Yellowstone National Park & Grand Teton National Park

Published 2018

Four years ago we went on our FIRST family trip. We decided to go west with our adventure to Mount Rushmore. A year later we made our way to Devils tower and in both trips we ventured around Custer State Park. Those trips were 3 and 4 days long, so when planning a two week trip to Yellowstone…. I knew I would have to do EVEN MORE research and planning. Luckily for me I enjoy that part.

We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone…

We decided to go to Yellowstone while driving back from Devils Tower. This has become the trend… since we planned out the NEXT TWO YEARS on our way home from this trip!

To be honest with you before we started going on family vacations Yellowstone sounded “scary” for lack of better term. Its far away…lots of driving…we stay in a tent..and the list goes on. We realized that you just have to go for it and each year will get easier as the kids get older…and they won’t open doors at the bear park….

Although there is no wrong way to plan a trip or routes to get to your destination, if there are sites you want to see along the way to “the main attraction” then I do recommend seeing those on your way out there… especially on long trips. We had planned to be gone just shy of two weeks for this trip and due to weather we left after 10 which was plenty long and NOBODY wanted to do anything on the way back… except get home to their own beds!

First off I will tell you about the route we took, the sites we saw, and all that jazz…. and after the glitz and glam I will go into the planning, packing and purchases we made for the trip… as well as a packing list I made. So lets dive right in…or rather drive… you get the idea…

The path to adventures starts in Minnesota for us…with a fully stocked SUV and all 6 of us. We originally planned to leave Saturday morning June 9th but decided to leave Friday night and we drove straight through to Miles City, Montana.

Miles City, MONTANA: to sum it up it is a bigger town but not the traditional “tourist out west town” that I prefer. There is an older strip that has a couple of neat looking bars, none of which we made an appearance but looked “westerney” from the outside. Cotton Wood trees…everywhere = cottonwood fluff… everywhere (if you have allergies just keep driving!!!). Where we stayed: Miles City KOA – clean, affordable and has a pool.

We lucked out in Miles City that it was 93 degrees and we found a swimming hole to spend the day at. The Miles City KOA was nice but if it hadn’t been warm out to swim there wasn’t much we would have wanted to do there. Great place to stop and spend the night but for us it wasn’t much more than that.

With the wind blowing everything around…including the cottonwood fluff… we packed up our camp and headed south to Cody, Wyoming where we would spend the next two nights.

Cody, WYOMING: Nice town with plenty to do and places to stay as well as cute shops, ice cream, horse back riding, museums, and of course the rodeo! Where we stayed: Ponderosa Campground – great location but if you are a light sleeper it is right next to the road (shrubs and a fence between). The camping is non-designated so there is a grassy area where you can pick where to put your tent but they don’t do reservations. If the kids were older we would have opted for the rustic option on the other side down by the river which would have been quiet. Campsites are close to the amenities though and the store. One major thing to note is its within city limits and no campfires are allowed.

We rolled into Cody in the afternoon and after setting up our camp we decided to check out the town! Not all places were open on a Sunday but we found ice cream…and what more does one really need. I myself had a Heart of the Mountain Sundae.. ice cream with hot fudge, Oreo crumbs, malt powder, whipped cream and a cherry I think says it all. The town was cute with tourist shops and eateries. I would stop there again if I was in the area. It was a great way to start our stay in Cody.

The next day is when the real fun began…9am HORSEBACK RIDING! YAY! I must note that I knew it was going to be chilly in the mountains at night…but I WAS NOT prepared for how cold it was. In Cody it got down to 45 at night….but that was just a taste of what was to come. I bring this up because at 9am I was in layers for this ride. I recommend bringing a hat and light gloves with just in case. But don’t worry…it warms up during the day!

A documentary I watched said that it can SNOW any day out of the year out in Yellowstone. I’ll just leave that right there for you to reread.

Back to the fun though…. so we went with the trail riding offered next to the Buffalo Bill Museum. My horse was the biggest of them all and his name was Captain Morgan. The views on the hour long ride were BEAUTIFUL as he led us down to the river and talked about the surrounding land. He also clued us into a great fishing spot which proved to be tasty. Costs for this were $45.00 per person plus we gave him a tip so $100 for the two of us to go riding and make some great memories.

BY THE BIG RED ROCK…it became a joke in the camp. The fishing spot recommended while trail riding was explained to us as being under the BIG RED ROCK in the distance…along with other directions we didn’t retain LOL. So when us girls got back to camp and told the guys of this fishing spot and that its under the BIG RED ROCK you can imagine the looks we got…hehe. But we found it and fish were caught!

Back to camp to relax and cook up the catch of the day! Then on to the RODEO!!!

The CODY NIGHTLY RODEO is the longest running nightly rodeo and did not disappoint. I don’t remember exact cost but it was under $100 for all 6 of us to go. We had a great time but it did get pretty cold! With the help of some hot chocolate we made it to the end of the show. If its chilly I recommend layers…or a blanket….

Just outside of Cody is the Buffalo Bill Dam. Really cool to see and informational visitor center. It was super windy and could easily lose your hat there! You cannot drive all the way up but workers on golf carts will give you a ride…just make sure to give them a tip!

Heading West from Cody we entered YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK from the East Entrance. The park has 4 major entry points. This point is closest to Yellowstone Lake. We decided we would spend the day looking around the East and Central Yellowstone before making our way to the campsite in West Yellowstone.

A MUST HAVE: Before you enter the park…because you will not have service while you are in there…make sure if you have a smart phone to download the GyPSy App. This was an amazing addition to the trip. It is a tour guide that has GPS points all throughout the park. There is one for Yellowstone and also the Grand Tetons. It is well worth the $4.99 we paid for it at the time!! Seriously. It uses the satellites and all you have to do is have the app opened and when it comes to a certain point it tells you about it. No looking to see whats next or what something is…the app tells you and has history info. Yellowstone alone had over 300 different points. THIS MADE THE TRIP. I am not joking. I could go on and on about this but back to the trip…..

First stop was at the MUD VOLCANO AREA! This was a super cool area with thermal sites that were different than than others we came across later. The bubbling mud was fascinating to watch. There is a nice trail with partial boardwalk that takes you up a hill and around. Nice views from the top as well! It felt amazing to get out out after the driving of the day.

I must note this was the first place “Backpack Baby” was established. The term for my 3 year old who was made to ride on my husbands back in a child carrier. HIGHLY recommend something of this nature for this trip if you have a younger child. We just didn’t have to worry and was needed for most of the stops that we made. With 4 kids and one of them being 3…one less thing to worry about was amazing and not sure it would have been as pleasant without it.

Heading further along we followed the Yellowstone River as we went leading us to a top item on my list of things to see….THE GRAND CANYON OF YELLOWSTONE..and it did not disappoint! The views from all angles of the lookout were truly amazing. I haven’t been to the Grand Canyon but if its more amazing than this I am excited..because this was an amazing site. I suggest getting there early. Decent amount of parking but it does fill up. A great stop if you are mobility challenged. There are stairs to get to the best viewing site but there are quite a few vantage points before that as well.

A GOOD CAMERA…. I feel like this is a good as any time to talk about a good camera. Not even the best camera is needed…but one that can zoom farther than your phone. I took an equal amount of pics on my phone as I did on my camera. The phones are great for close up pics and of people but if you want some amazing shots of things like the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone…or the wildlife…your phone just won’t get the affect you are looking for. It can be a pain to carry around…but if the pics are a big deal to you it will be worth it for some of the shots. You don’t need a camera that can see the craters of the moon….like this guy we saw…but something other than your phone is recommended.

Lots of great stops for waterfalls…and snow…and animals along the trail. Yellowstone has a few big main attractions but also so many small ones along the way. I recommend you stop when you see them because chances are you won’t take that road again. Yellowstone is a big place and with stops….and delays…it takes awhile to get around.

DELAYS…so when I was researching Yellowstone I would see comments about delays but didn’t understand until I witnessed it. It takes one person spotting an animal and all of a sudden cars are not moving. Or more commonly the Bison that roam the area decide it would be hilarious to stand in the middle of the road. And they just stand there. You figure it is their entertainment for the day watching all these cars have to wait for the to move their butts. We lucked out and only had one major delay but after a long day and wanting to get to our campsite it felt like forever.

After the said buffalo delay we finally made it out of the park and into Montana where our campground would be for the next three nights.

West Yellowstone, Montana: An adorable western town. We were busy exploring the park and didn’t spend much time there but had lots of cute looking eateries. We did enjoy one of the ice cream stands. Were we stayed: Yellowstone Park/West Gate KOA…now there are two KOA’s within a few miles of each other. We had originally booked at Mountainside which was an extreme disappointment upon pulling in to a campground that was lackluster with nothing for the kids to do especially after we had just drove by West Gate which looked magical. Luckily there was an open site available and we could switch sites. No electricity but OH WELL! Very nice KOA with an indoor pool, ice cream shop in the main office, and other fun stuff for the kids to do.

The next morning we entered the park from the west and decided to head south and see the geyser basin area and make our way to Old Faithful. Lots of stops along this road. If you can help it I recommend seeing on a sunny day…the colors are amazing! We lucked out and the sky was blue as could be and all the colors just danced. If you are sensitive to smells be prepared these beautiful thermal sites come with the stench of sulfur…and if you don’t know what that is imagine a rotten egg smell. We lucked out at the big sites there was just enough wind to keep the smell at bay and the steam cloud from blocking the views. My favorite was the Grand Prismatic. I know the name implies that its “grand” but I really wasn’t prepared for how big it was! I loved this site and everything about it. Its located next to the river and just a beautiful stop all around. A MUST SEE.

Have a backpack with some water and snacks with you and a cooler in the car. You will most likely be away from your campsite (or other space if you can afford) for a good part of the day and restaurants are not a plenty. And take advantage of a bathroom without a line if you see one….

OLD FAITHFUL..I went there when I was a kid but I don’t remember it much and it definitely looked different than I remember. It was a fun stop but pretty busy. Upon arrival we decided to check out the Old Faithful Inn first. It was a neat place but didn’t hold much interest to the kids so on to find ice cream it was! I have to say I had the same flavor of ice cream the entire time I was there…HUCKLEBERRY….its everywhere out there and their famous flavor. So I made sure to soak it up and was sooooon yummy. So with our ice cream in hand we make our way to the boardwalk to wait for Old Faithful to go off. At this time it was pretty warm out and the ice cream tasted good..but also at this time the 3 year old wasn’t in the mood to sit and wait but we struggled through and saw the iconic geyser almost hit a bird right out of the air! It was a cool event to watch and glad we made it there.

MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS…. The next day we headed to the northern part of the park with a couple of main stops we wanted to see. My brother flew in to camp with us as well. My boys rode with him in his rental car….which was a sports car…they thought they were cool. We hit some road construction on the way up but lucked out on our timing. There were less points of interest on this road to get to the hot springs which was kinda nice. We then made it to the Mammoth Hot Springs…. I was there when I was a kid as well. The biggest area that was active…a “few” years ago…wasnt active anymore but was still a cool place to visit with boardwalks. There were some smaller sites that the GyPSy tour guide recommended you could drive through which were just as nice I thought.

ROOSEVELT ARCH… This was really cool. My original plan wasn’t to get all the way up to this or even Mammoth but I am really glad we did. The Original entrance to Yellowstone was an awesome site to see. The cute little town there was fun to look around. It was less busy than a lot of other places with shops so we spent some time there. The views to and from the arch into the park were beautiful as well. Definitely worth making time for.

Upon leaving the arch we decided to not go back through the road construction but that we would make a look around from the North Entrance to the East Entrance and then cut across through the middle again. The only trek or road we didn’t hit up was between the East and South Entrances.

We decided to stop at the petrified tree. Cool to see but my favorite part of this stop was the walk we took through the connecting valley to hidden lake or lost lake or something of that nature. It was beautiful and we cut across by climbing a very large hill. Not sure we saved ourselves any time but it was a great way to see the area we were. This is a more remote area so always be careful and have proper safety items packed when going off the main roads. Felt amazing to get out for a hike though while my husband snuck in a nap with both the girls sleeping as well.

The next morning we decided to enter the park again from the West Entrance saying bye to our campsite we called home for 3 very cold nights and made our way towards the Grand Tetons. I didn’t know what to expect but I have to say if you are anywhere near them they are worth checking out. Just seeing them is amazing. THEY ARE BEAUTIFUL!

Yellowstone can be very cold or very hot. We went the middle of June and we had frost on our tent. I was cold and I don’t like being cold. It would warm up during the day but it was 28 at night…..I wasn’t quite prepared for that.

GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK….

Jackson Area: High end tourist area in Jackson…good food. Where we stayed: Colter Bay Village in a cabin tent. This was amazing after 5 days of staying in a tent. They have 4 bunk beds and we made room for our air mattress as well. Its a cement floor with canvas sides and tin roof with a small barrel stove. It wasn’t big enough to keep going all night but was nice to take the chill off. We lucked out as it rained those two nights. I would stay here again. They had a grocery store in the main area (that you drive too its a big place) that had everything you needed and wasn’t overpriced. And THE VIEWS are amazing. Its right next to the Tetons and Jackson lake. They have a restaurant on site even. I would think about spending a little more to get an actual cabin closer to everything if I went there again.

JACKSON…The city of Jackson is a great tourist area with lots of great places to eat and nice places to shop. Not a great place if you have small children who like to touch things…or climb in bins of expensive furs. Just saying. We ate at Liberty Burger and the food was great. This was one of the two times we ate food we hadn’t packed for the trip.

JENNY LAKE … A beautiful mountain located just north of the Jackson area was high up on everyones list as our favorite adventure. Beautiful clear lake up in the mountains with a river you cross and could see the fish in. The boys returned later that evening and caught supper. YUM. Rainbow Trout is by far one of my favorite fish. We took the ferry to the other side of Jenny Lake where you can take a hike up to the waterfall which is so big you can feel the spray from it even when you cannot see it. I had planned to take the ferry back but we all decided we would take the hike around the lake back to the landing. This 3 mile hike up and down the sides of the lake was definitely a hike but well worth it for the views. All 13 of us made it out alive… with only one bee flying in a kids mouth and stinging them. One cannot prepare for such an event. I would recommend this with or without the hike. It is really a beautiful area.

OLD MORMON FARMS… Along that same stretch from where we were staying and the town of Jackson is a side road that leads you to a collection of old farm houses and barns. The was such a great stop. The kids could get out and run around in the fields with the Tetons as your backdrop. They chased prairie dogs while I took in the sites and tried to capture the beauty in a photograph.

THERMOPOLIS… After two nights by Jackson Lake we started making our way back East. We had planned to stay a couple more nights in Thermopolis but the weather called for rain the next few days. We made a stop still at the Hot Springs there and it was a really cool or should I say “hot” time. The natural fed hot spring swimming pool was enjoyed by all. It was a great attraction but there wasn’t much else in the town we would have wanted to do upon further inspection so we were glad rain was coming and we changed our plans. We kept going after we took a hot dip and made our way over to Gillette for a really late dinner to celebrate fathers day.

This trip had so many great adventures on it. And things were learned to prepare for… hard to do on a trip like this to be prepared for everything but we learn with each trip we take. I know after this though I have not been in a huge hurry to plan a trip in that tent. LOL

THINGS YOU DONT PLAN FOR:

The cost of firewood. Frost in July. Buffalo road delays.