, Yellowstone and Grand Tetons in Wyoming, Salt Lake City and National Parks in Utah, and Rocky Mountain National Park and Denver in Colorado, and perhaps Durango area if we have time.

We are interested in scenic drives, wildlife, and easy hikes/walks.

Is it necessary to make lodging reservations a year in advance since we are going in September?

Thank you so much for any help/advice you can give.

Karen,

If you plan to take a month, you must cut your list of destinations in half! No way can you see and enjoy all these parks in just a month.

September is still peak season for retirees and European visitors. Yes you need advance reservations. Plus you need to consider the northern most parks as well as the highest altitude for others. Glacier and Yellowstone will have things closing down by mid Sept. Start your trip there and continue with the badlands and finish with Rocky Mtn park. There, your month is gone.

Dayle, thank you for your advice. Will definitely reconsider our plans. What would be closing down by mid-Sept? I assume Going to the Sun Road; what else?

Check nps.gov at each park's site for lists of closings. Generally, things start shutting down in stages. This year, I read that Going to the Sun Road closes October 2, weather permitting.

The last possible open day for the GTTS road is October 16th this year https://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/gtsrinfo.htm

Closing dates for accommodations inside Yellowstone https://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/gtsrinfo.htm There are gateway city accommodations that are open year round. Visitation records are being broken this year and September is still a busy time.