SLC, Teton, Yellowstone and Glacier

Can you recommend any stops or routes for this trip? Other than the obvious, should we make sure we don't miss anything? We leave Sept 12th

Day one:Fly to Salt Lake City, (we got an early direct flight and I feel like that is a better option than flying to Jackson) car rental is reserved. Drive to Jackson, Wy
Day two: Visit Teton
Day three: Visit Teton
Day four: travel to Yellowstone & visit Yellowstone
Day five: Visit Yellowstone
Day six: Visit Yellowstone
Day seven: Visit Yellowstone
Day eight: drive to Glacier - St Mary's side - visit Glacier
Day nine: visit Glacier
Day ten: Move to Lake Mc Donald area - Visit Glacier
Day eleven: Visit Glacier
Day twelve: Fly home from Glacier Airport

We have booked three tours. In Yellowstone we have Circle of Fire & Firehole Basin. In Glacier we are doing the Western Alpine tour. We plan to hike and are still researching our top trails. We also love to see historic places and interesting geological sites. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

You helped us with our Utah trip planning and Yosemite/CA trip in years past. I really appreciate all your pro guidance.

For the afternoon drive up to Jackson, I'd suggest taking the scenic route, getting off I-15 at Parryville and then using US-91/US-89 north to Jackson. Bear Lake State Park would make a good stop to get out and stretch your legs, going as far as is comfortable for you on Bear Trail. The drive up to Grand Teton National Park, US-191, is about as scenic as they come but, you can enhance it even more by taking the Grand Teton Scenic Drive ('Inner Loop') from Moose to where it rejoins US-191 northwest of Moran. It's a left turn off US-191, marked with a sign directing you to Moose Junction Visitor Center, which would also be worth a stop to get the local intel. This route will also take you by Jenny Lake.

For the drive from Yellowstone to Glacier, I'm going to suggest that rather than the more standard route of I-15/US-287/US-89, or simply US-89, which is mostly flat plains with views of the mountains off to the west, you take the 'back' way staying west of and in the mountains. This back way consists of starting out by leaving Yellowstone to the west US-191 north to just west of Bozeman and using MT-85 to connect with I-90 west to Three Forks. From there take US-287/US-12 through Helena to Avon. This is where the fun really begins. MT-141 north, MT-200 west and MT-83 north will bring you out at the northern end of Flathead Lake. MT-83 north and US-2 east get you to West Glacier and the start of Glacier Route 1 Road, better known as Going to the Sun Road along the shore of Lake McDonald and its colored pebbles into the heart of the park.

As You've probably noticed, I've concentrated on the drives between you major stops. With as many tours as you've got planned, I think you'll be more than OK while in the parks themselves.

AZBuck

Thanks so much AZBuck, I value your input and can't wait to get out there and see all the beautiful things.

Hi and welcome back!

Have you got your lodgings booked up? Yellowstone is very popular and with a relatively short season even September can remain busy. It's a huge park and the going is slow, so booking in different areas can be beneficial. While visiting the Tetons, a visit to Mormon row and the Moulton barn for the iconic view of the mountains in the background is recommended. As well as the Lakes and scenic drives through the Tetons as described by Buck, if you have time a drive up to the top of Signal mountian offers some great views. In Glacier NP, St Mary's Lake has some basic, yet clean and pleasant lodgings at the Rising sun motor Inn, where I have fond memories of the 'Two dog flats diner'. At the West end of St Marys lake there is a nice little walk to St Mary's falls. The 'Many glacier' area of the park is pretty spectacular among a world of spectacular! Allow plenty of time to cross the park on the 'Going to the sun road', it's WOW!

You're in for a spectacular trip so please drop by with an update of how it all worked out, and some photos if possible! In the meantime if you have any specific questions don't hesitate to ask.

Dave

Your plan for the trip is good. You begin in Salt Lake City and after that, you go to Jackson in Wyoming, which is a clever decision. Teton and Yellowstone are places you absolutely must visit, and it seems you have sufficient time to thoroughly enjoy them. If hiking interests you, I recommend exploring the paths near Jenny Lake in Teton as well as those by the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone within Yellowstone Park. For places with history and interesting rocks, you may like the Old Faithful Inn at Yellowstone and Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier. Each place is famous, has a lot of past stories, and amazing sceneries to see. Oh, and well done on arranging those tours; they will give a pleasant addition to your journey. Have lots of fun and appreciate the views!

Thanks, I feel like I can't go on a trip without getting your expert advice.
We do have lodging booked. We tried to stick to a budget but found Jackson to be quite expensive. If you have any recommendations, we'd be open to switching. We have selected Mountain Modern Motel. It was the best price we found.
In Yellowstone we are splitting our stay at the Old Faithful Inn and Canyon Lodge.
In Glacier we are splitting our stay in St Mary's Village and Lake MacDonald Lodge.
If any of these are not good choices, please let me know what you'd do instead. We booked these a long while ago - I am not sure we can find replacements, but I'd definitely consider changing if you have any feedback. Thanks for your help Southwest Dave, I really appreciate your help:) We still need to dial in what our must do things are in each park and I will make sure the ideas you mentioned about Many Glacier and Mormon Row are high on the list.

My wife and I are planning a similar vacation for around the same time in the Banff to Jasper area of Alberta, Canada. We have found that the cost of lodging is easily the biggest part of our budget. I've looked at the places you mentioned and they are very much like the types of accommodations that we prefer as well. The rates I saw actually aren't that bad for those types of rooms at that time of year. All of which is just to say that I think you've done about as well as you could. You might find something for less, but it won't be anywhere near as nice. Enjoy.

AZBuck

Make sure to catch the Circle of Fire & Firehole Basin tours in Yellowstone and the Western Alpine tour in Glacier. For hiking, hit up the Highline Trail in Glacier and be sure not to miss the jaw-dropping Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone. Safe travels!

Getting around the lodging prices is difficult within the parks. However, it has its positives as you are closer in to the action. We stayed in West Yellowstone, MT, and it meant we had to drive into the park each day. For us that's not a problem, as we got up and got going into the park before the traffic lined up at the West Entrance. (We love being in NP's without the crowds, in the early mornings, which increases your chances of seeing wildlife.).

Once we were done with both Yellowstone and Grand Teton, though, we stayed in Driggs, ID. You know it's high priced when the Motel 6 in Jackson is over $300 per night! Once again, it was a drive, but we weren't returning. We simply did our sightseeing in GT in one day.

Glacier was another place where we stayed outside of the park. I believe we stayed in East Glacier Park Village. In retrospect, we wished we'd stayed in Browning as it was a good half hour just to get us to the east entrance to Going to the Sun Highway. That in itself wasn't bad, but it was a rare morning that we didn't get ourselves going early enough! Get on GttS Highway by 8 am if possible. We didn't get on it until 10 am and the result was too many lookout parking lots were full.


Donna

We wanted to include Banff on our trip this time but decided to leave it for another time. Thank you for your feedback. Wishing you and your wife safe travels.

Some of my friends and I have started going on what we call mental health retreats. Getting out in nature and seeing new places. We try to go one to two times a year. We are visiting Sceneca Rocks, Dollysods, Spruce Knob & Blackwater Falls in WV this spring. Planning on something bigger for the next one. Trying to decide between Olympic NP or Acadia. I think I am leaning toward Olympic but have to see what my adventure group thinks.

Thanks for the tip. We live in the Eastern Time zone so it is easier for us to be early risers when we are traveling out west.

Having visited both Acadia and Olympic National Parks, and the areas surrounding each, I'd say that whichever one you pick you will be assured "mental health retreats" and the ability to get "out in nature and seeing new places." With that being said, I would 'vote' for Acadia. I noticed that most of your recent trips have been to the Rockies or the west coast, so maybe a trip east would be a welcome change of pace. But mostly my vote is based on my own experience with northern New England. I first went there as a guest of a friend I had met in Philadelphia. She and her husband had invited me up for a short weekend. I only budgeted four days for the trip, a Friday driving day, two days there, and a driving day home to Delaware. I fell in love with the place and stayed over an extra day so that ] I could see what the job situation was like, and indeed I was offered employment on the spot. I moved up a month later and never regretted it. The coast of Maine is certainly gorgeous with many small peninsulas to explore (and get away from the main tourist spots) on the rock-ribbed coast. If you decide on Acadia, then I would also recommend that you fly into Portland rather than Boston, which would be just the opposite of a mental health retreat.

AZBuck

For Teton, you must visit Jenny Lake area and consider a boat trip. In Yellowstone, besides your planned tours, do not forget to see Mammoth Hot Springs and Lamar Valley to view animals. For those who like history, visit the old Many Glacier Hotel when at Glacier and take a brief walk to see Grinnell Glacier Overlook. For geological marvels, you should not skip Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier or Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone.