It’s the Trog tour, and looks like it’s scheduled to return this summer. It’s just for kids 8-12 years old though, so not something you do with a parent, but I loved it when I did it as a kid. I still have my helmet I wore too!
I also echo the recommendations for Sleeping Bear Dunes. We spent a week in the area (with a day trip to Mackinac Island) and could have spent longer! Look up the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail…there are miles of very nice trails, paths, boardwalks, etc., for all different kinds of hiking. Glen Arbor was where we stayed and my favorite of all the little towns in the area. You can do kayak or canoe rentals too, and there is a very nice park in town too.
To answer the original question about Yellowstone, we went there last summer. My kids are older, but I agree with what @Jeff_AZ said…it’s actually a pretty accessible park, and many of the sights are right near the roads, so you don’t actually hike unless you specifically pick a hike (I’m not counting walking from a parking area as a hike). The only one of the sights I’m remembering that’s pretty strenuous is going to the brink of the Lower Falls, as it’s a switchback, and it can get you if you rush it when you’re not used to the elevation. However, also like he said, if this could be a once in a lifetime type trip, wait till they’re older and will remember/appreciate it more.
While I love watching kids experience things, watching our granddaughter return from the tour was great. She had a tendency to be wary of new things but clearly felt excited and proud. I also purposely had not told her she’d be able to keep her helmet. That was a fun surprise.
Explaining and sharing your experience with your family is also a great learning opportunity for a kid.
That switchback! At Yellowstone in 2021 I read my book in the car while my sister and her grandkid did that.
My grandson, from 8 - 13 or so, traveled with us. You couldn’t have asked for a more knowledgeable or engaged kid. Yet, as an adult, he feels he didn’t properly appreciate his opportunities. And that’s a great existential debate.
Okay - we are committing to Yellowstone in late May 2024! We talked about going back to Acadia or going to Olympic, but based on what I’ve read and your insights, I think Yellowstone will actually be great for our 5 year old.
We did a 12 day road trip in 2022 which had 5 lodging stops (in 4 states!), so I’m not against a split stay. Thanks to packing cubes and laundry, we managed just fine!
Here is what our tentative plan looks like:
Thursday - travel day. Arrive at Bozeman airport, Drive 3-ish hrs to Jackson Hole (flying into JH is wayyyy to costly for us). Stay overnight somewhere in JH.
Friday - Aerial Tram, Elk Refuge
Switch lodging to Jackson Lake lodge
Saturday - Snake River Float trip
Stay at Jackson Lake Lodge
Sunday - explore something else at GT
Drive to Yellowstone
Stay at Old Faithful Inn
Monday - Geyser touring
Old Faithful Inn
Tuesday - Move to Canyon Lake Lodge (this seems to be relatively centrally located?
I don’t have the rest of our Yellowstone plans mapped out but we would stay at CLL from Tuesday Night - Saturday morning with a plan to fly out from Bozeman sometime on Saturday. If it’s an early flight, we might leave for Bozeman on Friday night.
Does this seem to make sense? Am I missing something? Should we stay somewhere else besides CLL? Thanks everyone!! I can’t believe k have to book lodging in 2 weeks
This looks like a great plan! I don’t have specific feedback on lodging because we usually stay outside Yellowstone and drive in for the day. I’ve done Jackson Hole, Snake River, and some of these individual experiences on various trips, but never all on the same trip.
I’m assuming the Snake River float trip will be with someone out of Jackson Hole? (I can look up the company we went with for the raft trip we did if you want!) If so, you’ll have some back and forth driving if you’re staying in the park but going back to Teton Village for the aerial tram and JH for the float trip. We stayed in a Hampton Inn in Jackson the whole time and made the drive into GTNP when we were doing hikes/sightseeing. Your plan is certainly fine if you really want to stay in the lodge; it’s not that long of a drive. I just wanted to give you the heads up.
So in YNP, there is Canyon Lodge & Cabins, Lake Yellowstone Hotel & Cabins, and the Lake Lodge & Cabins (in addition to the other hotels/cabins), but these are three distinct locations, and I wanted to be clear based on your “Canyon Lake Lodge” comment. The Lake Yellowstone Hotel and Lake Lodge are very near to each other, but I’m pointing out the differences so you book the right place! Canyon Lodge doesn’t have a lake nearby (the other two do). Both locations are very central, making it easy to get to both the Old Faithful area and the Northern Loop. If you’re already going to stay at Old Faithful, I’d probably pick Canyon Lodge over the Lake Yellowstone area, just because the Lake area is easy to get to from both Canyon and OF.
Was it you who recommended this rafting company in the aforementioned thread? I pulled it from there AND accepts people older than 3. https://lewisandclarkrafting.com/
My husband takes the kids rafting frequently on our local rivers here, so I know everyone will love it as long as I have enough snacks
This is an excellent point about staying in Jackson Hole and getting to GT. It sounds like it’s not too much driving to get into the park for that day and a half inside GT. We could probably save some $$ going that route.
thanks for helping this rookie out! It seems like both Lake Lodge and Canyon Lodge are good choices for location.
This is excellent advice! It seems like dusk on our final night would be the best choice to check out Lamar and then stay in north Yellowstone or drive toward Bozeman.
I just re-read your trip report yesterday and thank you for putting one together! It was incredibly helpful.
When we went we flew into SLC, drove to Idaho Falls for our first night so we could get supplies (bear spray, food, etc.). We spent the first two nights in Grand Teton at the cabins there. We then spent a couple of nights at Old Faithful in the original building. Loved the location and we were close to food but know that you will be going up and down a lot of stairs to get to/from your room. We then moved up to the Mammoth Hot Springs Cabins, which is where we stayed while DH and DS backpacked. Our last in park location was the Lake Yellowstone cabins. Each was great and we loved being in the park so that we could avoid the crowds/drive in and out of the parks. It was expensive, but we loved it. One thing I would mention is that in June we had every kind of weather from heat to snow and the boat on Lake Yellowstone had not started for the season the year we went.
I also really liked the itineraries published by Dirt In My Shoes. They were a lot cheaper then, but they were really helpful for choosing how to tour to get the most out of our trip.
Thanks for confirming what I’ve been thinking! I know the cost is more but the convenience is really amazing - if I learned anything from my WDW trip it is that I loved the convenience of being closer to everything.
I’m also mentally prepping for a blizzard, just in case
It is super easy to get from Jackson to GT! You will have a much better choice of restaurants, too. GT has very limited food option. When we went in 2021, Jenny Lake restaurant was not available to guests not staying there. We forgot our cooler of sandwiches at the hotel in Jackson one day. We had to buy premade sandwiches from the gift shop!
ETA- if you just want to rent bear spray vs buy it, there is a company that has locations in both Jackson (on the way north to GTNP) as well as a kiosk in the Canyon Village area of YNP. You can rent from one and return to the other.
Here’s my mini-report for our trip last summer. It might give you an idea of how to split up the various areas of the park (keeping in mind we couldn’t go on the northern loop yet while we were there due to last year’s flooding)-
Canyon Lodge doesn’t have a lake nearby (the other two do). Both locations are very central, making it easy to get to both the Old Faithful area and the Northern Loop. If you’re already going to stay at Old Faithful, I’d probably pick Canyon Lodge over the Lake Yellowstone area, just because the Lake area is easy to get to from both Canyon and OF.
thanks for helping this rookie out! It seems like both Lake Lodge and Canyon Lodge are good choices for location.
