Wife and I have been talking about going to Yellowstone for a few years now. Next summer seems to be lining up for an opportunity to go. I have an 8 year old who will be fine. She enjoys being outdoors and I think she will enjoy the trip. I’ll also have baby that will just be turning 1 next spring. Is it a terrible idea to take a baby to Yellowstone? My gut tells me it won’t be as enjoyable with a young baby but I’ve never been, so maybe it’ll be ok.
OT: Yellowstone (not the show)
- Thread starter ronpolk
- Start date
The main thing that would worry me with a small one would be the string smells from down of the sulfur hot springs. If you think that wouldn't bother them then go for it. Once in a lifetime trip.
Depends on how you envision moving the child around some of the more dangerous areas. If you are just going to muscle them up and lug them around in a pouch or backpack kid carrier, it will be fine. But there were some areas there I would be extremely nervous having a toddler roaming free who could get away and get into a pickle before you realized it. Yellowstone is generally very safe if you stay on the paths and trails and follow the rules. But it doesn’t take too far off a path at a hot spring or Grand Canyon of Yellowstone hiking trail to really end up in a bad situation.
But Yellowstone and the Tetons are phenomenal and a must see in your life. It’s an absolutely amazing trip.
If going without the baby is an option, then yes, it is a terrible idea. That's an awesome trip with a lot to do, so there's just no reason to limit yourself if you don't have to. But if going without the baby isn't an option, that just depends on you and your wife......personally, I wouldn't go anywhere besides the beach with a kid that young.
It is an amazing place. It will be hard on children. You will spend most of your time driving as the park is enormous. When you aren’t driving you will be walking. You can go all day long for 3 days and still not see everything. They have places to eat in the park but it’s very crowded and hard to find seating.
not trying to discourage you - as a parent I am sure you are used to these issues.
not trying to discourage you - as a parent I am sure you are used to these issues.
Thanks everyone for the responses. The kid not going isn’t an option. But going this summer is. I’m in the camp of wait till he’s older. I’ve gone on a few Elk hunts in Colorado and Idaho, so I know what’s it’s like to walk around and hike with 20-30 pounds on your back. Not necessarily a fun experience but it is doable. We have some family that live in Bozeman and have been after us to come visit for a while. So, that is part of the reason to go too.
Well if you want to see everything in the park w/o the crowds go on the snowmobile guided trip. We went 3 days and traveled 275 miles in late Feb or March couple years ago. Stayed in hotels at night, had awesome food (all you could eat off the menu), the guide was awesome! Only problem with kids you couldn't do this, outfitter we booked furnish all the outer wear. Beautiful trip it was!
Even worse than the travel itself is the destination due to all of the new outdoor enthusiasts. Tons of new RVers on the road this year and next. Just drove through Wyoming on 80 and it was a graveyard of brand new pull behind travel trailers that had flipped over in high winds. Dozens.
Talked to a friend that bought one recently and he said most people are ordering and taking delivery next year because of availability. All those people are going to parks next summer. The RV industry expects 20% growth iover this year. 2021 is the year of yuppie noob RV enthusiasts. 2023 will be the year of super cheap used RV's.
Talked to a friend that bought one recently and he said most people are ordering and taking delivery next year because of availability. All those people are going to parks next summer. The RV industry expects 20% growth iover this year. 2021 is the year of yuppie noob RV enthusiasts. 2023 will be the year of super cheap used RV's.
This may be the more realistic option for next year. We could make a day trip out of some of Yellowstone that is near Bozeman. The only bummer about that is I would really like to see Tetons as much as Yellowstone.
I've been multiple times. Big fan. If you're planning on it being a one-time trip, I'd wait until the kid is old enough to walk over a mile on his own and know not to run off the bridges onto ground that appears solid but isn't.
That said, it's somewhat dependent on what you want to do. You could rent a car and see a lot of it without too much walking. If you've done elk hunts, I'm sure you could handle carrying the kid when needed. There are some walks around Old Faithful and the Mud Volcano that aren't bad. To see the good view of grand prismatic, you would have to walk 1-1.5, some of which is a climb, but it's not terrible and easy to take a break if you need to.
Yellowstone was actually pretty busy this summer. This year my first time going in October, which was nice -- it was right as things were shutting down and it wasn't crowded. I'd definitely recommend staying in the park one night near Lamar Valley, so you can see the animals at sunrise -- at Tower, or the campsites at Slough or Pebble. You could also do Mammoth, which has a bit more stuff, but driving to Lamar from Mammoth in the dark is sketchy because you run into lots of elk near mammoth and usually a lot of bison before you hit Lamar. I stayed in Canyon this year. The road from canyon to tower was closed this fall, so I had to drive in the dark to Mammoth, which wasn't awful, but if the sun hadn't started rising at that point, I could've run into trouble -- lots of bison road blocks.
Love Bozeman as well. If you're not staying with family, there's a new Kimpton that just opened downtown that's nice w/ a good restaurant and a big rooftop bar. Lots of places to check out in downtown Bozeman. Had two makers on the rocks and my wife had a stella for $11 at crystal bar. Not used to seeing prices like that where we live.
That said, it's somewhat dependent on what you want to do. You could rent a car and see a lot of it without too much walking. If you've done elk hunts, I'm sure you could handle carrying the kid when needed. There are some walks around Old Faithful and the Mud Volcano that aren't bad. To see the good view of grand prismatic, you would have to walk 1-1.5, some of which is a climb, but it's not terrible and easy to take a break if you need to.
Yellowstone was actually pretty busy this summer. This year my first time going in October, which was nice -- it was right as things were shutting down and it wasn't crowded. I'd definitely recommend staying in the park one night near Lamar Valley, so you can see the animals at sunrise -- at Tower, or the campsites at Slough or Pebble. You could also do Mammoth, which has a bit more stuff, but driving to Lamar from Mammoth in the dark is sketchy because you run into lots of elk near mammoth and usually a lot of bison before you hit Lamar. I stayed in Canyon this year. The road from canyon to tower was closed this fall, so I had to drive in the dark to Mammoth, which wasn't awful, but if the sun hadn't started rising at that point, I could've run into trouble -- lots of bison road blocks.
Love Bozeman as well. If you're not staying with family, there's a new Kimpton that just opened downtown that's nice w/ a good restaurant and a big rooftop bar. Lots of places to check out in downtown Bozeman. Had two makers on the rocks and my wife had a stella for $11 at crystal bar. Not used to seeing prices like that where we live.
Bozeman is great place, if I could convince the wife we would move there in a heart beat. I go up there fishing every couple of years and we usually spend a night or two there. The down side is it will cost you an arm and a leg to fly in and out of. We now fly into Billings for about half the cost and drive over to Bozeman (about 2 hrs). I've never made it north of I90 but Glacier is on my list for my trip in 2021 (had trip planed back in August).
To be honest if you can swing it I would go before world travel opens up. The last I was in the park it was full of Asian tourist and the main attractions were very crowded. I can't count the number of times I was hit with selfie sticks and solar umbrellas.
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See my other post, but if you want to see Tetons, Yellowstone, and Bozeman... one option could be to fly into Jackson, spend a couple days there doing hiking in Tetons, fishing, seeing Jenny Lake, restaurants, galleries, whatever - see the Tetons but keep it chill. Then get up early on Yellowstone day and drive through Tetons then when you get to Yellowstone head to Old Faithful/Grand Prismatic first, backtrack to the lake, see the mud volcano, then head north to the canyon and keep going to spend the night at Tower. Most of the tourist stuff is done by that point, and you can wake up early the next morning to see the sunrise in Lamar valley then drive over to Mammoth and head to Bozeman from there.
Yep, just like real estate. Buy low, sell high. Easy to say, difficult to do. Over this past year it's been extremely hard not to fall victim to these things like buying an RV, but it's the right call. For right now, I'm sticking to the local stuff for my hiking/exploring. Or....you have to go to the harder stuff.
spent a lot of my teenage and college summers around the park. spent a lot of time Gardiner, West Yellowstone, and down in Jackson. I would be there for months at a time. I loved it. One of the best and most beautiful places in the states. So much to see and explore. I would be warry of carrying a baby as there are many features that could make that difficult. If you wanted to hike or anything that could be difficult if they can't walk yet that might be better but you will still have to lug them along. Also be careful with the 8 year old. Remember the wild animals are still wild and can hurt you. I used to see so many tourist come to the park and get way to close the buffalo. Several have been hurt or killed. There are also a few people that fall off cliffs taking pictures and step off the paths and get hurt or killed by thermal features. So, stay on the trails. That being said beautiful wild country. Great white water rafting, fishing, camping, site seeing trip. check out the tetons while in there area. Horse back ride through the park if that is something that interests you. Beartooth Pass is striking before the north east entrance, plus you have old west stuff in Cody that you can do. Gardiner is quaint little town. Watch out for tourist price hikes in summer times with prices. West Yellowstone is tourist trap. Jackson, you can find some decent hotels, but can get pricey even for a motel 6. Plenty of RV and camping places and cabins. You can easily fly in to Salt Lake about 6 hour drive up or fly in to Bozeman then drive down about an hour to hour and half. I had some good memories working with the locals there.
^^^ This ^^^
Bozeman is a cool town -- you'll enjoy the downtown area. Every Thursday evening in the summer they block off the downtown main drag for bands, bars extend their seating outside, etc.
You'll see a lot of wildlife (and visitors) in Yellowstone. Expect a lot of cars, a lot of visitors, and waiting to get in the park. Yellowstone is beautiful, but you should try to make an excursion to Glacier. Probably one of the best parks I've ever been to. Great hiking, awesome scenery, and not as many people as Yellowstone. If you can, spend a day or two in Whitefish if you are planning a Glacier. Great little town.
Whatever you choose, you'll have a great time in Yellowstone.
BB
Bozeman is a cool town -- you'll enjoy the downtown area. Every Thursday evening in the summer they block off the downtown main drag for bands, bars extend their seating outside, etc.
You'll see a lot of wildlife (and visitors) in Yellowstone. Expect a lot of cars, a lot of visitors, and waiting to get in the park. Yellowstone is beautiful, but you should try to make an excursion to Glacier. Probably one of the best parks I've ever been to. Great hiking, awesome scenery, and not as many people as Yellowstone. If you can, spend a day or two in Whitefish if you are planning a Glacier. Great little town.
Whatever you choose, you'll have a great time in Yellowstone.
BB
If you only go once, I would wait until your second child is older and can enjoy and remember the trip.
If you wanna go to Yellowstone wait until the final week before shutdown, I think its in Oct. We sandwiched yellowstone for 5 days on the front end, BYU game in Provo (what a bunch of arrogant axxholes out there) then Bryces Canyon and Zion National Park on the back end. No crowds. It was fantastic. But be prepared for them to be out of some menu items in the lodge bars/restaurants. and somewhat limited open-hours.
I agree that small children and Yellowstone = not great idea.
I agree that small children and Yellowstone = not great idea.
I was gonna post something similar, this is spot on, particularly lamar valley. It doesn't have to be once in a lifetime. I've been 3 times and keep finding new better ways to do it. If this year works, try it.
As others said, keep kids on the trail, it's a real issue.
Now the RV reply from JoeLeeSocks is a good point... really good, and made me think about waiting a year, as I also was planning a trip in 2021. but you can put a kid in a backpack and enjoy it. I
It's not going anywhere, unless it blows up and destroys the continent.
I would definitely wait until kids are bigger. With that being said NE Wyoming is truly magnificent! Been there more than 10 times and now that I am retired I hope to go every year for as long as I can. The crowds get better after Labor Day. I love animal watching in Yellowstone. Hoping to hone my fly fishing skills on those cutthroat trout too. Also, if you can ever go on a pack trip / hunting trip / fishing trip, into the Wyoming back Country it will, as Ted Nugget says, cleanse the soul. Doing a Wyoming antelope hunt in 2021, a Wyoming elk hunt in 2022, and just about to book a Wyoming mule deer hunt for 2023. Winters are rough but otherwise it is just an incredible State for those that love the outdoors. Just reading these post makes me wish I was there now!
I told myself when I first saw Yellowstone at 20 years old that if I could ever earn a decent wage, I would move there. 20 years later, the dream is fulfilled.
We passed on WY and MT because of the super harsh winters and decided on Boise. ID has 34 million acres of public hunting land which is technically 4th, but most of NV and CA is desert land not viable for game. So practically only Alaska has more public hunting land than ID. The entire state of MS is 30 million ares for reference.
Boise is actually quite warm too. At 2700' it has 4 real seasons including 100° days in the summer and only gets 18" of snowfall annually. Salt Lake City gets 53" and Bozeman gets 73". I like the snow and don't mind the cold, but 6' of snowfall a year is unbearable.
Within 2-3 hours we have 6 ski resorts. Sun Valley included and is one of the best in the country, plus Bogus Basin basically in town. I'm just over 5 hours from West Yellowstone. ID has arguably the best fly fishing in the country including the Boise river which is a 10 minute walk from the back door of my house. 5 minutes out the front door is a trailhead to the Ridges to Rivers trail system with nearly 300 miles of running, biking, hiking, horseback, and motorized trails in the hills overlooking the city. 35 minutes up the road in either direction is class II-IV white water rafting and kayaking.
2.5 hours away is probably the coolest place many have never heard of... The Sawtooth Wilderness. I have not hit the trails yet as we just moved here last week and the snow is too deep, but I took the family on the scenic drive this weekend and whoa. Not is big and famous as the Tetons, but the same feel to me. I'm really looking forward to the spring. It's supposed to be a backpacking paradise without the crowds of more popular destinations.
My game plan is to focus on the seasons and take advantage with my two young boys. Winter -ski and snow machine adventures. Spring - fly fishing, hiking, and backpacking. Summer fly fishing, kayaking, mountain biking, and hiking. Fall - hunting and backpacking.
I bring all this up because I'm going to throw a standing offer out. We are building a new house that will complete this summer. We are specifically adding a private guest suite and oversized garage for extra gear and a vehicle. I'm going to turn my truck into the family adventure vehicle and get a new car for work/daily driver. So by next fall, if any of you looking to travel up this way I am willing to let you borrow my pickup (crew cab f150 with camper shell), any gear you may need that I am not using during the time period, and will even let you crash at Casa De Socks on your way in and out. The Boise airport flies direct to DFW, Houston, and Atlanta so most on this board should be able to get with a direct or one stop flight.
In a few years, I hope to be really up to par on the Idaho hunting and fishing scene. At that point we could look at a group elk, mule deer, and pheasant hunt that doesn't require breaking the bank. So Pilgrim, keep 2024 open on your calendar, you may be coming to Idaho.*
So if any of you are looking for family adventures or men's group getaways to the outdoors in the coming years like fly fishing, backpacking, snow skiing, kayaking, or big game hunting, just let me know. What's mine is yours if you come this way.
All I expect in return is to have a lot of options for where I am tailgating when I come back for games.*
ETA. A few pics from the first week.
Start of the trail by my house and my headless 6 year old.
View attachment 18786
View from where we turned around.View attachment 18787
Sawtooth Mountains
View attachment 18788
Another view from Stanley ID.
View attachment 18789
Stock photo of Toxaway Lake in the Sawtooth Wilderness.. will replace it with my own photo this Spring.
View attachment 18790
Next year's freezer filling.
View attachment 18791
View out the front window of my rental.
View attachment 18792
Site prep on my new house.
View attachment 18793
We passed on WY and MT because of the super harsh winters and decided on Boise. ID has 34 million acres of public hunting land which is technically 4th, but most of NV and CA is desert land not viable for game. So practically only Alaska has more public hunting land than ID. The entire state of MS is 30 million ares for reference.
Boise is actually quite warm too. At 2700' it has 4 real seasons including 100° days in the summer and only gets 18" of snowfall annually. Salt Lake City gets 53" and Bozeman gets 73". I like the snow and don't mind the cold, but 6' of snowfall a year is unbearable.
Within 2-3 hours we have 6 ski resorts. Sun Valley included and is one of the best in the country, plus Bogus Basin basically in town. I'm just over 5 hours from West Yellowstone. ID has arguably the best fly fishing in the country including the Boise river which is a 10 minute walk from the back door of my house. 5 minutes out the front door is a trailhead to the Ridges to Rivers trail system with nearly 300 miles of running, biking, hiking, horseback, and motorized trails in the hills overlooking the city. 35 minutes up the road in either direction is class II-IV white water rafting and kayaking.
2.5 hours away is probably the coolest place many have never heard of... The Sawtooth Wilderness. I have not hit the trails yet as we just moved here last week and the snow is too deep, but I took the family on the scenic drive this weekend and whoa. Not is big and famous as the Tetons, but the same feel to me. I'm really looking forward to the spring. It's supposed to be a backpacking paradise without the crowds of more popular destinations.
My game plan is to focus on the seasons and take advantage with my two young boys. Winter -ski and snow machine adventures. Spring - fly fishing, hiking, and backpacking. Summer fly fishing, kayaking, mountain biking, and hiking. Fall - hunting and backpacking.
I bring all this up because I'm going to throw a standing offer out. We are building a new house that will complete this summer. We are specifically adding a private guest suite and oversized garage for extra gear and a vehicle. I'm going to turn my truck into the family adventure vehicle and get a new car for work/daily driver. So by next fall, if any of you looking to travel up this way I am willing to let you borrow my pickup (crew cab f150 with camper shell), any gear you may need that I am not using during the time period, and will even let you crash at Casa De Socks on your way in and out. The Boise airport flies direct to DFW, Houston, and Atlanta so most on this board should be able to get with a direct or one stop flight.
In a few years, I hope to be really up to par on the Idaho hunting and fishing scene. At that point we could look at a group elk, mule deer, and pheasant hunt that doesn't require breaking the bank. So Pilgrim, keep 2024 open on your calendar, you may be coming to Idaho.*
So if any of you are looking for family adventures or men's group getaways to the outdoors in the coming years like fly fishing, backpacking, snow skiing, kayaking, or big game hunting, just let me know. What's mine is yours if you come this way.
All I expect in return is to have a lot of options for where I am tailgating when I come back for games.*
ETA. A few pics from the first week.
Start of the trail by my house and my headless 6 year old.
View attachment 18786
View from where we turned around.View attachment 18787
Sawtooth Mountains
View attachment 18788
Another view from Stanley ID.
View attachment 18789
Stock photo of Toxaway Lake in the Sawtooth Wilderness.. will replace it with my own photo this Spring.
View attachment 18790
Next year's freezer filling.
View attachment 18791
View out the front window of my rental.
View attachment 18792
Site prep on my new house.
View attachment 18793
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Yeah. I am torn between carrying bear spray or a Smith and Wesson 500. May go with both and do some extra squats this winter to tote the extra weight.
First time I went. Had an 8 wk old. A 2 year old and a 6 year old. Loved if. Rented a motor home and baby did great. Kids loved it. Would go every year if everyone else liked it as much as me.
Man that looks awesome. Very happy you’re getting to live out a dream. I’ve done some elk hunting in Idaho and I concur with your thoughts, if I were moving out west it would definitely be Idaho. When I went there it was really the first time I’d been out west, I was mesmerized. If it were not for cold winters, I’m convinced everyone in the US would want to live there.
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