Hi - We will be going to Yellowstone at the end of August for a family reunion. We will be taking our three year old daughter. Any suggestions about things to do with her, must sees, easy hikes, other activities. (Obviously we will be visiting old faithful and the geyser basin!) We are staying in the cabins at either the Lake Hotel or the Lake Lodge - I think it's the Lake Hotel - what are our eating options, besides the main dining room? Thanks in advance for your help!

I forgot to say that other than the days driving in and out of the park (to Jackson Hole) we will have four days to play...

I brought some legos and crayons when we took our young daughters. There are no t.v.s or pools in the area, which is usually how my kids liked to unwind in the evening, so I did bring more along than usual. The restaurants in the park had kids menus you could color so we brought crayons to meals. A cheap disposable camera to take photos of animals might be fun. Yellowstone has so many oddities it is a good park to visit with kids; the animals and geysers and mud pots are pretty interesting!!

Thanks AuntAnnie. I'm sure she is going to love it there... I was showing her some of the on-line tours from the NPS site the other day and she kept saying "I want to see that geyser, I want to see that spring, I want to see the mudpots"

Do you remember any particularly easy hikes we could take her on? Bob_Brown has been raving about the Firehole walk to Lone Star Geyser on this site, would it be appropriate for her? Any other suggestions?

She's a good traveller, we've taken her to loads of places/countries and she's also not a fussy eater (thank goodness!). I'm probably going to have to bring my PC with me for work purposes, so we may bring a dvd or two for some end of the day chill-out, but she's probably just as happy to unwind by looking at books...

We went to YNP in 2001 with our then almost 5 and 7 year olds. Stayed a couple of nights at Lake Hotel. They have a very nice sunroom/lobby there and one day my youngest and I just hung out for several hours coloring and playing cards. The restaurant there is pretty good and not so stuffy that you need to worry about bringing a child. We didn't eat anywhere else while there.

We did the walks/hikes around Yellowstone Canyon. We also took them to Firehole Canyon (I believe that's it) to go swimming and have a picnic lunch. She will love the geysers but you will need to keep a close eye on her--it would be very easy for her to run off and fall in. That worried me with my kids so we just talked a lot about being safe.

Have fun!!!

You might consider bringing an umbrella stroller for her. The geyser basin area is very stroller friendly and this way you won't have to worry about always holding your childs hand when near the geysers, hot springs, mud pots etc. I would do all the geyser basins...Old Faithful, Biscut, Blank Sand, Midway, etc. They are all different and amazing.

The Mud Volcano and Mammoth Hot Springs will be fine for a toddler if you keep a close eye on them.

Utahtea

Hi
We were just there and took a lot of pictures your daughter might like. Many bison and elk pictures. We stayed at the Old Faithful Inn so I can't help you with the eating options on your side.
www.AlandSueJohnson.com

You can click on the bison picture on the home page. You can also click on trip pictures on the menu at the top of the home page.

As for eating, all of the yellowstone lodges have old-fashioned counter service hamburger places. Young kids may like this better than the other lodge dining(stools that twirl...) The maple nut ice-cream is worth the trip. Depending on weather, the geysers can be really really hot. Best easy wildlife viewing is near Canyon, although we have seen wonderful wildlife all over. Consider NOT staying at Lake the whole time since driving to all these locations takes lots of time. Oh, also, my son used to like digging in the sand on the shores of Lake Yellowstone. We have seen otters swimming there twice.

The Lone Star hike is perfect for a small child - it's mostly an old road. Please do be careful EVERYWHERE though! A 3 year old toddling around can get into trouble in the blink of an eye there. We were in Yellowstone before we had kids - have a 3 and 1 year old now and we think we're going to wait a few years before going back.

We took our two boys to Yellowstone for the first time when they were 4 1/2 years and 15 months old. We took a double stroller for the geyser areas and spent 7 days camping in Yellowstone. The younger one was an experienced hiker by the age of 3 and the younger one rode in a back pack. Sounds like you have an experienced little traveler and I'm sure she will love Yellowstone.

Utahtea

thanks so much for these suggestions! Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it) we are staying in the cabins at the Lake Hotel, and don't have a possibility to change, so I guess it's up early for morning drives to where-ever. I was thinking of taking a boat trip one day - have any of you taken the boat trip?

AIJ - took a look at your pictures. What a nice trip you guys had! The Lower Falls look amazing!

Utahtea - thanks so much for the recommendations. You were so helpful to us a few years ago when we were planning our Southern Utah trip (before our daughter came along). What a magical place that is!

We do plan on bringing the intrepid stroller that has been on numerous hikes (thank goodness for lockable front wheels!) so boardwalk walks sound easy-peasy, (and although she's pretty good about holding hands and not running off, probably a good idea from a safety standpoint). We probably will try the Lone Star walk too... sounds like a nice day out. Is it far from the Lake Hotel?

The Lone Star walk is near Old Faithful, not too far from the lake.

In my opinion, the LS hike is a must! The eruption of this geyser is stunning and what makes it even better is that there are no barriers, boarwalks, etc. It just "feels" different to be out in the backcountry. It erupts around every three hours and you can check the bulletin board at OF for the last reported eruption time.

A tip: there is a pre-eruption, a steam phase, that many people mistake for the actual eruption - they leave when it's over and miss the real show. Wait around like 10 minutes and you'll be amazed at the real deal!

Here's a pic I took:

http://members.aol.com/john127/ls.jpg


John

what a nice picture... looks great. Maybe we can convince the rest of the family to do a "proper" easy hike and all head out there for a picnic, a play in the river, and geyser watching... I'd like to see something that is a bit more "wild"... Guess we'll bring some mosquito repellant, a picnic blanket, supplies and go...

Your really should get out and hike, there are many very easy trails in Yellowstone. A 1/4 mile out and you are away from the crowds - a totally different experience.

John

What is really nice about Yellowstone, is at almost every road pull-off there is a well marked, flat and usually wide path that allows you to walk (rather than hike) a very short distance, 1/4-1/2 mile and see things not viewable from roadway. We had a guide book that listed each place in the order they appeared on the road and description of what you could see, surface underfoot and distance. (I think it was a Smithsonian book, but I am not sure). So you can go with a 3 year old, walk a little and feel the experience off the roadway.

Do not do what we saw some idiot doing last summer. Do not place your child on a bison and attempt to take a photo. (Not kidding - people like that should stick to Disney)

Someone tried to put their child on a buffalo? What were they thinking... "awww, how cute, it looks just like a big shaggy cow"?
Not to offend anyone, but it reminds me of some people's reactions to the bears which have started to come in to my home town in Colorado looking for food during the spring/summer... "awwww aren't they cute... just like big dogs... awwww...look at the little cub"

Yes, some lunatic tried to put their kid on a buffalo. If it had not put the kid in jeopardy, I was hoping the thing would charge or at least snort and scare the idiot to death.

Also saw people trying to touch the moose eating landscaping at condo near GTNP.

Also don't cross over retaining walls to get a better picture! A woman fell 500 feet to her death this year right after we had been there. http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/wireStory?...C-RSSFeeds0312

Utahtea

trylgrl: We have found picnic lunches to be the way to go...we eat breakfast where we are staying, hike/drive/explore/picnic all day, afternoon ice cream stop (as mentioned above;mmmmm) and then dinner in one of the lodges. We have usually brought picnic food from home and supplemented in the camp stores; a bit more pricey but convenient. (and leaving the park with gas prices is not economical, either!!) I think you will like having a stroller; in some areas having your daughter buckled in will make you feel calmer. There are some dangerous areas that are very accessible and I always worry about little ones being impulsive. Having your pc with a dvd in the evening is a good idea! Sometimes it is a good way to unwind. Have fun!!