Tetons

dodge guy wrote:
Thanks Richard. I wish I had more time. I would definitely love to stay for he week, but I know the wife and kids will get bored! They are already upset that cell service will be spotty to nothing! :R

I hope to spend 3 days on the west upper loop and east lower. And see the east upper on the way in. Stopping along the way to see the falls and other sites. I'll check out the west lower loop on the way to the Tetons.

Yes I do plan on being up early and back by dinner.

The west lower loop is home to Old Faithful, Grand Prismatic Spring, Norris Geyser Basin, the paint pots, and numerous other thermal features.... We spent 2 days on that portion alone. It is not an "on the way to the Tetons" section. That would be the upper east loop.... Cell reception isn't terrible all things considered. It's pretty good at all of the major stops and visitor centers.

We had 2.5 days for the Tetons and wished we had more because car troubles used up part of one of our days.

If you have a chance, canoeing or kayaking on Jenny Lake is a phenomenal experience. Our kids considered it a highlight.

Are you going down to explore Jackson? Some people do it from the Tetons campground and others stay there. It's a nice town.

5 days in the Tetons stay at Coulter Bay then 7 days in Yellowstone stay at Grizzly RV Park in the town of West Yellowstone. Your wife and kids will like the Town of West Yellowstone, with it's museums, IMAX theater, amusement park, shopping and dining, it's a fun town.

Thanks Richard. I wish I had more time. I would definitely love to stay for he week, but I know the wife and kids will get bored! They are already upset that cell service will be spotty to nothing! :R

I hope to spend 3 days on the west upper loop and east lower. And see the east upper on the way in. Stopping along the way to see the falls and other sites. I'll check out the west lower loop on the way to the Tetons.

Yes I do plan on being up early and back by dinner.

Some general information about YNP (some points apply to GTNP also)

YNP is about 45 miles E/W and about 65 miles N/S (2.2 mil. Acres total). The figure 8 loop road inside the park is about 140 miles around. The lower loop is 96 miles and the upper loop is 70 miles around and yes, it is bigger than the states of Rhode Island and Delaware combined.

Whatever time that you think you will need to see YNP you better double it, or to say it another way is that you will see one half as much in the allotted time. The Bison think that they own the road (they do!) and will slow down the traffic to walking speed or less for 1/4 mile or more, the thermal attractions also tie up traffic and with a 5 month long summer tourist season that coincides with a 5 month long road construction season and a 45 mph radar controlled speed limit it will take about a full day to see each loop and then you will only see the main attractions. In addition to the occasional construction delays they will also sometimes close whole sections of road (for uninterrupted night construction) between 10 PM and 8 AM in the morning, if you are running late and get caught at night in the wrong area it CAN be a LONG way around to your CG! I don't mean to scare you but to inform you of reality. (The entrance stations will have current construction information or go on line.)

Then there is the elevation- YNP ranges from a low at Mammoth- 6239 ft to 7784 ft at Fishing Bridge or higher if you go hiking! Drink plenty of liquids and pace yourself when walking. And again I don't mean to scare you but rather to inform you, after all there was 4.1 million visitors in 2015 (record number)

I recommend that you get up EARLY, leave the CG and be back by 4 or 6 PM have dinner and be sitting in your recliner drinking a cool one when your neighbor drags himself back to the CG at 8-10 PM. Remember that from mid May to mid July in YNP the sun doesn't set until shortly before 10 PM.

Clothing- Especially in the early or late season it is not unusual to have a 30 or even the occasional 40 degree temperature change throughout the day. Dress with easily shed layers of clothing. Also dress in bright easily seen clothing. I am sure that we all have been to a sporting event, parade or Disney World etc. and we blink our eyes and our partner/child has disappeared. My DIL was born and raised in HI, you guessed it, every Xmas, b-day or Father's Day I receive a Hawaiian shirt. One of them is black with 4-5 inch dia. bright flowers. Not many of them in Wyoming and in YSNP, that is what I wear. If your partner has on a Violet blouse and a Orange scarf with a Pink hat I guarantee that she will be the only one within the boundaries of either NP. It can save you a few anxious moments.

Water- Now I will have to contradict myself, at the altitude of YSNP yes, drink lots of water!HOWEVER, be aware that the flush toilet restrooms are are in the major tourist areas- Mammoth, Canyon, Fishing Bridge, Lake Hotel, Bridge Bay, Grant Village, Old Faithful, Madison Junction etc. The geyser basins and other thermal attractions areas have only pit toilets. I have seen the pit toilet line at the lower Geyser Basin 25 or more feet long (bless the tour busses) So be smart about drinking your water and use the major tourist area R/Rs before leaving the area!

Sun- At YSNPs altitude the sun is intense (uv) have and apply sun screen, wear that old floppy wide brim sun hat, wear sun glasses!

If your luck is like mine Old Faithful will have just erupted when you get there and you will have a hour and 10-20 minutes wait for the next one. Tour the O/F geyser basin while waiting for the next eruption. Old Faithful INN is a must see (meals are "OK" also)

We have lived about 110 miles (4739' elevation) from W. Yellowstone, MT since 1964, go there 3-4 times a summer (normally before Memorial Day and after Labor Day) and haven't seen it all of it yet!

When in the Jackson area I highly recommend seeing the Bar J Chuckwagon dinner show! If you go, MAKE RESERVATIONS and BE THERE EARLY TO PICK UP YOUR MEAL TICKETS/SEATING ASSIGNMENTS! They seat you by when you show up to get your tickets NOT by your reservation number. Tim, their fiddle player has won the "Idaho state old time fiddle contest 7 times and the US open fiddle contest twice". If you decide to go you will sit at picnic type of bench/table, they get pretty hard, I recommend that you take along a blanket to fold up to sit on. We day trip it there 2-4 times every summer to see them! Disclaimer- We have no financial or other interest in the Bar J only that it will be the best $$ value for your money for your trip! Check out their website.

http://www.barjchuckwagon.com

dodge guy wrote:
OK, thanks everyone! I`ll do 2 1/2 days then. we`ll be in Yellowstone 3 1/2 days. The 1/2 day we`ll be coming in from the north and doing some of the sites on the way to Fishing Bridge.

It took me and my family four full days to get around the loops in Yellowstone and we weren't hiking or anything either. There is just so much to see and no fast way to do it.

dodge guy wrote:
OK, thanks everyone! I`ll do 2 1/2 days then. we`ll be in Yellowstone 3 1/2 days. The 1/2 day we`ll be coming in from the north and doing some of the sites on the way to Fishing Bridge.

It's truly unfortunate that you don't have more time, 31/2 days in Yellowstone will barely scratch the surface, we've been twice, 9 days the first time & 10 days last year(next time will be longer), the first time in the Tetons, we did 1 day, a long drive thru, what a joke, we missed so very much, last year we spent 4 days at Gros Ventre CG and loved every minute, next time, it will be longer also.
I've read on here where folks have done Yellowsone in 1 1/2 days, trust me, it was the Griswold headbob, they didn't see much.
With your time constraints, I'm sure you'll be back to both, in the future. :)

tragusa3 wrote:
I, then, have a suspicion that your family will feel they've been at Tetons long enough at 2.5 days.

I'm thinking he same.

BTW, I edited my post. It sounded like I said "no thanks for the info" LOL. Didn't want to sound unappreciative!

And thanks for all the other help. My wife did like the trip up to Big Mountain ski area in Whitefish MT.

good place for good river rafting (white water or slow and scenic)
a trip up the ski lift over at Teton Village is good.
the nightly shootout on the square is entertaining.
the drive between Moose and Wilson is interesting. also Signal Mountain.
We like Gros Ventre campground down on the south end of the Park because it is close to Jackson.

I, then, have a suspicion that your family will feel they've been at Tetons long enough at 2.5 days.