Planning Yellowstone/Grand Canyon trip from VA

Wife and I did a similar trip and I can offer the advice of ... be flexible, don't push so hard all you do is drive. Your new itinerary sounds pretty good. The 2 day stops is what we did also and it is nice to take a break from driving for a day. There is so much to see along the way that if you see something that interests any of you then take the time to see it.

I went on line and ordered travel planners of all the states that we would be going through and I found them to be very heplful. Stop at the visitor centers as you enter each state too and see what is in the racks, engage the kids to find something they might like to see and talk to the attendants for their insights. Again, be flexible and enjoy the beauty of this great country.

Stop at Wall Drug just outside the Bad Lands, go see the Crazy Horse Monument while you are in the Rushmore area too.

Splitting this trip and a Grand Canyon trip is wise because it gives you an excuse to do it all over again. Plus, there is so much to see and do in the southwest you will need just as much time for it as this trip. Go have fun.

Your updated schedule sounds perfect! Now don't overthink this.... just GO!!

Kicking the dust off of this thread...

So, we've ruminated on our idea for a bit and have sketched out the following outline. Let me know if this seems reasonable. Again, we are beginning in northern VA near DC. Our plan also assumes we drive 6 hrs/day at an average speed of 55 mph.

• Days 1-6: drive ~1600 mi, w/one 2-night stay to break it up
• Days 7-10: camp at Palmer Gulch/Mt. Rushmore/Badlands
• Days 11-12: drive ~800 mi to Yellowstone
• Days 13-18: camp at YNP Fishing Bridge
• Day 19: drive to Grand Teton
• Day 20-21: camp at Grand Teton
• Day 22-27: drive back to VA, w/one 2-night stay to break it up
  

We've probably overestimated the drive time some, but wanted it to be a leisurely trip with 11 & 8 year-olds in tow. We also didn't want to overplan - so this plan hopefully can flex.

Any thoughts/suggestions on this?

Thanks!!!
James

Here's the 2016 July weather history. Keep in mind that there can be a 50 deg. difference in the desert overnight. Also, there's no humidity so it doesn't feel as hot as the temp says. :)

http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/grand-canyon-village-az/86023/month/2273683?monyr=7/01/2016

I would agree Rocky Mtn would probably be a bit boring after Yellowstone plus Flaming Gorge will be crowded in July. But to stay away from the crowds, you could consider leaving Yellowstone to the north and pick up Theodore Roosevelt NP in ND the continue to northern Minnesota and Wisconson. Temps would be nicer too.

Here is a thread on North Dakota and another one on Upper Michigan.

I would say you can cover 500 miles a day. It is a ten hour day avgeraging 50 mph. It is easy to do that in the summer if you start early. I would also drive 12 hours and make a stop to see something for a couple hours each day and that breaks up the trip too.

kohldad wrote:
Sounds like a much better plan. Still roughly 4300 miles. Figure on adding a day or two going like a night under the stars in Badlands, you can spend several days in the Black Hills, add in Devils Tower for either a night or day (KOA is suppose to be good), and another extra day in the Big Horns mountains, finally after Yellowstone, spend a night or two in Grand Tetons. Dang, think I used up most of the 7 or 8 extra days you had and still need to get back home. Though don't worry, once you get into Nebraska, you aren't really going to want to do much any how plus we find once we have decided we are "turning for home", we really get moving to get on back.

Take on of those extra days and get home one day early. This gives you time to relax and catch up on the home things before you have to work. Plus it gives you the "Just in case" day.

All excellent ideas. I'm also wondering if RMNP is worth it - I've been there before and, compared to something like Glacier NP in Montana, it didn't really stick with me. Maybe I could scrap RMNP for the other things you mentioned and stuff in Utah (Flaming Gorge ,Dinosaur Monument, etc).

jcubeta wrote:
Thank you AGAIN for all these incredibly helpful posts.

After reflecting on these and some other things I've read, I think we are going to do YNP and GCNP as two separate trips. For one, it seems like GC in July would be uncomfortably hot and, for two, both parks are so big that there's just not enough time to feel like we saw enough.

So now we are leaning toward a loop that starts in VA, stops in South Dakota for a few days at the Mount Rushmore KOA resort (which looks super awesome for kids), then on to a week at YNP. Then south to Rocky Mountain NP for a few days, then (based on my back-of-the-hand estimating) that roughly saves us 7-8 days to get back.

Sound more reasonable? :)

It does. Just an aside tho, Grand Canyon South Rim will be hot in July. Grand Canyon North Rim is several thousand feet higher and thus cooler. It also has 1/10th the number of visitors and is more kid trail friendly. It is also closer to Zion and Bryce Canyon. So a trip going to those three parks makes sense for you as a future visit. I don't want to re-ignite the North Rim vs South Rim argument. People are convinced one is much better than the other and no one will change their mind.

Sounds like a much better plan. Still roughly 4300 miles. Figure on adding a day or two going like a night under the stars in Badlands, you can spend several days in the Black Hills, add in Devils Tower for either a night or day (KOA is suppose to be good), and another extra day in the Big Horns mountains, finally after Yellowstone, spend a night or two in Grand Tetons. Dang, think I used up most of the 7 or 8 extra days you had and still need to get back home. Though don't worry, once you get into Nebraska, you aren't really going to want to do much any how plus we find once we have decided we are "turning for home", we really get moving to get on back.

Take on of those extra days and get home one day early. This gives you time to relax and catch up on the home things before you have to work. Plus it gives you the "Just in case" day.

Thank you AGAIN for all these incredibly helpful posts.

After reflecting on these and some other things I've read, I think we are going to do YNP and GCNP as two separate trips. For one, it seems like GC in July would be uncomfortably hot and, for two, both parks are so big that there's just not enough time to feel like we saw enough.

So now we are leaning toward a loop that starts in VA, stops in South Dakota for a few days at the Mount Rushmore KOA resort (which looks super awesome for kids), then on to a week at YNP. Then south to Rocky Mountain NP for a few days, then (based on my back-of-the-hand estimating) that roughly saves us 7-8 days to get back.

Sound more reasonable? :)