We'll be driving to Yellowstone from Salt Lake City and from Yellowstone to Salt Lake and we have 2 days each way to make the trip. We have 2 kids age 5 and under. Any suggestions on what routes to take and where we should spend the night on the trip there and back?

TIA
CC

Hi Creekcaster,

So how many days do you plan to spend IN Yellowstone? the actual drive can be done in just half a day. As long as you have plenty of time for the park, yes there are many places to see on the way.

I would drive straight north on the interstate to West Yellowstone and then into the park.

Coming back you might want to go south through Grand Tetons. They are well worth seeing.

Each way will only take half a day--no need to spend the night anywhere on the road.

Spend as much time IN the parks as possible.

We 4 nights reserved in yellowstone.
We are going the last week of June so I think we may be out of luck making more reservations inside the park.
Any idea on how many hours drive it will be from SLC. We'll be comming off a 4 hour flight so I don't think the kids can take too many hours on the road.
Thanks for the responses.

cc

Kerry, hope you don't mind me sticking my nose in. I'd be intersted in hearing replies to this message too. We want to take the day driving from Salt Lake to Yellowstone West (going the most direct route as we'll be staying at Teton after Yellowstone) and want to stop off somewhere enroute for an hour or two that's interesting (plus lunch). Any suggestions? Like Kerry, our children (aged 10 & 5) can't take too long sitting in a car (especially after a transatlantic flight).
Thanks a lot. We're so excited about our trip - less than two weeks to go...
Paeony

Paeony,
no resposes yet. It sounds like your situation is similar to mine except my kids are a bit younger.
Please let me know how it goes after you trip. I can use some tips.
Good luck!
KB

Hi Creekcaster & Paeoney,

I can't say exactly how long the drive from SLC to West Yellowstone is because I never go that way.

If you go east on I80 through Park City & Evanston, WY. Then north on 89 passing just east of Bear Lake through a little corner of Idaho - drive takes about 4 1/2 hours.

I would suggest staying overnight in Park City - do a search here for "Park City" under Utah - great place to take a break for the kids & lots to do for all ages. All types of lodging from hotels, B&Bs & condos of all types & sizes.

Have fun!

Hi KerryB,
I'll report back although we'll probably be doing more walking than you because my children are older. I noticed one walk near Mammoth Springs that is a circular one to beavers that is only 5 miles. We'd love to see wild beavers. Bought two pairs of binoculars today (adult ones but small and cheap) for the children to help them look for wildlife. They're very excited at the thought of having their own binoculars (no quarrels with sharing!) and desperately want to see bears and wolves. They're also keen to go wild water rafting (you can do sedate trips too)and swim in Firehole river in the spot where it is warm. They don't understand yet about geysers and the geothermal activity but they'll love it when they see it. I'm hoping an educational ranger trip will also be fun. There's so much exploring to do once we're there in Yellowstone/Teton.

I've got a road map now and it shows the route kindly suggested by Dayle. Personally we are going the quick route from SLC to Yellowstone via Highway 15 because we're starting off at Old Faithful, and we'll be coming back the other way via Jackson on our return (if you do a search of Fodors you'll find several Teton to SLC routes suggested). Just wish I knew which were the interesting towns enroute from SLC to West Yellowstone. They're just a lot of names: Malad City, McCammon, Blackfoot, Idaho Falls, St Anthony... I suppose we'll stop for a break/snack wherever looks interesting. We'll have fun, whatever.
Paeony

Can't recommend any really interesting places from SLC to W. Y.

You will go over the Snake River (where we spotted a moose once!) and through a neat looking lava flow area.

Hi Travelers,

A couple notes,

Be extremely cautious about swiming in the Firehole River. Make sure you know exactly where to go & keep hold of your kids!

If you get lucky, you might see wolves & bears. There are wildlife tours available by advance reservation. Most are in the Hayden Valley area. If you are willing to get up in the middle of the night, they will take you to the places where you will most likely see wolves. Most predatory animals are more active at night.

Bison & elk are everywhere during the daytime, on the roads, in the campgrounds. Don't get too close!

Three great places to see moose almost guaranteed:

around Jackson Lake Lodge

around Moose Junction, along the tiny
dirt road between Moose & Teton Village

around Swan Lake by Coulter Bay campground (also a really nice short hike & you'll almost always see swans)

Have fun!

Thanks for the advice everyone.
I also asked some questions a few months back about Yellowstone/Teton and received lots of helpful comments and I've printed them out to take with us. We're off today - lots of packing to do. Holidays can be so exhausting (for the one that has to do the organising!).
Really excited. Will report back.
Paeony

Topping for T.