Opinions on YNP and GTNP itinerary with kids
Jan 10th, 2011, 11:14 AM
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Opinions on YNP and GTNP itinerary with kids
Hello! My husband and I are taking the kids (age 7 and 8) to YNP and GTNP in July (ugh, I know). Would love your thoughts on two things:
1) Where to fly into and spend the first 2-3 days. The choices are Billings, Bozeman or Cody. I am hoping to spend a day in the Lamar Valley horeseback riding.
2) Does the rest if the itinerary make sense? Anything missing, or that I should reconsider?
Day 1 - Fly in (Bozeman, Billings or Cody)
Day 2 - Visit Mammoth
Day 3 - Lamar Valley
Day 4 - Canyon Village
Day 5 - Canyon Village
Day 6 - Old Faithful
Day 7 - Grant Village
Day 8 - GTNP
Day 9 - GTNP
Day 10 - Fly out via Jackson
I appreciate the help!
1) Where to fly into and spend the first 2-3 days. The choices are Billings, Bozeman or Cody. I am hoping to spend a day in the Lamar Valley horeseback riding.
2) Does the rest if the itinerary make sense? Anything missing, or that I should reconsider?
Day 1 - Fly in (Bozeman, Billings or Cody)
Day 2 - Visit Mammoth
Day 3 - Lamar Valley
Day 4 - Canyon Village
Day 5 - Canyon Village
Day 6 - Old Faithful
Day 7 - Grant Village
Day 8 - GTNP
Day 9 - GTNP
Day 10 - Fly out via Jackson
I appreciate the help!
Jan 10th, 2011, 11:30 AM
#2
and what's wrong with taking the kids?
Why not Jackson coming in? It just below GTNP. Car rental will be less expensive if you don't have to go one way.
Many people will say that Mammoth isn't what it used to be.
I would drop Mammoth and add a second day to Old Faithful. old faithful isn't just the one geyser.
There's the whole Upper basin that takes several hours. Also, other than Old Faithful (90 minute intervals app) the other time geysers have much longer intervals. So you could end up sitting around talking to people waiting for Grand or Riverside or others to erupt.
Geyser Loop.
Grand Prismatic Spring in Middle Basin and only a short drive from Old Faithful. And the hike up above GPS if you're a bit adventurous.
Wildlife is out early and late mostly.
GTNP is beautiful. Very early with low hanging clouds and sunset.
You can see my photos at:
www.travelwalks.com
Why not Jackson coming in? It just below GTNP. Car rental will be less expensive if you don't have to go one way.
Many people will say that Mammoth isn't what it used to be.
I would drop Mammoth and add a second day to Old Faithful. old faithful isn't just the one geyser.
There's the whole Upper basin that takes several hours. Also, other than Old Faithful (90 minute intervals app) the other time geysers have much longer intervals. So you could end up sitting around talking to people waiting for Grand or Riverside or others to erupt.
Geyser Loop.
Grand Prismatic Spring in Middle Basin and only a short drive from Old Faithful. And the hike up above GPS if you're a bit adventurous.
Wildlife is out early and late mostly.
GTNP is beautiful. Very early with low hanging clouds and sunset.
You can see my photos at:
www.travelwalks.com
Jan 10th, 2011, 11:39 AM
#3
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Ha! Nothing wrong with taking the kids - that's why they get to come too! 
Love your photos and the captions - very clever. You make a good point on Jackson - I thought coming in on the north side made more sense since I hear the Beartooth HWY is something to see and we would not have to backtrack too much through the park? I really appreciate the feedback - I will do more research!
Love your photos and the captions - very clever. You make a good point on Jackson - I thought coming in on the north side made more sense since I hear the Beartooth HWY is something to see and we would not have to backtrack too much through the park? I really appreciate the feedback - I will do more research!
Jan 10th, 2011, 05:17 PM
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I agree with dropping Mammoth and adding anothe day to Old Faithful. Make your lodging ASAP, you are already late. I would stay at Roosevelt over canyon if you can get it. either place is good though. Your kids might like the horseback ride at Roosevelt to the Cookout. I haven't done it, but it is very popular.
If you need something to do in Jackson for an hour or two, head over to the Alpine Slide.
Any reason you are staying at Grant Village on day 7? I would just add another day to Old Faithful or GTNP to keep from packing up. It's not that far, so really doesn't make sense.
Where are you going to stay on Day 2 and 3?
I like the thought of flying into Billings and out of Jackson. We did this two years ago in mid-June. However, due to massive amounts of snow that year The Beartooth HWY was still closed, so we will have to attempt it again sometime.
If you need something to do in Jackson for an hour or two, head over to the Alpine Slide.
Any reason you are staying at Grant Village on day 7? I would just add another day to Old Faithful or GTNP to keep from packing up. It's not that far, so really doesn't make sense.
Where are you going to stay on Day 2 and 3?
I like the thought of flying into Billings and out of Jackson. We did this two years ago in mid-June. However, due to massive amounts of snow that year The Beartooth HWY was still closed, so we will have to attempt it again sometime.
Jan 11th, 2011, 06:57 AM
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Thanks, spiro! I have booked the Alpine Motel in Cooke City for Day 2 & 3. I think it's nicest reviews said it's best feature is that it was "clean" so we'll see how it goes. Roosevelt is booked but I will keep trying.
I was thinking Grant Village because it would be more accessible to get to things inside the park, but maybe I am overestimating drive times? I agree, maybe add on to another location.
It seems like going into Billings and out of Jackson lets us see more overall - I hope Beartooth Hwy is thawed by then! I really appreciate your time and feedback.
Roosevelt is booked but I will keep trying. I was thinking Grant Village because it would be more accessible to get to things inside the park, but maybe I am overestimating drive times? I agree, maybe add on to another location.
It seems like going into Billings and out of Jackson lets us see more overall - I hope Beartooth Hwy is thawed by then! I really appreciate your time and feedback.
Jan 11th, 2011, 08:06 AM
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Horseback riding may be an issue. I think there is a minimum age for the kids to ride in the park and it could be 8. Check it out before you plan around it. When we visited in 2009 my son, who was 6 going on 7, was too young to ride at the Roosevelt stables. We ended our trip in the Black Hills, SD and we were able to ride at Custer State Park.
Jan 11th, 2011, 08:17 AM
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Basically sounds fine - but check airfares. We live in
Boston area and were shocked to see it cost 2x as much to fly to YNP area than to fly coast to coast. We researched various airports, connections, etc and at the time found a RT ticket saved us some money over in and out of separate airports. So I would start there and then work an itinerary around that.
Both Parks are big enough that we never felt crowded, even during a summer visit. Also hard to overestimate travel times within YNP - almost certainly will be something you must stop and see and almost as likely an animal jam - when the bison want the roadway, they get the right of way.
Boston area and were shocked to see it cost 2x as much to fly to YNP area than to fly coast to coast. We researched various airports, connections, etc and at the time found a RT ticket saved us some money over in and out of separate airports. So I would start there and then work an itinerary around that.
Both Parks are big enough that we never felt crowded, even during a summer visit. Also hard to overestimate travel times within YNP - almost certainly will be something you must stop and see and almost as likely an animal jam - when the bison want the roadway, they get the right of way.
Jan 11th, 2011, 08:51 AM
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Miamibeach, You are right about the horseback riding - I checked and you have to be 8 in Roosevelt. Thanks for the heads up.
Gail, I appreciate your input. We are going with FF miles so it is basically the same, if you can believe it. We're coming from Atlanta and it would be way too expensive to go any other way -- fares are around $600 right now - Yikes!
Gail, I appreciate your input. We are going with FF miles so it is basically the same, if you can believe it. We're coming from Atlanta and it would be way too expensive to go any other way -- fares are around $600 right now - Yikes!
Jan 11th, 2011, 11:22 AM
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We did this trip with our three boys (7,7 and 8) last summer and it was so much fun.
I agree with skipping Mammoth. The springs are not much BUT they do have the Boiling River and that was tons of fun for our guys. Spent an afternoon there. The boys also liked seeing all the wildlife and the mudpots. They did the Jr. Ranger program and that was a great way to give some structure to our trip. We also fished on Lake Yellowstone which was really cold.
We took the Beartooth Hwy and entered through Cooke City. It is a fun little town with very basic accommodations but all good and clean and what we needed. We stayed a couple nights in Canyon and a couple at the Old Faithful Inn. We loved the Old Faithful. My favorite memory was all of us getting up early and going down to see Old Faithful erupt with only about 10 or 15 others nearby. Then, we did the entire loop around all the geysers and came back, saw it erupt again and then went into the Inn for breakfast. A great morning.
The driving got to the boys at times. Especially when we got stuck behind a bison jam. We brought a massive stack of baseball cards and whenever someone saw a new animal they got a new card. That really helped to keep them engaged during some of the driving.
Have a great trip!
I agree with skipping Mammoth. The springs are not much BUT they do have the Boiling River and that was tons of fun for our guys. Spent an afternoon there. The boys also liked seeing all the wildlife and the mudpots. They did the Jr. Ranger program and that was a great way to give some structure to our trip. We also fished on Lake Yellowstone which was really cold.
We took the Beartooth Hwy and entered through Cooke City. It is a fun little town with very basic accommodations but all good and clean and what we needed. We stayed a couple nights in Canyon and a couple at the Old Faithful Inn. We loved the Old Faithful. My favorite memory was all of us getting up early and going down to see Old Faithful erupt with only about 10 or 15 others nearby. Then, we did the entire loop around all the geysers and came back, saw it erupt again and then went into the Inn for breakfast. A great morning.
The driving got to the boys at times. Especially when we got stuck behind a bison jam. We brought a massive stack of baseball cards and whenever someone saw a new animal they got a new card. That really helped to keep them engaged during some of the driving.
Have a great trip!
Feb 11th, 2011, 08:42 AM
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Hi TeamW - I'm sure you will find lots of good information on things to do with the kids in the parks but here's a few tips for kid friendly traveling (I grew up in Billings and Bozeman and spent a large portion of my childhood in and around Yellowstone on camping and day trips). Assuming you have decided to fly into Billings, you will drive through Red Lodge which is about 1 hour drive from Billings and a cute town with shops/restaurants so it may be a good stop for lunch/dinner depending on time of day you are arriving and whether you are planning to spend the first night in Billings (or you could consider Red Lodge). Red Lodge is small but still has much more choice in food than Cooke City (which is beyond small). I always liked Bogart's restaurant in Red Lodge as a kid/teenager as it is a family friendly local place with pizza, etc. There are candy/ice cream and other kid friendly shops in Red Lodge as well. The drive to Cooke City from Red Lodge is about 1.5 hrs if you don't stop. However, you'll want to stop so factor in plenty of time for that. Not only is it a beautiful drive but once you get up to the plateau, you can stop in many of the pullout spots and let the kids play in the snow patches that will undoubtedly be all over the place in early July (always fun to have a family snowball fight in July!). There are campgrounds and lots of places to have picnics by lakes/streams. The kids can watch out for yellow-bellied marmots that are usually everywhere in the rocks.
My advice within Yellowstone (especially if you are spending two nights in Cooke City so driving back/forth through the valley which is fine but will get boring for the kids) is to make sure you keep some card games, a cooler with snacks/drinks, etc for the kids and plan that it will take longer than you think to get places due to the winding roads, bison or RV traffic jams, and wanting lots of stops to let the kids run around... Yellowstone is gorgeous but we all know that a 7 yr old attention span doesn't hold long for scenary between animal sightings!
As a kid, I usually got slightly bored in the drive between Cooke City and Tower junction but loved running up the paths to the upper and lower falls and other various sights. Don't get discouraged by all the cars/campers around the key sights like the falls, paintpots, etc as it always seems like the crowds lesson within 300 feet of the beginning of the trails and once you find a place to park, you will be always be happy you stopped! I loved, loved the paintpots and geysers as well as Yellowstone Lake and just running around in the campgrounds. Yes, Yellowstone is busy in July but I think it gets overblown partly because people don't expect to have to slow down for animals or other tourists when they are in a national park and are unprepared for the occasional traffic jam (not fun to be in a car with kids and no drinks/snacks/ activities when that happens).
Are you actually going to be in the park on July 4th? If so, there may be fireworks displays in certain border towns (always carefully controlled and dependent upon weather conditions/fire danger levels).
Have a great trip!
My advice within Yellowstone (especially if you are spending two nights in Cooke City so driving back/forth through the valley which is fine but will get boring for the kids) is to make sure you keep some card games, a cooler with snacks/drinks, etc for the kids and plan that it will take longer than you think to get places due to the winding roads, bison or RV traffic jams, and wanting lots of stops to let the kids run around... Yellowstone is gorgeous but we all know that a 7 yr old attention span doesn't hold long for scenary between animal sightings!
As a kid, I usually got slightly bored in the drive between Cooke City and Tower junction but loved running up the paths to the upper and lower falls and other various sights. Don't get discouraged by all the cars/campers around the key sights like the falls, paintpots, etc as it always seems like the crowds lesson within 300 feet of the beginning of the trails and once you find a place to park, you will be always be happy you stopped! I loved, loved the paintpots and geysers as well as Yellowstone Lake and just running around in the campgrounds. Yes, Yellowstone is busy in July but I think it gets overblown partly because people don't expect to have to slow down for animals or other tourists when they are in a national park and are unprepared for the occasional traffic jam (not fun to be in a car with kids and no drinks/snacks/ activities when that happens).
Are you actually going to be in the park on July 4th? If so, there may be fireworks displays in certain border towns (always carefully controlled and dependent upon weather conditions/fire danger levels).
Have a great trip!
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