What I learned from my trip to Yellowstone National Park with the Carful of Kids

The carful of kids left Central Texas to explore the Rocky Mountains; we stopped by the Black Hills of South Dakota and Glacier National Park. We headed across the Canadian Border to wander through Banff and Jasper national parks with a stop to explore a glacier. The last leg of our trip, we spent about a week taking the Grand Tour of Yellowstone National Park.

Yellowstone was the first national park in the world when it was created in 1872; an idea that other countries would adopt to protect the special places in their country. Yellowstone, a name derived from the descriptive French and Native American name for the area, has the highest concentration of geysers in the world and half of the world's geothermal features. All thanks to the Yellowstone Caldera, an active supervolcano.

My 12-year-old daughter loved the pools of Yellowstone.

Yellowstone is my favorite national park in North America for so many reasons. You should make every attempt to visit and experience the wonder and majestic beauty for yourself. It is a must outdoor enthusiasts.

For your First Trip to Yellowstone

I delayed the trek up to Yellowstone so my eight-year-old would be old enough to remember the trip. This trip is best for school-age kids. Yellowstone requires a fair amount of walking and the sights are more interesting to older kids.

My eight-year-old son enjoyed looking for animals, like this bison.

For your first trip to Yellowstone with your family, I suggest the Grand Tour, the circular tour that the first visitors took over 100 years ago. You can map your own Grand Tour starting from any of the five different entrances--though the West Yellowstone and Jackson Hole Entrances are the most crowded.

I suggest that you spend at least four days in Yellowstone National Park. There is so much ground to cover and each area is unique. If you are visiting Grand Teton and Yellowstone in the same trip, I found you can see the majority of Grand Teton in one day.

The carful of kids played games on the mezzanine of the Old Faithful Inn.

On your first trip, stay in several different locations. My first trip to YNP, we camped in the Canyon Campground and drove from there. I have to say, that was too much driving. Stay inside the boundaries of YNP; the park is larger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined. You will spend a lot of your time getting into and out of the park if you stay outside of YNP.

On my first trip to Yellowstone NP we didn't plan ahead and make reservations. MAKE RESERVATIONS as soon as you decide to visit YNP. To get a room in the Old Faithful Inn during the high season (July and August) will require reservations more than six months in advance.

The two nights at the Old Faithful Inn were a highlight for everyone. 

When the carful of kids decided to visit Yellowstone, it was January. I started researching and reserving rooms and found the majority of rooms were booked already. Remember, you can reserve lodging in YNP 13 months in advance. I checked for cancellations religiously through the website and was able to reserve the places I wanted.

I will tell you the brutal truth, the older I get, the less I like to tent camp. In Yellowstone, I found the camping crowded and cramped. Showers were not included. Depending on the fire danger, you might not be able cook outside with a flame. The RV sites are also very limited.

The Best Areas in Yellowstone for Kids

No trip to Yellowstone is complete without visiting Old Faithful Inn and Old Faithful Geyser that erupts every 35 to 120 minutes with a certain amount of predictability. The geyser basin is great for kids and should be explored; spend at least a day in this area, more time if you have it.

Some rooms don't have attached bathrooms but this is one of the Tub Rooms.

I reserved two nights in the original section of Old Faithful Inn, it might be one of my favorite hotels ever. There are cabins in the Old Faithful area as well.

I really liked the Roosevelt Lodge, up at the Tower-Roosevelt Junction in the Northeast corner of YNP. The cabins are great for families and the Old West Cookout should not be missed. Reservations area must for this excursion.

The kids loved the stove in the cabin at Roosevelt Lodge.

Mammoth Hot Springs is a great area for families since the kids enjoyed climbing the terraces to see the travertine towers. The elk in this area will grab your kids attention too. The Mammoth Hot Springs Cabins are a great choice for families, like all the cabins in Yellowstone NP.

Animals of Yellowstone

The animal viewing in Yellowstone is better than any of the other national parks that I have visited. It is really hard not to see animals, they are everywhere. For the best opportunity to see bears or wolves spend some time in Hayden Valley or Lamar Valley at dusk or dawn.

Bison and Elk are fairly easy to see in Yellowstone National Park.

Getting to Yellowstone

Most visitors drive up through the southern entrance at Jackson Hole, I did the first time. This time we drove south into the park from Bozeman after picking up Dad at the airport.

If you are flying in and renting a car, I recommend Bozeman. It is less expensive to fly and stay overnight in Bozeman instead of Jackson, Wyoming. The shopping is plentiful with all the grocery stores and outdoor outfitters located within a few miles of each other. You will not find touristy attractions in Bozeman however.

The Antler Arches of Jackson Hole, Wyoming are a great photo op.

For that reason, you might prefer Jackson, Wyoming, it has plenty of souvenir shopping and the antler arches at the Jackson Hole Town Square is a photo op that should not be missed.

Basic Information 

Yellowstone National Park is open every day and the 7-day admission is $30 for a private vehicle or you can purchase an annual America the Beautiful Pass for $80 to gain entry into the majority of the national parks and monuments. There are seasonal road closures in the majority of the park except for the North and Northeast Entrance that are open year-round to vehicle traffic. There can be a wait to get into the park at the entrances.

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