Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks

[ne bp]

I'm being in Yellowstone July 9-12. Anyone else being there with minyan? I'm staying in West Yellowstone area.

[yos9694]

Can anyone recommend where to stay at the north entrance of Yellowstone?

Inside the park Mammoth Hot Springs rooms are closest to the north, I believe

[Zalc]

Can anyone recommends catering option or kosher tour options for a group of 8 looking to do a 7-day trip?


The one outfit we did get a quote from wanted $25k for a week’s worth of food…

[Luvtotravel]

do you want full service onsite catering or shipped meals which you heat up/ serve on own?

[Traveler718]

Can anyone recommends catering option or kosher tour options for a group of 8 looking to do a 7-day trip?


The one outfit we did get a quote from wanted $25k for a week’s worth of food…

Have you tried reaching out to Rabbi Mendelsohn at Chabad of Jackson Hole?

[Dan]

Thoughts on this itinerary? Probably too much driving for kids as young as 3, but not sure what to do about that.

Sun
Land BZN ~noon
Rent car
Costco/Walmart
45th parallel sign
Mammoth Hot Springs boardwalk
Airbnb West Yellowstone
Drive time: 3:30

Mon
Fountain paint pots
Midway Geyser Basin/Grand Prismatic Spring
Old Faithful
Riverside Geyser/Morning Glory Pool
West Thumb Geyser Basin
(Lewis falls?)
Airbnb West Yellowstone
Drive time: 3:14

Tues
Artists’ Paintpots trail
Grand Canyon of Yellowstone/upper falls/lower falls
Artist point south rim/lookout point north rim
Hayden Valley (or skip for Lamar Valley?)
Mud Volcano (or skip for Lamar Valley?)
Lake Butte Overlook?
Airbnb West Yellowstone
Drive time: 4:16

Weds
(Lewis falls?)
Jackson lake? (boat rental?)
Jenny Lake/overlook loop,
Jenny Lake boat shuttle/hidden falls?
Signal mountain overlooks
Teton park rd/teton glacier turnout
Jackson Rodeo?
Springhill suites Jackson
Drive time: 4:00

Thurs
Schwabacher Landing at sunrise?
Aerial tram/Bridger and Sweetwater Gondolas
Return car
Depart JAC ~2:30pm

[yitzgar]

Make sure to stay on eastern time. It will make sunrise easier. Are all the places booked already? Maybe try staying in the park one night to cut down on driving times

[Dan]

Make sure to stay on eastern time. It will make sunrise easier. Are all the places booked already? Maybe try staying in the park one night to cut down on driving times

Places are booked already. Thought about staying in the park for a night, but the pain of packing and unpacking and storing perishables is worse than the additional driving.

[yitzgar]

Also, staying at old faithful will make that much easier. No need to look for parking. You can just go out and see the geyser whenever it's predicted to erupt in the evening or morning. I stayed there and saw it 3 times. (At sunset, right after sunrise and again with my family right before leaving the hotel). Less crowds then too.

[yitzgar]

Places are booked already. Thought about staying in the park for a night, but the pain of packing and unpacking and storing perishables is worse than the additional driving.

I hear you. For me its worth it to be able to accomplish more during the day, but to each his own

[yitzgar]

For Tuesday, if there's time, you can also rent boats on Yellowstone lake. It's not very expensive

[JudahMcB]

Thoughts on this itinerary?

Just did this exact itinerary 2 weeks ago but flew in and out of BZN so we did GTNP on Tuesday instead of Wed.

Looks like you have all of the highlights and in a good order. My only comments:

• after a spectacular Monday (Grand Prismatic and Old Faithful are the best 2 sights IMHO) you might be a little disappointed with Tuesday's sights.
• Lamar Valley will easily add 2hrs to your driving. We skipped it after seeing enough wildlife on the drive through Hayden Valley.

Regarding rodeo, we did the smaller West Yellowstone Rodeo instead of the "professional" rodeo in Jackson. Think of it like going to a minor league baseball game: if you aren't that interested in baseball there are other things to keep you occupied at a minor league stadium vs. going to a MLB game. Similarly, the smaller rodeo had other activities that might entertain little kids and adults who know little about rodeo. For example, children under 12 were allowed into the ring to chase after baby calves. I don't think you'll see that at professional rodeos. Maybe someone who's been to the ones in Jackson or Cody can give more insight?

Also, we loved the 1hr Alpaca Farm Tour in Bozeman if you have time: https://alpacasofmontana.com/products/alpaca-and-llama-farm-tours-schedule

[Dan]

Just did this exact itinerary 2 weeks ago but flew in and out of BZN so we did GTNP on Tuesday instead of Wed.

Looks like you have all of the highlights and in a good order. My only comments:

• after a spectacular Monday (Grand Prismatic and Old Faithful are the best 2 sights IMHO) you might be a little disappointed with Tuesday's sights.
• Lamar Valley will easily add 2hrs to your driving. We skipped it after seeing enough wildlife on the drive through Hayden Valley.

Regarding rodeo, we did the smaller West Yellowstone Rodeo instead of the "professional" rodeo in Jackson. Think of it like going to a minor league baseball game: if you aren't that interested in baseball there are other things to keep you occupied at a minor league stadium vs. going to a MLB game. Similarly, the smaller rodeo had other activities that might entertain little kids and adults who know little about rodeo. For example, children under 12 were allowed into the ring to chase after baby calves. I don't think you'll see that at professional rodeos. Maybe someone who's been to the ones in Jackson or Cody can give more insight?

Also, we loved the 1hr Alpaca Farm Tour in Bozeman if you have time: https://alpacasofmontana.com/products/alpaca-and-llama-farm-tours-schedule

Thanks, will look into those.

So you would swap Monday for Tuesday?

[JudahMcB]

So you would swap Monday for Tuesday?

That's a tough call. Depends if you are Beit Shammai or Beit Hillel. Normally I'd say מעלין בקדש ואין מורידין (i.e., save the best for last) but in this case since you only have 2 days at Yellowstone I wouldn't risk missing the highlights in case there is bad weather.

[Something Fishy]

1. Lamar Valley with kids is not a good use of time.
2. Upper Falls of the Yellowstone is nice but nothing compared to the lower. Skippable.
3. Don't for one minute assume that you'll get to all spots. Choose 2-3 highlights per day and prioritize those. You have no time scheduled for animal jams, random overlooks, and the constant stopping at unexpected wonders. Don't push yourself to see everything, rather take it easy and enjoy the park as it comes.
4. Schwabacher Landing is non-negotiable, as I've been saying for years now.
5. Don't forget to bring stuff for cold weather no matter what time of the year it is.
6. The northern parts of the Tetons are the best spot for grizzlies. You'll see plenty of people out searching, stop and exchange intelligence. It may well pay off.

[yos9694]

Also, Mammoth is meh. Endless climbing and hot as blazes during the day, all just to see mineral water drips over and over. Totally skippable imo. Highlights are GPS and the geysers, buffalo city aka Hayden, and the falls (to the extent your kids can do the hike)

Make time for Ranger talks and the Junior Ranger program. We liked that much better than extra running around

[Something Fishy]

Make time for Ranger talks and the Junior Ranger program. We liked that much better than extra running around

Definitely! Fantastic for kids.

[Dan]

Also, Mammoth is meh. Endless climbing and hot as blazes during the day, all just to see mineral water drips over and over. Totally skippable imo. Highlights are GPS and the geysers, buffalo city aka Hayden, and the falls (to the extent your kids can do the hike)

Make time for Ranger talks and the Junior Ranger program. We liked that much better than extra running around

Hmm. Any other suggestions for Sunday? Or should we just drive right to West Yellowstone?

GPS? Which falls? Not going to be able to do anything more than very basic walks with a 3 and 5 year old in tow...

Details on Ranger talks and the Junior Ranger program? They'll keep 4 kids entertained?

[JudahMcB]

Don't forget the GuideAlong Yellowstone + Teton GPS App (formerly known as the GyPSy Guide): https://guidealong.com/tour/yellowstone-grand-teton/. Same guy that does the Hawaii ones. Almost as good as the Road to Hana tour. There's a lot of driving so even if no one else in the car appreciates the commentary at least it keeps the driver awake.

We did some of the side stops he suggested in the audio guide and they were worth it. Wouldn't have known about them without the app.

[JudahMcB]

Any other suggestions for Sunday?

Alpaca Farm.

I wouldn't skip Mammoth - especially if it's your first introduction to the park. But don't feel obligated to do the whole trail. You can just see Liberty Cap and the Lower Terrace in less than 30 min. It's different than the other geothermal features in the rest of the park.