Yellowstone and Grand Teton for three generations

1. Day 1: Bozeman and Paradise Valley to Gardiner

   Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport to Livingston, then south through Paradise Valley to Gardiner

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Early welcome dinner
   • Stay in Gardiner
   Day 1 details

   Fly into Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport (BZN) in Belgrade, Montana, and land by about 2 pm; we confirm the group pick-up time with your final itinerary. Your See Sight Tours guide meets the family in arrivals, and we drive over Bozeman Pass to Livingston, then south through Paradise Valley with the Yellowstone River beside the road. It is about 145 km and under two hours, with a stop at a river pullout halfway so nobody sits for too long. Gardiner, at the park's north entrance, is small enough to walk end to end. After check-in we stroll together to the Roosevelt Arch, built in 1903, and your guide hands each child a Junior Ranger booklet to fill in during the week. At about 5:30 pm we sit down to an early welcome dinner, where the guide explains the plan, why everyone stays on the boardwalks, and what to wear for a cold morning in Lamar Valley.

   Included

   • Pick-up at Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport (BZN)
   • Drive through Paradise Valley with a riverside stop
   • The Roosevelt Arch at the north entrance
   • A Junior Ranger booklet for each child
   • Welcome briefing and early dinner in Gardiner

   Free time: Free until dinner at about 5:30 pm

2. Day 2: Lamar Valley bison and a hot-spring afternoon

   Gardiner to Tower Junction and Lamar Valley, back by Tower Fall, then Corwin Springs

   • Drive about 3.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Gardiner
   Day 2 details

   We leave Gardiner at 6:30 am, later than the dawn wildlife trips, and drive about 75 km past Mammoth and Tower Junction into Lamar Valley, with a toilet stop on the way. A local wildlife guide meets us with spotting scopes, so children and grandparents can look through them from the roadside pullouts without walking anywhere. In summer bison herds graze the valley floor, often with calves, and pronghorn, elk and sometimes a bear or wolves are seen far off; nothing is promised. Breakfast is in the field with hot chocolate and coffee. On the way back we stop at the Tower Fall overlook, a few steps from the car park, and sit down to lunch near Mammoth or in Gardiner. In the afternoon we drive about 12 km north to Corwin Springs for the outdoor mineral pools at Yellowstone Hot Springs, warm enough to sit in for an hour or two, while grandparents can watch from the deck.

   Included

   • Lamar Valley with a local wildlife guide and spotting scopes
   • Field breakfast in the valley
   • Tower Fall overlook
   • Sit-down lunch near Mammoth or in Gardiner
   • Entry to the outdoor pools at Yellowstone Hot Springs, Corwin Springs

   Optional experiences

   • Half-day family rafting on the Yellowstone River from Gardiner instead of the pools (minimum age set by the outfitter; price shown at booking)

   Easier option: Stay by the van at every pullout and use the spotting scopes; nothing this morning needs more than a few steps.

   More active option: The short, steep walk to Trout Lake, about 2 km round trip, on the way into the valley.

   Free time: Evening free in Gardiner

   Activity: Dress for near-freezing temperatures early, even in July, and pack swimwear and a towel for the afternoon. Wildlife jams can add 30 minutes to the drive.

   

3. Day 3: Mammoth terraces and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

   Gardiner to Mammoth Hot Springs, Norris Geyser Basin and Canyon, then to West Yellowstone

   • Drive about 3 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in West Yellowstone
   Day 3 details

   Mammoth Hot Springs is ten minutes from the hotel, so we are on the lower terrace boardwalks by about 8:30 am, before the tour traffic, looking at steps of white and orange travertine laid down by hot water. Elk often rest on the lawns of the old Fort Yellowstone buildings, and the guide keeps everyone at a safe distance. Grandparents can see the upper terraces from the van on the one-way Upper Terrace Drive. About 34 km south, Norris Geyser Basin is the hottest of the park's basins; we walk the short Porcelain Basin boardwalk, where the ground hisses and steams. At Canyon Village we sit down to lunch and visit the visitor education centre, whose exhibits explain the supervolcano under the park in a way children follow. Then it is a short drive to Artist Point, on a paved path, for the Lower Falls, 94 m high, between yellow canyon walls. We reach West Yellowstone by about 4:30 pm, after about three hours of driving in legs of under an hour and a quarter.

   Included

   • Mammoth Hot Springs lower terraces with your guide
   • The Upper Terrace Drive
   • Norris Geyser Basin and the Porcelain Basin boardwalk
   • Sit-down lunch and the visitor education centre at Canyon Village
   • Artist Point and the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone

   Easier option: See the terraces from the Upper Terrace Drive, watch Porcelain Basin from the overlook at the top of the boardwalk, and use the level path at Artist Point.

   More active option: The Brink of the Lower Falls trail, about 1.3 km round trip with a steep climb back up, to stand where the river goes over.

   Free time: Evening free in West Yellowstone

   Activity: About 2 to 3 km of walking in all, on boardwalks with some stairs at Mammoth. Children must stay on the boardwalks at Norris.

4. Day 4: Old Faithful, Grand Prismatic and the wolves

   West Yellowstone to Midway Geyser Basin and Old Faithful, then back to the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in West Yellowstone
   Day 4 details

   We leave West Yellowstone at 7 am to walk the boardwalk around Grand Prismatic Spring at Midway Geyser Basin at about 7:45, before the small car park fills; the loop is level and under a kilometre. Old Faithful is about 10 km on. Rangers post a predicted time for each eruption, so we time our arrival and wait on the benches, which suits grandparents and keeps children from wandering. At the visitor education centre the children hand in their Junior Ranger booklets and, if a ranger is free, are sworn in and given a badge. After an early lunch at Old Faithful we look inside the log Old Faithful Inn, opened in 1904, and those who want can walk a short loop of the Upper Geyser Basin to see a second eruption. We are back in West Yellowstone by about 2:30 pm for the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center, where bears and wolves that cannot live in the wild are seen up close behind glass and fences. The rest of the afternoon is free for the hotel pool or a rest.

   Included

   • Grand Prismatic Spring from the Midway Geyser Basin boardwalk at about 7:45 am
   • An Old Faithful eruption
   • Junior Ranger badges at the Old Faithful Visitor Education Center
   • Sit-down lunch at Old Faithful
   • The Old Faithful Inn lobby
   • Entry to the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center, West Yellowstone

   Easier option: Grandparents can skip the Upper Geyser Basin loop and nap in the van or sit in the Old Faithful Inn lobby, then watch Old Faithful from the benches.

   More active option: Walk the Upper Geyser Basin to Morning Glory Pool, about 2.5 km each way on boardwalk and paved path, with the van collecting you after.

   Free time: Afternoon and evening free in West Yellowstone

   Activity: About 2 to 4 km of level walking on boardwalks. Stay on the boardwalks: the ground in the basins is thin and scalding.

   

5. Day 5: Yellowstone Lake and south to Jackson

   West Yellowstone to West Thumb and Lewis Falls, then through the South Entrance to Colter Bay, Oxbow Bend and Jackson

   • Drive about 4.5 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Jackson
   Day 5 details

   This is the one longer travel day, four to four and a half hours of driving, because the only road south runs the length of both parks. We break it into legs of an hour or less. We leave at 8:30 am, after an unhurried breakfast, pass Old Faithful and cross the Continental Divide at Craig Pass, about 2,520 m. West Thumb Geyser Basin sits on the shore of Yellowstone Lake, and its short level boardwalk passes hot pools that run to the edge of the cold water. After a toilet stop at Lewis Falls we leave the park by the South Entrance and enter Grand Teton National Park; the leg from Lewis Falls to Colter Bay is the longest, about an hour and a quarter. Lunch is a sit-down meal at Colter Bay on Jackson Lake, with time after for the children to throw stones from the shore. At Oxbow Bend the Snake River curls below Mount Moran, and moose or white pelicans are sometimes in the shallows. We reach Jackson by about 4:30 pm, with time to settle in before an early dinner together at about 5:30.

   Included

   • Craig Pass on the Continental Divide
   • West Thumb Geyser Basin on Yellowstone Lake
   • Lewis Falls
   • Sit-down lunch at Colter Bay on Jackson Lake
   • Oxbow Bend and Mount Moran
   • Early dinner in Jackson

   Easier option: Stay with the van at Lewis Falls and Oxbow Bend; both are seen from beside the road, and Lewis Falls has toilets.

   Free time: Late afternoon free in Jackson before dinner

   Activity: The longest drive of the trip, about 4 to 4.5 hours including wildlife jams, split by stops at Craig Pass, West Thumb, Lewis Falls and Colter Bay and Oxbow Bend. The longest leg is Lewis Falls to Colter Bay, about an hour and a quarter, with a toilet stop at Lewis Falls before it.

6. Day 6: Jenny Lake and String Lake

   Jackson to Jenny Lake and String Lake, then Moose and back to Jackson

   • Drive about 1.5 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Jackson
   Day 6 details

   We leave Jackson at 7:30 am to be on an early shuttle boat across Jenny Lake, about a 12-minute crossing that children enjoy as much as the walk; the boat is included. From the west shore dock a rocky trail of about 0.8 km leads up to Hidden Falls, where the creek drops through the trees. That is where most of the family will stop. Those who want more climb on to Inspiration Point, about 125 m above the lake. The boat brings everyone back by late morning, and we drive a few minutes north to String Lake, which is shallow and calm, so children can wade or paddle along the edge while grandparents sit on the shore. Lunch is a sit-down meal at Moose, then we look into the log Chapel of the Transfiguration, whose window frames the Grand Teton, and are back in Jackson by about 2:30 pm. The afternoon is free for the hotel pool, the elk antler arches on Town Square or a rest, and we meet for an early farewell dinner at about 5:30.

   Included

   • Jenny Lake shuttle boat across and back
   • Hidden Falls with your guide
   • Wading time at String Lake
   • Sit-down lunch at Moose
   • The Chapel of the Transfiguration
   • Early farewell dinner in Jackson

   Optional experiences

   • Snake River scenic float in the afternoon (minimum age set by the outfitter; price shown at booking)
   • The Jackson Hole Rodeo on the evenings it runs (price shown at booking)

   Easier option: Stay on the east shore and walk the level lakeside path, or ride the boat across and wait at the dock while the others walk to Hidden Falls.

   More active option: Carry on past Inspiration Point into Cascade Canyon, the narrow trail along the cliff in the photo, for an hour before turning back, about 6 to 8 km round trip from the dock. Not for young children.

   Free time: Afternoon free in Jackson

   Activity: About 1.6 km round trip from the dock to Hidden Falls on a rocky trail; Inspiration Point adds a steep 125 m climb. Bring water shoes for String Lake.

   

7. Day 7: Mormon Row and home from Jackson Hole

   Jackson to Antelope Flats and Mormon Row, then Jackson Hole Airport

   • Drive about 1 h
   • Breakfast
   Day 7 details

   A short last morning before the flights home. We leave Jackson at about 8 am, with bags in the van, and drive north along the valley floor to Antelope Flats, where bison and pronghorn often graze in the sagebrush close to the road. On Mormon Row the weathered barns of homesteads built by Mormon families from the 1890s stand in front of the Teton range, and there is time for a family photo with the mountains behind, the one picture most families want to take home. Jackson Hole Airport (JAC) lies a short drive away inside Grand Teton National Park, and we drop you there by about 10:30 am. Book a flight leaving after about 12:30 pm. If your family is staying on in Jackson, we take you back to town instead, and your guide says goodbye there. The drive is about an hour in all, with nothing to walk beyond the barns.

   Included

   • Antelope Flats
   • Mormon Row and its homestead barns
   • Drop-off at Jackson Hole Airport (JAC), or in Jackson

   Easier option: For an early flight we go straight from the hotel to the airport, about 15 minutes.

   Activity: Book a flight leaving Jackson Hole Airport after about 12:30 pm to join the morning drive.

Wildlife and weather: Mid-June brings bison calves and snow on the high peaks. July and August are warm, often 20 to 27 C in the afternoon, with thunderstorms that roll in after lunch, which is why we plan the walks for the morning. Early September brings the elk rut at Mammoth and colder mornings. Late-summer wildfire smoke can haze the views. Wildlife sightings in the parks are never guaranteed.

• Gardiner2 nights
• West Yellowstone2 nights
• Jackson2 nights