Seattle to yellowstone

[MuppetOnTour]

hello

This is a rescheduled trip as was postponed due to that dreaded word. So we want to do yellowstone and mount st helens. The other main bit i want is craters of the moon. We will have probably 16 days including travel. Now Seattle is cheap for us to fly into and back. Jackson hole, salt lake is ridiculous. Flying between seattle and jackson is also ok.

So one thought is fly seattle , stay a night as i dont like to drive after long flight especially as on other side of the road. then fly to Jackson. Do grand teton , yellowstone then through craters of moon but then i assume that means im taking south road to porrtland really to get to rainer , mount st helens and then may olympia then fly back.

I that the best road trip option or is it better to treat as 2 road trips nad fly in between so road trip 1 is teton,yellowstone,craters. road trip 2 mount st helens, mount rainer and Olympia.

We are planning first 2 weeks september and not sure if hiring a van or a car. ie camping or hotels. i assume if hotels etc then for these location they would need booked in advance.

[Southwest Dave]

Hi and welcome back!

If it were me, I would simply fly in and out of Seattle and do a loop trip otherwise extra flights and one way car rentals are going to cost money from what you have saved and also take up time in airports and rental offices. After overnighting in Seattle you could head towards Yellowstone, overnight around Missoula or Butte before continuing to Yellowstone. Exit Yellowstone via the south to Grand Tetons and Jackson. From there head towards Mountain home/Boise via Craters of the Moon and then towards Portland/Mt St Helens with a side trip along the Historic Columbia river Gorge. (At least one overnight stop) Next up Mt Rainier before heading back to Seattle. You could head to Olympic NP instead of Rainier or as well as, but that might be pushing the pace a bit. (This is just a picture of what it could look like but we all travel at a different pace/style.) I would recommend at least 3 nights in Yellowstone.

Camper or Motels would require booking in advance for Yellowstone and Tetons, the earlier the better. You could be flexible around those nights for the rest of the trip or plan the trip out totally and book in advance. (Again individual choice) Keep in mind 'Campers' are quite rare in the USA if you mean a small van, RV's are plentiful but by the time you add all the associated costs it will likely cost you more than a car and Motels. RV's are a 'Lifestyle' choice and a choice I much prefer but you need to weigh up the Pro's and cons.

[MuppetOnTour]

Thanks - i do prefer the camping route just more for the flexibility as some days planned driving doesnt go to plan or you find somewhere that needs more or less time. We have in the past hired a escape van so tiny by state sizes but flexible. Have also done the car and will do again. Was surprised just now when checking one way car hire - its a massive premium ie 800 a difference. The waiting at airports is an issue as well as you say iof flying between as you always want that safety gap of missed connections etc.

[Southwest Dave]

The good thing is with an 'Escape' van is you could possibly have the best of both worlds, camping in the NP's and treat yourself to a decent Motel half way round if you wanted some pampering.