From Philly to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Parks
One Philadelphia family, three kids ages twelve, ten (almost), and seven. Four states, two National Parks, five different hotels, almost 1000 miles, in twelve days.
2 years ago my middle kid was learning about the National Parks at school, and announced he wanted to see Old Faithful. Seth and I looked at each other and thought… why not! Then we discovered that lodging inside the parks fills up a year in advance, so we set our sights on 2024.
So that’s my first tip: If you want to stay inside the parks, you literally have to get up at 2am EST (12am MST) a year before you want to go or all of the moderately priced options will be gone. It was absolutely worth it though; the only traffic we heard folks complaining about was coming into Yellowstone in the morning.
And it was totally worth the wait! We had the most amazing time, and all three of my kids loved every part of the trip. So, if you’re thinking about making the trek out there with your kiddos, here’s a quick recap of our family’s trip and some things that I think really helped us have the best time:
Days 1-3 - We flew direct from Philadelphia to Salt Lake City. We got breakfast at Eggsburgh (delicious!), and used our one full day to go out to Antelope Island. It was the perfect mini introduction to our trip. We also stocked up at the grocery stores and Target before heading off into the “wilderness”.
Favorite part: Beautiful, and so many bison! You can drive the whole island pretty easily.
Least favorite part: We dipped our feet in the Great Salt Lake (which is super low right now), and found the sand was covered in tiny flies. I’m not being hyperbolic, the sand looks black until you step on it and they start swarming. They don’t bite or anything, it’s just gross.
Definitely bring: water, sunblock, snacks/lunch, and binoculars.
Day 3 - Our first road trip day heading for the Grand Tetons! (I recommend looking up the origin of the name “Grand Tetons” and giggling about it throughout your trip 🤭)
We took our time and made a few stops that I highly recommend, and crossed through 3 states on the way (Utah, Idaho, Wyoming).
Crystal Hot Springs. The water felt amazing, it wasn’t crowded, and none of the pools were very deep so the kids could play while Seth and I chilled. The facilities are very basic, but come prepared with that expectation and you’ll be fine.
Bear Lake Overlook was gorgeous, and we really enjoyed having pizza (we liked Summit Pizza) and raspberry shakes down in Garden City (we went with the famous LaBeau’s, but there are tons of places that have shakes all claiming different levels of famous-ness).
World’s Largest Elk Horn Arch. Cool, not amazing, but you drive right through it on your way to Jackson so you might as well stop for the photo op.
Days 3-7 - The Grand Tetons - definitely the chill part of the trip.
We stayed at Jackson Lake Lodge, which was the perfect location for exploring. The cabins were comfortable (though the rollaway bed was not, thank goodness for our inflatable camping pad!), they had good dining options, and a pool! And the view of the mountains right from the lobby is amazing 😍 We met up with our cousins for this part of the trip and doubled our group to 4 adults and 6 kids ages 5 to 12!
Favorite hike: Starting at Jenny Lake Visitors Center, up to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point. The trail wasn’t difficult, but varied enough to keep the kids entertained. The waterfall is so pretty and a good spot to rest. The climb continuing up to the lookout was a little steeper, but not super difficult and totally worth it. My youngest declared “I’m built for climbing!” and raced ahead; our smallest and biggest kiddos opted out and went ahead down to the boat (having extra adults with you is a plus for splitting up). The walk down to the boat is pretty short, and the ride itself was also pretty quick; the wait to get on the boat was on the longer side and there isn’t much shade.
Least favorite hike: Oxbow Bend Trail. Pros - we could walk to it from the Lodge, easy trail for little legs. Cons - it’s also a horse trail, so we were dodging poop almost the whole time (and the kids will never let us forget it). It was beautiful, but we made the mistake of going in the middle of the day and there was practically zero shade.
Bonus stuff:
Lunch Tree Hill, right behind the Lodge. Very easy, quick, perfect for using up the kids’ post-breakfast energy, gorgeous views of the lake and mountains. Signal Mountain Summit was a beautiful spot to watch the sunset, and you can drive all the way to the top.
We ate breakfasts (and one dinner) at the Lodge which had solid diner food, and packed lunches to eat while hiking. For dinners we went to Leek’s Marina & Pizzeria, (decent food, gorgeous lake view and breezes), and Hand Fire Pizza and Moos’ Gourmet Ice Cream in Jackson (both really yummy).
Hiking with so many kids was actually amazing, especially because it meant they had buddies who were just as interested in talking about Pokémon the whole way up the mountain. We were even able to consolidate them all into one cabin for an afternoon to entertain each other while the adults got some down time.
#1 tip if you don’t listen to anything else: Bug. Spray. As soon as it’s dusk and you start to think, “oh, it’ll be so nice to watch the sunset from a beautiful view” PUT ON BUG SPRAY. The mosquitos in the Tetons are out of the Jurassic Era; they’re huge, they’re aggressive, and they hurt. We literally ran screaming to the car every night, and then did more screaming killing all the bugs that had made it in the car, and then more screaming watching the ones outside dive bomb the windows. Bug. Spray.
We did our laundry at Coulter Bay Village before heading on to the next part of the trip, great facilities, a little market, visitor center, etc.
Next we had 4 nights in Yellowstone, and stayed at hotels on 2 different sides of the park. If the Tetons felt like a peaceful, mountain getaway, Yellowstone felt like a whirlwind sightseeing tour.
Day 7 - we took our time driving through the rest of Grand Teton National Park and into Yellowstone, stopping whenever we saw something cool, which was often. Our favorite stops were:
Thumb Geyser Basin, really cool intro to the many, many hydro-thermal features in the park. It was also our first time seeing a park ranger fishing for hats that fall/get blown into the pools, so my one big tip here is: hold onto your hat 😆
Continental Divide & Kepler Cascades, both quick “park, get out for a photo, back in the car” type stops
And finally we made it to the Old Faithful Inn (as gorgeous as they say and worth a stop even if you’re not staying there, take the tour)! A giant bison was just chilling in the parking lot as we pulled in, and the geyser went off just after we arrived; the perfect welcome.
Oh, and no mosquitos! I don’t know if it’s the elevation or all the boiling hot water, but yay for walking around at sunset without fear of being devoured.
Day 8 - we spent the entire time exploring the Upper Geyser Basin. It’s a boardwalk path you can follow around the entire area that will take you to see every geyser. The 10 of us did the whole loop in a few hours, stopping for snacks and water breaks, and there’s a bathroom at the halfway point.
If you want to see the geysers erupt, ask at the Inn front desk for estimated times of the more predictable ones, but be prepared that most have a margin of error of +/- an hour. The best tip for geysers was if you see a ton of people around one, it’s probably going off soon.
Our favorite geysers:
Old Faithful - it’s just very cool, and seeing my kid’s face when he finally got to see it was priceless. Obviously the easiest with kids because of how reliable (or faithful 😉) it is. And the Inn is steps away, so it’s close to parking, food, bathrooms, etc.
Castle Geyser - it looks different from every angle and goes off for a long time so you have time to walk around it.
Grand Geyser - it was predicted to erupt soon but the kids were done, so we dropped them off at the hotel to play Nintendo and ran back to watch it. It still took over an hour to finally go off, but my favorite part was waiting with everyone, hearing people share tips about how to tell if it was going to go off soon (there are small pools around it that fill and empty as it’s getting ready to erupt), and then when it finally blew everyone reacted like it was fireworks.
Punchbowl Geyser - you get here via a short side trail off the main one, it was a lot less crowded and a cool, short walk.
Day 9 - epic travel day, buckle in!
Biscuit Basin - cool, quick stop, and especially glad we saw it before it exploded 😳
Midway Geyser Basin to see Excelsior (my favorite of the whole trip), and Grand Prismatic (next time we want to do the hike to see it from above)
Fountain Paint Pots - meh, not our fav. To be fair, it started pouring, but we didn’t feel like we missed anything when we decided to run back to the car.
Firehole Falls, Gibbon Falls, and Beryl Spring - easy, quick stops for pretty views. Beryl was the coolest of those three.
Artist Paint Pots - way cooler than Fountain in our opinions, and a really pretty walk from the parking lot. It was pouring when we got there again, so we waited out the rain in the car and were rewarded with having it practically to ourselves.
We skipped Norris Basin for time, stopped at Roaring Mountain which didn’t live up to its name, and quickly stopped at Virginia Falls but only one kid cared by that point.
We took Norris Canyon Road to cut across the park and it was so pretty!
Since this was our first time in Yellowstone, I’m really glad we made all the stops, but it was definitely a lot. Next time we all voted for doing more hikes and taking more time to explore. We would’ve also just stayed at Old Faithful Inn all 4 nights - it was the only lodging with 3 beds in the room, had great food options, and felt like a convenient location to a lot of stuff. Only con was communal bathrooms, but that’s about as “roughing it” as we get so it wasn’t bad.
After all that driving we arrived at our cabin for the next two nights at Canyon Lodge, and the worst food of the whole trip. We were exhausted and cranky. The cafeteria food was almost inedible, even by our least picky eater (adults included). Several of the eateries were already closed when we got there around 7pm, and what was left was slim pickings. The cabin itself was fine (though no rollaway bed option, so again thankful for our inflatable camping pad), but far from everything else so we had to drive any time we needed something from the shops in the “village”.
Day 10 - Breakfast the next day was just as bad; like, the eggs smelled as bad as the geysers. So we pieced together enough calories from the food we’d brought and set our destination for lunch at the hotel at Lake Yellowstone. We had a gorgeous drive through Hayden Valley, stopping to see bison, elk, and even caught sight of a bear butt! Mud Volcano was also a worthwhile stop, and had napping bison for extra excitement.
Lake Yellowstone turned out to be so beautiful (and intensely windy). Lunch at the hotel was one of our favorite meals, prettiest views, and totally made up for the crap-tastic food of the last 12 hours. And we had to get the huckleberry ice cream at the general store, of course. (We also had to purchase tweezers because one of the kids got a bunch of splinters in his hand from the railings at Mud Volcano; so pack tweezers!)
On the way back we made all of the stops along the north and south rims of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone; my favorite was Artist's Point, very aptly named. None of the overlook points were too crowded, but probably would be closer to sunset. And my kid who’s afraid of heights ended up staying in the car at most of the stops. There’s a hike around each rim that would’ve been cool if we’d had a lot more time. And my one big wish was granted - a bison crossed right in front of our car 😍
We made it back to Canyon Village before the one place that had chicken fingers closed for the night; they didn’t have space for us to sit but the manager took pity and let me order takeout.
Day 11 - another epic travel day and our last in the Park, so we tried to hit as much as we could. We went…
North to Tower Fall, which I found cooler from the back.
Then east into Lamar Valley, where we saw more bison, elk, osprey chicks, pronghorn sheep, another bear’s butt, and so many giant crows.
Then back west, stopped at the Petrified Tree and Undine Falls, both were skippable (though there’s a general store at Undine if you need a bathroom/snack/souvenirs).
And then finally, Mammoth Hot Springs. I was skeptical we’d find it cool after seeing so many hydro-thermal features by that point, but it was actually one of my favorite stops! Completely unique and cool. Some parts of the boardwalk were a little crowded, but it’s not a huge area so it’s worth just taking your time to walk around and see everything.
We walked around the lower terrace, and then drove around the upper terrace (which was actually the only time I was scared navigating in our giant rental car because the path was so narrow and steep at parts). The terrain is just stunning, like you’re on another planet, and totally the best finale to our two weeks of exploring.
A quick stop at the Roosevelt Arch on our way out, and that was it! We said goodbye to Yellowstone, and ended the day with dinner at Audrey’s Pizza Oven and our final motel in Bozeman, Montana.
Day 12 - Breakfast at Feed Cafe (delicious!), a quick stroll around downtown Bozeman, and then to the airport. We landed back in Philadelphia right at midnight on middle kid’s 10th birthday, and sang to him as we walked off the plane.
Final tips and things we couldn’t do without:
3 out of the 5 of us get motion-sick; last year during our trip through the Rockies at least one kid was vomiting every day, even taking Dramamine. This time we came with these goofy glasses and these nausea herbs, and we were vomit free! I couldn’t believe it! (And these emesis bags just in case, thank you birth worker experience, because they pack easily and tie off nicely after being used.)
Once in Yellowstone we had zero cell phone service (we have T-Mobile; our cousins have Verizon and had a smidge more service than we did). It was actually really wonderful to be completely disconnected and unable to check email or social media. Luckily, our cousins thought to bring walkie-talkies and, as long as we kept them charged, they were a lifesaver for keeping in touch when we got separated or were trying to meet up after driving.
The absolute best thing I now recommend to everyone is the Guide Along App. You can download a Tetons/Yellowstone tour, it works with satellite (which is also great because my GPS wasn’t working), and as you pass cool things in the park it comes on to tell you about it or recommend where to stop. We saw so many more things than we even knew to plan for, and we all loved his dad jokes. And we named him Gus, but you don’t have to if you don’t want 😉
While driving around the park, if you see a couple cars pulled over and people looking at something, just pull over, chances are it’s a cool animal. People were super friendly, excited to share what they had spotted, and often let us use their fancy scopes to see far away wildlife. People were also super enthusiastic to take family photos for us, it was a really happy-humanity experience.
Bringing enough nonperishable snacks was key (Lara bars for life baby!), considering our picky eaters and unpredictable menus. We were able to find pizza and chicken at most places, but being able to throw together an almond butter and banana sandwich was a lifesaver more than once. And on hikes, having extra bottles of water to refill our thermoses came in handy so many times.
And a quick shout out for… me! [cue the Snoop Dogg clip] I drove all 934 miles (mostly because of the car-sickness we talked about above), in the biggest, most ridiculous vehicle ever. But! I was also really grateful for this giant car, which we dubbed “The Boat”, once we were out of the city and on windy mountain roads. Middle kid (the only one who doesn’t get car sick) even declared himself “King of Backrowvia”. It was also really nice for those times we were stuck waiting for the rain to let up; I could practically walk around upright getting snacks and digging for stuff in the back.
So, what did the kids think of our epic family vacation to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone?
A week after we got home we reviewed our trip as a family to find out what they loved or hated. Overall, they loved it! Our oldest preferred the Tetons part of the trip because it was more chill, and didn’t like all of the stopping and getting out of the car once in Yellowstone. All three of them voted for more hiking next time, more of a mix of sightseeing and relaxing, and that they prefer to stay in a place for at least 3 nights when possible. The things they hated the most? The bugs, and poop on the trails 😆
All in all, a pretty fantastic trip!
So where should we go next! We’re already planning a winter trip to Palm Springs and Joshua Tree in California, and trying to narrow down ideas for June 2025…
