Maine to Seattle

[Maniac]

We are planning a road trip to Seattle in June. In particular I would like information on Tetons, Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks and how to plan this trip starting with the Tetons then Yellowstone then Glacier. Recommendations on route, accomodations and length of stay would be appreciated.
Thank you

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

There are a lot of details we don't know about your plans at this point that make it hard to provide specific advice, but here's a starting point.

For route, it's going to depend upon exactly where in Maine you're starting from, but basically you'll want to get down to I-80, probably by using I-95/I-495/I-290/I-90/I-84/I-380/I-81, going around boston and through Scranton. Since you want to start in the Tetons, the fastest way would be to then take I-80 all the way to Rock Springs, WY and cut up US-191. If you don't stop anywhere else, that alone is about a 5 day drive, again, depending upon where in Maine you're starting from. The Tetons/Yellowstone to Glacier is a full day drive, and then it's a full day drive onto Seattle from Glacier.

To see the highlights of Yellowstone and the Tetons, you need 3 or 4 full days, and I'd give yourself at least 1 or 2 for Glacier. So, for the trip, one-way, you're looking at needing about 2 weeks.

Of course, if this is a round trip, you could rework things so you see something on the way there, and others on the way back. There are also other route options, and a whole lot more things you could see between Maine and Wyoming, but that's a starting point for you. If you have some more specific questions, and can provide some more details of what you've been thinking for your trip, we'll be glad to help.

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

The answers to your specific questions are relatively straight-forward but others require a lot of "I don't know"s. You have the order correct as far as efficiency goes: Tetons, Yellowstone, Glacier, and the roads to connect them are include another national 'park' the Rockefeller Parkway between the Tetons and Yellowstone. From Yellowstone to Glacier, you would leave via either US-20 to the west picking up US-191 north at West Yellowstone, or US-89 north through Gardiner to Livingston. In either case, your goal is to get on I-90 westbound as far as Three Forks and there take US-287 north to its junction with US-89 at Choteau MT and then continuing on to the St Mary's Glacier Park Entrance and using Going to the Sun Road through the park. Upon leaving Glacier, the easiest route west is to just pick up US-2 to Bonners Ferry ID and then take US-95 down to I-90 at Coeur d'Alene.

As far as how much time you should spend in each park, that's a big "I don't know." It depends on how much time you have available for the entire trip and how you want to parcel it out among the various sites along the way, including those in the eastern US and those between Glacier and Seattle. Other big "I don't know"s include things to see and do along the way, accommodations, etc. Sure I could make recommendations, but those would be for places I liked. I have no idea of what your tastes run to. That's the beauty of a RoadTrip, you get to design it to be perfect for you. If you could give us some idea of what you like, then we could help you, but right now all we have is a blank canvas.

AZBuck

[Maniac]

Thank you ! I appreciate the route information and the general time frames. I may ask more particular questions as this trip shapes up.

[Maniac]

Thanks for all the information. This is a work in progress so as I do more planning I'll have more particular questions but...This sets some general expectations and gets trip started.

[The Traveler]

Hello Maniac! What part of Maine are you from? I am also from New England. I live in Rhode Island. I love Maine! I would be very happy to help you with your planning. My brother and I drove to Seattle and back 6 years ago and we really enjoyed it. We did it in 19 days. How much time do you have for this trip? GO PATS!