travelgo7

Hello! I'm planning our first national park trip with our kids (8 & 10) this August and would welcome feedback on our current itinerary. We had gone to both Glacier and Yellowstone many years ago before kids and loved it but want to be realistic with kids and ensure they have a great time.

Right now - we plan to fly to Kalispell on 8/5, rent a car and drive to Glacier. We have 5 nights at Lake McDonald Lodge. Is this too much time at the park and is this a good location? I am worried that we won't have enough to do with the kids as we'd likely have to stick to easy/short hikes. I also found it nearly impossible to find any other Glacier openings for the 1st 2 weeks of August (thought Many Glacier looked beautiful!).

We then plan to drive to Yellowstone (Old Faithful Inn) but it's a very long drive (9+hrs) so we are open to stopping somewhere in between for a night or two. Any suggestions on town or lodging? As the national park lodges typically are more rustic/limited amenities, I was thinking kids would love to stay at a place with a pool but that may be asking too much!

Once at Yellowstone, we have 2 nights at Old Faithful Inn and 2 nights at Canyon Lodge as they are a good mix of locations and things to do.

We'd then head to Bozeman for a night as we have a morning flight out from Bozeman. Any recommendations on lodging here?

Appreciate any feedback or recommendations on the itinerary, lodging or activities!

travelgo7

Hello! I'm planning our first national park trip with our kids (8 & 10) this August and would welcome feedback on our current itinerary. We had gone to both Glacier and Yellowstone many years ago before kids and loved it but want to be realistic with kids and ensure they have a great time.

Right now - we plan to fly to Kalispell on 8/5, rent a car and drive to Glacier. We have 5 nights at Lake McDonald Lodge. Is this too much time at the park and is this a good location? I am worried that we won't have enough to do with the kids as we'd likely have to stick to easy/short hikes. I also found it nearly impossible to find any other Glacier openings for the 1st 2 weeks of August (thought Many Glacier looked beautiful!).

We then plan to drive to Yellowstone (Old Faithful Inn) but it's a very long drive (9+hrs) so we are open to stopping somewhere in between for a night or two. Any suggestions on town or lodging? As the national park lodges typically are more rustic/limited amenities, I was thinking kids would love to stay at a place with a pool but that may be asking too much!

Once at Yellowstone, we have 2 nights at Old Faithful Inn and 2 nights at Canyon Lodge as they are a good mix of locations and things to do.

We'd then head to Bozeman for a night as we have a morning flight out from Bozeman. Any recommendations on lodging here?

Appreciate any feedback or recommendations on the itinerary, lodging or activities!

tom_mn

My opinion is that 75% of the most interesting things at Glacier are east of the continental divide. Staying on the west side here puts all that a long drive up and over, then back. I'd look to staying 3 days or more on the east side, in St Mary's just outside the park or Manyglacier area inside the park. Edit: I see now that you are having trouble getting a reservation here, there's a motor lodge nearby?

Commentary but the switch from the old days, arriving by car or train over the Great Plains from the east, to arrival by plane on the west side, has really changed up the Glacier experience, in a negative way.

The Lewis and Clark Caverns used to be a national monument and staying nearby could break up the drive from one park to the other. They are the best caves that I have seen.

tomfuller

Check on the government website for Glacier about the timed entry into the park. They are trying to limit the number of cars/vehicles in the park at any one time. Three nights should be enough for Glacier unless the weather is bad and you want to do more hiking. My favorite for the western side of Glacier is the Meadow Lake Lodge near Columbia Falls MT which has several types of rooms and condos. With my wife we had a nice condo that had a hot tub in the room.
Do you have to pay a one way fee on the rental car picking up in Kalispell and dropping in Bozeman? The way we got to and left the Glacier region was on the Amtrak Empire Builder to Whitefish where we could get a rental car. If you fly to Spokane, you can take the train overnight from Spokane to Whitefish.

Moderator1

Because there was response on each of your two threads, we merged them rather than deleting the duplicate.

sunbum1944

When I was there a couple of years ago, we stayed in condos on Whitefish Lake. The Bayfront. We had great views, a dock out front where we would enjoy a glass of wine in the evening. Water was shallow and kids could swim. We enjoyed our stay there and it was just a short drive into Whitefish. We rode the chairlift up to the restaurant at the top and there are alpines slides also. Maybe more to entertain kids in Whitefish?

StantonHyde

If you click on my user name, you will see my trip report for yellowstone with kids. It was a while ago but the park hasn't changed that much!!

kureiff

I might take a day or two from Lake McDonald and stay in Whitefish. Ride the chairlifts, try the alpine slide. Great food in Whitefish.

Missoula could be a nice stop between Glacier and Yellowstone. Stay downtown. Walk to the carousel, watch the surfers in Brennan’s Wave. Get Big Dipper ice cream.

Lewis and Clark Caverns is a fantastic state park and your kids would love it. I was a tour guide there when I was in college.

Id look at booking your Bozeman hotel soon. Very expensive in the summer! Check out the Museum of the Rockies; I think your kids would love that, too: lots of dinosaurs.

KarenWoo

Have you tried St. Mary's Lodge on the eastern side, literally just outside of the park? If that is full, then perhaps a place that is a little further away might have openings. We were there in September 2021 after a wedding in Whitefish. We spent 3 nights at St. Mary's Lodge and then 2 nights at Historic Tamarick Lodge in Hungry Horse. I am not suggesting you cancel the nights at Lake McDonald Lodge. Just giving you an idea of how we broke up our 5 nights. So perhaps 3 nights at Lake McDonald Lodge and 2 nights at St. Mary's if there is availability or any place close by.

I also recommend purchasing The Best Easy Day Hikes at Glacier for a comprehensive list with descriptions and length of the hikes.

If you can't get accommodations at St. Mary's end of the park, then I agree with suggestions to spend part of your time in Whitefish. The restaurants are definitely much better than the restaurants in the park. So perhaps 3 nights at Lake McDonald Lodge and 2 nights in Whitefish. We stayed at the Lodge at Whitefish Lake. They have a pool. We spent a lot of time at Big Mountain in Whitefish. Took the chairlift to the summit and hiked the one-mile Easy Rim Trail. And there is the alpine slide that I am sure young children will like. We also drove to the National Bison Range in Moiese. It's a 2-hour drive one way but it was awesome. We saw bison up close and personal. It's a 19-mile drive around the range and the scenery is very, very different from Whitefish and GNP.

There is also a rodeo just outside of Whitefish in Columbia Falls. $14.00 per person for adults. maybe less for children?