We had an amazing week taking a road trip through 4 western states including visits to Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks. Here’s a look at what we did and how we covered so much distance in 8 days.
Trip Overview
I start planning most of our trips by seeing where we can get to via a direct flight from our local airport (RDU) as that makes travel simpler. This one started that way but changed a few times before we settled on a road trip covering 4 states starting in Bozeman, MT, and ending in Salt Lake City, UT.
Our itinerary:
Saturday – fly to Bozeman, MT and pick up rental car
Sunday & Monday – explore Yellowstone National Park
Tuesday – Yellowstone and Grand Teton
Wednesday – explore Grand Teton National Park
Thursday – travel day with stops in Paris, ID, and Golden Spike National Historic Park
Friday – explore Salt Lake City, UT
Saturday – return rental car at SLC and take a direct flight home!
Montana
Our day started EARLY with a 5am ET flight leaving RDU. We had a quick layover in Denver and arrived in Bozeman, Montana, just after 9am MT (11am ET). Needless to say, we needed food. I did my research ahead of time and plugged directions into Waze to get to Feed Cafe for brunch. This was the best idea. Local, delicious, and super friendly staff. Highly recommend.
Fueled up and reenergized, we visited 2 museums while in Bozeman – the American Computer and Robotics Museum and Museum of the Rockies. Located just 2 blocks from each other, it’s very easy to visit both in a few hours. They are vastly different as the names imply, but both equally interesting and fun.
TIP: Always check affiliations for museums and zoos you have memberships with. Both museums are part of ASTC and we were able to visit for free with our family membership to the Museum of Life + Science in Durham, NC.
Our hotel that first evening was in Livingston, MT – just about the halfway point between Bozeman and the north entrance to Yellowstone. I did this intentionally to break up the drive so we would be a bit closer to Yellowstone the next morning. It also gave us a good spot to stock up on some groceries before heading into the Parks.
Yellowstone National Park
Altogether we spent almost 3 days in Yellowstone National Park. We arrived early Sunday morning and, after a quick photo stop at the Roosevelt Arch, we began our adventures.
We probably could have spent a full week (or more) in this park as it is just that large and there is so much to see and do. As it was, I didn’t feel rushed or that we missed out. We had a general idea of what we wanted to do, and then enjoyed as we felt inspired. Some of the spots we spent a lot of time, while others were a much quicker “we saw, let’s move on.” I have learned traveling with my kids that it’s better to slow down and stop when you need to stop versus pushing to try to check off a list. Nonetheless, we covered a LOT and I’ll share full details in my next post.
If I had to pick a couple of favorites, there were some highlights for sure. Seeing bison and elk roaming was truly amazing. Those are unplanned moments as wildlife is unpredictable. I also really appreciated seeing the vast difference in the land across the park – from hot springs and geysers to waterfalls and lakes. It was incredible.
TIP: If you want to stay IN the Parks like we did, plan to book early as reservations open 12-16 months ahead of time and fill up fast. I booked both a year before our trip. We stayed at Old Faithful Snow Lodge in Yellowstone and Signal Mountain Lodge in Grand Teton.
Grand Teton National Park
One of the fascinating things to me when traveling from Yellowstone to Grand Teton was how quickly the world around us changed. Gone were the geysers and hot springs. Suddenly the land was more lush and the mountains rose up before us. It was truly breathtaking and equally as amazing as Yellowstone – just in a different way.
Being the smaller of the two parks, we spent less time in Grand Teton. Again, while we could have spent more days here, I didn’t feel rushed. We managed to fit in and see a lot. The best surprise (and biggest challenge) was seeing moose. Although I only managed a photo of one partially hidden by vegetation, we saw 2 during our visit! Those were definite highlight moments.
Take me to Paris
Our son has long requested a trip to Paris. While my husband and I took an anniversary trip to Paris, France, in 2023, we have not taken our kids. When he saw Paris, Idaho, on the map and asked to include it in our trip, it was an easy “yes.” Having also requested to visit Golden Spike National Historic Park just north of Salt Lake City, we started our travel day early to arrive with time to enjoy.
We packed up our cabin in Grand Teton, ate a quick breakfast, and were on the road by 7:30am. My goal was 8am and having a little head start proved to be helpful. We made our way south through Jackson and made a quick stop at the rest area off Highway 89 in Star Valley. We were slowed slightly by road construction, but arrived in Montpelier, ID, at our planned lunch stop just before 11am. Literally the first people to arrive for lunch at Rooster’s Grazing! It’s a local restaurant I found online ahead of time and was delicious.
Paris, Idaho
Paris is a very small town near Montpelier with a population just over 500. My husband and I planned to surprise the kids with a stop for donuts here, but sadly, the shop was already sold out and closed for the day. We did get a family photo at the “Welcome to Paris” sign entering town and my daughter and I snapped a couple of photos of the murals on the side of El Camino Donuts. Then we continued onward.
From Paris to Golden Spike National Historic Park was a little over 2 hours drive. We made a stop midway in Logan, Utah, for a restroom break. When scanning signs and buildings, we spotted a sign for the Cache Valley Visitors Bureau. The staff here were super friendly. We were able to pick up a Utah state map and the restrooms were the cleanest we had experienced on the trip. In my daughter’s words, they were “so fancy!”
Golden Spike National Historic Park
Luck was definitely with us as our travel day timed perfectly. We approached the entrance to Golden Spike National Historic Park just before 3pm. This gave a us 2 hours to explore, enjoy, and stretch our legs before the park closed. Our kids completed the Junior Ranger program. We also were able to see both locomotives move (119 at 4pm and Jupiter at 4:30pm) which was a neat surprise.
Salt Lake City
Our final destination in our western road trip was Salt Lake City. We had one full day and made the most of it starting with a visit to the Great Salt Lake State Park located just off I-80 west of the city. Visiting Salt Lake City for the first time, seeing the Great Salt Lake felt like a “must do.” I intentionally chose this location instead of Antelope Island because it was closer to the city and easier to access. After so much car time the day before (we were about 12 hours from our cabin in Grand Teton to hotel in SLC), I wanted to limit our driving.
It worked out well. We went, we saw, and we smelled the lake. Yes, smelled. I wasn’t prepared for the strong smell or the millions of spiders. Apparently the salt attracts bugs which the spiders love. The birds eat both. Full circle of life.
I had no other set plans so we discussed a few options and decided to visit Tracy Aviary in Liberty Park. Admission was free with our NC Zoo membership. We had a great time strolling through the buildings and outdoor exhibits seeing the different varieties of birds.
The rest of the day we spent exploring Salt Lake City. We saw and enjoyed many of the vibrant murals painted around the city, caught sight of F-35 flyovers from Hill Air Force Base, strolled Temple Square, visited the Utah Sports Hall of Fame Museum, and played at Clark Planetarium.
We definitely filled our last day of vacation, but didn’t feel overextended as many of those were located close to each other so we could stroll at our own pace from place to place. We even made it back to our hotel with time for the kids to enjoy the pool for a bit (always a win when we travel!).
Looking for more travel ideas? Get inspired with our US road (and day) trips here.
Final Tips
A few things we found super useful for planning and making the most of our road trip:
- Moon Best of Yellowstone & Grand Teton: Make the Most of One to Three Days in the Parks – my husband gifted me this book last Christmas. It was fun to read and prepare, and also useful to have with us on the trip. It helped us plan some stops and restaurant decisions.
- NPS app – download the official National Parks app and then information for the parks to use offline. Many areas (especially in Yellowstone) have no cell service. It’s nice to have this resource available in your pocket to use at all times.
- GuideAlong app – this was great to help us with our tours through both Yellowstone and Grand Teton. The narrator shared details and made suggestions on where to stop. It also works offline so no need for cell service. Just be sure to download before entering the park.
- Tripod with remote – obviously not a ‘necessary’ item, but I was glad I brought this along. I purchased our tripod with cell phone mount for our trip to Joshua Tree in 2023. It came in handy a lot on this trip too so we could get family photos when no one else was around. Just set up and then use the bluetooth remote to take photo when everyone is in place.
