Yellowstone National Park is a bucket list destination. There is no place else to experience the raw nature of earth while combining it with wildlife in stunningly beautiful landscapes. But sometimes Mother Nature has other plans.
We planned our trip to America’s first National Park and the 150th anniversary of Yellowstone with our home base in Gardiner, MT near the north entrance. In June 2022, unprecedented rainfalls caused historic flooding and the north entrance would be closed indefinitely. We weren’t sure if any parts of the park would be accessible by August and we quickly pivoted to find a home rental for our family of six near the south entrance and Jackson Hole. Vacation rentals are really expensive the closer you get to Jackson Hole so we booked a house in the Teton Valley part of Idaho, about 40 minutes from Jackson Hole. The back yard had a magnificent view of the backside of the Teton range and we would be able to add Grand Teton National Park to our list.
Sometimes the best laid plans…
The national park is the best idea America ever had.
James Bryce
I don’t know how to summarize the beauty of this part of the U.S. Flying into Bozeman, MT’s airport is one of the most beautiful arrivals I’ve ever seen. It’s also the cutest, friendliest airport I’ve ever been to. We knew this was going to be a trip with a lot of time spent in the car so we splurged on a few things – a large and comfortable SUV that fit all six of us, and a cool log cabin style house that had plenty of room for three teenagers and an 8-year old.
Our first stop was Virginia City, MT – one of the most well preserved wild west towns left. It was once home to 10,000 people during the Gold Rush. We made the three-hour trek to our home base in Tetonia and were more than happy with our home rental. I highly recommend booking accommodations through Teton Homestead. They were very responsive, caring, and the home was in excellent shape.
Day 2 was spent at Grand Teton National Park with Jenny Lake and and swimming at Jackson Lake on the list. We packed a picnic lunch and drove to Signal Mountain for a picnic, bringing our bear spray that I’m happy to say we didn’t have to use. The water was cold but it didn’t stop my 8-year old from swimming.
Our third day was reserved for Yellowstone and didn’t even cover 1/4 of the park. I wish we would’ve had more time here for sure but with four kids to keep happy, we had to make do with the time we had. The southern and western parts of the park were all open and ready to receive visitors, despite the northern part still being closed from the historic flooding. I was pleasantly surprised that traffic inside the park was very reasonable.
The next day was all about Jackson, WY. We had a covered wagon dinner planned with Bar T 5 Ranch for 5PM in Jackson so we hung around the area for most of the day. Downtown Jackson is the place to be! I wish we had more time to try all the restaurants. We stopped at the National Elk Refuge and saw no elk… apparently that’s common in summer months. It made for a great story afterwards. We also stopped at the National Wildlife Museum before embracing the cowboy life for the evening.
Day 5 was a rest day for the boys at our house rental and a swim day for the girls at Heise Hot Springs in Heise, ID. Heise Hot Springs has three pools at three different temperatures, including one very sulphur smelling hot spring! We tried all three and made a fun day out of it.
Our last day of vacation was spent traveling back to Bozeman, MT – what amazing views. Be sure to put the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone on your list. They rescue wildlife from the nearby parks that can’t be released back into the wild. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman and just Bozeman in general. Everything about it was majestic- and a fantastic way to end a dream vacation.
7-Day Vacation With Kids
| Day | To | From | Mode | Departure Time | Arrival Time | Trip Notes |
| 1 Sun. | Chicago Airport | Dulles Airport | United Airlines | 6:30AM | 7:32AM | This was originally booked as a nonstop flight in January 2022 but United changed our flights. I got an amazing deal – 6 roundtrip tickets for $2200 by going through the United website directly so I wasn’t complaining too much. |
| Bozeman Airport | Chicago Airport | United Airlines | 8:45AM | 11:02AM | ||
| Lunch at Sidewinders, Bozeman, MT | BOZ | Rental SUV | 11:30AM | 11:15AM | Featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, Sidewinders is a contemporary grill for American comfort food, with outdoor seats, a bar & military-themed decor. | |
| Virginia City, MT | Sidewinders | Rental SUV | 12:00PM | 1:30PM | This was about 20 mins out of the way for us but gave us the opportunity to stretch and walk through this well preserved western town. | |
| Tetonia, ID Cabin Rental | Virginia City, MT | Rental SUV | 2:00PM | 4:30PM | I highly recommend this beautiful home rental and property management company we found on Vrbo. Feel free to send me a message if you’d like more info! | |
| 2 Mon. | Broulim’s Grocery Store, Driggs, ID | Our log cabin | Rental SUV | 6:45AM | 7:00AM | Adorable and well stocked! We stocked up here on food for the week, including a splurge on amazing steaks at the deli counter. Overall, we were impressed with this grocery store and made sure we added the $39.99 bear spray to our shopping cart (It is $50+ everywhere else in the area). |
| Grand Teton National Park, WY | Our log cabin | Rental SUV | 8:00AM | 9:30AM | Must stops – all of it. We stopped at Jenny Lake, swam in Jackson Lake, and visited Mormon Row, Chapel of the Transfiguration | |
| 3 Tues. | Breakfast at Trouthunter Bar & Grill Island Park, ID | Our log cabin | Rental SUV | 8:00AM | 9:00AM | A must stop. We all got something different and all six of us raved about our food. I highly recommend the huckleberry pancakes. |
| Yellowstone National Park – West Entrance | Island Park, ID | Rental SUV | 9:30AM | 11:00AM | Must stops – all of it. We stopped at Fountain Paint Pots; Lower, Midway, and Upper Geyser basins; Grand Prismatic Spring; and of course, Old Faithful. | |
| Huckleberry ice cream at Espresso West in West Yellowstone, MT | Yellowstone National Park | Rental SUV | 6:00PM | 6:30PM | A trip to MT isn’t complete without huckleberry ice cream! | |
| 4 Wed | National Elk Refuge Jackson, WY | Our log cabin | Rental SUV | 12:00PM | 1:00PM | If you’re visiting in the winter months, there are sleigh rides with the elk. If you’re visiting in the summer, there’s a good chance you won’t see any! |
| Downtown Jackson | National Elk Refuge | Rental SUV | 1:15PM | 1:130PM | Don’t miss the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar! | |
| National Wildlife Museum | Downtown Jackson | Rental SUV | 2:30PM | 2:45PM | Beautiful views even if you don’t want to pay to enter the museum. There are lots of wildlife sculptures outside that make for great photos. | |
| Bar T 5 Covered Wagon, Dinner and Show, Jackson, WY | Downtown Jackson | Rental SUV | 4:45PM | 5:00PM | Ehhh, we weren’t impressed. It was okay and the food was okay. The entertainment was hokey. | |
| 5 Thurs | Heise Hot Springs, Heise, ID | Our log cabin | Rental SUV | 9:00AM | 10:00AM | If you’re looking for a family spot in the summer time that appeases all different ages, this is a good spot. |
| 6 Fri | Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center West Yellowstone, MT | Our log cabin | Rental SUV | 10:00AM | 11:40AM | A not-for-profit wildlife park and educational facility that rehabilitates the area’s grizzly bears, wolves, raptors, and sea otters that can’t be released back into the wild. |
| Slippery Otter Restaurant & Pub, West Yellowstone, MT | Grizzy & Wolf Discovery Center | Rental SUV | 12:30PM | 12:35PM | Try the huckleberry soda and huckleberry hefeweizen beer! | |
| Homewood Suites by Hilton- Bozeman | West Yellowstone, MT | Rental SUV | 1:30PM | 3:15PM | A good, clean place near the airport to make an early flight managable. | |
| Museum of the Rockies, Bozeman, MT | Homewood Suites – Bozeman | Rental SUV | 3:30PM | 3:45PM | A must do! It is renowned for displaying an extensive collection of dinosaur fossils, including the fully-mounted Montana’s T. rex skeleton. | |
| Downtown Bozeman | Museum of the Rockies | Rental SUV | 5:00PM | 5:15PM | Must stop – Montana Gift Corral and Heyday. | |
| Dinner at Open Range MT 241 Main St, Bozeman | Downtown Bozeman | Walk | 6:30PM | 6:35PM | One of the best dinners I’ve ever had in my life. Highly recommend. | |
| 7 Sat | Bozeman Airport | Homewood Suites – Bozeman | Rental SUV | 4:45AM | 5:00AM | |
| Dulles Airport | Bozeman Airport | United Airlines | 6:53AM | 3:36AM | We had a short connector in Denver. |
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