Road Trippin'
 

Last night my husband suggested we take a road trip this summer. What the what?! This took me completely by surprise because 1. I have had this same thought and hadn't brought it up yet because 2. we haven't ever done this sort of thing. Ever. Not even before we had kids. So, he wants to drive to Yellowstone/Jackson Hole.

Here is where I need your help....

1. Have any of you ever driven from California (I'm in the central valley) to Wyoming? If so, did you take a specific route? Do you have route suggestions? Stops along the way that are a must? Would there be different routes we can take there and back to see different places?

2. If you've been to Yellowstone, what are some of the must-see places? I know Yellowstone and Grand Tetons are a given. But, what else? Any restaurants or diners we have to try?

3. Any websites you can suggest for planning this sort of a trip?

Thank you for any advice you are able to give to me. This is all so exciting but I know it's going to stress me out. Haha!

following!! an epic road trip is on our bucket travel list! how exciting!

Right?! Definitely a bucket list item! I also want to do a road trip up the Oregon coast but we'll spread these out a couple of years. Haha!

I think you should drive even further north and do glacier national park! and then i'll come visit!! :D

We did the coast from seaside down to newport.. I would do it again in a heartbeat. I want to go even further south next time and go down to the california redwoods... sigh

I love road trips. LOVE. we do vacation rentals to save $$ by not eating out.

That'd be fun! I've never been to Yellowstone but Jackson Hole was fun. My grandparents owned a ranch in Star Valley so we visited JH a time or 2.

Just make sure you drive through Utah and it'll be even better! ;)

Check out https://roadtrippers.com/

You can put your starting and ending points in and then use the icons on the map to find hotels, points of interest, restaurants, etc along the route. It may not have EVERYTHING, but it's a really fun way to get started with some ideas for your trip!

Thanks for this!! :thumbup:

Ooooh...we'll have to see how adventurous we are! I would love to meet ya!

Pretty sure that's the route we plan to take. I'll let ya know!!

How fun! I've been to Yellowstone/Grand Tetons/Jackson Hole more than a few times in my life - one of my favorite areas to visit.

At Yellowstone I would make sure to see Hayden Valley, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, the Firehole River and Mud Volcano area, Mammoth Hot Springs, the Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone Lake, Old Faithful and have breakfast at the Old Faithful Lodge (or even stay there!).

Some of my favorite hikes are Artist Point, Norris Geyser, and the at the brink of Lower Falls.

Definitely spend a night in the Tetons and Jackson Hole on your way to Yellowstone. JH is a tourist trap for sure but it's fun :) (I have pics in my gallery of JH, Tetons, and I think a few of Yellowstone too, although I've been lax in scrapping those photos).

We stayed at Fishing Bridge in Yellowstone, which is an RV park, so that probably doesn't help you out. Lake Yellowstone hotel and cabins is gorgeous. If you have so few days to spend there, I would suggest staying in the park somewhere if you can; otherwise, you'll spend a lot of your time traveling back and forth. Here are some links for you:
Hotels and Cabins inside Yellowstone
Lodging near West Entrance including West Yellowstone, MT
Lodging near South Entrance including Jackson Hole, WY
Lodging near East Entrance including Cody, WY

Thank you, Marie!! So helpful!

Yes!! There's quite a few ladies here and I'm sure we'd all love to meet you!


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Carrie - we are palanning the same trip! (Though coming from a totally different state to start ;) ) my brother lives in Great Falls (north of Yellowstone) so we are going to drive up to him first and then head down to Yellowstone. Gonna have to check out the info others shared! Especially lodging around Yellowstone!

So I'm assuming you'll take 5 or 99 up to 80 and then head towards SAlt Lake City. We've done that drive quite often (well from Sacramento over) and I gotta admit that it can be a bit boring. (Especially between Reno and Salt Lake). You will want to stop at Donner Summit and the Salt Flats - which are both direct exits off the freeway. I'll chat with Kevin and see if he has any suggestions :)

So cool, Erin! When are you guys making the trip? We're thinking sometime in July. We still need to nail down all of the details.

When I did a Google search of Fresno to Yellowstone, these are the routes that were suggested:
https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2917/3...7720be31_z.jpg

Not sure if we'll take one there and a different one on the way back. IDK. Ideally I'd like to see as much as possible since I don't know when a road trip like this will ever happen again. I've only been to Nevada by going to Reno and Las Vegas, otherwise, the only other state I've been in is Hawaii so I'd like to take advantage of this time. LOL!

If you have the time, I would definitely do the Utah route - so many gorgeous sites to see that way! The last time we went (3 years ago) we went from Colorado over to the Grand Canyon and then up the Utah route through Idaho and into Wyoming. I love Bryce Canyon - it's my favorite next to Tetons/Yellowstone.

Definitely Utah then [emoji6] Have fun planning it all!


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Drive through Utah and hit up the Salt Flats and Arches National Park in Moab, Utah along the way! I love Moab. Funny enough, I have been thinking about suggesting we drive to Yellowstone next year, too. I was there, but I was like 14. I remember being bored at Old Faithful, but doubt I would still feel the same now. lol

:D I was there the summer of my 14th birthday! It was and is rather boring at Old Faithful - you see it blow once and that's about it. Yellowstone has soooo much more than Old Faithful though thankfully!

do this!
http://www.outdoorproject.com/blog-n...wp_1=475828omg

Utah, as many have suggested already, is gorgeous. We went to the Salt Flats last year and it was like this giant mirror. There aren't a lot of places on earth that have salt flats! Definitely worth the trip.

Yellowstone is gorgeous. I love the Mammoth Hot Springs and also the Mudpots. Just expect crowds and slow traffic especially when people get off to take photos of wildlife. We didn't stay near Yellowstone and food was so overpriced ($16 for a bowl of pho!). We brought our own food the next day and had a picnic next to the lake.

We are going in August. I think it would be amazing to go a different route there and back! You'll see so much!!

Just a quick tip, bring lots of entertainment for the kids if they're coming. I remember when my mother dragged us all on a roadtrip through France during summer. All the small villages and weird sigthtseeing touristy spots and 3 kids (teenager and younger) in the car with no room to move and no aircondition. Not a good mix, we were all pretty sick of each other by the time we arrived at our destination. Ipads, headphones, plenty of snacks, good music (you never know how radio reception is) and lots of stops.

Oh..for sure. :)

My husband really really wants to go there sometime. It's on our list!

I can't speak about the specific places you mentioned because we've started from other points in the country, but I can say DO IT!!! Some people think we are crazy, but I wouldn't trade our crazy road trips for anything right now. I love seeing all the differences of the different parts of our country and I love getting to stop at more out of the way places that we wouldn't see if we weren't driving by. I know that someday our kids will remember that we had fun together even if they don't remember every detail of every trip. Can't wait to hear what you decide! :)

We went to Yellowstone during July 2015, and had an amazing time! If you are thinking this summer, you need to look at lodging NOW! They fill up quickly. We stayed in West Yellowstone, and while we had to drive in each day, if you get an early start, it's not that bad. We packed picnic lunches to eat in the park, so that we didn't have to travel back to our rental condo. Our trip was an extended family trip, and we ended our time in the park early to have supper together. If I did it again, I would just eat in the park to have more time to explore!

You can kinda divide Yellowstone into different sections, chosing one section each day of your trip. We were there 4 full days, and still didn't see everything we wanted to see.

Our best day was waking up EARLY and going to Hayden Valley (we took family portraits in a field). We saw the most animals on this day of our trip- elk, deer, bears. Bison walk right down the middle of the road, backing up traffic. Just be cautious of that and mindful of them (some turned back heading straight for us, or moved as we tried to move around them- they definately own the park).
As far as food in the park, each section has it's own hotel and campground areas. These "resort" areas are where you will find shopping, food, etc. Some of these areas also have museums or interactive displays.

Old Faithful is not "scheduled" but expected times. Don't ask when it is scheduled to erupt again, they get frustrated by this. There is a sign that posts when it is expected to erupt. We made it right in time to see an eruption (but not at a good view). We shopped, explored the Lodge, museum etc, and were back out in time to see the next full eruption.

You can purchase Junior Ranger books for your kids! They keep the kids busy in the car between all the things to see, and have activities for the kids. I created a tally sheet with all the animals we might see in the park, and our kids had fun marking them off when they saw them!

After a while the hot springs and geysers start looking the same (they do stink also, so prepare your kids for that- rotten egg smell). I would chose the ones you definately want to see or the highest rated ones, and be ok with skipping others!

Have a great time! I'll see if I kept any of my links from our trip!

Thank you, Dawn!! Very helpful information!! :)