Help us plan our trip! (Again). Montana and Wyoming

If you leave Glacier out you could add a stop in the Black Hills in South Dakota. A day or so would give you time to see the Buffalo herds in Custer state park and the faces at Rushmore. I expect you are coming out I90 so will go right through the north edge at Rapid City.

Jerseydevil wrote:
Driving from Michigan I would focus your time left at Yellowstone and Teton area and not rush. It's a lot of ground to cover and they are close together. We just did this trip end of last June via flight, rental car and lodging. Stayed in Jackson couple of days, then a few at Headwaters Flagg ranch, then a couple days in West Yellowstone. Flagg ranch had hook up sites, west Yellowstone has Grizzly Rv park. So much to see and do. Book now, in park lodging was not available when I called last January to book in June! But they may have campsites within parks available.

We stayed at Flagg Ranch when we visited the Tetons and would never stay there again if we could get into Coulter Bay campgrounds. Coulter Bay is in the center of the Tetons NP, has good cell service and other services.

Sounds like you are doing a similar family trip we did back in 2007.
Glacier CG is a nice place on the west side of the park. We spent 5 nights there, wish we could have had more.

Obviously, the Going to the Sun road is a must. Truly spectacular. There's a few white water river outfitters up by West Glacier, and the rapids are not severe...no danger to your 5 year old, the kids would love it. The Flat Head area, a little southwest of there has some nice scenic drives. Check out the town of Kalispell & Whitefish too.

When we left Glacier, we tookUS 12 across Idaho towards McCall, and camped at a nice place near Riggins (Canyon Pines, I think) right on the river. Beautiful spot, near the Seven Devils Mtn. range.

When we went to Yellowstone (after Glacier), we stayed on the Idaho side near Driggs. Can't recall the name of the CG, but the Tetons weren't too far away, neither was Old Faithful and the Fire River.

That's a lot of driving. If you have not broken it down by day yet, time spent in car and nights at each spot I would do that. I found after about 6 hours of towing I was ready to call it a day.

Driving from Michigan I would focus your time left at Yellowstone and Teton area and not rush. It's a lot of ground to cover and they are close together. We just did this trip end of last June via flight, rental car and lodging. Stayed in Jackson couple of days, then a few at Headwaters Flagg ranch, then a couple days in West Yellowstone. Flagg ranch had hook up sites, west Yellowstone has Grizzly Rv park. So much to see and do. Book now, in park lodging was not available when I called last January to book in June! But they may have campsites within parks available.

With 14 - 16 days, including travel time, I wouldn't go to Glacier. Stay at Coulter Bay for the beautiful Tetons.
For Yellowstone NP we stayed at Grizzly RV Park in the town of West Yellowstone. Very nice park and if you need a down day or two the town of West Yellowstone is a nice place to spend time at.

Yes, Yellowstone will be crowded but with children that's the time families have available.

You can definitely do all three. We've done it when the kids were small and we tented the whole trip. :) If that's all the time you have then so be it. At least you'll get to experience the parks rather than not seeing them at all.

I'd recommend staying on the west side of Glacier for more activities for the children. The east side doesn't offer much outside the park. However, being IN the park itself is an added plus.

For Yellowstone - again, staying in the park saves a lot of driving time. Fishing Bridge is the only place with hookups in the park.

Don't try and do Yellowstone and Grand Teton from one spot. You certainly wouldn't be driving it more than once as it covers a great distance with slow driving.

Move down to Teton Nat'l Park and stay at Colter Bay RV.

If you spend 3 nights at each spot you'll get an overview of the parks. You'll want to come back for more, for sure. Then three hard days of driving back and forth.

Yellowstone will be super crowded. IMHO that is the worst time of year to visit because of the crowds.

Glacier is a good option... spend your time exploring it instead of all your time driving.

East Glacier is a nice little town with some decent restaurants. The Y Lazy RV park has full hookups, have never stayed there, but it has the basic amenities and looks decent.

I'd stick to just one of those 3 gorgeous locations. Probably Yellowstone.