yellowstone and grand teton national parks.

I’ll be honest, I never wanted to go to Yellowstone. Logan talked me into it. I assumed the park was flat, boring, and full of families in RV’s (I was right about the latter). Yellowstone does not have many hikes therefore, it is fairly easy to navigate. Yellowstone was the first national park and it’s also one of the largest and even most visited. You will spend most of your days in the car while in Yellowstone, so be sure to plan out your route and even have snacks and plenty of water!

We entered the park through the North entrance in Gardnier, Montana. Unfortunately, due to COVID, the Boiling River was closed while we were there. If you are lucky enough to go with the river is open, you should definitely enjoy wading through the hot springs! We drove straight to Mammoth Hot Springs which happens to be a large tourist area due to the nearby lodge, visitor center, and dining hall. The hot springs were unlike anything I had ever seen before. I felt like I was going to turn the corner and a martian would be waving at me! We truly felt like we were on another planet. Make sure to get out of your car and walk up close to the hot springs via the boardwalk.

About 40 minutes east of Mammoth is the Lamar Valley which I like to compare to the Serengeti (still haven’t been but I can dream!). If you want to see animals, this is one of the major viewing spots. We drove through the Lamar Valley all the way to North East entrance. Keep in mind, this is about an hour one way from the Mammoth Hot Springs Visitor Area. After the Lamar Valley, we headed West to the West Entrance of the park. This is definitely plenty of driving and exploring for one day!

West Yellowstone is an extremely touristy town filled with gift shops, ice cream parlors, and touristy restaurants. We drove past West Yellowstone and stayed about 25 miles outside of the park entrance in Island Park, Idaho.

On our second day, we got up before the sun and headed towards the West Entrance. Before we even arrived to the park, we spotted Elk along the road. Be cautious while driving because these guys are not afraid of cars! On our drive from the West Entrance down to Old Faithful, we spotted literally hundreds of animals! We saw herds of bison and elk and we even saw a black wolf! If you want to see animals, I recommend waking up really early. We were shocked at how many we saw. Lamar Valley is great but if you are short on time, I would recommend skipping the valley and just driving from the West Entrance to the Madison Visitor Center, you will see plenty of animals.

Sunrise near Madison Visitor Center, September 2020

On the way to Old Faithful, we saw dozens of hot springs. Take your time and explore not only the Grand Prismatic board walk (about ten minutes north of Old Faithful) but also all of the smaller hot springs nearby. We were more impressed with some of the smaller hot springs and geysers than we were with Old Faithful. It was really neat to experience the smaller geysers with no one else around! It certainly feels otherworldly!

Old Faithful has the most beautiful gift shop, visitor center, and lodge. We stopped and grabbed breakfast at the visitor center while waiting for Old Faithful to erupt. The visitor’s center has a list of all the times the geyser will most likely erupt that day. Thankfully, we arrived within an hour of when an eruption should take place. The prediction was only ten minutes off! Be sure to arrive early for the eruption as it erupted ten minutes earlier than predicted for us. It’s definitely a unique experience to see Old Faithful but if you are short on time, I think it’s okay to just see the geyser and not wait for the eruption. Even with COVID, there were hundreds of people waiting to watch the show. Like I said before, I enjoyed the smaller geysers better due to the crowds.

Traffic gets a bit crazy around Old Faithful so after the eruption, be sure to leave that area quickly. We got in our car and headed towards West Thumb Visitor Center to then head north to the Lake. Yellowstone Lake is absolutely ginormous! We were lucky enough to experience Yellowstone in the snow so this gave the lake all the more unique and beautiful effect. Driving past the lake, we saw elk walking right along the shoreline. Make sure to drive slow and always keep your eye out for animals. Logan calls this the “pivot.” Always be looking out all windows! I also recommend finding a spot to park your car and walk down to the water!

We headed north from the lake up to Canyon Falls. We parked at Uncle Tom’s Point to view the falls. This was a good view point though it was busy. I would recommend skipping this point and continuing on to Inspiration Point. Though this is a bit of a steep hike down, the views of the canyon and lower falls are amazing! The hike back to the top is strenuous but it’s short, you can do it! From our experience, Inspiration Point is the best view of the falls!

After experiencing the falls, we made our way to the Canyon Lodge Food Court for a quick bite before heading south to Jackson. We were really impressed with all of the facilities that Yellowstone had to offer. Yellowstone has more facilities than any park we have been too. The drive from the falls to the southern park entrance is about 90 minutes.

We assumed that once we exited Yellowstone, we would hit a major highway to Jackson Hole. Boy were were wrong! You actually have to drive through the entire Grand Teton National Park just to get to Jackson Hole, there is no way around it if exiting through Yellowstone’s South exit. Keep in mind, you do not have to pay when driving through the park from the north entrance.

Grand Teton National Park

Wow oh wow, I remember the when we drove over the hill and I saw the Tetons for the first time. There are the largest and most jagged peaks I have ever seen! We entered the Tetons from the North Entrance, just South of Yellowstone. The north entrance of the Tetons takes you past the massive Jackson Lake. The views just from the street are absolutely incredible!

Grand Teton is one of the easiest parks to navigate as it’s both a smaller park and less crowded park. Additionally, there is only one main road through the park and everything is very well marked. Most of the hikes in the Tetons are long hikes that go deep into the mountain canyons. Unless you plan on backpacking, a lot of the park can be driven.

Pull-off View Near Jenny Lake, September 2020

Here is how I recommend spending your day in the park: Get up early and drive through the park from to the north entrance (I am assuming you are staying in the Jackson Hole area). From the north, you can see the views of Jackson lake and work your way down. We stopped at the Colter Bay Village and did the 3 mile Lakeside Trail. This was a flat and easy trail that provided secluded views of the lake! Next, I would recommend driving up to the Signal Mountain overlook. The view is spectacular!

Jenny Lake gets very crowded but it is a gorgeous and beautiful lake! We drove the North Jenny Lake Junction to get a good view of the lake without having to fight for a parking spot.

Next, if you are feeling up for a hike, make sure to hike to Bradley Lake via the Taggart Lake Trail. This is a 7 mile hike that provides jaw dropping views of the Tetons as well as takes you past two alpine lakes.

If you still have time left in your day, rent bikes from Dornans! We had a lot of fun exploring the park on a different set of wheels.

There really is a lot to do in the Tetons, it just depends on how much you want to hike. We spent two days in the park but you could get by with just one.

Where We Stayed:

Having come from Glacier National Park, we stayed at Springhill Suites in Island Park, Idaho after hiking for a few hours in Yellowstone. We were so close to Idaho that I figured we should check it off our state list and spend the night there. At first when approaching Island Park, I was a little nervous as there was nothing but ranches for miles and miles. I didn’t believe a hotel actually existed in what seemed like the middle of nowhere. All of a sudden, like a mirage, the resort appeared! It was brand new and extremely clean and nice! The decor was very modern and the rooms were huge! We enjoyed grabbing a late night dinner at the bar and taking a beer out to the hot tub. This hotel was just under 30 minutes from the West entrance of Yellowstone.

After our second day of hiking Yellowstone and while exploring Grand Teton National Park, we stayed at the Spring Creek Ranch in Jackson, Wyoming. The views from this hotel were the best in the valley. Seated about 1,000 feet higher than Jackson, Spring Creek Ranch looks out over the Tetons and all their majesty. The rooms themselves were older but we found out that the owners were renovating the entire property shortly after we left. I can only imagine how nice the rooms will be once the renovations are completed.

Where We Ate:

If you want a healthy (many GF/V options) breakfast with a wild, wild west theme look no further than the Cultivate Cafe. I’m talking swinging doors and saddles as your seat, Cultivate is the perfect hybrid of modern healthy eating and the old wild, wild west.

Changing gears to a more modern and sophisticated establishment, Persephone Bakery offers award winning pastries, coffees, and breakfast plates. This restaurant is good for a quick stop if you just want to grab and go. The decor is gorgeous and their GF raspberry almond muffin is mouth watering.

For a more casual sit down, I recommend Hand Fire Pizza. The pizza was delicious and the location was really neat. The restaurant is located right downtown in the old theatre. We sat upstairs and looked down on the chefs making the pizza.

If you want to splurge and feel fancy for the night, I recommend dining at Osteria at the Teton Village (about 20 minutes away from Jackson). Osteria boasts incredible Italian dishes with an extensive wine list. Keep in mind, you are eating at a ski resort so the prices are high. I also recommend putting on a nicer blouse, jeans are okay but you will want to look the part!

The Granary located at Spring Creek Ranch offered the most scenic views in all of Jackson Hole. Though offering both a lunch and dinner menu (reservations needed), we only stopped by for a drink on the patio before heading to dinner elsewhere. The drive to the top of Spring Creek Ranch is about two miles up hill, if you are willing to make the drive, the views will be worth it! The Granary also has a phenomenal happy hour from 5pm - 7pm.

View From the Bar at Granary, September 2020

Breweries:

Located in Jackson, StillWest Brewery and Grill is probably the swankiest brewery I have been too. The set up is brilliant. StillWest has a coffee shop downstairs as well as an area with an open air concept that almost feels your parents basement. The downstairs includes, TV’s, luxury lounge chairs, bonfires and a view of the slopes. Upstairs, there is a large, open dining room as well as a patio that over looks the slopes. I recommend the black bean burger.

Snake River Brewery is my favorite brewery of the trip! Snake River has a large outdoor space as well as two floors of tanks and fermenters. The buffalo cauliflower was delicious and their bison chili was award winning. My favorite part of the brewery were the two beers I had, the Blackberry Sour and the Horchata beer. Both we delicious and memorable.

Next was Melvin Brewing in Alpine, WY, about 45 minutes south of Jackson. The drive to Melvin was along a pass with a beautiful river. Many of the hospitality workers in Jackson live in Alpine since it’s a cheaper cost of living. The town was small but the brewing was big! Melvin is in over 25 states and 11 countries.

Best Time to Visit:

Summer

yellowstone and grand teton national parks.

cross country road trip.

glacier national park.