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two weeks CO WY MT late June/early July with two toddlers

two weeks CO WY MT late June/early July with two toddlers

Old Jun 1st, 2003, 11:58 AM
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two weeks CO WY MT late June/early July with two toddlers

Hi,
We are flying to Denver June 24th for a two week vacation to the national parks. We would like to visit RockyMountain NP, Windcave NP/Custer State Park, Badland NP, Yellowstone NP and GrandTeton NP. This may sound like a lot, but it's inspired by our success last summer when we did a similar trip (10days in the Canyon country with 4nights camping out). We loved the camping part (2nights each at GrandCanyon and Bryce) when we felt so close to nature.

My questions are:
1. Lodging/camping: I've only booked three nights (July 3-5) inside Yellowstone at Grant Village. We planned to camp a few nights here and there again, but now I'm worried about the cool nights and wild storms... My children are 5 and 3.5 now. Is it going to be too much? We don't care for fancy hotels, only a plcae to sleep. So if not camping, where would you suggest us staying en route?

2. Itinerary: Right now I'm thinking of going Denver-Grand Lake (RMNP)-Hot Springs (WCNP)-Custer-BadLand NP-Cody/RedLodge-YSNP-GTNP-Denver. Do you think it's doable? How long should we stay at each place? Any other route you'd suggest? We're not going to do serious hikes, obviously, mostly driving, short hikes, and observing nature and animals...

Thanks a lot!
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Old Jun 1st, 2003, 09:36 PM
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bostonian,

We did big travel trips like yours when our boys were young. I think it can be done.

As for weather the last time we were in Yellowstone in early June it was warm and sunny but we have also been there in mid July and had a freak snow storm with a couple of inches of snow. In other words...you just can't plan for these things in this area!

I think I might be incline to skip Wind Cave National Park or if you do go just do the easiest tour.

http://www.nps.gov/wica/Tours-Garden_of_Eden.htm

You also are going from Cody up to Red Lodge. Going in on the Beartooth Highway is beautiful but that's a lot of driving when there is so much to see in Yellowstone. My boys were 5 and 2 when they first went to Yellowstone and they really enjoyed all the geyser and mud pots area. Take a stroller if you can because the are plenty of walks that you can use them on. Also be aware that the road between Tower Falls and Canyon Village is CLOSED this year. You will have to drive around to Mammoth Hot Springs to get down to Grant Village.

Utahtea



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Old Jun 2nd, 2003, 09:39 AM
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What a great trip! Like the previous poster said, you never know about the weather. Storms are more likely to occur in the afternoon than at night, however.

Another lodging option is cabins; we've stayed at some in Estes Park, and I know there are some in Grand Lake. They're usually pretty rustic. The one we stayed in had a bedroom, a living area, kitchen, and picnic table & grill outside. There was a stream and playground on the property.

There are many short hikes (walks) and lots for little kids to see in Yellowstone (geysers were our favorites). Our 4yo loved it, and still talks about going back. If either of your kids tend to run off suddenly, keep in mind that a step off a boardwalk in Yellowstone can be a step into a mud pot or geyser area. We kept our youngest in her stroller or backcarrier for that reason, for our peace of mind.

There's a section of the Firehole river where you can go swimming (geyser runoff warms the water); that's great fun.

Jenny Lake has a boat ride (VERY popular) across the lake. You can hike up the trail from that point as far (or as close) as you want.

On one walk to a hot pot area Yellowstone, we met up with an elk who leisurely picked her way through the hot pots as she left. At Jenny Lake, as we ate lunch by the trail, we were surprise by a young bull moose (HUGE). And once, up a hillside (safely far away), we saw a mother bear & her two cubs. I can't name all the other wildlife we saw...
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Old Jun 2nd, 2003, 10:32 AM
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The drive from Yellowstone/Grand Tetons back to Denver is one of the longest and most boring drives ever. This is a very hard drive on small kids.
I would recommend you look into flying from Jackson to Denver on one of the regular commuters, or think about staying in Steamboat Springs a night on the way back to Denver to break up the travel.
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Old Jun 2nd, 2003, 02:17 PM
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marge20,

The ride from California to Yellowstone and back was a lot longer and we did that trip when our boys were 5 and 2. Bostonian has already mentioned that she knows what she is in for. Some kids are travelers. Mine were.

Utahtea
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Old Jun 2nd, 2003, 07:12 PM
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Thanks all for your suggestions!!! I'm getting so excited just reading what you have to say about these beautiful places and magical moments... Utahtea, I have read your posts to other travelers, and thought of writing to you. Here you are, sharing tips and expreience that really are helping us with our decisions. I think we'll focus on finding lodging and forget about camping this time... Lexma90, you gave some great tips! I'll follow up those for sure. Have started looking for cabins... Marge20, thanks for the warning. We'll hope that we'd have successfully worn the kids out by then that they'd just sleep in the car during the drive back

It's only three weeks away!!! Cheers!
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Old Jun 4th, 2003, 06:55 AM
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"utahtea",
bostonian asked for help, and I offered constructive input on the last leg of the trip (which is nearly 12 hours of driving through near wasteland with no diversions) on how to break-up that leg and to give an FYI on how arduous it is.
I didn't know "folks" were so critical of other's postings in this forum - I'll make sure to pay detailed attention to every nuance of a posters questions before I make another reply or offer help.
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Old Jun 4th, 2003, 07:55 AM
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We did a similar trip last year, but DROVE all the way from Michigan, with a 4, 7 and 13 year old. We did Breck, Rock Mtn National, then up to Yellowstone via Jackson and Grand Teton. We then went to Big Sky Montana for a stay at our favorite wintertime haunt before heading home via Devil's Tower and the Badlands. We did this end of June/Early July. Wather was fantastic all around - no wild afternoon mountain thunderstirms at all. We stayed in condos in Colorado and Montana, so I can't help you there. But we did stay at some great little cabins outside on Jackson at Towotee Pass - I believe they were the Cowboy Cabins at Togwotee. Slept 6 with two queens and a pull out. Complete with kitchen, some have fireplaces. There is a nice hot tub complex on site as well as a surprisingly good restaurant. It was a 30 min drive to the park - but we enjoyed it our stay there.
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