summer 2010 trip west
Sep 2nd, 2009, 05:15 PM
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summer 2010 trip west
We ( 2 families, 4 boys 10-17)are traveling from New England to Montana-Wyoming and are wondering about the best route. We are thinking about flying in to Billings or Bozeman and would like to see Cody, Yellowstone and Grand Tetons. We are doing this July 24/25 to Aug 7/8. Thought about the RV Rental but are now leaning towards minivans and casual accomadations. We would appreciate any thoughts or recommendations. Families have vacationed together for years and kids travel well !
Sep 2nd, 2009, 06:03 PM
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Reminds me of our family camping trips years ago. One trip was with a folddown from Illinois to Seattle with our three youngsters.
I think you qauestions is too general for me to answer however. There is so much to do and see...scenery, fishing, national parks, rodeos, swimming, etc. Main thing is beware of long hot boring drives...so flying out west would avboid that. In other words, how can you keep the guys entertained. These days we head East to Boston to see our son rather than West. Thing is if your kids like to be in a tent, e.g., maybe Scouts. What do they enjoy is the key...also let them participate in the plans.
Happy planning!
Ozarksbill [email protected]
I think you qauestions is too general for me to answer however. There is so much to do and see...scenery, fishing, national parks, rodeos, swimming, etc. Main thing is beware of long hot boring drives...so flying out west would avboid that. In other words, how can you keep the guys entertained. These days we head East to Boston to see our son rather than West. Thing is if your kids like to be in a tent, e.g., maybe Scouts. What do they enjoy is the key...also let them participate in the plans.
Happy planning!
Ozarksbill [email protected]
Sep 3rd, 2009, 05:34 AM
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It really depends on what your interests are. Yellowstone needs at least 3 days to see the main sites, the Tetons could be done in 1 day if you're just looking, but if you want to raft or hike, more time should be spent down in Jackson Hole.
Otherwise, once you leave Yellowstone and drive to Cody, you could probably see the museum and rodeo in one afternoon/night. Driving back up to Montana you could stop at the Little Big Horn Battlefield if you like history.
Otherwise, people do fishing/ranch stays in the area. With 2 weeks, you could consider spreading it out a bit more if you don't mind the driving either up to Glacier or to South Dakota.
Otherwise, once you leave Yellowstone and drive to Cody, you could probably see the museum and rodeo in one afternoon/night. Driving back up to Montana you could stop at the Little Big Horn Battlefield if you like history.
Otherwise, people do fishing/ranch stays in the area. With 2 weeks, you could consider spreading it out a bit more if you don't mind the driving either up to Glacier or to South Dakota.
Sep 3rd, 2009, 07:40 AM
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I would rent a large van to fit 8 plus luggage (you might need a roof rack), and buy cheap camping equipment to be donated to Goodwill at the end of the trip. It would reduce the cost and the boys might enjoy it--get them to do some of the cooking. But this assumes that you are familiar with and like car camping.
Sep 3rd, 2009, 08:05 AM
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We did a similar trip 5 yrs ago, took 2 weeks to do Black Hills, Yellowstone, Grand Teton. Flying into Bozeman (or Billings) would be the best idea, renting your transportation etc and then driving around for the 2 weeks. My first thought is that 2 weeks is slightly long for just YNP/GTNP. Would be great if you could get up to Glacier or over to Black Hills for a few days prior or after. Both are really cool places and since you're out this way, a shame to miss them. But both those places are basically 7-8 hrs drives away.
Yellowstone has enough to see and do that you can spend a week there as long as your gang is somewhat active( will do some hiking, etc). Since you are a year out from you trip, you should be able to get whatever in-park accomodations you want. And almost all of them are very reasonably priced. But I wouldn't wait long to book something. Keep in mind that Yellowstone is huge, will take you 2-3 hrs to drive from one end to the other. So you'll want to stay in the north or central part( like Mammoth Hot Springs or Canyon village) for 2-3 nights, and then at Old Faithful or Lake Yellowstone for 2-3 nights. We stayed at Old Faitful Inn, a really special grand lodge, steps from Old Faithful geyser and right smack in the middle of the Geyser Basin. There are at least 3 or 4 different sorts of accomodations there including a campground and maybe a place for RVs. Then we moved over to Lake Yellowstone hotel for 3 nights, also a beautiful place right on the shores of the lake. If I did it over again, I'd prob stay in Canyon rather than Lake Y, since Canyon is a little more North.
Grand Teton right next door south. Not as big, but you can easily spend 2-3 days there as well. We wanted to stay at Jenny Lodge(inside the park) but was full, so we stayed in Jackson which wasn't too bad.
Yellowstone has enough to see and do that you can spend a week there as long as your gang is somewhat active( will do some hiking, etc). Since you are a year out from you trip, you should be able to get whatever in-park accomodations you want. And almost all of them are very reasonably priced. But I wouldn't wait long to book something. Keep in mind that Yellowstone is huge, will take you 2-3 hrs to drive from one end to the other. So you'll want to stay in the north or central part( like Mammoth Hot Springs or Canyon village) for 2-3 nights, and then at Old Faithful or Lake Yellowstone for 2-3 nights. We stayed at Old Faitful Inn, a really special grand lodge, steps from Old Faithful geyser and right smack in the middle of the Geyser Basin. There are at least 3 or 4 different sorts of accomodations there including a campground and maybe a place for RVs. Then we moved over to Lake Yellowstone hotel for 3 nights, also a beautiful place right on the shores of the lake. If I did it over again, I'd prob stay in Canyon rather than Lake Y, since Canyon is a little more North.
Grand Teton right next door south. Not as big, but you can easily spend 2-3 days there as well. We wanted to stay at Jenny Lodge(inside the park) but was full, so we stayed in Jackson which wasn't too bad.
Sep 3rd, 2009, 08:28 AM
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Wow, what a great trip for the boys. Several years ago we went white water rafting on the Snake River, just south of Jackson Hole and had a great time. Boys that age would surely enjoy the experience.
Sep 3rd, 2009, 08:52 AM
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In Grand Teton, Signal mountain lodge has nice "retreats" : kitchen/living room with sofa bed, bedroom with 2 queens and bathroom which could be fine for a family...There are a lot of option/dining here and as GT is not so large, the trails and highlights are not far.
In Yellowstone, Canyon is central and the lodge is not so bad. The frontier cabins are clean, quiet and are less than 95 $ : 2 large queen beds, bathroom and in some renovated, coffee machine.The kids could have some of the pionner cabins, less expensive, also with bathroom(there have not been renovated).
Dining is less interesting : restaurant could have a long wait, the deli is off quality, the diner in the great souvenir store could be fine for one evening(burger and lipids...).
In Geyser country, Old Faithfull snowinn has some western cabins which can be enough for 4, as the 2 beds are very large, but no privacy between parents/kids...
I cannot help for the other part, as we do only those parts this year(the others would be for next year...).
I've made a trip report of our sejour.Just click on my name to find it.
You'll definitevely have good days here.
Erik
In Yellowstone, Canyon is central and the lodge is not so bad. The frontier cabins are clean, quiet and are less than 95 $ : 2 large queen beds, bathroom and in some renovated, coffee machine.The kids could have some of the pionner cabins, less expensive, also with bathroom(there have not been renovated).
Dining is less interesting : restaurant could have a long wait, the deli is off quality, the diner in the great souvenir store could be fine for one evening(burger and lipids...).
In Geyser country, Old Faithfull snowinn has some western cabins which can be enough for 4, as the 2 beds are very large, but no privacy between parents/kids...
I cannot help for the other part, as we do only those parts this year(the others would be for next year...).
I've made a trip report of our sejour.Just click on my name to find it.
You'll definitevely have good days here.
Erik
Sep 3rd, 2009, 09:46 AM
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We did a Montana trip for 2 weeks last summer. We flew into Billings, drove to Cody, Yellowstone, Harden for Powwow near Little Bighorn, and then to Glacier. This was too much traveling for us. I think you are wise to stick with the Yellowstone area.
The state of Montana has a good tourist web site, and they will send you a packet of info that has a nice map and a listing of summer events. I found that helpful for planning. Billings was easy to fly in and out of.
Some of the highlights outside of the parks were Cody and the POW Wow. We spent 2 nights in Cody and I think we would have enjoyed a third. The museum is great, your boys may enjoy the shoot out at the Irma Hotel and the rodeo. (I am glad that we went but I personally did not enjoy the rodeo)
We stopped at Pompeis (sp ?)Pillar which had a museum about Lewis and Clark that was near Billings. Clark had engraved his name in a Butte near this site. We enjoyed trying on Buckskin clothing here.
We did a rafting trip and some horseback riding. We did not visit any ghost towns or dinosaur sites.
We rented a minivan and stayed at hotels and in KOAs in Cabins. My son enjoyed staying at the KOAS. This gave us a flavor of camping without driving a huge RV all the time.
The state of Montana has a good tourist web site, and they will send you a packet of info that has a nice map and a listing of summer events. I found that helpful for planning. Billings was easy to fly in and out of.
Some of the highlights outside of the parks were Cody and the POW Wow. We spent 2 nights in Cody and I think we would have enjoyed a third. The museum is great, your boys may enjoy the shoot out at the Irma Hotel and the rodeo. (I am glad that we went but I personally did not enjoy the rodeo)
We stopped at Pompeis (sp ?)Pillar which had a museum about Lewis and Clark that was near Billings. Clark had engraved his name in a Butte near this site. We enjoyed trying on Buckskin clothing here.
We did a rafting trip and some horseback riding. We did not visit any ghost towns or dinosaur sites.
We rented a minivan and stayed at hotels and in KOAs in Cabins. My son enjoyed staying at the KOAS. This gave us a flavor of camping without driving a huge RV all the time.
Sep 4th, 2009, 01:43 AM
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Sounds a lot like our trip out there 3 years ago! I won't bore you with all the details of our trip, but maybe a few comments can be helpful.
We did the trip to encompass Memorial Day weekend, which meant some off-season rates, and smaller crowds -- a blessing in Yellowstone, by the way. They tell us it can be VERY busy in there in July and August, but you'll love it anyway, I'm sure!
We are retired and had never been out there, so we pondered maybe renting and driving across, but the rental agencies were discouraging and costly for that kind of trip. Also, we realized that it would take a LONG time to drive there, so we chose to fly out and then drive around out there. We think that was a good idea, but with the two boys, depending on what else you may want to see en route, a long drive might be fine!
What we did, this far in advance, was to first contact the official state sites for each state we expected to go to -- Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, South Dakota. They sent us packets that included detailed state road maps (very helpful) and other info. Then we set about plotting our travels around the area, knowing we'd probably change it somewhat! (We eventually ended up REVERSING our route, by the way, but it worked out great!)
Remember, PLANNING a trip like this is half the fun!
We shopped for best deals, using our "Entertainment Book" for flights and rental car (with Enterprise, in the end). That book might be a wise investment, by the way.
We ended up flying from Hartford, then to Denver, and finally to Billings -- all in one day -- and we were exhausted! (Ramada, near Bradley Field, had a special place in which you can park YOUR car while you are gone -- for no charge. Since our flight was early in the morning, we stayed overnight in the Ramada, parked our car, and let them drive us to the airport early in the morning -- VERY early -- like 5:00 or so!) with our bags.
When we arrived in Blllings, we had to get our car (after debating with the guy at the counter over the promised rate, which he finally gave us) and drive to Livingston, Montana for our first night, where we had reserved a stay at Yellowstone Expeditions B&B - very nice people and nice, quiet place to stay, with great breakfasts. Dunno if Kate and Bill Long will still be there then, but check their site.
After a night's rest there and a good (fabulous, really) breakfast, we set about starting into Yellowstone, and they were able to give us some good info, being locals.
As has been said, Yellowstone is a place that needs several days to see and do properly -- especially if you want to do more than see sights! It is unique! We spent a few days there doing one side of the two "loops", before heading down into Jackson, Wyoming. This is an interesting place, even if sort of "touristy" in some ways. By the way, the National Museum of Wildlife Art (I believe that is its name) is north of Jackson and may be worth a stop, if you are at all interested.
The Tetons are... magnificent. What can I say? We did not hike or anything there, though I hear it can be wonderful. However, we were there about 10:30 on the morning we headed north from Jackson, and we were all alone, just enjoying the view across the lake. It was a magic moment for us!
We then came up through the OTHER side of the "loops" in Yellowstone to see those sights.
NOTE: While you may be unaffected, when we stayed in West Yellowstone, at the Comfort Inn there (altitude just 6,500 feet, I believe), I had a TERRIBLE time, unable to sleep all night, etc., fearing a heart attack, anxiety, etc., only to later learn it had been ALTITUDE SICKNESS! It was scary, I can tell you, and I had never experienced that before, but younger, healthier people may not be bothered by that!
We did also enjoy an UNUSUAL stay up at "The Howler's Inn" outside of Bozeman, Montana! The boys might like that one, too! Look them up! They have a very large (several acres) enclosed area adjacent to the B&B with a pack of WOLVES that they "rescued" and care for! Really neat!
We wanted to see the Mt. Rushmore, so we drove all the way across to South Dakota, with a stay in Buffalo, Wyoming, as I recall now. Now, some people may say Mt. Rushmore and the Crazy Horse mountain are terrific -- and Crazy Horse may be NOW, for all I know -- but we found them sort of... so what? Mt. Rushmore was beautiful, just like the pictures! My wife does NOT like heights so all we did was gaze up at them, take a picture or two, and leave!
We also went to Crazy Horse, nearby, but they wanted, I think, $12 just to go in there, and we could see it was just a mountain with a hole blasted through it at that time; it may be MUCH better now. It should be spectacular when completed some day!
We enjoyed the Black Hills, including the site where some of "Dances With Wolves" was shot, and Spearfish, South Dakota was very nice also. We had a very nice B&B there for two nights.
We did detour up to see Devil's Tower, in Wyoming, the mountain seen in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", and that was pretty interesting to see. You go through various small towns with all kinds of "wild west" features, too, of course.
We also enjoyed Cody, Wyoming, staying in a B&B there that had once been a church! The museum is fantastic, by the way; tickets are for TWO DAYS and you may well want to stay to do that. There are entire sections sections for indians, Buffalo Bill, guns, wagons, etc. (The area just for various old guns was so big you could literally get lost in there!) It was the kind of museum that reminded us of the Smithsonian, and far more than expected way out there!)
The terrain out there in parts of Wyoming can be weird, by the way, sometimes like driving on the moon, with NO trees, NO wildlife, nothing for miles, which can be almost eerie!
We enjoyed good weather, except for a SNOW STORM the day we drove from West Yellowstone up to Bozeman -- on Memorial Day weekend -- and that was scary, because the rental car had somewhat older all weather tires and we were sliding around some!
Sorry to go on so, but it was a wonderful trip, even if tiring.
Get the info, plan your trip, and look forward to an amazing adventure!!!
Enjoy!!!!
We did the trip to encompass Memorial Day weekend, which meant some off-season rates, and smaller crowds -- a blessing in Yellowstone, by the way. They tell us it can be VERY busy in there in July and August, but you'll love it anyway, I'm sure!
We are retired and had never been out there, so we pondered maybe renting and driving across, but the rental agencies were discouraging and costly for that kind of trip. Also, we realized that it would take a LONG time to drive there, so we chose to fly out and then drive around out there. We think that was a good idea, but with the two boys, depending on what else you may want to see en route, a long drive might be fine!
What we did, this far in advance, was to first contact the official state sites for each state we expected to go to -- Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, South Dakota. They sent us packets that included detailed state road maps (very helpful) and other info. Then we set about plotting our travels around the area, knowing we'd probably change it somewhat! (We eventually ended up REVERSING our route, by the way, but it worked out great!)
Remember, PLANNING a trip like this is half the fun!
We shopped for best deals, using our "Entertainment Book" for flights and rental car (with Enterprise, in the end). That book might be a wise investment, by the way.
We ended up flying from Hartford, then to Denver, and finally to Billings -- all in one day -- and we were exhausted! (Ramada, near Bradley Field, had a special place in which you can park YOUR car while you are gone -- for no charge. Since our flight was early in the morning, we stayed overnight in the Ramada, parked our car, and let them drive us to the airport early in the morning -- VERY early -- like 5:00 or so!) with our bags.
When we arrived in Blllings, we had to get our car (after debating with the guy at the counter over the promised rate, which he finally gave us) and drive to Livingston, Montana for our first night, where we had reserved a stay at Yellowstone Expeditions B&B - very nice people and nice, quiet place to stay, with great breakfasts. Dunno if Kate and Bill Long will still be there then, but check their site.
After a night's rest there and a good (fabulous, really) breakfast, we set about starting into Yellowstone, and they were able to give us some good info, being locals.
As has been said, Yellowstone is a place that needs several days to see and do properly -- especially if you want to do more than see sights! It is unique! We spent a few days there doing one side of the two "loops", before heading down into Jackson, Wyoming. This is an interesting place, even if sort of "touristy" in some ways. By the way, the National Museum of Wildlife Art (I believe that is its name) is north of Jackson and may be worth a stop, if you are at all interested.
The Tetons are... magnificent. What can I say? We did not hike or anything there, though I hear it can be wonderful. However, we were there about 10:30 on the morning we headed north from Jackson, and we were all alone, just enjoying the view across the lake. It was a magic moment for us!
We then came up through the OTHER side of the "loops" in Yellowstone to see those sights.
NOTE: While you may be unaffected, when we stayed in West Yellowstone, at the Comfort Inn there (altitude just 6,500 feet, I believe), I had a TERRIBLE time, unable to sleep all night, etc., fearing a heart attack, anxiety, etc., only to later learn it had been ALTITUDE SICKNESS! It was scary, I can tell you, and I had never experienced that before, but younger, healthier people may not be bothered by that!
We did also enjoy an UNUSUAL stay up at "The Howler's Inn" outside of Bozeman, Montana! The boys might like that one, too! Look them up! They have a very large (several acres) enclosed area adjacent to the B&B with a pack of WOLVES that they "rescued" and care for! Really neat!
We wanted to see the Mt. Rushmore, so we drove all the way across to South Dakota, with a stay in Buffalo, Wyoming, as I recall now. Now, some people may say Mt. Rushmore and the Crazy Horse mountain are terrific -- and Crazy Horse may be NOW, for all I know -- but we found them sort of... so what? Mt. Rushmore was beautiful, just like the pictures! My wife does NOT like heights so all we did was gaze up at them, take a picture or two, and leave!
We also went to Crazy Horse, nearby, but they wanted, I think, $12 just to go in there, and we could see it was just a mountain with a hole blasted through it at that time; it may be MUCH better now. It should be spectacular when completed some day!
We enjoyed the Black Hills, including the site where some of "Dances With Wolves" was shot, and Spearfish, South Dakota was very nice also. We had a very nice B&B there for two nights.
We did detour up to see Devil's Tower, in Wyoming, the mountain seen in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", and that was pretty interesting to see. You go through various small towns with all kinds of "wild west" features, too, of course.
We also enjoyed Cody, Wyoming, staying in a B&B there that had once been a church! The museum is fantastic, by the way; tickets are for TWO DAYS and you may well want to stay to do that. There are entire sections sections for indians, Buffalo Bill, guns, wagons, etc. (The area just for various old guns was so big you could literally get lost in there!) It was the kind of museum that reminded us of the Smithsonian, and far more than expected way out there!)
The terrain out there in parts of Wyoming can be weird, by the way, sometimes like driving on the moon, with NO trees, NO wildlife, nothing for miles, which can be almost eerie!
We enjoyed good weather, except for a SNOW STORM the day we drove from West Yellowstone up to Bozeman -- on Memorial Day weekend -- and that was scary, because the rental car had somewhat older all weather tires and we were sliding around some!
Sorry to go on so, but it was a wonderful trip, even if tiring.
Get the info, plan your trip, and look forward to an amazing adventure!!!
Enjoy!!!!
Sep 4th, 2009, 08:20 AM
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Yes! As RetiredVermonter says, planning is part of the fun and as he/she indicates pleasant remembrances is also part.
The U. S. West has so much scenery and places for adventure with boys and others. Oh yes, do involve the boys in the dreaming/planning, maye doing on line searches to whet their appetites. Early on had a tent and then folddown campers (Nimrod and Coleman) and later trailers which being now long retired we do miss. Sold our trailer and Suburban pulling vehicle some five years ago. Which means regretfully we aren't getting out as much to enjoy relaxing around a campfire and hiking and fishing. Don't know about renting but I understand that is becoming more popular. As said before there will be miles of driving through relatively dull scenery.
Ozarksbill [email protected]
The U. S. West has so much scenery and places for adventure with boys and others. Oh yes, do involve the boys in the dreaming/planning, maye doing on line searches to whet their appetites. Early on had a tent and then folddown campers (Nimrod and Coleman) and later trailers which being now long retired we do miss. Sold our trailer and Suburban pulling vehicle some five years ago. Which means regretfully we aren't getting out as much to enjoy relaxing around a campfire and hiking and fishing. Don't know about renting but I understand that is becoming more popular. As said before there will be miles of driving through relatively dull scenery.
Ozarksbill [email protected]
Sep 4th, 2009, 12:08 PM
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Ozarksbill:
We, too, started camping over 40 years ago, just the two of us, when we lived down in "the flatlands". We used a Nimrod trailer the first time, but soon bought a big canvas tent from Sears (we still have it, but it's getting pretty ratty) that sleeps 5, with a side room, because we had added a little girl! That tent did fine for us in the state parks up in Vermont and Maine for a few years, until we discovered the fabulous LEANTO's here in Vermont. These are much nicer, especially in bad weather! You are up off the ground, with a solid floor under you, etc.
The leanto's were where we took our vacations every year pretty much until the kids (3, eventually) started their teen years. When the oldest reached 16, we discovered that that was the last year for all of us... It just suddenly didn't "work" any more due to the different ages, etc.! Sad, but that happens.
Now, all the children are in their 30's and 40's, married, with children of their own, and THEY often enjoy camping, too!
(Actually, we had the joy of taking one grand son (7) with us a year ago for his first camping trip here. I took him fishing, too, which was a shock when he caught his first fish! (We tossed back the little fish.) My wife helped him cook his first scrambled eggs for breakfast on a Coleman stove, we showed him how to toast marshmallows on a REAL camp fire and how to make "s'mores". You know the rest. He ended up loving the whole thing, of course!
Ah yes... memories...
Even though we now live up here in our cozy retirement home, on a ridge with several acres, we DID camp once on our own this past summer, too! We need a bit more comfortable sleeping stuff under us now, but my beloved wife is still a great gal who loves to "rough it" with her old man!
We, too, started camping over 40 years ago, just the two of us, when we lived down in "the flatlands". We used a Nimrod trailer the first time, but soon bought a big canvas tent from Sears (we still have it, but it's getting pretty ratty) that sleeps 5, with a side room, because we had added a little girl! That tent did fine for us in the state parks up in Vermont and Maine for a few years, until we discovered the fabulous LEANTO's here in Vermont. These are much nicer, especially in bad weather! You are up off the ground, with a solid floor under you, etc.
The leanto's were where we took our vacations every year pretty much until the kids (3, eventually) started their teen years. When the oldest reached 16, we discovered that that was the last year for all of us... It just suddenly didn't "work" any more due to the different ages, etc.! Sad, but that happens.
Now, all the children are in their 30's and 40's, married, with children of their own, and THEY often enjoy camping, too!
(Actually, we had the joy of taking one grand son (7) with us a year ago for his first camping trip here. I took him fishing, too, which was a shock when he caught his first fish! (We tossed back the little fish.) My wife helped him cook his first scrambled eggs for breakfast on a Coleman stove, we showed him how to toast marshmallows on a REAL camp fire and how to make "s'mores". You know the rest. He ended up loving the whole thing, of course!
Ah yes... memories...
Even though we now live up here in our cozy retirement home, on a ridge with several acres, we DID camp once on our own this past summer, too! We need a bit more comfortable sleeping stuff under us now, but my beloved wife is still a great gal who loves to "rough it" with her old man!
Sep 5th, 2009, 06:48 PM
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RV, Sounds like you have a nice place to call home in beautiful VT. We've been in all lower 48 states but not much in Vermont...but with son in Boston (and daughter until recently) we do get East alot, e.g., recently to American Folk Festival in Bangor incl. Acadia Pk, etc. Also 28 Elderhostels and overseas trips. Next trip to Louisiana in Oct. for two EH programs. What would you recommend in your home state?
Ozarksbill [email protected]
Ozarksbill [email protected]
Sep 7th, 2009, 09:31 AM
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We made the trip in mid June 2009 with a family of ten for 9 days.
We flew into Rapid City, SD and worked our way west. It allowed us to see the Badlands (awesome), Mount Rushmore, Cody, Yellowstone, and finally Grand Teton.
It worked out very well. The drives are full of beauty.
We flew into Rapid City, SD and worked our way west. It allowed us to see the Badlands (awesome), Mount Rushmore, Cody, Yellowstone, and finally Grand Teton.
It worked out very well. The drives are full of beauty.
Sep 7th, 2009, 02:51 PM
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We did a fairly similar vacation this summer with our two boys, 8 and 5. It was an amazing vacation!! I will never forget it, and I suspect my boys will always have memories of some of the things we did together as a family. We didn't fly, but drove from St. Louis. It was a haul to get there, but so worth it. We did the entire trip in a crammed Ford Escape, but I'd take that any day over having to maneuver an RV. It just was so much easier to be spontaneous.
First we spent three nights in Teton Village very close to the southern entrance to GTNP and also an easy drive to Jackson. Then we headed north and rented a small house north of Gardiner for a week and used it as a base to explore both Yellowstone and the Paradise Valley area of Montana. We really liked our lodging decisions. At Teton Village, we had a pool in our very reasonably off-season priced hotel (thank you, Priceline) and easy access into the park, which made it simple for us to go on early hikes when the wildlife was out (elk, moose) as well as a lot of kid-friendly activities nearby so the kids could get a break from hikes and decompress. The tram to the top of Rendezvous Mountain is also a must. Teton Village was very laid back. It was also about 20 minutes from Jackson which has nice shops, an alpine slide, a very cute cowboy shootout every night in the town square and lots of fancy restaurants... We opted for the more laid back Mangy Moose in Teton Village to eat the first night and this really great restaurant called Q Roadhouse, which was on the road between Teton Village and Jackson. The food was fresh and delicious, and the kids could run around on a field outside while you dined outside. We liked it so much, we went twice. Our cabin in Montana was about 15 minutes north of the park near Gardiner. This was a private rental found through VRBO, and we were very glad to have more comfortable lodgings with a nice kitchen to cook and a firepit. It was also great to have a kitchen to store food for picnic fare every day during our Yellowstone outings (that will save you a ton on dining, which I thought was only so-so in the park -- if you go that route, don't expect to find a lot of healthy options or variety). The views in the Paradise Valley are just gorgeous, and we felt like we had the mountains to ourselves. Nothing better than putting our boys to bed and being able to go out on the deck and stargaze with a glass of wine. The skies were so clear one night we could actually see satellites orbiting the atmosphere. From there you can go fishing in the Yellowstone River (we had whitefish fish fry for breakfast one morning thanks to our 8-year-old's catch) and also find some amazing trailheads (and a near encounter with a brown bear, so we were told -- tip, if you hear a big stick break in the nearby woods, don't ignore it). Also, there are several river rafting companies near Gardiner, though we didn't do them this time because the kids were still too young for our comfort. We felt renting a cabin outside of the park was a terrific way to explore the park, though you have to be comfortable with lots of hours in the car to get to a lot of the places in the park. From our base we went to Lamar Valley, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Tower-Roosevelt Cowboy Cookout, Mammoth Hot Springs, and several of the Geyser Basins, including Lower Geyser at Old Faithful Inn. Not that you can really improve on what I felt was perfection, but if I did it again, I might spend a night or two at Old Faithful Inn...then you have a base to explore the geysers and the springs (and not such a long drive to get there), and also have an evening on that spectacular porch at the OFI. At the end, I'd also plan on spending a night in Red Lodge so that we could have driven the Beartooth Pass. We were on the fence about it and got so far as the northeast entrance of the park, but ultimately decided it was too much driving to do the pass and also get back to our cabin. The Lamar Valley is spectacular, and an amazing place to go fishing (though Yellowstone's fishing rules are very complicated).
So much of the fun was planning my trip and reading all the comments here and elsewhere. Enjoy!
First we spent three nights in Teton Village very close to the southern entrance to GTNP and also an easy drive to Jackson. Then we headed north and rented a small house north of Gardiner for a week and used it as a base to explore both Yellowstone and the Paradise Valley area of Montana. We really liked our lodging decisions. At Teton Village, we had a pool in our very reasonably off-season priced hotel (thank you, Priceline) and easy access into the park, which made it simple for us to go on early hikes when the wildlife was out (elk, moose) as well as a lot of kid-friendly activities nearby so the kids could get a break from hikes and decompress. The tram to the top of Rendezvous Mountain is also a must. Teton Village was very laid back. It was also about 20 minutes from Jackson which has nice shops, an alpine slide, a very cute cowboy shootout every night in the town square and lots of fancy restaurants... We opted for the more laid back Mangy Moose in Teton Village to eat the first night and this really great restaurant called Q Roadhouse, which was on the road between Teton Village and Jackson. The food was fresh and delicious, and the kids could run around on a field outside while you dined outside. We liked it so much, we went twice. Our cabin in Montana was about 15 minutes north of the park near Gardiner. This was a private rental found through VRBO, and we were very glad to have more comfortable lodgings with a nice kitchen to cook and a firepit. It was also great to have a kitchen to store food for picnic fare every day during our Yellowstone outings (that will save you a ton on dining, which I thought was only so-so in the park -- if you go that route, don't expect to find a lot of healthy options or variety). The views in the Paradise Valley are just gorgeous, and we felt like we had the mountains to ourselves. Nothing better than putting our boys to bed and being able to go out on the deck and stargaze with a glass of wine. The skies were so clear one night we could actually see satellites orbiting the atmosphere. From there you can go fishing in the Yellowstone River (we had whitefish fish fry for breakfast one morning thanks to our 8-year-old's catch) and also find some amazing trailheads (and a near encounter with a brown bear, so we were told -- tip, if you hear a big stick break in the nearby woods, don't ignore it). Also, there are several river rafting companies near Gardiner, though we didn't do them this time because the kids were still too young for our comfort. We felt renting a cabin outside of the park was a terrific way to explore the park, though you have to be comfortable with lots of hours in the car to get to a lot of the places in the park. From our base we went to Lamar Valley, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Tower-Roosevelt Cowboy Cookout, Mammoth Hot Springs, and several of the Geyser Basins, including Lower Geyser at Old Faithful Inn. Not that you can really improve on what I felt was perfection, but if I did it again, I might spend a night or two at Old Faithful Inn...then you have a base to explore the geysers and the springs (and not such a long drive to get there), and also have an evening on that spectacular porch at the OFI. At the end, I'd also plan on spending a night in Red Lodge so that we could have driven the Beartooth Pass. We were on the fence about it and got so far as the northeast entrance of the park, but ultimately decided it was too much driving to do the pass and also get back to our cabin. The Lamar Valley is spectacular, and an amazing place to go fishing (though Yellowstone's fishing rules are very complicated).
So much of the fun was planning my trip and reading all the comments here and elsewhere. Enjoy!
Nov 8th, 2009, 07:40 PM
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Some great info in the above reviews, Flying into Billings and doing the Beartooth Hwy to enter the park would be a great start to your trip. As your plans develop I am in Billings if you have any questions I will try and help. It will be a trip of a lifetime for you. Jere [email protected]
