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Yellowstone or Grand Canyon/Zion area next summer?
Posted on 7/28/23 at 8:33 am
Posted on 7/28/23 at 8:33 am
Son will be 11. We like hiking, swimming in rivers, horseback riding, fishing, rafting, biking, wildlife etc. I’m leaning towards Yellowstone but I’m also wanting to do antelope canyon someday and I like the hikes around southern utah. We’d be open to doing a dude ranch kinda thing. I remember hearing about a place where you get assigned a horse at the beginning of your stay and you can brush him, feed him treats and things daily, etc. That would be pretty cool and my son would love it. But I can’t find specifically a place you can do that. Either that’s not really a thing or they just don’t mention it. Any recs, not necessarily about a ranch, just recs overall about one destination or the other. TIA
11
Posted on 7/28/23 at 8:50 am to VanRIch
I would recommend Zion and the Grand Canyon during the winter. Summer at the Grand Canyon is like being at the UN. Jam packed full of tourists from all over the world. Maybe you would like that but when I go hiking I like to go to places that have very few people.
Posted on 7/28/23 at 9:12 am to VanRIch
I'd recommend the Tetons over Yellowstone so you don't have to deal with as many car tourists
Posted on 7/28/23 at 10:06 am to VanRIch
quote:why not both? they're within a few hours' drive of each other.
Yellowstone or Grand Canyon/Zion area next summer?
Posted on 7/28/23 at 10:27 am to CAD703X
concur, if over a week you can easily see both Yellowstone and the Tetons. spend a couple days in YT seeing the sights and spend the rest of the time in Jackson seeing the Tetons. plan a rafting trip on the snake river, book a horse ride and enjoy the town of Jackson.
the Grand Canyon and Zion will be much warmer during the summer, at times unbearable during the day. I'd visit those areas in the spring or fall if possible.
the Grand Canyon and Zion will be much warmer during the summer, at times unbearable during the day. I'd visit those areas in the spring or fall if possible.
Posted on 7/28/23 at 11:12 am to CAD703X
Maybe I’m missing something but Zion Natl Park is 8 and a half hours from Yellowstone Natl Park.
Posted on 7/28/23 at 11:44 am to VanRIch
Fly into Jackson and do both Grand Teton and Yellowstone. Raft on the snake river. Fly fish in Yellowstone. I’d recommend lodging outside of the park.
Posted on 7/28/23 at 12:39 pm to VanRIch
Yellowstone. For the wildlife alone
Also, grab a Bison burger at Canyons Village. Theres also this, if interested
Also, grab a Bison burger at Canyons Village. Theres also this, if interested
quote:
You can ride out to Pleasant Valley on a horse or in a covered wagon. When you arrive you’ll find those cooks dishin’ up some real cowboy grub at our popular Old West Dinner Cookout; steak (12 oz. serving for adults, 6 oz. for children), coleslaw, potato salad, baked beans, chuck wagon corn, corn muffins, watermelon, fruit crisp, and assorted beverages.
This post was edited on 7/28/23 at 12:40 pm
Posted on 7/28/23 at 2:12 pm to VanRIch
GC and Zion will be hot and loaded to the gills with tourists in the summer. I went in April and it was busy as hell. Id save those for the offish seaons
Posted on 7/28/23 at 4:26 pm to SantaFe
quote:
would recommend Zion and the Grand Canyon during the winter
I recommend Zion in early fall or late spring. We went in March this year and there was still a ton of snow on the ground. If you want to hike the narrows and other popular spots, winter is probably not doable
Also, Bryce Canyon was mostly closed at the same time due to record snow last winter
Posted on 7/28/23 at 8:19 pm to VanRIch
I’m not gonna recommend the company, because it was just a camping trip In the Spanish peaks in Montana, but it was a cool ride up, and we had five of us on horses. Donkeys behind us and a few hands that obviously controlled the horses and donkeys. Ate like kings every night. Thought I was gonna tumble to my death a few times, off my horse going from camp to Spanish lakes. Caught some good looking trout on top water on fly rod. Our cook, was was awesome, and she wasn’t hard to look at. So after writing all of that, it was a fun arse trip but we decided to descend a day early so we could fish the Madison river again before our flight home. .
Posted on 7/29/23 at 11:07 am to VanRIch
I would chose based on the month for weather reasons. July or August, do Wyoming. Shoulder season, do Utah/AZ.
I did the latter a few months ago. Flew into Vegas, drove to Zion, Bryce Canyon, North Rim of Grand Canyon, Page (Antelope Canyon and Horeshoe Bend) then back to Vegas. Very scenic and I enjoyed the escape. But it was hot and involved a lot of driving.
An 11 year old would probably enjoy Wyoming better. More recreational activities, Jackson Hole, etc. Make sure you book lodging well in advance because Yellowstone fills up.
A third option would be to create a combination of the two styles - fly into Grand Junction, CO and make a loop that includes Moab (Arches NP and Canyonlands NP), Monument Valley, Mesa Verde, Durango, San Juan mountains, Ouray/Silverton, Telluride, Gunnison, etc. then back to Grand Junction. That way you get to experience desert and mountain landscapes in the same trip and you can find plenty of stuff to interest a kid along that loop.
Posted on 7/31/23 at 12:25 pm to AUFANATL
quote:
I would chose based on the month for weather reasons. July or August, do Wyoming. Shoulder season, do Utah/AZ.
Absolutely this. I wouldn't do Zion and especially Grand canyon in the actual summer because its just plain super hot but also as said busy. But Yellowstone is busy also, but at least you can get away from people. You could also do some legit camping in Yellowstone in the summer as the overnight temps are reasonable. I'm not sure you would want to camp at the GC overnight.
FWIW with an 11 year old unless he is an all american athlete you probably have very limited hiking options and its mostly a 1 full day trip.
Posted on 7/31/23 at 12:54 pm to VanRIch
I enjoyed Zion more than YS and we went this summer. It was crowded but it's still such an amazing place to see. Instead of doing Antelope (which we did), I'd try to get a permit for the Wave in Kanab. If you do Antelope, make sure to check out Horseshoe bend while you're in Page.
Posted on 7/31/23 at 2:46 pm to VanRIch
As I mentioned above, I’d do Yellowstone and Teton in the summer.
As an alternative, I did a trip with my son one October from Vegas to Tucson. We hiked down to Havasu Falls in the Grand Canyon and camped for a couple of nights. We stayed at a ranch in Tucson and rode horses in the mountains, with plenty of great sightseeing between the two.
Tanque Verde Ranch is the ranch in Tucson.
As an alternative, I did a trip with my son one October from Vegas to Tucson. We hiked down to Havasu Falls in the Grand Canyon and camped for a couple of nights. We stayed at a ranch in Tucson and rode horses in the mountains, with plenty of great sightseeing between the two.
Tanque Verde Ranch is the ranch in Tucson.
This post was edited on 7/31/23 at 7:02 pm
Posted on 7/31/23 at 7:03 pm to VanRIch
I've driven through all these states multiple times (Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska, and of course Texas).
These states are HUGE..They are all 2-3 times larger than Louisiana. Think of driving on I-10 from Texas to Mississippi-approximately 4 hours. Then double or triple that to get across some of those states..
Plan accordingly for travel time in the car.
These states are HUGE..They are all 2-3 times larger than Louisiana. Think of driving on I-10 from Texas to Mississippi-approximately 4 hours. Then double or triple that to get across some of those states..
Plan accordingly for travel time in the car.
Posted on 8/1/23 at 1:22 pm to Decker
quote:
Fly into Jackson and do both Grand Teton and Yellowstone. Raft on the snake river. Fly fish in Yellowstone. I’d recommend lodging outside of the park.
This. Or save quite a bit on airfare/car and fly into SLC. It's a beautiful drive from SLC to Jackson.
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