Trip Planning: The Perfect Family Trip 2016!
Hello to all my friends here that have shared in our first, "The Perfect Family Trip". At the time, we thought that may be a one time shot. We are terribly excited to say that we have had a permanen...
Forum Discussion
tragusa3 wrote:In looking at your trip report from last year, I think we've hiked every trail you did. Based on that, I think I would stick to the easy and moderate trails they have listed on the NPS website, although some of the hikes I'll list below might be on their strenuous list, mostly because of length. There's both distance and elevation gain to consider. Once one starts hiking 12 to 15 miles in a day, that gets to be a pretty good slog.
I know it is personal taste on how much in each park, but it is helpful to hear opinions. We are hikers, and that can require more time. Actually, let me hear from some true hikers. Based on our last trip, What do we qualify as? Moderate hikers? Heavy hikers? We hiked about 50 miles of trail in 40 days. Longest was 9 miles for "The Narrows" at Zion.
At Yellowstone, you'll find quite a few other trails besides the ones going into the popular thermal features. Hike down into the canyon to see the falls from below. Hike up Mt. Washburn through great flower patches for a top down look at much of Yellowstone. Hike out to the Lone Star Geyser Basin and if you have a lot of energy, continue another 8.5 miles to Shoshone Geyser Basin (over 20 miles for the whole trip). Both of these are backcountry geyser basins that most park visitors don't go see. For something different, take your swimming suits and hike the Boiling River Trail. It's about a mile round trip, but it's one of the few places in YNP you can swim in one of the warm water springs. But don't miss the popular trails through the Geyser Basins. Stop at the visitors center near Old Faithful and get a list of the estimated eruption times and plan your trip around the geyser basin.
At Grand Teton, take the ferry boat across Jenny Lake and hike up Cascade Creek. If you have the energy, it's a 15 mile round trip to Lake Solitude from the boat dock. For another good hike that gets you up right below the Grand Teton, park at Lupine Meadows trailhead and hike up to Amphitheater Lake. You'll be looking right up at the major peaks of the Tetons. Only 10 miles RT, but a lot of elevation gain.
At Glacier, we really liked the hikes out of Many Glacier. Also, consider hiking the Highline Trail out to/past Granite Park Chalet.
