Summer trip to the Mountains/West

After a year of being cooped up like everyone else, I want to get my family out to the mountains. Seems like the two major options are Jackson/Tetons/Yellowstone and Colorado. Maybe Montana too though that’s a tougher trip from NYC. We have a 7 and 4 year old so extreme adventure is not on our list. Anyone done a similar summer trip (looking at late June) with young kids and have any suggestions for places to go and stay? Neither I nor my wife have ever been out west (we aren’t ski-iers) so I know zero about the options. Really open to anything, just need to get out! At this point I imagine pickings are getting slimmer - just looking it seems like the hotels within Yellowstone are booked, for example.
Thanks!

I live in a tourist area in the Rocky Mountain West and near five national parks: Arches, Canyonlands, Black Canyon, Colorado National and Dinosaur. We are already seeing way more people than usual at this time of the year. Talking to people at the winery I work at, they also tell me the parks and other towns nearby are packed.

I keep reading stories about National Parks and other popular areas seeing record visitation. The remote mountain valley in Washington where we go to XC ski in the winter was overrun.
It wasn’t just skiers. Fat tire bikes, snow mobiles, snowshoers, people working remotely from wood stove heated cabins with a satellite internet connection.

I’d say, find a resort on the edge of a wild area (or inside if you are really lucky), and book ASAP. Don’t plan a trip that relies on moving around day by day. Not sure why Montana would be tougher than WY or CO.
Mountains are astounding. I hope it works out.

Maybe Canada will open up again.

Slight edit- Don’t rule out NM for June. Some mountain locations in CO, MT, and WY are still snow covered then.

We did Chicago->Tetons->Yellowstone->Devil’s Tower->Dead Wood->Rushmore/Jewel Cave/Wind Cave->Badlands in June of 2010. My son was six and daughter was four. An epic road trip lasting two weeks. We camped in Yellowstone during a snowstorm. I really love Yellowstone — by far my favorite National Park.

This! Canadian Rockies have the most beautiful scenery I have ever witnessed. Not sure how exciting for the kiddos though.

Go further West, Yosemite!

Wow. That is impressive. I think we’d all be ready to never speak to each other again after that much driving!

I’ll email you separately, but to state it here briefly: the month+ we spent with the kids last summer (7yo and 5yo at the time) in Telluride was one of the most magical times of my life. You should absolutely do it. Hiking and biking and rafting and fishing and waterfalls and wildlife and pure magic. We also spent a few weeks in Beaver Creek later in the summer, which was also great but not quite on the same level.

Don’t count on it. Everything so far suggests non-essential travel will stay closed for a while. We’re well behind most of the US in vaccinations.

You’d think that but in 2011 we did Chicago->Jasper NP->Banff NP->Glacier NP->Teddy Roosevelt NP. The kids did a 10 mile hike in Glacier that year (photo below).

One short story about Teddy Roosevelt NP: I’m at the ranger station asking about hikes. You can hike to Teddy’s cabin. The ranger begins by explaining that you have to wade through a river. So I’m listening intently and writing stuff down and my wife says, “No. Just stop. Are you crazy?” Instead we hiked through a petrified forest during a lightning storm (my wife and daughter pictured below as we scrambled back to our car). The badlands soil there turns to a slick mud when wet. Our boots were absolutely disgusting. Luckily that was our last stop. I drove through straight home the next day. Teddy Roosevelt NP might be the most underrated of all the parks.

Just thinking about driving through Alberta and the beauty we saw gets me emotional.
Glacier.jpg
Teddy.jpg

Telluride sucks, I wouldn’t waste my time going there. Last summer was a joke, the town was packed all the time with Texans with there ATV’s, hard to get a dinner reservation, all the hiking trails were full and very unfriendly locals. I would recommend Montana.

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Well that’s another way to look at it.

Montana certainly an option too. A lot of the ranches look to be full all summer though.

As noted things in the high country will remain much more crowded than normal. So lodging and popular trails will be busy. Normally I would suggest staying near a nice national park and doing some day trips but expect lodging to be hard. There is a much larger supply of lodging near any of the ski areas and many nice trails as well. Once you avoid the easiest and closest access trails the people density should not be an issue. A 30 minute (or less) drive is generally about all it takes to avoid crowds. Most people simply want to walk from their hotel along a creek or something.

If in CO consider visiting Boulder as the views are great and some excellent restaurants. Many trails there as well and all of which see a good amt of people but certainly not packed. Allow some time to acclimate to elevation as in CO the resort towns are 8,000 ft, and the lowlands of Denver and the front range at 5,000 ft.

I raised three kids those ages in CO and quite easy to get them outside walking or doing whatever you want.

Look at where he’s from. I don’t think he actually thinks Telluride sucks or that locals are unfriendly.

That said, it did get pretty crowded by the end of our time there. For the first half of June, it was empty (and glorious). By early July, it was pretty bustling.

I imagine this year will be much busier as people want to travel and Europe is basically off limits! I guess fewer tourists from overseas though.

Last summer was the busiest I have ever seen in the CO high country. By far. I am guessing this summer will be similar.

Here’s a thread from a couple of years ago. Suggestions for Grand Tetons, Yellowstone & Environs -TRIP REPORT ADDED - Travel, Wine Tourism, and Restaurants Forum - WineBerserkers

Thanks for the posts so far, keep em coming! As much as I would like to do a tour of the parks seems tough right now as most of the in park accomodations are booked solid everywhere. Possibly thought right now is fly to Denver, spend a couple nights there or boulder to get acclimated. Then make our way to telluride (stop in breck? Or somewhere else?) And spend the last 4 nights or so there.

Jackson seems possible but with all the Yellowstone and Teton hotels full maybe better for another year.

How many days do you have? What kind of country do you want to see/visit? Anything in particular that you want to do? The West is kinda big… I grew up in Montana, spent summers in Nevada, born in AZ, moved to Alaska in my teens. I just bought property in southern Colo to build a retirement home on. Guess I’m saying I’ve spent a few decades all over the West. You have soooooo many options and choices to make. So much beautiful country to see, even the flatlands have their own kind of beauty.

The simple fact is that the parks will be super busy this summer. No avoiding that fact. As Michael says, there are a lot of places to visit. One of the questions you need to ask yourself is how much driving do you want to do?

Btw, I regularly take direct flights from NYC into Bozeman to go skiing, so access to Montana shouldn’t be an issue.

At risk of dating myself, I worked at Bridger (ski patrol) in the early 80’s… Skied for “free” during the weekends. So many memories…

Two years ago, the misses and I traveled around in a rental car, hitting ski towns and just winging it. We flew into Albuquerque, New Mexico. Rented a car and drove north through Durango. Spent a couple of nights there, then up through Silvertone to Telluride (by route of Ophir Pass, which is a stunning drive). Spent a couple nights in Telluride, then backtracked to Pagosa Springs through Durango. Spent a couple days there. We then drove north again through Salida, to Breckinridge. Stayed there a couple of nights, then carried on to Grand Lake and stayed there. We then drove to Jackson, via Steamboat Springs. After a night in Jackson, we buzzed over to Macall Idaho for a night, then continued north to Sandpoint. Stayed a couple of nights there, then to Walla Walla. Met a couple of friends and spent three days wine tasting. Then we drove to Leavenworth, Wa and stayed there during the Octoberfest event. After that, we drove to Seattle, dropped off the car, and then took a flight home. If I were to do it again, I’d stretch it out another week and spend more time doing things, like hiking/biking in the towns we stopped at. The trip felt rushed, even though it was roughly three weeks.