Family Travel Diaries: Yellowstone & Grand Tetons

Here is a report from a client who visited Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks this summer. To make the most of their time in Yellowstone, they booked a guided tour which gave them behind the scenes access to some of the amazing natural features. They enjoyed the guided tour so much the first day, they upgraded to a private tour for the next so that they could have an even more exclusive and personalized experience.

Below are excerpts from the travel journal written by the children:

Day 1 -We flew into Bozeman, MT on a puddle-jumper this afternoon. About a half an hour later, we were half way to 320 ranch (our “hotel”) when we saw two black bears (that were brown) and one stood up on its hind legs!... Our “hotel” actually turned out to be a historic cabin which had one bedroom- until J. found the magic door in the ceiling to the finished attic for us kids. That night was our first tour: “The S’mores Tour”. On that tour we saw old faithful erupt. When it got dark, we pulled over to a “picnic” area where we had Smores and our tour guide told us a scary story…


Day 2 – [We] took another Yellowstone tour. It was the best! This time, we went to Lamar Valley, or the Upper Loop. We saw way more animals. At the end of the tour, HUMOUNGO Bison were crazily crossing the road. There must have been hundreds of them! About half were babies, and that was totally cool.


Day 3 - Today was a crazy day. We went into Yellowstone this time to see The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. We drove up to Artist Point, and when we got there it was pouring down rain!... Anyway, the view of the canyon was absolutely beautiful! It is made of literally, “yellow” stone. Also, we saw Upper falls, which drops two times longer than Niagara Falls! The drop on Upper Falls is 309 feet! The view was excellent!

Day 4 - Today, we started a hike that was an animal trail…We were walking in places that your typical tourist would not travel. We picnicked at the top of a hill – we ate right there on the ground...

Day 5 - [We] started off the morning going horseback riding. It was the awesomist horseback ride I’ve ever been on.... J rode the biggest horse, on his first horseback ride ever! It was extremely fun!!!! We had the best views of the Teton Mountain range.

For more information about planning your family's next adventure, contact Suzette Mack, Family Travel Advisor at suzette@family-treks.com.