Instead of journeying to northern Minnesota this summer from Florida, we are going out west with our A-Liner trailer mid June to places we have never been.

3 nights at North Rim of Grand Canyon Campground and then 3 nights at Bryce Canyon Campground. Meeting friends from Salt Lake at both places. From there, we are going to stop in Salt Lake at their house for a night and drive on to Grand Teton National Park for 4 nights by ourselves, they can't join us for that. Plan on making a couple day trips to Yellowstone from there. Have reservations for the first two stops, but Grand Teton I was planning at showing up one of their campgrounds. Seemed not to difficult to find a spot if we get their by early afternoon on a Monday from what the websites said.

I assumed there would be people who post here that have been to these places and might have some advice of things to see and do. My wife will be with me, and my 8 year old son. My friend will have his wife and 9 and 11 year old daughters. We enjoy hiking, but aren't in the greatest shape, and the hiking we do here is flat as a pancake, obviously. Higher altitudes will be new for us. Any advice on weather, bugs, trails, sightseeing, scenery, etc., etc. I have a nice inflatable sea eagle kayak that I have brought to Minnesota twice and it worked great. Fished and did some portaging/excursions. Didn't know if it was worth bringing for this trip though.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Keep in mind that you could spend the entire trip in any of the national parks you are visiting so you are really doing a whirlwind tour. My advice would be to shift some time to Yellowstone/Grand Tetons. It sounds like you are mostly site seeing, stopping at viewpoints, brief walks, etc.

So I would spend just 2 days in Grand Canyon. Then one night in East Zion to see Zion National Park, one night in Bryce to see Bryce Canyon National Park. The 2-3 days that you save could be applied to Yellowstone. Yellowstone/Grand Tetons is vastly larger than the other parks areas you are visiting. Hiking is generally easier with flatter trails so you could do more exploring. You could use your kayak and relax more at the end of the trip. I would stay in Yellowstone and then visit Grand Tetons with day trips rather than the other way around. Hope that helps.

Second week of June 2008, Beartooth Pass and Yellowstone
Beartooth and Yellowstone
Stayed in Billings MT, and Cody WY [hotels]. Need to go back and spend lots more time there!
Not the same but close. Spent a week driving in the mountains and sight-seeing, did some day hikes [only near Deadwood SD].

butthead

Can't really change the itinerary Jerold, since I had to coordinate this with my friend's schedule. My impression was that if I stayed in the northern campgrounds of Grand Tetons that it was maybe an hour or so drive to Yellowstone's southern entrance and I thought Grand Teton campgrounds would be a little less crowded. We have a very long drive home and I was trying to shave an hour or two off the trip by staying in the Tetons. It's definitely a whirlwind trip for sure. Don't expect to make it out there very often and wanted to see as much as possible, although that certainly puts some limitations on what we can do.

We went to Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone Park a couple of years ago...wonderful places! I wonder about not having reservations in Grand Tetons....June can be very busy there and the parks fill up. One thing to do that if worth it is the Snake River Raft Ride that leaves from the Grand Teton Lodge, you have to make a resevation the day before. Yellowstone is just plain wonderful, so drive around and stop and see the sights....I'm going to dig in my photos ...I'll be back!

There are so many things to see that you can't see them all, have a great time......we went east to Mt. Rushmore over in South Dakota....but I don't know that you are headed that way.

Amen. Grand Canyon is breath taking. However, unless you take a trip down the canyon you can only stand at the rim for so long. Use your time at Yellowstone or Grand Teton. They are my favorites.

All of those parks that time of year are going to be a lot more crowded than the BWCAW, that's for sure. I have only been to Yellowstone/Tetons in the fall. Campsites can even be hard to come by during fall. Get there early. Most of the campgounds in the area that I have stayed at in the parks are pretty compact. I would suggest thinking about camping in the John D. Rockefeller Parkway in between Yellowstone and the Tetons. There are campsites dotted along Grassy Lake Road out of Flagg Ranch. The road is a dirt road and campsites are free and first come first serve. There are some nice ones along the Snake River. Some of the campsites have decent pit toilets and spots for a few tents or a trailer. All are pretty private and can't be beat for free. You would also have better access to both parks.
Most of the good hikes in the Tetons are pretty demanding because of the elevation gain. Look to some of the larger valleys in Yellowstone for flatter hikes.

That is a heck of a lot of driving. Have fun.

Wonderful pictures Fishguts! Gets me more excited. I'll try to find some info on those campsites on grassy lake road elroy, thanks.

3 days might be more time than I need to see Grand Canyon, but after a 36 hour, 2.5 day drive I will need a break. Haven't seen my friend in a few years and we could have fun BS'ing just about anywhere.

Since your near Beartooth pass you must do it! Highest mountain pass in the continental USA and great views of the Montana & Wyoming rocky mountains. The pass is only open June-Sept, you might never get a chance to do it again.

I would agree that 3 days is far more than enough to see the Grand Canyon (minus the fact that your meeting freinds). But Zion & Bryce Canyons could be explored for weeks. If your heading up towards SLC, you should consider driving north through Grand Escalante as oppossed to I15. I15 is east of the red sands country, the route through escalante is spectacular. Spend a night in Moab, see Arches (a day is enough to see this park) then drive through the Wasatch Mtns. into SLC.

http://s153.photobucket.com/albums/s210/assinious/Trip%20to%20the%20mountains%202008/?albumview=slideshow

First link seems to be useless.


bh

Something else to think about is flying out there and renting a car. That might be cheaper than driving your own car and towing a trailer. That way you could take some camping gear (ship the boxes to and from your friend's house or to the first hotel). You could camp or stay at a hotel when it suits you. You would also have at least a couple more days of fun instead of driving.

we rented kayaks at Lake Jenny (I think) in Tetons. Very nice paddle. They have back-country canoe camping there, as well. I can't remember the details, but you might want to check that out.
Also, stream fishing in Yellowstone is a must. Just cast a little mepps spinner and you'll catch fish. Have a good time.

You could also take in Fremont Lake and some of the hiking trails out of there. It's by Pinedale, Wy and there's a campground on the south end. Free, I think.
Then on the way north out of there up to Jackson (Tetons) there's Granite Hot Springs; they have a campground. Check here: Granite Hot Springs

In Jackson stop in at Jedediah's for sourdough pancakes. Your kids may want something else - my kids weren't thrilled with the sourdough. I loved them. There's plenty of other food.

In the Tetons have a pizza & pasta (and other stuff) dinner at Dornan's. Sit outside overlooking the Snake River (you can sit on the roof for better viewing). You can also just stop in for ice cream. Also, if you head out on the trail just north of the restaurant just a short walk to the river is a working replica of a cable river ferry. Cool for the kids to experience.

Also, I agree with the recommendation of Beartooth Pass as an exit point from Yellowstone. This has been often voted one of the most scenic drives in the US.

If you exit Yellowstone via Beartooth or any of the east exits (even out of Tetons), stop in on Thermopolis and checkout the dinosaur digs. Also, the Buffalo Bill Cody museum is on your way if you go out of Yellowstone via the East Entrance.

If forced to go south and head back home, then I'd take the extra drive through Southpass City, WY, instead of dropping right to I80. It's an old ghost town from the Oregon Trail & Mining days. There's also a campground here somewhere - it was years ago, so I'd have to dig.

"stop in on Thermopolis and checkout the dinosaur digs. Also, the Buffalo Bill Cody museum is on your way if you go out of Yellowstone via the East Entrance."

I second that...as an avid out of doors man, thermopolis would be a great city to live in.

Lots of good advice, I only have one comment, not enough time in Yellowstone.
Plan on going back next year.
We spent 8 days there last time, could have spent more.

Other ideas/stops

Sinks Canyon is a nice stop in Lander WY. Stream dives into side of canyon wall and, comes out 1/4 mile down the canyon on other side of the road.

Hwy 130 off of I80 into the Snowy Mountain range is a great drive on the way into or out of Laramie WY.

Yeah, not enough time, but gotta do what the time allotted allows. We spent 16 days between the black hills, tetons and 6 nights in yellowstone alone.

We went in '06.

My .02 with your 8 year old in mind. Teton area. We did a snake river late afternoon raft trip then steak dinner afterward. My kids were like 14 and 10. Was perfect mix of some mild/medium rapids. Went with JH provider. Take the early morning ferry across Jenny Lake, hike up the trail, (bring lunch), past waterfall, up into the range. Outstanding views, we saw moose, etc. Then back to ferry. Do not plan on taking ferry back late in the day. Line can be real long. Leave early, come back early, best strategy if you do that. Great hike, go as far as you want uphill, lunch, the way back is all downhill.

Yellowstone, well there is so much. Hit old faithful, then look at the ranger station nearby for other timing of nearby eruptions. They are not exact, but give you a timetable. Make as many as you can. Take the walk down from old faithful to end of the geyser "trail", ends at morning glory pool, I think. Grand canyon of the yellowstone, way other side of park. Can walk down to the falls, way worth it, if you are in shape, lol. On the way home, got to make time for devil's tower and at minimum, a drive thru the badlands area. Have a great trip. Feel free to email if you want to discuss more, pbuzzard@mgmbrakes.com

I suggest the raft float trips down the snake in Teton and also horseback riding in Grand Teton. I did a family trip back in 2003 and we loved every minuite of Grand Teton and Yellowstone. Make sure you get to see a bunch of the geysers and be ready for lots of walking during the vacation. Cody Wyoming also has a great rodeo and museums. I think they have a rodeo every night in the summer.