Giggles & Getaways

As my little one almost turned one, we took the trip we had always wanted to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks in June 2023.
Yellowstone National Park, America’s first national park, is famous for its active geysers, diverse wildlife, and unique landscapes. The park is also very kid-friendly; my little one had a blast on the trip.
Grand Teton surprised us with its enchanting beauty, becoming our favorite national park.

Itinerary:

Day 1: Flight to Salt Lake, UT.

— Grand Teton National Park: 1.5 days —

Day 2: Drove from Salt Lake, UT, to Jackson Hole, WY, and visited Grand Teton National Parks.

Day 3: Explored Grand Teton National Parks.  

— Yellowstone National Park: 3.5 days —

Day 4: Drove Jackson Hole, WY, to Gardiner, MT, and visited Yellowstone: West Thumb Geyser Basin.

Day 5: Yellowstone: Mammoth & Lamar Valley

Day 6: Yellowstone: Yellowstone River & Norris Geyser Basin

Day 7: Yellowstone: Old Faithful, Morning Glory & Grand Prismatic Overlook 

—Idoha Falls & Salt Lake City: 3 days —

Day 8: Drove from Gardiner, MT, to Idoha Falls, ID.

Day 9: Drove from Idoha Falls, ID to Salt Lake City.

Day 10: Explore Salt Lake City.

Day 11: Flight back from Salt Lake, UT.  

Salt Lake, UT

Day 1: Flight to Salt Lake, UT.

We flew with United Airlines on a Friday afternoon, a great way to take advantage of summer Fridays. My son’s first flight was surprisingly a breeze. He loved to make friends with other passengers. He had a great time with Zoey, a 15-year-old girl, and her dad, who were in the seats behind us, using his body language alone. We were so surprised by his ability to connect with other people.

After getting our rental car, we drove to our Airbnb, which was 30′ away from the airport. It was nearly midnight, and everyone was tired. We kept ringing the door, but no one opened. After messaging the host via the Airbnb app, we learned that they got the dates mixed up. We spent over 30 minutes waiting for them to fix up our rooms for us.

Tip: Always message your host prior to coming just to make sure!

Grand Teton National Park

Day 2: Drove to Jackson Hole, WY, and visted Grand Teton National Parks.

Proper meals, a clean shower, and a good night’s sleep maximize our trip enjoyment. I packed sticky rice and boiled eggs for lunch. We often bring rice cooker and rice with us wherever we go. Since most of the destinations we visited were far from the city or town centers, we prefer to Airbnb and cook to have good and affordable meals.

The I89 route to Jackson Hole is so beautiful. My son was so excited. We stopped by Snake River, Paris Town, and Salt River Pass Scenic Overlook.

We arrived in Jackson Hole, WY, around 5 p.m. and spent two nights there. It is only seven minutes drive from Grand Teton’s west entrance. We prioritized convenience over affordability on this trip because we had a little one.

Day 3: Explored Grand Teton National Park and Jackson Hole.

Although Grand Teton National Park is smaller than Yellowstone National Park, I find it more beautiful. Its iconic snow-capped Teton Mountain, serene lakes, and diverse wildlife make every picture you take look perfect. Along our way, we occasionally spotted a moose or two grazing on the grass. My son jumped with joy when seeing them. We have our best memories captured in these pictures. We picked two easy trails around the lake to enjoy the view and took as many pictures as possible. After the trip, Grand Teton became one of my favorite US national parks.

After dinner, we walked around Jackson Hole’s town center. It is a pretty exciting cowboy town that serves tourists and amazes kids 🦬 🦬.

Yellowstone National Park

Day 4: West Thumb Geyser Basin via South Rim

Our next accommodation was in Gardiner Town, a small, lovely, and expensive tourist area. It is the closest place we can stay to access Yellowstone via its North Entrance. We went along the south rim to check out the West Thumb Geyser Basin area.

Morning: Great Thumb Geyser Basin

The Great Thumb Geyser Basin trail passes many beautiful viewpoints, such as Bluebell Pool, Lakeshore Geyser, and Abyss Pool. Our pictures couldn’t do it justice. We spent the whole morning walking the trail. We were also thrilled that my son had the chance to see the moose up close.

A fun fact about the geysers? It smells like a rotten egg! No kidding! 👎

Lunch: Gull Point Picnic Area

As usual, I brought home-cooked food for lunch. We drove to the Gull Point Picnic Area for lunch with a view 🙂 The view didn’t disappoint us; however, the picnic area was so windy and cold that we had to leave quickly.

Afternoon: Upper Falls View

We continued driving north towards Gardiner along the Yellowstone River, stopping at Upper Falls View. It was one of the most breathtaking scenic routes I had ever seen. I could not get enough of the green meadow and bison-gazing view here.

The Upper Falls didn’t impress me as much as I had expected, given that I had already seen Utah’s Mighty Five. However, my husband has a thing for falls, so he loved it a lot.

We arrived at Gardiner, MT, around 5 pm and went for dinner in town.

Day 5: Mammoth & Lamar Valley

Morning: Mammoth Hot Springs & Wraith Falls Trail.

The next day, we visited the Mammoth Hot Springs area. There were so many interesting scientific facts here that we thought our son would want to return as he grew up. The viewpoints we stopped by include New Blue Spring, Mound Spring, Mammoth Terrace Trail, Devil Thumb, and Palette Spring.

Lunch: Soda Butt Creek. 

After Wraith Falls Trail, which was good, we drove to Soda Butt Creek to get another lunch with a great view. This time, we ate next to a beautiful creek, which really helped because we still had sticky rice, sausages, and boiled eggs for lunch.

Afternoon: Lamar Valley  – my favorite!

I loved Lamar Valley! You could frequently spot moose and bison. The green meadows made everything look perfect, like in the movie. Many other travel blogs also consider this to be among the top five to check out in Yellowstone. However, we couldn’t finish the Lamar River Trail because of the heavy rain, so we returned home early.

Tip: Always pack your raincoat when visiting Yellowstone.

Day 6: Yellowstone River & Norris Geyser Basin

Morning: Upper & Lower Falls. 

My son jumped for joy as he watched the falls. Our family had a great hike to check out Brink of Upper Falls, Brink of Lower Falls, and Grand Canyon of The Yellowstone: North Rim Trail. If you cannot do both, I recommend Brink of Lower Falls (image below) over Upper Falls View.

Lunch:

This time, we enjoyed the view down the valley along Grand Loop. The picnic blanket finally became helpful.

Afternoon: Norris Geyser Basin Trail 

Many more geysers and pools to check out: Porceline Springs, Ledge Geyser, Minute Geyser, Norris Back Basin, Yellow Mud Pool, Black Hermit Caldron. They all looked great but were not significantly different from what we had seen in the Mammoth Springs area.

Day 7: Old Faithful, Morning Glory & Grand Prismatic Spring – Save the best for the last!

Morning: Old Faithful & Morning Glory Pool

Although Old Faithful offered many incredible viewpoints, seeing it on our fourth day made the experience feel repetitive. I would switch Day 7 to Day 5. My husband’s strategy of checking out destinations from least to most excited didn’t seem ideal for such a long trip.

Morning Glory Pool, one of the top three views to see in Yellowstone, motivated our very long hike along the Upper Geyser HI Trail on Day 7. The trail was beautiful and flat, but by our seventh day on the road, it started to feel very long. The pool is also smaller than I expected.

We ate lunch while hiking back to the parking lot.

Afternoon: Grand Prismatic Spring.

Grand Prismatic Spring is the best! Although it was not far to get to Grand Prismatic Spring from Old Faithful, it took us neary one hour to find a parking spot. We had to park the car very far and walk about 20′ to the Grand Prismatic Spring parking lot. That left us not much time to explore this destination. It was a pity that we could not spend the most time in the place we considered the best destination. That was our last day in Yellowstone.

Tip:  Don’t save the best for the last in such a long trip. Visit it early and when you have a lot of energy!

Idaho Falls

Day 8-9: We stayed there one night to see the city: Japanese Friendship Garden & Mesa Falls Nature Trail.

Salt Lake City

We had been to Utah multiple times but never to Salt Lake City. We were so excited to visit the city finally. However, our high level of excitement was met with similar disappointment.

Salt Lake City was super hot in the summer, so we decided to go out early morning and late afternoon.

Morning: Great Salt Lake State Park and the Railroad that divides the lake into pink and blue lakes—a disappointing morning.

Do NOT swim in the Great Salt Lake!

Great Salt Lake State Park was super dirty and smelly. There were tons of animal dead bodies and flies, so I would not recommend you come at all. I didn’t see any great places to take good pictures and just wanted to leave immediately. My husband, however, was too excited to try floating on the Great Salt Lake and swam there. It was so gross, and I firmly believe it led to his infection and ER admission several days later.

After reading travel blogs, I got so hyped about the railroad that divided the lake into pink and blue sides. This is where I got such idea: blog and video. That was the only place I was excited about in Salt Lake City. In reality, after driving 2 hours to get there per the instruction of some bloggers (through Promontory Point), all I got was some blocked, dirty, smelly streams of water. My dream was shattered!

Afternoon: Natural History Museum of Utah and The Cathedrals

We left the house around 3 pm to check out the Natural History Museum of Utah, and then the city cooled down to see the cathedrals. My son was thrilled. I was pretty sure all kids would love this.

Day 11: Home Sweet Home!

Road Trip Tips

• Flights: Many airlines offer to transport car seats or strollers for free (under two years old).
• Accommodation: Stay close to the park to explore it more and maximize enjoyment for your little one. Book far in advance if possible. It gets expensive and has limited spots during the summer.
• On the road:
  • Shorten the trip to 7-8 days. 11 days is a lot on the road with a baby.
  • Prioritize what you’d like to see most first before you get tired and just want to complete the trip. Traveling with a small one can be tiring.
  • Formula for a happy baby on the road: Stick to the baby’s daily routine (Wake up – Eat – Play – Sleep).
  • Decent food, clean showers, and good sleep make travel enjoyable.
  • Read travel bloggers’ tips with a grain of salt.
• Top Favorite Destinations:
  • Grand Teton National Park
  • Yellowstone National Park
    • Grand Prismatic Spring
    • Morning Glory
    • Lamur Valley

Have fun in Yellowstone! 👣 👣 👣