Yellowstone Recommendations

[ORMojo]

I'll be taking the kids (5 & 10) on a Montana vacation in August, and Yellowstone is part of the itinerary. We will be based out of the Big Sky area.

I'll appreciate any suggestions for the best way to visit Yellowstone with the kids. Sights, route, etc. And also, I have the option of doing a full-day Yellowstone visit in our own private vehicle, or via small (10-12) tour group, or private (just us) tour. Recommendations on that? I like the idea of leaving all of the arrangements to the tour; I also like being in control should my kids' needs require attention a tour can't provide.

Thanks in advance!

[Tommasini53]

Old Faithful appears to be a long drive from the Big Sky region, BUT it probably has the greatest concentration of geysers and the thrills with eruptions. (locals should correct me if i'm wrong and there's a better location). Lake Yellowstone and the falls were also beautiful..not sure it would be exciting to young kids.

On our trip, we drove and day-hiked through out the park. Every hour of each day, we encountered wild life--very large wild life (bision and elk), no fences. That was exciting as an adult and i'll bet it will thrill youngsters too. Bison and elk are everywhere in the park.

Can't offer any advice on tours, we just did our own thing with day hikes, picnics and soaked up the beauty. enjoy.

[dave thompson]

Parking is a huge problem in Yellowstone, often unavailable at various attractions during the season. Just too many cars. We did Yellowstone on our own but after school started so we didn’t have the parking issues you’ll find during August.

If I were going during August, I’d do the tour thing, either the personal tour or small bus. Sit back and enjoy while someone else does the hard work.

[bikinchris]

The park is huge. Driving through WILL take longer than you expect. Wildlife road blocks abound. Not just bison or elk standing on the road. There are few places to pull off to watch the animals, so when people stop to look at a moose, both directions are quickly blocked.
When I advise people, I tell them to stay at a place close to the area you want to explore. Such as Fishing Village for the South end, or Roosevelt cabins for exploring the valleys and northeast end.

[pdmtong]

Old Faithful? sure, it's a geyser and it is "regular" BUT it's paved there are crowds and there are parking hassles. all I can recall is what a mess.

go north to the geothermal areas. be on a road blocked by bison or elk.

see land like it looked centuries ago.

the kids will remember that for sure.

"spoken as a kid who did all that at age 17"

[David Kirk]

The main areas of the park will be standing room only and you can have a much more fun experience by staying away from the most popular places like Ol' Faithful.

I'd want to hit two areas - first is the Lamar River Valley which runs east-west in the northern part of the park. It is the best place to see wildlife even in high summer. Bears, wolves, elk are all fairly common up there. On top of that it's simply beautiful there with large herds of bison all the time.

The other place that is really fun is the Artist paint pots in the Norris Geyser basin. There are hundreds of small boiling mud pots that spit and hiss and bubble and kids just love them. Each pot has its own pissy personality! You can get very close to many of them and it's my must-see spot in the park every time I go.

It will be high season and it will be very crowded. Finding a parking spot to get lunch can take until dinner. Pack a picnic and eat at a pull-out. Give yourself lots of time to get from A to B and keep your plans simple and flexible and you can have a ton of fun. If you have a long list of things you have to see and assume you'll be able to travel and park as you like it can be a frustrating time.

Yellowstone is a real treasure and is not to be missed. Have a great time!

dave

[jamesdak]

Originally Posted by David Kirk

The main areas of the park will be standing room only and you can have a much more fun experience by staying away from the most popular places like Ol' Faithful.

I'd want to hit two areas - first is the Lamar River Valley which runs east-west in the northern part of the park. It is the best place to see wildlife even in high summer. Bears, wolves, elk are all fairly common up there. On top of that it's simply beautiful there with large herds of bison all the time.

The other place that is really fun is the Artist paint pots in the Norris Geyser basin. There are hundreds of small boiling mud pots that spit and hiss and bubble and kids just love them. Each pot has its own pissy personality! You can get very close to many of them and it's my must-see spot in the park every time I go.

It will be high season and it will be very crowded. Finding a parking spot to get lunch can take until dinner. Pack a picnic and eat at a pull-out. Give yourself lots of time to get from A to B and keep your plans simple and flexible and you can have a ton of fun. If you have a long list of things you have to see and assume you'll be able to travel and park as you like it can be a frustrating time.

Yellowstone is a real treasure and is not to be missed. Have a great time!

dave

I'll echo what David said. Just be prepared for it to be a zoo.....and not in a good way. I live nearby and go there often to do photography. Here lately the total rudeness of people there has me considering never returning. You can be all set up with your camera on a tripod ready to shoot and a tour bus with show up and the next thing you know 20 people just force themselves in front of you and in the way. Still it is something you've got to see at least once. Beartooth highway north of the park is pretty dang spectacular too.

Once you get off the road and into the backcountry the park takes on a whole new persona. That just may not be practical for you with kids and only one day.

Some work from the park.

[AngryScientist]

James - A+ work there pal. That eagle especially, marvelous, literally. thanks for sharing those.

[David Kirk]

Beautiful photos James!

dave

[phoenix]

Definitely go into the Lamar Valley, Hayden Valley and check out the Fishing Bridge / Yellowstone Lake areas. The geo thermal areas are nice, however they do tend to be crowded, especially this time of year.

In general the folks with the scopes in the valleys are pretty forthcoming with information about what they are looking at. If you’re nice they may let you look through their scope. At the very least they’re happy to let you know where to look and what to look for. The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone is also a nice place to check out. You can walk it, or drive around it with may stops along the rim to park and get out and walk/hike.

My wife and I just got back from Grand Teton NP and Yellowstone about a month ago. Prior to.leving we found this great book on tape called American Wolf. It's a beautiful story about a few packs of Wolves in Yellowstone, of which some are still there.



It’s a breathtaking and awe inspiring park, enjoy!

P.S. BRING BEAR SPRAY

[buddybikes]

Back in 1987 wife and I went there right after Christmas, xc, back country skiing, 1 day of snowmobiling was awesome seeing geysers in winter, plus no people (don't know how busy it gets now)

[redir]

My recommendation? Don't go. At least not in August. Unless maybe you are going into the back country where you will be free from humans. I have not been since the mid 90's and it was terrible then, I can't even imagine what it's like now.

[Jaybee]

Originally Posted by redir

My recommendation? Don't go. At least not in August. Unless maybe you are going into the back country where you will be free from humans. I have not been since the mid 90's and it was terrible then, I can't even imagine what it's like now.

There is much truth to this recommendation. I'd caveat it however- If this is a once-a-decade option for you, your kids will remember it forever even if it's crowded. You know your kids best, but I'd opt for one of the tour options to avoid the parking ****show at the biggest attractions.

[ORMojo]

Thanks everyone for the input so far.

Maybe I should clarify. As sacrilegious as this may be, Yellowstone is not the reason for our vacation. We are staying at a small lodge outside Big Sky, MT. Almost the entire stay will be away from "tourism" with our time spent on horses, fishing, hiking, mountain biking, etc. Not to mention just hanging out around our cabin (this will likely be the longest the kids have ever gone without a TV present), and eating good food.

Although I'm unfortunately aware of the crowds in Yellowstone in August, I've been thinking that it is worth dedicating a full day to a tour of the highlights, and then returning to our remote peace & quiet!

But I'll admit that some of your (honest & appreciated) comments have me wondering if even that is worth it, given the traffic and crowds. If we do it, I have found a highly-recommended operator that we can spend ~13 hours with (including travel from/to Big Sky) in a small group seeing Old Faithful, Yellowstone Lake, Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, Hayden Valley, Lamar Valley. I think this may be our best, and easiest, option.

We travel a lot, and while we are nearby, I feel like the kids should at least get their first glimpse of Yellowstone. If it really impresses them, we could return in the future for an extended stay in Yellowstone.

[Ozz]

Originally Posted by David Kirk

...The other place that is really fun is the Artist paint pots in the Norris Geyser basin. There are hundreds of small boiling mud pots that spit and hiss and bubble and kids just love them. Each pot has its own pissy personality! You can get very close to many of them and it's my must-see spot in the park every time I go....

Yellowstone is a real treasure and is not to be missed. Have a great time!

dave

+1

This is what I remember as my favorite when my folks took our family to Yellowstone back in the '70's....

Grand Teton NP is also cool...

I read this book when I was a kid too...thought it pretty interesting: "One Day at Teton Marsh"