Another Yellowstone thread...but I took the wife and kids (9 & 10) out west the week of May 28-June 5. I gleaned a lot of info from this board, so I will post a rundown of our itinerary to help anyone else that may be planning. Long post so I won't include pics, but we've all seen the famous Yellowstone shots.

We originally had a trip to Yellowstone planned for 2020, and it was a last minute deal. Due to Covid we were able to cancel that trip and take time to properly plan for 2021. We were able to do more research and really flesh our trip out to include Jackson and the Tetons, and it wound up being an incredible trip.

We flew from MSY-JAC with a stop in DEN. We arrived in Jackson Hole around 1 pm, got our rental car and drove into Jackson. The Jackson Hole airport is pretty cool. It is small but a great combination of rustic and modern. Our first stop was to rent an ice chest, bear spray and some binoculars. We ate lunch at Jackson Drug on the square and did a little wandering around town. We stopped at a grocery store to stock up with food/drinks and headed north to Yellowstone. We stopped at the Grand Teton sign for pics, as well as a few pullouts around Jackson Lake. We got to the Old Faithful area around 8 pm and spent the night at the OF Snow Lodge. We ordered dinner to go from the hotel restaurant.

The first day we were up early and saw Old Faithful erupt around 8:30. The weather was chilly but bright, we had a cup of coffee and pastries from the cafeteria nearby while we waited on the benches. Old Faithful was pretty underwhelming to me. After hearing about it my whole life I guess I had built up expectations, but oh well we crossed it off the list. After the eruption we spent an hour or so on the boardwalks checking out other geysers and hot pools. They were pretty cool to see. We then drove to Biscuit Basin to see more pools and hiked to the Mystic Falls overlook. It was a decent climb and gave great views back over the geyser field. Next stop was the hike to the Grand Prismatic overlook. We didn't do the boardwalks around this one because it is so large. The overlook gave a much better view. We then continued the hike to Fairy Falls. It was a long out and back hike, but we spent some time at the falls and let the kids play in the water before walking back out. We were supposed to visit the Norris Geyser basin next, but the parking lot was full and the kids were tired from the long Fairy Falls hike. Honestly by this point the geysers and springs all started to look alike. We drove on toward Mammoth Hot Springs with a few stops to see waterfalls along the way. We drove the upper terrace loop and walked the lower terrace boardwalks around Mammoth. We ate at the Terrace Grill and then drove on to Canyon Lodge for the night.

Day 2 We got up early again and drove to Artist Point. Another chilly but clear morning. We got to the overlook around 8 am and only had 1 or 2 other small groups there. Took some nice photos and then moved on to Brink of Upper falls. Did a small hike to the falls. Uncle Tom's trail was closed so we drove around to the North Rim and went down to the Brink of Lower Falls. This was a great overlook right at the edge of the falls. Lots of switchbacks to get up and down, but it was a nice payoff.
After finishing up around the Grand Canyon area we moved on towards Mammoth Springs again. We stopped for a quick hike to Ice Lake and at a picnic lunch. We checked in the Mammoth Springs Hotel and then drove out to Gardiner, MT. We ate dinner in Gardiner, bought a few souvenirs, and took pictures at the Roosevelt Arch.

Day 3 we grabbed coffee and the kids ate in the car as we headed out early to Lamar Valley. We were covered in buffalo and elk, and we even got to see a wolf in the Valley. We stopped at Trout Lake on the eastern edge of the valley. It was a quick hike, but we spent an hour or so walking around the lake. It was so beautiful and peaceful. We saw a moose grazing above us and an osprey sitting in the trees watching for fish in the lake. From there we drove the Beartooth Highway out to Red Lodge, MT. We stopped a few times to play in the snow, as well as at the summit of Beartooth Pass. Red Lodge was a decent town, but there were only 2-3 restaurants open so we had quite a wait for lunch. We headed back into the park through Cody, WY for another night in Canyon Lodge. We spent an hour or so in Hayden Valley that evening and was able to see a grizzly sow and cub for about 10 seconds before they disappeared over the hill.

Day 4 we slept in and drove through Hayden Valley towards Lake Yellowstone. We walked around the grounds of the hotel and then drove on to the West Thumb Geyser Basin. We walked this boardwalk, but by this point we had seen enough geysers. We headed south out of the park towards the Tetons. We made a few stops for pictures of the mountains as we meandered through the valley. Stops included Elk Ranch Flats, Snake River Overlook (Ansel Adams portrait), Schwabacher landing, and the Chapel of the Transfiguration. We ate lunch at Colter Bay village and worked our way to Jenny Lake lodge. We had dinner reservations at the Mural Room at the Jackson Lake Lodge that night. The lodge was beautiful with huge 2 story windows facing the Tetons. Dinner was expensive but nothing special. After dinner we went on the terrace and watched the sun set behind the Tetons and saw a moose feeding below us.

Day 5 we ate breakfast at the Jenny Lake lodge and then drove to the trailhead and caught the ferry across Jenny Lake. The wait was about 45 mins to catch the boat. Once across the lake we hiked to Hidden Falls and then on to Inspiration Point. Great hike, a little crowded but we enjoyed it. Hiked along the river and then up to look back over the lake. We waited about 20 mins to catch the boat back across the lake. We ate a picnic lunch at the trailhead and then drove out to Mormon Row to see the barns. We continued south along the Gros Ventre river and saw a moose out in the river. It was a cool sight for us Louisiana foks. Dinner that night in Jenny Lake lodge.

Day 6 we slept in and ate breakfast at the lodge. We did a 10 am horseback ride on the String Lake trail. It was awesome. I grew up with horses but it was the first time for my wife and kids. They did great, it was a scenic relaxing ride into the Tetons with 2 river crossings. Wonderful experience. After the ride we checked out of Jenny Lake and headed south to Jackson. We ate a late lunch at Liberty Burger in JH and then hit some shops around the town square. We spent some time relaxing in the room and then drove back to Mormon Row for family pictures. We ate dinner at the Silver Dollar Grill in the Wort Hotel.

Day 7 we ate breakfast in the hotel and then walked over to Dave Hansen for a whitewater rafting trip. Rafting wasn't on my radar for this trip until we saw the buses running through town. We inquired and they had availability on our last day. The trip included a 30 min bus ride each way, and a little over an hour on the water. We had a great time, the water was cold even with a wetsuit on. We ate lunch at a restaurant called Local in Jackson- one of the best burgers I've ever had. We got some ice cream at Moo's Creamery- also some of the best I've ever had. We went back to the room to pack and had a slice of pizza from Pinky G's that night for dinner.

The last morning we were up early for a 7 am flight out of Jackson. We boarded the plane from the runway and got a nice last pic of the kids with the Tetons. Made a connection in Houston and then wheels down in NOLA and back to reality.