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Hi
Planning a trip from Denver to Bozeman next June. First time in the US so want to experience some of the countries amazing scenery. Two adults, we have 4-5 days, want to see Yellowstone NP. Would really welcome some advice and ideas please.
Moderator Note: We prefer to give each trip its own thread.
Hi and Welcome to the Great American Roadtrip Forum.
It is hard to find a road / route which is not a scenic route, through the area you will be covering. It is a day and a half from Denver to Yellowstone, with your options through Casper and Cody, Jackson Hole and the Tetons or over the Big Horn Mnts (US14). So get out a good paper map of the area and see what there is along each route to interest you.
A couple of days in Yellowstone is the minimum to make the trip worth while. It is a huge park and traffic is slow, forever held up by wildlife - which gets right of way - and wildlife viewers. If you would like to stay within the National Park - highly recommended - you will need to get onto the website now and book. Could already be too late, but don't panic, keep checking, there are often cancellations.
You could choose to leave the NP on your way to Bozeman via the spectacular Beartooth Highway through Cooke City and Red Lodge.
Lifey
Welcome to the RTA Forum!
Will this just be a one way trip to Bozeman, or will you return to Denver to fly home?
Really, with just 4-5 days, you don't have much extra time. Yellowstone alone really requires at least 2-3 days for even a quick tour of this huge park. I'd give at least a day for Grand Teton as well, and its basically a full day drive from Denver to Tetons/Yellowstone. You might be able to squeeze in a quick trip through Rocky Mountain NP along the way, but I wouldn't try to do much more than that.
Checking length of routes to Yellowstone from Denver:
Taking I-25N/I-80W/US-287 is 565 miles....normally doable in a day if the vast majority is interstate driving. The last 175 miles are all 2-lane, though, so this would be a LONG day of driving. I'd do it in a day and a few hours into the next day, touring through Grand Teton as I go on the 2nd day.
Taking I-25N to US-20/26 and US 14 is 600 miles. Once again, if this were all interstate, that kind of mileage is about the max one should do in a day. Unfortunately, this route is also about half non-interstate. It takes you into Yellowstone by the eastern side.
There are two or three other routes, but both of those are lots longer than the other 2 I've just mentioned, and definitely will take more time.
Donna
Thanks Donna for your help and thoughts, I guess we might benefit from extending our trip slightly. No hardship there! Will keep reading as everyone's thoughts are helpful. Thanks again
Thanks so much for taking time to help, think we need to look at Grand Teton as well. Planning for our trip of a lifetime is exciting so thanks again for your thoughts
Thanks Lifey, all the way from Melbourne no less! Really grateful that you have taken time to help. In error I put 2014, our trip is 2015. Lots of time to plan in detail, will certainly have a look at your suggested route,
Thanks again, love Melbourne by the way, spent a few weeks there some years ago :-)
You mention "first time in the US'. So where are you flying in from? What time of day are you flying in? It would not be wise to hit the road without adequate rest, after coming off a long haul flight. Be aware of jetlag. Allow your body to adjust to local time. This may affect the timing for your trip.
Lifey
I'm going to guess on a trip of a lifetime you're not going to fly all the way from overseas to the US just for a 4 or 5 day trip. So what does your entire trip look like? It is usually easier to plan a complete trip than just look at individual pieces. The more you can tell us the more we can help.
Hi Lifey flying from Manchester UK to Denver. Initial thoughts are one night in Denver, rent a car, then make our way up to Bozeman Montana as we have a week booked on a ranch there. Looking to spend a couple of days getting up there and 4-5 days travelling bac k to Denver. Really want to avoid busy tourist destinations, but would like to kayak in Yellowstone. Really looking for places of interest en route, places/boarding to stay over and interesting places to eat. Sounds like there is so much fantastic scenery and we are struggling to filter out the best experiences. Your suggestions would be really welcome x
My suggestion would be to take the scenic route on the way to Bozeman. There are many. With two full days to get to the ranch you could take The Trail Ridge Road (if it is open) through Rocky Mountain NP. Spend some time reading through the forums and route planning pages on this site, and get a good map of the area to get an overview of what's along the way.
Yellowstone is a huge NP. If you would like to go kayaking as well as seeing the park, you might be better off making the trip back to Denver as an 'express' trip, and spend as much time as you have available in Yellowstone. (On the other hand, I would not plan too tightly, as your host in MT being a 'local', may have other suggestions.)
Lifey