Trip to National Parks

A silent auction “win” of a weekly rental in Bozeman helped jumpstart one of our favorite vacations. As this itinerary came together, we decided to invite others to join us and really make a memorable trip. So, two good friends – a mother and son — joined for the entire trip. My sister and family – her husband and three boys — joined us in Bozeman for the second half. What came together was a fabulous trip with 12 people (seven children ranging from ages 8 to 13) that included hiking, fishing, wildlife, snowball fights and lots of laughs in one of the most beautiful areas of our country!

Special Note: With a National Park vacation, be sure to book rooms within the parks several months in advance.

Day 1

• Arrive in Jackson Hole, Wyoming mid-morning.
• Experience the quickest airport bag retrieval and car rental process ever!
• Drive to Downtown Jackson Hole and head to Snow King Mountain for an alpine slide experience. So much fun and a great way to burn off some energy from the long flight!
• Walk around town and have lunch. Lots of photo opps here, so enjoy!
• Drive to Grand Teton National Park. The scenery is just breathtaking. Buffalo and elk graze along the road, yellow wildflowers cover acres and blue skies are endless.
• Spend your first night in Colter Bay Village. It’s a bit rustic, but it’s comfortable. Walk along the lake and docks, skip stones.
• Dinner that night in the restaurant on site. Good food and convenient.
• Slept like the logs the cabins were made of!

Day 2

• Take an early morning walk around the village. Maybe you’ll see a fox den with scampering babies like we did! Start a list of wildlife you see!
• Have breakfast and then drive south back toward Jackson Hole to really investigate the National Elk Refuge. Park the car and walk around.
• Lunch in Jackson Hole.
• Drive north to Jenny Lake for a hike to Inspiration Point.
• Board a pontoon boat for the ride across the lake to the trail start. It’s about a mile up to the point and well worth it for the stunning views of Jenny Lake.
• Head down the trail and take the long route back around the lake. Look for animals! We saw deer, elk and a marmot. Took a good hour or so to arrive back at the parking lot. Plan accordingly.
• Dinner at Colter Village and an early night for all.

Day 3

• After breakfast head north to Yellowstone National Park.
• Take a quick break at Jackson Lake Lodge. Walk through the lobby to see the beautiful views and grab a beverage from the hotel store for the ride ahead.
• Pull off along the way for photos and to let the children explore a bit and stretch their legs. We stopped for a quick spring snow ball toss – and the children loved it!
• Lunch at a Park restaurant near West Thumb. Prepare for much of the same food for the next few days since all the Park restaurants are run by the same company. Burger and fries anyone?
• After lunch visit West Thumb Geyser Basin. Walk along the boardwalk and enjoy the colors and natural beauty of the hot pools. Simply amazing.
• Park rangers are accessible and answer questions about the surroundings. The children were able to hold small animal skulls and learn about the local wildlife.
• Check in at Canyon Lodge and Cabins. Rustic and very simple – enjoy the outdoorsy-ness of the Yellowstone environment!
• Let the children hike around and relax. Snow mounds were still plentiful during our trip in late May, so all put socks on their hands and built a snow fort.
• Dinner at the local restaurant in the hub of the village.
• Back to the cabin for an impromptu slide show on a laptop of all the photos taken in the first few days! Great way to entertain and hear feedback from the group.

Day 4

• Get an early start and prepare for the long drive to Bozeman, Montana via the North Gate.
• Drive the Grand Loop Road north.
• Along the way, stop to enjoy the views, look for bears and other wildlife. Take LOTS of pictures with this fabulous backdrop.
• Hike to Towering Falls. Lots of steps for this magnificent view – and well worth it!
• Consult the park map and look for quick stops along the route. One example – a quick walk to the site of a petrified redwood tree.
• Drive to Mammoth Hot Springs. Drive slightly past the hot springs for lunch first. The Mammoth Hot Springs Dining Room is a perfect fit – and a quick stop in the General Store gave everyone a chance to walk around a bit.
• Bring a bottle of water for the tour of the hot springs. It’s a good walk – fascinating to see all the colors the minerals create.
• After the walk, get back on the road and drive the final several hours to Bozeman.

Day 5

• Wake up in Bozeman Montana for a day of rest…sort of!
• Get some vacation chores done — laundry and grocery shopping.
• Enjoy NOT being in the car today.
• Welcome the third family’s arrival that afternoon. (They stayed in a local hotel with a pool.)
• Cook out at the house. After dessert, let the children play manhunt. Fun!

Day 6

• After breakfast all families meet at the Museum of the Rockies.
• Learn about Montana through its extensive collections including Indian artifacts, dinosaur fossils and photography.
• Visit the Montana Grizzly Encounter, a habitat for grizzlies who cannot be released into the wild. The habitat offers visitors a view of the bears up close and is a fun way to spend an hour. At least will be able to say bears were seen after two weeks out West!
• Later in the day, walk around downtown Bozeman. Main Street has some cute shops and good restaurants.
• Enjoy dinner in town.

Day 7

• Start with an early morning of fly fishing. Rent some fly rods, find a beautiful river or stream and give all the children a fly fishing demo or lesson.
• Visit some antique stores in the area for souvenirs from the wild west.
• Return to the house for lunch.
• Time to get some cowboy on and go horsebackriding! The scenery is beautiful and the children — and adults – love it!
• Head to the hotel pool to cool off.
• Dinner at the house.

Day 8

• Drive to Big Sky, Montana for the day.
• Take the chairlift up to the top of the mountain. Experience the beautiful views of the surrounding area. Especially memorable for those who don’t ski!
• From the top, hike down to the base. This gave the children a chance to run and chase each other after being in the car for a couple of hours.
• Drive a few miles south to the 320 Ranch for a chuck wagon dinner. Held on Wednesday evenings, guests from outside the ranch are welcome. Make a reservation and purchase tickets online. (Ours was cancelled due to lightening. Instead, we enjoyed our meal in their indoor facilities.)

Day 9

• Prepare for a hike in the Lewis and Clark Caverns in Cardwell, Montana.
• The two-hour activity is spectacular! Stalagtites and stalagmites in the cavern are such an exciting and interesting. You’ll all love it!
• After the tour, buy a drink at the snack bar and enjoy the sweeping views of the countryside.
• Drive east toward Bozeman and stop for lunch. We chose Wheat Montana Farm and Bakery. Everyone picked a sandwich and we picnicked at a nearby park along a river. Beautiful day and hearty lunch!
• Head over to Madison Buffalo Jump State Park and see where the Indians used to drive the buffalo herd to the edge and harvest them for food, clothing, and more.
• Hike toward the limestone cliff – it’s farther than it looks!
• Drive back to Bozeman and have dinner somewhere like Ted’s Montana Grill. Try the bison burger!

Day 10

• Fix a good breakfast at home – finishing what you can in the refrigerator!
• Put on hiking boots and head over to the “must-do” hike in Bozeman – the M.
• Hike the mountain using the easy trail. It’s a beautiful way to spend a sunny morning in town.
• Do your last load of laundry and get the bags packed.
• Early to bed.

Day 11

• Depart Bozeman early.
• On the way, drive through sections of Ted Turner’s ranch – absolutely gorgeous.
• Arrive in West Yellowstone, Montana and stop for lunch. Cutesy stores are worth a quick look.
• Enter the Park at the West entrance. We saw an eagle in her nest as soon as we entered, so be prepared for good wildlife spotting!
• Drive south on the Grand Loop Road and head straight for Old Faithful.
• Save seats in the front row to see Old Faithful. Send someone to buy water and ice cream for the 30+ minute wait. It can be hot! Old Faithful was wonderful to see up close. The children were absolutely thrilled.
• Visit the Old Faithful Inn. It’s a spectacular historic property (books years in advance) and well worth a walk through.
• Relax on the shaded upper veranda and watch Old Faithful again. Purchase drinks at the bar and take it one step further — order take-out meals from the hotel restaurant — and enjoy dinner there. We did and saw Old Faithful go off three more times!
• Drive to Grant Village for the night – completing the full circle of Yellowstone.

Day 12

• Breakfast at the dining hall in Grant Village. Cafeteria style, but pretty views.
• Drive south back into Jackson Hole and check into a hotel for two nights.
• Walk around town again and shop for any last-minute souvenirs from the trip.
• Schedule a white water rafting trip for the following day.
• Dinner on the square in Jackson Hole.
• Lots of picture opportunities for the entire group on the square!

Day 13

• Breakfast in town.
• Head to an outfitter for a rafting trip on the Snake River! Note: On our trip, children had to be at least 10 years old – no exceptions — so one in our group could not do it. Spring rains were just too heavy.
• Leave enough time to “slip” into the wet suit!! It took longer than expected for some in the group.
• Follow the group to the launch point and watch them navigate the first few turns in the river.
• Revisit the alpine slide on Snow King Mountain with anyone who cannot go rafting. Another several fun runs there will wipe the frowns off small faces!
• Pick up the rafters and walk around town for the last evening.

Day 14

• Head to the airport and board your plane for the flight home!

• Sign your children up for frequent flier programs…even if they don’t fly enough to earn a ticket, you can use their balances to add to yours. It can really help if you’re shy a few miles.
• Send yourselves a daily postcard. Your hotel will likely sell stamps and mail them for you! When you arrive home, enjoy reliving the experiences all over again.
• Be flexible. If your daily itinerary is weather-dependent, don’t hesitate to switch activities and make the most of a sunny day.
• If you’re traveling over a weekend in Europe, do a little research and make sure activities/places on your itinerary are open on Sundays.

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