Trip To Yellowstone NP

I need help to plan our trip to Yellowstone NP from June, 27 to July,11 with 5-year-old children. We do%26#39;nt like to race, but to have time at the various sights.

1)Which airport? Bozeman or Jackson? From what I read maybe Jackson is more beautiful?

2) What to see and to do in Jackson / Treton NP?

Would be one day enough for getting used to the altitude?

3)Where to go then first?

4) Which accomodations would you recommend? We do not need luxury hotels, but would prefer typical rural lodges with breakfast.

5) Where should we plan to spend more time?

6) Do we need a SUV or is a sedan also fine?

Trip To Yellowstone NP

See if this helps some. I put it together to help new visitors plan their first visits. Most of your questions will be answered, I think.

alandsuejohnson.com/yellowstone_planning_a_t…

Trip To Yellowstone NP

FIrst of all you need to get lodging booked. www.travelyellowstone.com for inside the park, otherwise look at West Yellowstone.

Jackson is beautiful, but not always the most affordable. Also look at Billings MT.

Visit www.nps.gov/grte for information on Teton Nat Park.

A sedan will be just fine unless you want the extra height of the SUV. I have driven SUV%26#39;s for so long that riding in a small sedan is not comfortable!

You have quite a number of days for this trip, do you want to visit anywhere else? Glacier Nat Park, Black Hills, Rocky Mtn Nat Park near Denver?

Many thanks for your answers!

Do you think we could see another NP in this time? Which of the mentioned would you recommend? We do%26#39;nt like to spend to much time in the car driving.

I think you have enough time to be able to visit another national park but the areas mentioned are separated by quite a distance so you will have to decide if you are willing to drive that far. For instance, if you were to fly into Bozeman, it%26#39;s about 300 miles to Glacier National Park, and you would have to return to Bozeman for your flight out. From Jackson it%26#39;s over 550 miles to Mt. Rushmore, a long, long trip for a 5 year old.

If Black Hills were to be a part of the picture I would suggest Billings over Bozeman or Jackson. I would make possible a nice loop trip. Two weeks would be a good enough amount of time. Glacier might be a stretch. There%26#39;s a lot to see in Wyoming outside the two parks too.

Altitude should not be a problem for most people in good health. Most places with accomodations are under 7,000%26#39;, which is about what commercial aircraft are presurized to. There are higher elevations on mountain passes but most people don%26#39;t spend more than an hour or so there.

With kids that young it%26#39;s hard to plan around what would interest them. Kids that age are usually ';in the moment'; with relatively short attention spans. Bubbling mud pots, spouting geysers, animals and activity things like swimming are good. Scenic vistas of mountains, waterfalls and lakes...not so much for them. Balancing the adult interests and the kids tolerance is the real trick.

Post some particular interests and then making specific suggestions would be easier.

Hi Eaglewing. I am going to answer your questions point by point:

1)Choose the airport that you can most afford. Jackson is really nice, but pricey. Bozeman isn%26#39;t that far from the park and the drive is beautiful.

2) There is a ton of great stuff to see and do in Grand Teton - from mountain climbing, day hikes, wildlfie wathcing, rafting, fishing, eating, tourist stuff at Jackson...you name it. As for altitude, def take it easy for one day and drink lots of water.

3)Figure out your flight and then plan your lodging according to that. If flying into Bozeman, do Yellowstone first. If flying into Jackson, do Grand Teton first.

4) Personally I prefer Colter Bay cabins inside Grand Teton park and the Chuckwagon restauraunt which is jsut a quick walk from the cabins in a beautiful forest.

5) Spend time in both places until you feel it is time to move on. You have two weeks, which is plenty of time. In fact, with two weeks I would work in a trip to Glacier National Park which is only 5 hours north of Livingston. I would do four days in Grand Teton, four days in Glacier and five in Yellowstone.

6) Sedan is just fine and will save you gas $$$.

Another suggestion is to spend a few days in Big Sky, Montana. We stayed at The Inn at Big Sky in the middle of our Grand Teton/Yellowstone trip and loved it! The hotel was great for kids. It had an indoor pool, game room (ping pong, fusball, board games) large rooms with wet bar, and breakfast was included which we enjoyed in their beautiful lobby. We went white water rafting which was about 20 minutes away. This is a very relaxing place to visit! The hotel was the cheapest on the trip!

ojon

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