Fifth Avenue Forum

Has anyone here ever visited Yellowstone National Park? We're considering visiting next summer, but I'm not sure there's actually enough to do out there to fill an entire week. My daughter will be 6, so I'm also not sure how much hiking she'll be able to do.

Has anyone here ever visited Yellowstone National Park? We're considering visiting next summer, but I'm not sure there's actually enough to do out there to fill an entire week. My daughter will be 6, so I'm also not sure how much hiking she'll be able to do.

We went last year in mid-September. You will absolutely have something to do for an entire week (I argue a week is not enough). The great thing is Grand Teton National Park is only about a 2 hr drive south of Yellowstone, depending on where you stay.

Hiking is only one of the things to do at Yellowstone. My son, who was 3 at the time, wanted to hike more than we actually did. But we were limited with a 1-1/2 year old not being able to traverse some of the terrain. A 6 year old should be fine. Get a decent book about the park and it should tell you which trails are easy and which are more difficult.

If you want to see the entirety of the park, it will take you at least 4-5 days just to drive around/sight see. We missed out on some parts of the park due to road closures/snow.

Our oldest son still asks us when we will go back, so I think your daughter should enjoy it. Plenty of wild life, geysers, hot springs, terrain, etc. to keep her interested. You will most likely spend a good amount of time in the car getting to different points in the park, but if you mix that in with hikes and sightseeing, it'll be a breeze.

My biggest fear with going to Yellowstone/Yosemite is being aggravated by the other inconsiderate, boorish, and loud tourists. We went to Bushkill Falls last summer, which is awesome, but there was a large...ahem...Asian family there that were just jabbering nonstop, and you could hear them throughout the canyon. Not to mention the other stories of dopey Americans and others harassing wildlife or other nonsense.

Did you feel like the crowds were oppressive when you went?

Source of the post Part of me wants to do a guided tour with a company so that I can enjoy more of it

My biggest fear with going to Yellowstone/Yosemite is being aggravated by the other inconsiderate, boorish, and loud tourists. We went to Bushkill Falls last summer, which is awesome, but there was a large...ahem...Asian family there that were just jabbering nonstop, and you could hear them throughout the canyon. Not to mention the other stories of dopey Americans and others harassing wildlife or other nonsense.

Did you feel like the crowds were oppressive when you went?

I don't know how to answer your question without sounding racist. I'll just say, yes there was oppression. If I saw one more selfie stick, it was going to end up in the middle of Old Faithful. And if I would have acted out what my mind was thinking when that woman nearly pushed my 3 year old into the hot springs, I would be in jail for a very long time.

Let's just say if you took away all tour buses, the experience would be 100x's better.

Source of the post Part of me wants to do a guided tour with a company so that I can enjoy more of it

haha what timing

Heading back to the DC area in September... well, to be more accurate, pretty much smack dab in between DC and Baltimore. Last time I was in DC I hit up a mexican joint with a friend just because it was close to his hotel, and it was awful. Ended up going to The Big Hunt for beer to make me forget the terrible mexican food, and it was really enjoyable. Someone at the bar even bought me a drink. That's never happened to me before.

Anywho.... I'll be there for a full week this time. Anything good on the Northeast side of DC or the Southwest side of Baltimore?

Looking at hotel and airfare for Yellowstone and can't believe my eyes. It's almost as bad as Disney World.

Source of the post Part of me wants to do a guided tour with a company so that I can enjoy more of it

haha what timing

D'oh! For what it's worth, I'm referring to a small, private tour. Some places run GMC Denali's, and others have 9-person vans. I definitely won't do one of the megabus tours.

Aside from being able to pay attention to the surroundings, I think it'd be nice to have a guide actually tell us about the area as we toured it. Who knows, I may end up just driving it all myself if the tours are as crazy expensive as I currently see. I also plan on taking a ton of photos.

Looking at hotel and airfare for Yellowstone and can't believe my eyes. It's almost as bad as Disney World.

Hotels are stupid expensive. We stayed in West Yellowstone and paid something like $225 a night during off-peak season. It was a glorified motel 6 at best.

I was lucky to have enough airline miles to pay for 3 tickets, so didn’t have an issue with flights. Make sure you check out flights into Bozeman and Jackson Hole. Being we wanted to do Grand Tetons, Jackson Hole was a no brainer

My second choice was Myrtle Beach, since we've never gone, and both really want to visit the tiger sanctuary there. If my wife chooses Yellowstone, I'm definitely going to ask you for some tips.

My second choice was Myrtle Beach, since we've never gone, and both really want to visit the tiger sanctuary there. If my wife chooses Yellowstone, I'm definitely going to ask you for some tips.

I assume Yosemite is giving you the same headaches? I’ve never been but I’m always a sucker for National parks. Regardless, I can give you Yellowstone tips if you need them.

Man I'd love to go to Yosemite. And Zion. And the Grand Canyon.

Man I'd love to go to Yosemite. And Zion. And the Grand Canyon.

those places would love for you not to go

Man I'd love to go to Yosemite. And Zion. And the Grand Canyon.