Explore some of our countries most spectacular National Parks!
During our time in Wyoming, we focused on Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park. We took this trip after being cooped up inside during 2020 and it was great to get out into nature and explore some of our most famous National Parks. Some of this trip report will go into other states, as we made a home base in West Yellowstone, MT for instance. But – for purposes of this, I’ll focus on the time in these National Parks.
Note – I’ll be adding a ton more detail in our blogs about tips and tricks for planning this same trip. We’ve already helped plan a few trips for people with the knowledge we gained from planning this trip.
We also visited Devils Tower during a 2023 trip! More on that below.
This trip took place in July 2020.
Our itinerary for this portion of our trip looked like this
Jackson Hole and Grand Teton
- Day 1: Jenny Lake and Hidden Falls
- Day 2: Searching for Moose + White Water Rafting
- Day 3: Grand Teton National Park
Yellowstone National Park
- Day 4: Geysers (Grand Prismatic, Old Faithful/Upper Geyser Basin)
- Day 5: West to North Yellowstone (Artists Paint Points, Mammoth Hot Springs)
- Day 6: Lamar Valley – Animals!
- Day 7: Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and Lake Yellowstone
- Day 8: South Yellowstone (West Thumb)
Check out the full vlog here:
Day 1: Jenny Lake and Hidden Falls (lodging – Antler Inn)
We drove in from Idaho Falls, which was only about a 2 hour, beautiful drive. There were lots of beautiful pull off spots on the way into Jackson with views of the mountains. We didn’t stop at many because we had hoped to check in early. We even saw a lot of ‘check your breaks’ signs and ‘runaway truck ramps’ which were scary 🙂 As we pulled into town we stopped to eat our packed PBJ at some picnic tables at the first gas station we saw. Turns out they also serve some good pulled pork sandwiches which we purchased so we were not just stealing their tables. The gas station actually is a wonderful store with wine and other things to purchase.
We then drove into Jackson, arriving around 12, hoping to check in. I had called twice on our way in, but turns out, no luck. Our plan had been to immediately head into the Tetons for a hike so we were very frustrated with our change of plans. Turns out for the best, but we didn’t’ know that at the time. So – to waste some time we drove around town, which was mainly traffic. Then we parked and walked instead. We got a little shopping in for about 2 hours before being able to check in. The town is adorable. The other thing I was most surprised about was the prices! So many T-shirts were $5-10, tons of unique gifts at super reasonable prices. I bought a lot of things in this town because I couldn’t believe such a nice area that is so touristy is so cheap! We also stopped for a cookie at the Bunnery and it was great!
After check in, we started our drive to the Tetons. It’s a quick drive once you get out of Jackson traffic. We did the Jenny Lake trail. This is one of the most beautiful hikes in the park, and is a must do! It was really crowded, but honestly I think arriving around 3:30 was ideal because a lot of people were leaving, so I think the late check in helped us. Obviously if you can get there earlier, do that. When we drove back through Jackson on our way out of Yellowstone, at 10am it was already crowded but not as bad as 3:30. We were lucky enough to find a spot in the lot, stopped at some nice bathrooms and got a map before heading out.
At Jenny Lake they offer a boat ride one way or round trip across the lake. We decided to go ahead and walk to begin with and then grab boat on the way back around if we were tired. It’s about 2.3 miles to hidden falls. It was mainly flat with some beautiful views of the lake.
Somewhere along the trail, I forget the turn off, but it was after the first major incline, someone told us there is a small trail to the left (just a few hundred feet) where there is this pond where moose like to hang out, and we got to see one! It was awesome!! So as you’re walking, make sure to check that out. I remember it was after the hill because the person said ‘hurry there’s a moose’ and I laughed because it was as we were going straight up a hill and I was very winded 🙂
After that we kept walking towards hidden falls. Same story here, beautiful views all around! When we finally made it, hidden falls was amazing. Very pretty view, nice little bench to sit at and rest.
At this point you can decide to either walk back to the start of the trail (another 2.3 miles), head onto inspiration point, or grab the ferry. My husband and older son went on to inspiration point while my younger son and I decided to head to the ferry and grab a place in line, also we were tired and slower than the them. The hike looked short but pretty steep but the picture they have of the mountains are incredible. – looks like a painting, doesn’t even look real!
When I arrived at the ferry we were at a place that said 30 minute wait time, which didn’t end up being quite that long. But – I can imagine that during peak time there are huge waits as we passed a 1.5 hour sign as well! I can’t imagine waiting that long. But the hike did take us about 2.5 hours in total, although we stopped a lot for pics. The final ferry was at 7 and we just made it! The ferry ride was beautiful but honestly probably not worth the money – but I’m kind of cheap. But at 7pm we were starving, tired and I was slightly scared getting eaten by a bear or something on the trail without all the people around – so – boat ride was worth it!
On the drive back we saw a few animals along the road which we stopped for – prong horns right in front of us and some elk in the distance. We also got some good sunset views of the Tetons. Beautiful! When we arrived back in town we called ahead a pizza from Hand Fire Pizza and ate in our hotel. It was delicious. We stayed at the 49’er Inn which was really nice. Great location to walk to town, clean rooms, and a good breakfast. My husband was happy they had some options to sit down and eat rather than the bagged breakfast we had been getting (covid times). They of course had some takeaway items if you would like that also.
Day 2: Searching for Moose + White Water Rafting
The next morning we headed out early, around 7:30 to Moose Wilson Road in hopes of finding some animals! We drove up the road and then back. We had a bunch of cars behind us so it was hard to drive slow and really look carefully although there were some areas you could pull off. We were getting a little sad because we couldn’t see anything until we saw a ranger on the road and we saw a moose in a pond right next to us!!! It was awesome. We quick snapped some pictures then the ranger told us to keep moving. We made it to the top of the road and basically turned around to do it again. Didn’t find anything on the way back either 😐 But I’ve read this road has so many animals so maybe we were too late or wrong time of year. We also saw a nice little park you could take a hike at but we didn’t have time.
When we arrived back to town we spent just a little while longer walking through some stores – kids money was burning a hole in their pocket. We then grabbed a to-go lunch from Pearl Street Bagels where we customized some sandwiches. It was just a few blocks from hotel and was super yummy. We then went back to hotel to change for rafting!
This afternoon we did a white water rafting trip with Dave Hansen. If you want to do the same tour we did, check this out: White Water Rafting and the one we wanted to do Scenic Float Tour. We had planned to do the combo trip of the scenic tour in the morning and rafting in the afternoon, but they cancelled the scenic portion. So – anyway we did the rafting Snake River instead. Our trip was about 3.5 hours or so but a lot of it was driving to get to the drop in point. We walked to the location of the rafting company which was great because we could just leave our stuff at hotel and walk over. In hindsight I absolutely should have brought a few water bottles to leave on the bus as I was super thirsty after and had no water. I was worried the rafting would be a bit scary for my kids as they’ve never done it, and it’s supposed to be class 3 rapids, but the rapids really were tame. They said water levels were kind of low, so I’m sure they get more crazy. We drove for about 30-40 minutes to the rafting site, got assigned our tour guide and set off. We rafted maybe 1.5 hours or so, the scenery was beautiful and the rapids were fun. The kids and adults took turns sitting on the front of the raft as they went through rapids. The drive home was long and we were exhausted. Not a lot of pics – but tons of video footage in our vlog!
When we got back we went right across the street to get Big Hole BBQ – takeout. We took the food to the square and easily found a place to sit, but it was early, maybe 5 when we arrived. Food was really delicious and we were stuffed. Did some more walking after dinner and eventually ended up at Moo’s ice cream to share some Huckleberry Ice Cream. This was my first experience with this ice cream and it was great. I’ll also share that we got it two more times in various cities throughout our trip and this was by far the best.
Day 3: Grand Teton National Park
We got up early again and drove back to the Tetons, leaving hotel by 7:30. This time we drove up Moose Wilson Road again but no luck seeing any animals. We did stop at an overlook that looks down at a small creek and has parking for about 15 cars – and we heard there was a moose and a baby there and we just missed it. Someone said there are lots of animal sightings there, plus it’s a beautiful spot to just sit for a bit, so if you have more time, could be a good spot to eat breakfast or just hang out. We then headed towards an area called Schwabacker Landing. We missed it the first time we drove by and on the way back we still didn’t even see the sign, the pics just looked familiar and we saw 3 cars. So look at a map before you go into the park! We got down there and made a short walk along the creek. It was a very flat, easy trail. We read you can walk all the way to the Snake River but we didn’t really have time so we just walked for about 15-20 minutes then turned around. The area has amazing views of the Grand Teton though so we got some of the best pictures of the whole trip here. The creek is really nice, and even had lots of baby ducks. This is another area where lots of animals have been sighted, and there aren’t many people around, but we didn’t see much.
After that we drove towards Mormon Row and got the classic barn pictures. It’s worth seeing, really beautiful views and a very easy stop. After that we headed back towards Jackson to take off on our next adventure, heading up to Yellowstone.
Overall our trip to Jackson was great. We ended up with more free time that I imagined because we had counted on a full day of rafting, but after the scenic one got cancelled we had more time to spare. I may have found some more hikes to do if I knew this in advance, but honestly the time just driving around the Teton’s and exploring Jackson was really nice. On the way out of town we wanted to stop at Cowboy Coffee but the line was so long. I actually made the stop here on the way out of Yellowstone and the coffee was great and I learned they have online ordering – so make sure you just order ahead then you won’t miss it like I did 🙂
Day 4: Geysers (Grand Prismatic, Old Faithful/Upper Geyser Basin)
Lodging: Holiday Inn West Yellowstone
On the first day we set out from our hotel around 7:30 or so and got into the park with only a few cars in front of us. We drove straight to Grand Prismatic Spring (sign says midway geyser basin). I picked this location first because the parking lot is so small and we heard it fills up fast (which, later in the afternoon we drove by and saw cars for what felt like a mile on the road). At around 8:15 we were only one of a few cars in the parking lot and we had it to ourselves. However, the downside of the morning was, it was kind of steamy and we couldn’t see the colors all that well. But, we make up for that later (stay tuned).
Next we drove to Old Faithful, and checked the geyser prediction times and it was set to go off at 9:40. So we grabbed a snack, used this opportunity to go into the nice restrooms (yay!) and found a spot to wait. Eruption was cool and the kids were impressed, but it was not my favorite attraction of the day. Just too crowded honestly. After that, we took off to walk around the geysers. We had planned to walk the loop all the way to morning glory pool and back, but we found that the Grand Geyser was set to go off at a time that made it tricky to get back to. So we didn’t quite make it that far. We saw nearly every other geyser though and the kids really enjoyed reading all the names of each of them. The boardwalks around Upper Geyser Basin were really nice and made for a fun walk. It took us maybe 2 hours to walk them all. We have hundreds of pictures of the various geysers and hot springs – here are a few!
Once we were done we were starving and drove back towards the West Entrance and found a picnic spot along the river to eat our lunch. One of our favorite parts of the trip was just finding some great picnic areas and taking in the views. We tried to always find places where the kids could get into the river and get their feet wet and throw rocks to let off some energy!
After lunch we headed back south to the Fairy Falls trailhead. We enjoyed watching the enormous amount of traffic pulling into Grand Prismatic Spring, and even though their views are better, they had to walk a mile. We instead pulled into the Fairy Falls area but couldn’t find a spot and did end up on road, but not too bad. We walked to the overlook of Grand Prismatic, which was about 0.8 miles (1.6 miles round trip). The trail was flat for a while then on the way to the overlook was pretty steep, but the view was amazing!! I was happy we did this trail to get the full picture of Grand Prismatic, and missed the crowds. It would not be worth it if it was still steamy. So, try to look around at the thermal features before you go, and if there’s still tons of steam, you can’t see it.
After that, we drove north to the Firehole Drive, which is a one-way street, not marked, just a few miles away. Side note – you would be wise to print directions and write landmarks before you go. I would write things like ‘5 miles north of X’ and it helped. The drive was really pretty and there were only a handful of cars. You could just pull off to side and take some pics of some really cool thermal features. It was a good time of day to do this because my kids were tired. So they could stay in car while I walked 10 feet away to see the various items. They did get out for Pink Cone Geyser and loved it. It basically was erupting constantly, you could stand right by it and get wet. They loved it.
Next we exited the road and pulled straight across to lower geyser basin. I really liked this one as well and it was our first experience with some boiling mud which was a family favorite 🙂
After that it was around 4pm or so, and we headed back to West Yellowstone where we ordered some takeout from the Canyon Street Grill, which was great! We wandered a few stores and found some great deals on some Yellowstone merch!
Day 5: West to North Yellowstone (Artists Paint Points, Mammoth Hot Springs)
This morning we again got up early and were entering the park by 7:15 (pack all your clothes and snacks the night before and you’ll save tons of time!)
We stopped at Ernie’s for a pastry and coffee before we went in, and ate it at a little riverside overlook just a mile or two from the entrance. It was really beautiful in the morning to overlook the river
We then stopped at the Harlequin Trail, which I just happened to find the night before as I was scrolling through google earth. You would probably miss it if you didn’t write down exactly where it was. There was only two other pairs on the trail and the first pair came down and told me they saw fresh poop on the trail that wasn’t there 20 minutes ago and they think it’s bear! I want to see a bear but not that close 🙂 But, we decided it might not be bear poop, but continued to carry our bear spray in our hands just in case!
The trail is short and takes you to a beautiful little pond with a ton of lily pads. You can’t really walk around the pond but you can get a few good pics. There are tons of mosquitos even early in the morning, so bring bug spray. Anyway, nice little trail if you have an extra 1/2 hour or so but you could probably skip it also.
Next we started driving towards Gibbon Falls. We had some extra time to burn today because we were staying in Mammoth and couldn’t check in until 4 (ended up getting in early at 3!) so we made a few stops. We stopped at a Terrace Spring with just a few thermal features. We also stopped to use the restroom and have a snack at the Gibbon Picnic area which had a great view of the river. The kids actually really liked this area and headed down to the river to throw some more rocks.
Gibbon Falls was next and it was a beautiful waterfall. Parking lot was crowded, you can’t miss it. Then your best bet is to walk down the path away from parking lot to get a MUCH better view with so many less crowds. The others must not have known the best view is a 100 feet away!
After that we headed to the Artists Paint Pot trails. I loved this trail, the features are so weird and beautiful. You walk down a gravel path through the forest before coming to the boardwalk. We walked to the right but it doesn’t matter, both ways have a steep incline.
We then kept found another picnic area, this time heading back the way we came trying to find a nice one overlooking the river again but gave up and just picked the first we saw because kids were hungry. But they are all nice, so it didn’t matter.
Next we headed to Norris. We were tired by this point and the parking was nuts so my husband dropped us off near the top of the lot and turned around to park on road. Sometimes if there are a bunch of cars you’re better off just turning around and parking on road rather than trying to negotiate traffic.
Norris was HOT and tiring. Hit the restroom before you go and bring lots of water. But – we enjoyed it. We did the porcelain basin first (to the right) and it’s about 0.6 miles. Then we did the back basin which was about 1.6 miles. But it was really pretty and had some shady areas. Check the map before you go because there’s a shortcut if you don’t mind missing just a bit of stuff to make the trek easier.
After that we drove to our hotel only making 2 more stops. One right off the road at Roaring Mountain, and another at some crazy boulders on the side of the road with some nice overlooks. Kids and husband climbed on them for a bit, I stood on road because it looked too sketchy for me.
We checked into Mammoth Hotel around 3 and our room was really nice, it’s a beautiful hotel. It doesn’t get that great of reviews on some of the websites but I have no idea why. It was gorgeous, had nice beds and furniture, a huge, beautiful bathroom. Also has a wonderful green space out front and it’s very walkable. No AC (we were there in July and room was about 78, but we opened windows) and no microwave but other than that it was perfect. The other amazing thing – there are Elk EVERYWHERE. We spent so much time just watching out our window or watching them in the grass out front (from a safe distance!). At one point 17 ran right in front of our window, we were freaking out. Anyway, it’s just a great place. We ended up getting pizza from a place in Gardiner which was good and only a 10 minute drive or so.
The other good thing about staying here was we could explore Mammoth after all the crowds left and the sun started going down. We decided to drive up to the lower part although we could have walked (but we were so tired). We explored most of the lower part this night and really enjoyed it – it’s so different than the other areas.
Day 6: Lamar Valley – Animals!
One tip I forgot to mention, it’s kind of hard to find coffee places. I should have bought more bottled coffee from the grocery but West Yellowstone didn’t have much. Neither did gas stations, it was weird. I meant to go to the general store the night before in Mammoth but I forgot so I can’t speak to if they have any. Anyway, I needed some and the only thing open was the Terrace Grill and I got a small, crappy coffee for $4 but it was something.
We got up early again and were on the road by about 7:15am and headed to Lamar Valley. We did make one quick stop at Undine Falls for a quick overlook and to eat our breakfast of champions, Pop Tarts.
We made it to the gas station at Tower Junction, filled up, used the nice restroom and then headed down the road. Within minutes we saw one bison far in the distance and we were so excited. And then we turned a corner and saw HUNDREDS. They are everywhere. It was so amazing. This was my first experience seeing bison and I was thrilled. Every one of them made me excited and we stopped so many times. The best part about this day was that we would just find stops to pull over and enjoy the animals. We had no agenda other than that. We got stuck in many bison traffic jams, got some amazing pictures, and just thoroughly enjoyed it.
We heard that wolfs may be in the Slough area so we pulled into the campground there and saw tons of people with spotting scopes. They had in fact seen wolfs, way in the distance but they were hard to see then. We waited for a bit but were freezing so we left. We also got a tip there was a wolf and a bear eating a bison carcass down the street so we booked it down there. When we arrived we saw the bear but the wolf had left. They were really far away but it was still fun to see.
The key with this day is – anytime we saw anyone with a spotting scope or more than 2 cars, we stopped 🙂 It helped us a lot and people are willing to share what they are looking at.
We drove until we made it to Trout Lake trail (look this up before you drive because you’d probably miss it). It’s a steep climb but we were freezing so felt like getting out to move. And it’s short – maybe only 0.5 miles straight uphill 🙂 But the lake is beautiful, and you can do a loop around the lake too which is nice. Great for some pictures.
We then drove just a bit further to the Ice Box Canyon picnic area where we were on the river again for more rock throwing and relaxing.
On the way back we made some more animal stops, saw some prong horns, a bald eagle nest with babies and of course many more bison.
We made one final stop at the Lava Creek Area where I could relax in the shade and kids could, (take a guess!), throw rocks! This time they made a little rock dam which was fun.
This was such a good day and honestly, I wouldn’t miss Lamar Valley if you’re here. It’s a little out of the way if you’re not staying in the park but it was so worth it.
That night we got food from the Terrace Grill and watched the Elk and then did the top part of Mammoth which was a little smaller.
Day 7: Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and Lake Yellowstone
We left our hotel around 7:15 and headed to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Our first stop was Lookout Point. This was a very steep switchback trail, and slightly sketchy. I walked very carefully down the cliffs 😐 The view at the bottom is amazing! You can see the lower falls from Artists Point as well but this view is closer and more amazing I think.
We then stopped at Inspiration Point which we just went down a few dozen stairs for another great view of the canyon. Very beautiful as well.
When we visited, the brink of the lower falls and uncle toms trail were closed. I’m not sad about that, it looked challenging and the stairs looked super sketchy when I saw them!
We decided to drive straight to Artists Point since it would get busy later. It wasn’t that busy when we arrived, maybe around 10am or so. The view was great, we saw a rainbow, then another rainbow. Really pretty
After that we drove back around to see the Upper Falls. We stopped at another parking lot before you cross over river and walked the discovery trail. It had an OK view of the falls, but was an easy walk. You could probably skip this. Then we backtracked a bit, turned right on the street and stopped at a little road that had the brink of the upper falls. But, there were only maybe 5 people here and it was super intense to be right next to it.
After that we started driving again to find a picnic spot. This time we stopped somewhere along the river again at a really beautiful stop. The kids got in the Yellowstone River for a bit to throw rocks 🙂
Next we made our way to the Mud Volcano area. This was so cool. The first little loop is short and had some super neat features. They made all kind of gurgling noises and had weird boiling lakes and mud. We then did the longer loop up basically another straight up hill but it was worth it. We saw the sour lake, and this crazy churning caldron.
After that we kept driving towards Lake Yellowstone, making one final stop at LeHardys Rapids for a quick snack. Had some nice little boardwalks along the river.
We arrived around 2pm to the Lake Yellowstone Hotel and we stayed in one of the cute Yellow Cabins, which are basically like a hotel room dressed as a cabin, but it was perfect. No fridge here so plan accordingly.
We put our stuff away and headed out to the Storm Point Trail. I think this was one of our favorites. It is a beautiful walk, not too challenging and changing scenery around every corner. Our first stop on the trail was the Lake which the kids played in for a while. Then we kept walking towards storm point, making our way to an overlook and then the rocks of storm point. We saw a marmot also which was so funny! They live right near storm point. On the way back the trail heads into the forest and it’s really stunning. So many trees, and many fallen trees also. Bring bear spray! They say this trail is closed in spring because of bears but I’m not kidding when I say we saw 100 bear poops on the trail. It’s like they wanted us to know they were around!
After finishing the trail (about 2.3 miles) we headed back to the cabin. We made a quick stop at the general store and it was the best one yet! Since we didn’t have a fridge to keep our jelly, I just bought a new one and it was only $4. They also had individual beers you could buy for $2.50 and they were local brands. Also some cheap wine in a box for only $4 also. Also picked up some huckleberry soda and candy. Also this appears to be the only place your phone really works anywhere around the Lake!
We ate takeout at the grill near the lake and it was pretty good. Ate outside on picnic tables with a view. We then took off towards the Lake Butte Overlook for sunset but got stopped by a crowd of people checking out a grizzly and it’s cub! It was down in a valley off the road but close enough we could see without binoculars! We watched her for maybe 20 minutes then drove up to the overlook. I was thrilled for an overlook I didn’t have to hike to 🙂 and it had great views. We didn’t stay until sunset because the kids didn’t really care about the view, so we instead headed back down the hill and stopped at a beach on the lake and let them, THROW ROCKS while we watched the sunset. It was great. Very chilly though!
To end the day, for the first time in a week and a half of staying in hotel rooms we could put the kids to bed and sit right outside the room in their beautiful adirondack chairs, drink my cheap wine, and watch the stars. It was perfect.
Day 8: South Yellowstone (West Thumb)
We were sad to go, but we left around 7:30 to head back down to Salt Lake to catch our flight home. We made a few quick stops on the way out though.
First one was at West Thumb Geyser basin which was one of my favorites due to the beautiful lake views. Also, while we were walking along the boardwalk, 2 elk and 1 baby elk walked right by us!
Next we stopped at Lewis Falls for a quick view of the falls which was really pretty.
We then continued south through the Tetons. We had spent 2 days here before heading to Yellowstone so we didn’t stop for much other than a few quick views. When we got to Jackson, we went to Cowboy Coffee to help fuel us for the rest of the drive.
More Wyoming – Devils Tower!
In 2023 we did a trip through South Dakota. On the way up to North Dakota, we made a visit to Devils Tower!
They are not joking about coming early or late being recommended. We got there around 10.15 which was a little later than we hoped and we had to wait in line for about 20 minutes. When we left around 12 the line was crazy. They have a very small parking lot at the top, so they actually stop people with a stoplight on the main path in and only let in a few cars at a time. I do actually love this concept though so that you don’t have people fighting over spots and stuff. We did the hike around the base of it. It was not a super easy stroll or anything, lots of uphill, but paved the whole way. Honestly I think the views were just OK on the path, and it was very crowded. If I were to do it again, I think I’d walk to the right of the path and up just 25% of the way around. You get expansive views of the valley, get to see a ton of boulders, and we saw 5 people climbing from that side. The rest of the path along it was just OK, with peekaboo views throughout but mostly in the woods and I probably would have liked to spend more time just looking at the formation itself.
Like this guide? Let us plan your next adventure!
If you need a custom travel itinerary for your next trip, get in touch here!