Hi - I%26#39;ve booked a trip to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks for the end of July 2009. My 12 year old son and I will fly to Jackson Hole and spend 10 nights in the parks, 8 in Yellowstone and 2 in GTNO. This will be the first trip for us. I%26#39;ve been reading a lot of the forum topics and would appreciate any suggestions/tips for our itinerary below.
2 Nights Lake Yellowstone Hotel
2 Nights Mammoth Hot Springs
3 Nights West Yellowstone, MT
1 Night Old Faithful Lodge
2 Nights Jackson Lake Lodge GTNP
Thanks!!
Mom and Son Trip To YSNP and GTNP July 2009Wow, I think it looks great. 10 nights in the area will give you lots of time to properly explore and fit it whatever activities you%26#39;re interested in. To maximize your time, I%26#39;d concentrate on the East side of the park during the 4 nights you%26#39;ll be at Lake and Mammoth, and the West side while staying in West Yellowstone and Old Faithful.
If you%26#39;re interested in scheduling any activities or ';fancy'; dinners, don%26#39;t wait until the last minute. You may enjoy the Roosevelt cookout which would be fairly convenient from one of your nights at Mammoth. You can ride the wagons or choose a 1 or 2 hour horseback ride. That%26#39;s really the only planned activity we%26#39;ve ever done-always have spent most of our time looking for wildlife, visiting the ';main'; attractions, and hiking. 10 days sounds heavenly!
Mom and Son Trip To YSNP and GTNP July 2009Have you booked rooms as well as transportation?
Lots of differing opinions on this subject!!!
I%26#39;d not bounce around so much, but with just you and a 12 year old, it%26#39;s not so much a problem, just a bit of a hassle packing/unpacking, registering, etc.
If you are trying to avoid backtracking, don%26#39;t worry about it. Everything changes each time on a route.
My choices would be:
3 - 4 nights at Canyon, a more central location, instead of Mammoth. Admittedly, I do not like Mammoth, I tire too quickly of its location, lack of proximity to what I%26#39;m interested in, and its sights. Perhaps you two will find it perfect.
I%26#39;d cut W. Yellowstone to two nights at most, perhaps just one. My kids wanted to be in the park, and we saw W. Yellowstone offerings easily in a full day. Unless, however, you journey around that area to, say, Lake Hegben. Then, perhaps two nights.
Old Faithful Lodge is a great experience, and I could see two nights there, especially because of the trails.
Lake is a very nice setting, perfect for that glass of wine (and coke) on the deck, feet on the railing, looking across the meadow to the lake and, usually, a bison or two.
Here are some Inside Pages that might help prepare for this incredible trip.
tripadvisor.com/Travel-g28973-c100586/Wyomin…
tripadvisor.com/Travel-g60999-c96653/Yellows…
I, too, would consider dropping Mammoth for several nights in Canyon. Unless you are a serious geologist or vulcanologist, you can see about all there is of Mammoth in a couple of hours. We find it much too commercialized, busy, touristy, and not what we go to Yellowstone for, and that%26#39;s in the spring and fall. I can only imagine what it must be like in July! With the time that you have planned, you might drive through Mammoth one day to see it for yourself, but personally I would not recommend staying there. As Voyaging said, the location is quite far out of the way for visitng places like Lamar and Hayden valleys, Tower, Roosevelt, Dunraven Pass and Mt. Washburn. Those areas are where you will have the better chances of observing wolves and bears out in the open, and they are all easily reachable from the Canyon area. Also, do not be afraid to back track. Things change constantly in the park, and those who avoid back tracking miss a lot.
Enjoy your planning, and I%26#39;m sure that you and your son will have a great time exploring and experiencing all the wonders of this awesome area together!
I agree that I%26#39;d skip staying in Mammoth but not skip visiting it. I also agree on Canyon being a great location. Easy access to Hayden Valley and the grand canyon and falls. Easy drive to Dunraven Pass and on to Tower Junction.
At the end of July, you%26#39;ll have to get up early to see the bears and wolves.
Why to you want to spend 3 nights in W. Yellowstone? Its a pretty drive into the park but is a long drive over to the east side. If your son needs TV or pool time, then I suppose its worth it.
You and your son might enjoy our website. We%26#39;ve got a lot of information and pictures with comments from our visits to the park. There%26#39;s also some maps and sample itineraries.
www.alandsuejohnson.com
Yellowstone link on the left.
I don%26#39;t think there%26#39;s anything offensive anywhere on the site.
Jackson Lake Lodge is a nice place to stay. There%26#39;s also some information on our site on the Tetons and pictures of JLL. Not as much as Yellowstone but you might find it interesting.
Same website but use the Grand Teton NP link on the left. The 2008 link has the most information and pictures.
You need to make your reservations for lodging ASAP for places in the park. Availability may affect where you stay than this discussion. www.travelyellowstone.com is where you check. If that doesn%26#39;t work, call their 800 number. The website doesn%26#39;t always have everything. They%26#39;re easy to work with and have good cancellation policies. You may be able to make changes at the last minute if they have cancellations.
I really think you should have added a word to your posted sentence, so I did:
';I don%26#39;t think there%26#39;s anything ';too'; offensive anywhere on the site.';
Kidding, of course. :)
Wow! When did Sue%26#39;s site become ';PG13'; rated??? I%26#39;ll have to check it again........ ;-)
Its G only. If thinking its PG gets a lot more traffic then OK. Good luck finding anything. If you do, let me know.
The experts have given you some good recommendations about spending more time at Canyon. One of the best reasons for this is that there are more things that your son may be interested in. The visitor%26#39;s center at Canyon features an interactive on Super Volcanoes and you should consider the Young Scientist%26#39;s Program. It is a program your son signs up for at the visitor%26#39;s center, checks out a special toolkit, and then works through various exercises and takes a ranger class to earn a reward. It is something that you can do together, but your son can take the lead on. My nephews really like doing it!
Check the ';To Do%26#39; pages for more ideas on Family Friendly Hikes and other things to do.
I%26#39;ll go with the majority here regarding the 2 nights at Mammoth. This is just personal opinion, but once you%26#39;ve driven and/or walked through the formations, there%26#39;s not a lot more to see in the area. In Fall you have the Elk converging there, but in July I%26#39;d add those nights to either Lake or OFI. Canyon is also a good central choice if you have trouble booking at the others.
Is there a reason for the 3 nights in West Yellowstone - TV access, etc.? If not, I agree too that you might want to reconsider that, unless you have plans for other side trips from there - like the Earthquake Center or the Grizzly/Wolf Discovery Center.
If you haven%26#39;t already checked it out, here%26#39;s a good link for in-park activities:
www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/things2do.htm
Have fun and let us know if you need anymore help ';tweaking'; your plans!
I%26#39;m off to recheck Sue%26#39;s site -lol!
I would add a second night at Old Faithful - there are so many geysers in the area that you could easily spend two days. Be sure not to miss the Grand Prismatic Spring at the Midway Basin - it is stunningly beautiful. Also, if you and your son like to swim check out the Firehole River (north of OF) and/or the Boiling River (near Mammoth).
Have a great time!
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