Checking off National Parks with the boys is a family goal, so after a lot of research, and advice from friends, we decided on visiting Wyoming. In Wyoming, we could visit 2 National Parks, in the same visit!
Both my husband and I celebrated milestone birthdays this Summer. We turned the big 4-0, eek! I actually hate saying it. I've been calling it 39 +1. :) Aging stinks, but celebrating is fun so we planned to start crossing things off of our bucket list to celebrate!
We went in August and learned, it's especially popular in the Winter for the skiing, but this picturesque town and landscape did not disappoint during the Summer. The weather was actually perfect! Our adventure to Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park was incredible!
Jackson, Wyoming is a really cute town! We made it our home base for the trip. We found a great hotel with a larger suite, complimentary breakfast and an indoor pool! Plus it was walking distance from the most delicious BBQ spot with amazing reviews... everyone was happy! I found our hotel through the city's website, jacksonhole.com & chose a property with Town Square Inns. It was a great spot for our family!
Every Kid Outdoors
Thanks to the National Park Foundation, every fourth grader in the country (and their families) can visit a National Park for FREE with their very own, Every Kid Outdoors Pass! Lucky for us, we had a fourth grader with us (about to start his fifth grade year) so we were set! I learned about this awesome program while researching for our trip and printed our pass before we left home! To get your own Every Kid Outdoor Pass, click here!
Grand Teton National Park
This place was just incredible. It was a very short drive from Jackson, so naturally we made it our first stop the next day. We rented an SUV through TURO and it was so simple and convenient for us to pick up the Jeep Cherokee from the private owner, just around the corner from our hotel. Did I mention it was less expensive than the traditional car rental companies? We saved a ton going this route.
One of our favorite stops in Grand Teton National Park was Jenny Lake.
Jenny Lake- This was a fantastic spot with so much to see and do. Kids can earn Jr. Ranger badges here, there are a variety of hikes and even boat rentals are available. We took a scenic hike and then detoured to follow the advice of a few friendly hikers to Moose Pond, where we encountered 3 moose in the wild. It was amazing! Our first of many wildlife encounters on this trip!
It goes with out saying, but we always followed the wildlife safety rules to admire these amazing animals from a safe distance.
We found lots of amazing spots off the main roads to explore. We even came across a huge field of bison! Only Dad and my youngest were brave enough to walk through the field closer to the bison. I enjoyed the view with the binoculars!
Yellowstone National Park
Our drive to Yellowstone NP began early in the morning, with a lunch packed in a borrowed cooler, excited boys and plenty of maps in tow! Spotty cell phone service was expected, so we made sure to have our books and maps of the route we planned incase our GPS wasn't working. Because we were coming into Yellowstone from the South, we entered the park from the South Entrance, giving us another scenic drive through Grand Tetons NP on the way in!
Old Faithful-
We knew we wanted to see Old Faithful early in the day, so we made this one of the first stops. Lucky for us, the world's most famous geyser was about to erupt just was we arrived! Old Faithful sends water gushing in the air up to 180 feet! It was quite the sight! The geyser is known to erupt as many as 20 times a day. Lucky for us, we caught an early show! Expect crowds, as this is one of the most popular spots in Yellowstone.
Because it was Summer, most of the popular attractions along the route, had heavy crowds, making parking challenging at times, but we got lucky finding spots off of the main path to explore and found ourselves in the middle of the most beautiful scenery! One of our favorite moments was coming across this beautiful spot, Firehole Canyon. It was by accident that we turned down this one way road and found this little secret spot. Only a few other families enjoyed this clear river bank with us, it was such a treat!
Sapphire Pool at Biscuit Basin Trail
This was another incredible sight. The colors of these geysers and hot springs were just amazing. This spot was easy to access thanks to the boardwalk. The nearby waterfall trail, Mystic Falls, was closed due to recent bear activity! So, we enjoyed the colorful pools and our picnic lunch nearby.
If you've read this far down, THANK YOU! Our trip to Wyoming was incredible. Our last days were spent exploring downtown Jackson. If you're wondering if you can visit a National Park with kids, the answer is yes! Our country is so beautiful and there's just so much to discover. You'll create memories that your kids will never forget! Plus, the kids will love participating in the Jr. Ranger program and collect badges from all over the National Parks!
Yellowstone is after all, the world's first National Park, full of mystery and magic, it did not disappoint. My advice, because it's such a large park, research what sites are important to your family to visit and expect detours, you might discover a spot off the beaten path that's even more incredible!
We've got plans for more National Parks to be checked off, so stay tuned!
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