Father/ son road trip to Yellowstone, suggestions appreciated :)

[Nomadllc]

Hi,

My son(6yrs) and I are planning on driving north, from Rifle, CO. to Yellowstone NP next week. We are headed out on 7.23 and return 7.28. We are avid tent campers and backcountry adventurers, so we're definitely looking forward to this trip. I understand most of what we want to see is very touristy, but we'll have fun none the less. I've never been up to that area and would like to hear any stories of your travels there, and places we shouldn't miss. I would like to make a stop in Grand Teton NP also, so if you've spent some time in this area or have some good info, other than nps.gov we would love to hear about it. Thanks in advance!

 

[kevint]

OK. Wow. Great trip.

My family went in the summer of 2010 on a very similar trip. My oldest was nursing an ankle injury so we were very limited on where we could go. We still had a blast. Also, don't bemoan being a tourist. These are great places to be a tourist. And, after all, we are all tourists, just different kinds. I'll browse through my pics and suggest a few things:

1) Old Faithful - Do it early. It is neat but definately not the best experience in the park. On the plus side it is, well, faithful so if your 6 yr old is impatient, the eruption window is fairly well defined.

2) Funnest geyser - Castle Geyser - A little away from the biggest crowds. The eruptions window can be a couple of hours so you have to be prepared. First, just plan to be in the area--the eruption lasts about an hour so you don't have to be there before it starts, just close enough to check in at a distance for awhile. You get a lengthy water eruption followed by a lengthy steam eruptions. We took a deck of cards, sat in the morning shade and chilled. The eruption crescendos slowly with several bursts until it really gets going. I liked it because it just kept getting better and better.





3) Chuckwagon Dinner in Paradise Valley near Roosevelt - You can travel by horseback, chuckwagon or stagecoach into paradise valley for a stake dinner and a cowboy sing-a-long. My kids loved it. If you go, sit up front. They invite a couple of kids ride up front with the driver. They made friends, pet the horses and ran around having a grad time.







4) Yellow Bus Tours - OK. Don't throw me out of the forum. We did the wildlife viewing tour and it was good. You're much more likely to see a grizzley or wolf if you have someone who knows where to look. The yellowbuses are neat as well. They were specially designed to tromp around Yellowstone and Glacier.



5) Young scientist/junior ranger programs - my daughter did the young scientist program. We got a backpack with some cool equipment (like an infrared thermometer) and she completed some objective in the upper and lower geyser basins.

6)Drive Old Gardiner Road from Mammoth to Gardiner - This is an old wagon road. It may say something about 4wd but we did it in a Honda Odessy so any vehicle will probably work. We saw lots of wildlife and good views.



7) Look for moose in Moose - Stop in the visitor center and ask where to look. We had no trouble finding them.



8) See Menor's Ferry and General Store - We were too early to see the ferry in the water but it looked awesome. The store was fun. It is stocked with period items for sale. Buy locally bottled root beer and sasparilla and drink them sitting on the front porch. There was almost no one here. My youngest daughter (who has the personality of a little boy) loved the place.







9) Enjoy the views -


I have several pictures here:

http://thornsberry.smugmug.com/Travel/Wyoming/Yellowstone-2011/19976343_KM88MR

and here

http://thornsberry.smugmug.com/Travel/Wyoming/Grand-Teton-National-Park-2011/19977098_WDFsWX

 

[haven]

Yellowstone is huge. Don't overlook how long it takes to drive from one attraction to another. Speed limits are low in the park, and the roadways are congested anywhere some large mammal decides to put in an appearance. So give yourselves plenty of time to travel.

One of my fondest memories of a visit to Yellowstone many years ago was swimming in the Firehole River. There are hot springs that flow into the river in places, so you can find a spot where the river is not so cold. Be aware that the river has strong currents in places, so it's not recommended for an inexperienced swimmer.

 

[fowldarr]

I currently live not too far south of Yellowstone, and I have been going since I was a kid. I could talk for hours about things to see and do. So if you have specific questions Im me. Beautiful country. Take your time. Enjoy the trip. Campgrounds are reservable, so get that done if you haven't already.

 

[Nomadllc]

Kevin- Thank you for the awesom pictures, and great info. From your pics, it looks like your family had an experience they'll never forget. I would love it if my son would discover something new on this trip. We live in the mountains here in CO, and do a lot of camping, but everyone says we have to experience Yellowstone! Earlier this year we drove south to Yuma, AZ and crossed into San Diego, CA and back to the Grand Canyon before heading home. That trip was amazing, eight days in the car and the grandure of the Grand Canyon still capivates my son whenever he sees a picture of it. I'm hoping he gets the same experience from the hydrothermal features and the abundant wildlife.

"One of my fondest memories of a visit to Yellowstone many years ago was swimming in the Firehole River. There are hot springs that flow into the river in places, so you can find a spot where the river is not so cold." Yeah, we live in an area with a ton of hot springs flowing into the river, so we'll definately have to check it out.

I would like to take my time and spend about a full day in each of the main destination ares. I was planning on just rolling into the NP camp grounds when we get close, but sounds like the safe bet would be trying to reserve camping along the route? Thanks for all the input guys! I'll take all the help I can get on this one :Wow1:

 

[60Dan]

Funny .... It's the opposite situation for me - I'm planning on taking my dad to Yellowstone next year for a father/son 2 week excursion!
My little boy is too young to fully enjoy it (3yrs), but I think 6 is a good age.

He will love it!
I'm taking notes from this thread, please update when you get back

 

[Nomadllc]

Hey Dan, I've been trying for years to get my dad to go on an adventure with me. We camped a lot when I was a kid but he got out of it by the time I was in my teens. We have taken countless boat trips to lake Powell and have been to Mexico a few times together, but it's not quite the same. One of these days I'll coax him back into the woods
I didn't really keep notes on the trip so I'll try and put together a little trip report and post it here. All told though we spent very little time in Yellowstone as we were having too much fun wandering other less crowded places.
This was one of our favorite days, spent fishing the Snake river, Grand Tetons NP

 

[Nomadllc]

HaHa, one more good one, showes the spirt of the adventure!

 

[60Dan]

Thanks for posting up, looks like a great adventure!
Grab your dad and when he asks where your going, say out for coffee. Then drive into the woods and put a pot on! Lol!

How was the fishing in snake river?
I may have to add another spot to the list!

Dad loves to fly fish, so would really like to see him with waders on casting with that view you posted