Yellowstone and...what park would you do?
 

Booked 4 nights in Yellowstone in July 2017. Family of four and our boys will be 15 and 13. We are east coasters who travel a lot on our side of the country. Had an amazing trip last year in UT, AZ and NV.

I have lots of flight options (thanks travel Miles), paying one way rental doesn't bother me and we have 13 days outside of the travel days. Our kids love outdoor ACTIVITY - i.e. not just hiking but also rafting, ATVing, swimming, climbing and we are really excited to see wildlife and stuff we can't see in the East. So the million dollar question is where should we focus the other days? I see so many options - badlands/mt Rushmore...Tetons and Glacier...Denver/Rocky Mountains...Idaho (ok not sure what to see there but I'm sure there's a lot of natural beauty).

Note we also like history so historical stops are great too.

Any help and ideas are appreciated!

See if this circle makes sense to you. Fly to Portland OR.
Rent a car and spend 1 night in Hood River (Columbia Gorge).
There are waterfalls and several good hikes in the area.
Hood River is well known for sailboarding on the Columbia River. Drive south on Rt. 35 on the east side of Mr. Hood to US 26 east. Get on US 97 south in Madras and go to Bend or Sunriver. Take a long day trip from there to Crater Lake NP.
Return to Bend and then take US 20 east all the way to Ontario, OR and get on I-84. Stay somewhere east of Boise.
Next day drive through to see Craters of the Moon in Idaho.
Enter Yellowstone through West Yellowstone MT.
Four days is enough to scratch the surface in Yellowstone.
Leaving Yellowstone, exit through Gardiner (US89) to Livingston. There are raft outfitters in Gardiner for rafting on the Yellowstone River.
From Livingston, head west on I-90 to Missoula.
Make a choice if you want to go north to Glacier NP or west to get to Mt. Rainier NP in Washington.
Return the car to PDX and fly home.

Grand Teton National Park has what you're looking for, and it is unforgettable.

HTtY

> Our kids love outdoor ACTIVITY

Then I suggest you head for the Black Hills, which is one big tourist attraction. Outdoor stuff is well represented there:
http://www.blackhillsbadlands.com/outdoor-recreation

Agree about the Tetons for at least another few days. Don't forget fly fishing.
Colorado would certainly fill the bill. There are a number of threads at the moment with a lot of ideas.

How many days would one allocate to Tetons? In my (clearly not correct) mind I was thinking it was too similar to Yellowstone.

The Badlands website is amazing.

As is the Oregon route...I would probably fly out of somewhere closer to Yellowstone since we aren't tied to round trip tix.

I agree with Tetons, and no they are not the same.

Several days. Include horseback riding.

I think we did add Glacier to the itinerary, just a drive through though.

Glacier is a hiking park. Over 700 miles of hikes, some easy some difficult.

Because Going to the Sun road isn't worthwhile?

Without a doubt, the Tetons.

So...3 days in Tetons? Recommendations on where to stay? We are paying $300 per night for the Yellowstone nights - I would love to pay less than that in Tetons but ultimately I want it to be a great vacation so more concerned with picking the right place to stay.

Also, we did whitewater and flat rafting on the Colorado and enjoyed both - looks like water options are snake River and there's some white water near Gardiner, MT. Any recommendations or must do trips on the water?

PS - Tomfuller - you've got me intrigued with the Oregon itinerary but I think I'm going to combine that with a Yosemite loop which is our preliminary 2018 trip idea. Going to save what you wrote because I really appreciate the detail and the areas you highlighted!

If you click on my user name you will see trip reports with kids to Yellowstone and Jackson/the Tetons. I would skip the lodges in the park and stay at Dornan's cabins in Moose--you are right at entrance, they are in a lovely location and it will be cheaper and you will have more space!! Jackson is very expensive. If you have to--stay at the Virginian to save money.

White water rafting with Barker Ewing on the Snake out of Jackson is a MUST. So much fun. Can't tell you how many times I have done that stretch of river and I always have a blast.