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

[alesis]

Hey guys.
We are looking at taking our yearly long vacation to Glacier NP, Yellowstone NP and Grand Tetons NP. We have 14-16 days and will be traveling from Michigan in the beginning of July.
I'm asking for probably 2 CG spots, one near Glacier and one etween Yellowstone and Tetons. Definitely full hookup due to the length of the trip, and hoping scenic sites.
Also, what else is "must do" in these areas. We like day trips up to a couple hours from each camp.
I have kids gat are 5,10 and 12, and we love hiking and all things outdoors. Also we like the typical tourist traps like aquariums and the like.
Any help is appreciated!

[jalichty]

From the South Entrance of Yellowstone to the Moran entrance to Grand Teton is about 45 miles and about an hour. However, it is about 15 minutes to the entrance to Grand Teton, but it takes a while longer to get to Jackson Lake, Leeks Marina and around the corner to Colter Bay with its general store, grocery store, restaurants and marina where you can get a cruise on the lake for a wondrous trip. We go to Colter Bay, usually three times each summer to fish Jackson and sightsee both Grand Teton and Yellowstone. If a person were to stay at Colter Bay, it's about 45 minutes to the South entrance to Yellowstone so we just get up a little earlier than usual and drive to Yellowstone for the day. Usually see a lot of what we want and then get back to our Fifth Wheel for a late dinner. I know most of the folks say that Yellowstone is too big to take a trip that way, but it works for us as the Colter Bay campground is a very nice place to stay while we fish the lake.

[padredw]

We stayed in Colter Bay RV Park in September. From there to Old Faithful Inn is 58 miles. We drove up for lunch at Old Faithful and a few stops in the southwest quadrant of Yellowstone--and easy and enjoyable drive. Yellowstone was NOT our destination, just a side trip from the Grand Tetons. We have visited Yellowstone as a major destination many times.

[patperry2766]

alesis wrote:
Ok guys- Very close to booking, thanks for all the suggestions!!

My questions is, how far is the drive from Yellowstone to Grand Tetons? Mapquest shows it being less than 15 minutes, but I understand the YSNP itself is huge.

Any help is appreciated!

Campground questions:

We are looking for full hookup only, and have sent an email reservation to North American RV Park to see if they have availability. Looks like

Yellowstone/Grand Tetons : Yellowstone Fishing Bridge isn't available during our stay. If we wanted to stay just outside YSNP, How far is the day trip to GTNP?

From Jasckson Hole to Old Faithful Inn is 97 miles per Google Maps. We were there in 2009 and if memory serves, I think it took us about 3.5-4 hrs because of some road construction and heavy congestion in some areas. A heard of Buffalo crossing the road can quickly add 20-30 minutes to your drive.

[alesis]

RPreeb wrote:
You might look at Headwaters Camp at Flagg Ranch, right on the Rockefeller Parkway at the north edge of Grand Teton. They take reservations and have full hookups. That's about as close to both as you are going to get.

In case anyone searches this thread, Headwaters in less than an hour from the YSNP western attractions, and 15-40 minutes from attractions in GTNP. THANKS!


Regarding Grizzly RV Park, does anyone know how far this CG is to get to Grand Tetons? We don't mind a bit of a trip for a day trip or 2 to GTNP. Thanks.

[zb39]

Sounds like a great trip. I have done that exact trip twice from PA in the same time frame with 2 kids. AWESOME time. Don't let the retired crowd get you down. I have done over 800 miles in one day more than once. We did Alaska in 5 weeks total. Awesome trip. When your still working you do what you have to do.
We have done 49 states with both kids, Yellowstone 7 times. My wife and I love to drive. Kids still want to go with us and both are in college. Thinking about YS again this summer.

[RPreeb]

You might look at Headwaters Camp at Flagg Ranch, right on the Rockefeller Parkway at the north edge of Grand Teton. They take reservations and have full hookups. That's about as close to both as you are going to get.

[alesis]

Ok guys- Very close to booking, thanks for all the suggestions!!

My questions is, how far is the drive from Yellowstone to Grand Tetons? Mapquest shows it being less than 15 minutes, but I understand the YSNP itself is huge.

Any help is appreciated!

Campground questions:

We are looking for full hookup only, and have sent an email reservation to North American RV Park to see if they have availability. Looks like

Yellowstone/Grand Tetons : Yellowstone Fishing Bridge isn't available during our stay. If we wanted to stay just outside YSNP, How far is the day trip to GTNP?

[Jerseydevil]

alesis wrote:
Just an FYI for all cautioning about time of year and drive time...
This is the only time I have in the year to spend this many consecutive nights. We've been doing this long trip for about 10 years w a camper, so I'm far from new at this. And we often travel 12 hour days when doing these trips to maximize the time on locations.

Last year during this time frame, we did Zion, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, North Rim of Grand Canyon and Canyonlands. Granted, these parks aren't far apart, but the drive there is further than our destinations this year.

I appreciate that everyone is trying to make helpful suggestions, but we know what we can handle since we've been doing it so long.

And many of the other stops that were suggested are places we've been during past trips. I'm more looking for things local to these locations, as opposed to their areas all together.

Thanks for all the suggestions, and keep em coming!

Well the whole area of Tetons and Yellowstone is scenic. If you can do the Teton village tram, Jackson rodeo, take ferry across Jenny Lake and hike back, Old Faithful area, Grand Prismatic, Hayden Valley loop, Fire Hole for swim, ATV rental in west Yellowstone, try Montana Whitewater up near Big Sky. That is just a sample of things we did and saw on our trip.
In late June or July would suggest getting into Yellowstone early. The tour buses loaded park up by noon.

[schwipps324]

Yellowstone CG I highly recommend Henrys Lake State Park. It is about 15 minutes away from the west entrance of YNP. CHeck it out. It is mountain view on 3 sides with a beautiful lake.

[RAS43]

alesis wrote:

I'm asking for probably 2 CG spots, one near Glacier and one etween Yellowstone and Tetons. Definitely full hookup due to the length of the trip, and hoping scenic sites.

Just west of Glacier NP is North American RV Park in Coram MT. We stayed there in September and it was so nice we extended a couple of days. Great people, many sites are large and if you have a Passport America membership it is good there for multiple days.

[padredw]

I'm asking for probably 2 CG spots, one near Glacier and one between Yellowstone and Tetons. Definitely full hookup due to the length of the trip, and hoping scenic sites.

I would highly recommend Mountain Meadows RV Park near West Glacier--actually Hungry Horse. This is definitely where we would return on a visit to Glacier.

And between Tetons and Yellowstone it is Colter Bay for sure. Colter Bay RV Park if you need hook-ups or Colter Bay Campground if you do not.

[alesis]

Just an FYI for all cautioning about time of year and drive time...
This is the only time I have in the year to spend this many consecutive nights. We've been doing this long trip for about 10 years w a camper, so I'm far from new at this. And we often travel 12 hour days when doing these trips to maximize the time on locations.

Last year during this time frame, we did Zion, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, North Rim of Grand Canyon and Canyonlands. Granted, these parks aren't far apart, but the drive there is further than our destinations this year.

I appreciate that everyone is trying to make helpful suggestions, but we know what we can handle since we've been doing it so long.

And many of the other stops that were suggested are places we've been during past trips. I'm more looking for things local to these locations, as opposed to their areas all together.

Thanks for all the suggestions, and keep em coming!

[Bob806]

RPreeb wrote:

Bob806 wrote:
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.

Driggs ID is a long drive from Yellowstone by any route. Certainly not a trip you want to make with 3 kids 2 or 3 days in a row. Even to get to Teton the only practical way is over Teton Pass to the Moose-Wilson Road and the Granite Canyon entrance on the south end, and Teton Pass can be very slow. I've done it a couple of times (my brother lives in Idaho Falls), and I don't even consider it unless I'm just out for a drive. I would never consider the Driggs area as a reasonable camping area if your main goal was seeing the parks.

It's not ideal,but it worked for us. We had 3 kids with us and did it. When you travel across the country and only have say 2 weeks of sightseeing, you do what you have to do to max it out.

Sorry for offering up a summary of our trip.

[jamesu]

Either Yellowstone/Tetons or Glacier, not both. South to north Montana is a long, long extra drive and you only have a couple of weeks.