Summer 2013 Trip Ideas Tetons, Yellowstone & Glacier

Thanks, tiptoe tommy for the info, and thanks, Lauren, for the PM.

I'm gleaning many ideas from both of your input, and will post an updated plan shortly to get additional feedback.

Hi, Matt ...... We are on Kauai right now for a couple of weeks - no rv parks here! (50th Anniversary trip). And no rv's. :-) Sending you a PM.

A few other notes on your trip in terms of kids. Visit Jackson Hole for a few hours heading to the Tetons. With little kids two nights is just right for the Tetons. If you want hookups goto Colter Bay RV--the kids will love it there and it is right next to the marina where you can rent canoes and kayaks for great views and wildlife. Take the boat across Jenny Lake and do a short hike.

In Yellowstone, we split our five day stay between Grant and Canyon to minimize driving. A few tips. There are two places to swim in Yellowstone and both are warm and great. One is the Firehole River just downstream from Old Faithful--great swimming hole for little kids. And the other is the Boiling River just inside the North Entrance--amazing. I also recommend taking the toad on a day's drive through the Lamar Valley and over Beartooth Pass.

The drive to Glacier is easy mostly on 287. Wiith kids we like St Mary's on the East side (reservable and near town but beautiful and great spots for big rigs. Apgar and Fish Creek are the choice on the west side. Your kids will love Glacier and so will you. Many Glacier has great hikes with kids as does St Mary's Lake.

Hwy 2 is a beautiful drive all the way to Sandpoint. Great town on a beautiful lake with lots of camping nearby. Just south of there is a great treat for the kids after camping. Silverwood is an amusement park with great rides and coasters, but is also a fabulous water park. There is a dusty campground there, but camp instead 10 miles away at Farragut State Park, a wonderful place.

Paul is riight that WA 20 is a great choice, but you really can't go wrong traveling across the state. Even I-90 has its charms. You do need to decide if you want to skip Seattle. If you do take 20 you can follow it all the way to Deception Pass--a world class state park. From there you can take a ferry from Keystone to the Olympic Peninsula with great trails, beaches, historic forts, rain forests, and alpine hkes all close. Great camping options there.

You can go around the Olympic Peninsula and rejoin I-5 at Olympia. I would skip the Washington Coast south of the park--it is unremarkable compared to Oregon..You will have to decide for yourself if you want to detour to Mt Rainier. It is well worth it. Mt St Helens is very close to I-5 and there is great camping at Seaquest SP.

Once again, if you skip Portland, you have a great option to avoid traffic by taking US 30 west out of Longview to Astoria, a cool and historic town with lots of great things to do with kids. Awesome camping at Fort Stevens State Park and the KOA across the road is pretty nice too. Heading south on 101 is Cannon Beach RV, a great park with a really nice indoor pool.

Then you are faced with two great choices. Drive the entire Oregon Coast, a fabulous undertaking, or cut in at Reedsport to drive to Crater Lake. Great camping at Diamond Lake just north of Crater.

I am happy to provide details on any place along your trip. We have camped it all over the years. BTW--if you havent been to Lassen NP, consider it. Cool geothemal trails and it is only 5 miles RT to the top of 10,500 ft Lassen Peak on a great trail. Our kids did it at that age with bribery and encouragement and loved it. Lassen is easy to see in a day or two.

Best ot luck

paulj wrote:
Someone just posted a link to their account of a drive north up the Oregon coast and part way up the Columbia.

I already mentioned taking WA20 across the state, as opposed to I90. Fo you want to go through the Seattle and Portland metro areas, or bypass them?

For camping I mostly use state parks (both Washington and Oregon) and forest service. There are camping options all along the Columbia River, through out the Washington (and Oregon) Cascades, around the Puget Sound, and along the coast.

For jeep trails, look up the Washington Byways book (Tony Huegel), and a corresponding on for Oregon.

Thanks, Paul. I've been away for a few days, but will dig into this later tongiht as well.

Busskipper wrote:
...Just an added note -- when I was a Kid we lived on Lake Sherwood, just down the road from Thousand Oaks -- It was the wild west of California back then -- Boy has it changed

It really is a small world. I live less than 3 miles from Lake Sherwood, and mountain bike in that area quite often. We recently hiked to the top of Boney Mountain, and had a great view looking down on Lake Sherwood. And our wedding reception was at the Lake Sherwood Country Club.

And you wouldn't believe how many of the nationally televised TV commercials have been filmed on the road through Hidden Valley that goes right past Sherwood. I can think of 3 or for from the last few months alone.

I'll dig into your suggestions later tonight, but I had to comment on this part now. :)

MPond wrote:

MPond wrote:
Thanks for the input. I've spent some time reading your suggestions, looking them up on the map, etc..., and I was going to take your advice and "Go West". :D

But then the DW made an executive decision - she wants to head further East and go see Mt. Rushmore since she hasn't been there before. Hard to argue with that...

Well - now the DW has changed her mind, and has decided that heading West out of Glacier is the better idea - go figure. :D

So now I'm back to something like this:

West out of Glacier: Google Maps



I'll be going back to the notes I made last week for the Pacific NW. Any more tips? I'm open to 'em.

Being a big fan of yours and having followed many of your adventures -- only a single suggestion -- once you get to GNP head North to Banff. You have proven over the years to have the ability to stretch the limits of what most of us consider a Vacation, and when you do it, it makes many of us jealous that we do not have the energy to do the same, also knowing how much you have enjoyed the wilder parts of the West (San Juan’s and the 4x4 trail’s in Utah), you might do a little research on the Canadian Rockies and the 4x4 trails and off road opportunities’ that they offer, Banff might be the only area that I would think might compare to the San Juan’s and the 4x4 trails in Colorado.

That said I would do the drive through of RMNP and YNP and maybe spend more time outside the Crowded roads of the NP in the summer, saving it for a time late in the season when the kids are just a few years older and they might remember more. You and the Kids will love Dinosaur NM (Bones) and Flaming Gorge (Water and Fishing), both of the Kids will never forget seeing the real bones of a Dinosaur and it has some pretty wild areas to see with the Jeep, is that area still in the trip? IMHO, YNP and RMNP and all the surrounds deserve an entire summer. Cody – Red Lodge – Bear Tooth – Wind River Canyon – Shoshoni – Thermopolis – Jackson – West Yellowstone – Madison River – Yellowstone River – Jackson Lake, Just to see all this will take some time, and trust me you will find a lot more to do in and around YNP, it is just something out of this world.

Time to stop – I think we all know you will spend as much time and have almost as much fun planning and re-planning this trip, and that we are still far from a final itinerary.

I just can’t wait to see all the pictures, and relive your adventure.

BOL,

Just an added note -- when I was a Kid we lived on Lake Sherwood, just down the road from Thousand Oaks -- It was the wild west of California back then -- Boy has it changed

Someone just posted a link to their account of a drive north up the Oregon coast and part way up the Columbia.

I already mentioned taking WA20 across the state, as opposed to I90. Fo you want to go through the Seattle and Portland metro areas, or bypass them?

For camping I mostly use state parks (both Washington and Oregon) and forest service. There are camping options all along the Columbia River, through out the Washington (and Oregon) Cascades, around the Puget Sound, and along the coast.

For jeep trails, look up the Washington Byways book (Tony Huegel), and a corresponding on for Oregon.

101 is very good for big RVs although you won't be traveling fast. There are plenty of pull-offs. There are many bike riders so be alert for them. It's a beautiful drive, especially for north to south where the pull-offs will be on your right and very easy to access. Have a good one!

P.S. You asked about 4-wheeling along 101. We have found it's all about the beaches. No 4-wheeling like you enjoy in Utah/Colorado. :) There are some forest roads but usually all you will see are forests - no wide open spaces. I don't think you'll want to take your vehicle to the sand dunes but perhaps renting a dune buggy would be fun for all. So..do all the 4-wheeling before you hit the beach areas!

And another question: We've done Hwy 101 all the way North to the California/Oregon border. But how is the drive along 101 in Oregon? I've never done it, so I don't know what to expect.

I'm playing with a route from Cannon Beach on the northern coast of Oregon, all the way to Crescent City, California.

Lauren wrote:
...For the future - not sure why you are going from Portland to Coos Bay and not going over to Canon Beach, Newport and Winchester Bay which are drop dead beautiful.

Any campground recommendations or Jeep trails that you know of in these areas?