Travel Thread

[robbiestoupe]

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.

[shafnutz05]

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?

[NTP66]

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.

Part of me wants to do a guided tour with a company so that I can enjoy more of it and not have to concentrate on driving. And since you mentioned it, Grand Teton would absolutely be included in this trip.

[robbiestoupe]

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.

[robbiestoupe]

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

[shafnutz05]

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.

Yeah, I've gotten shoved out of the way on several occasions at tourist sites. And it is definitely disheartening when you see a huge bus (or more than one) full of people show up and disembark.

[NTP66]

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.

[count2infinity]

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?

[shafnutz05]

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?

It's hard to say without knowing exactly where you will be, but I really enjoyed going to this place in Columbia:

https://victoriagastropub.com/

Royal Taj, which is also in Columbia, has superb Indian food.

[count2infinity]

Hmmmm... I will be in Columbia, so I suppose I have my answer.

[shafnutz05]

Haha. My old company's corporate office was in Columbia, so I spent a ton of time there. Highly recommend Royal Taj, for sure.

[NTP66]

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

[MrKennethTKangaroo]

shocking that flying to an sparsely populated place with few airports is expensive.

[robbiestoupe]

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

[robbiestoupe]

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.

The scenery speaks for itself IMO but I’m sure a tour guide would be an added bonus

[NTP66]

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

Flying into Bozeman is actually cheaper ($400 vs. $700), though it's on an airline where I have no status. I have something like 600k AA miles, so I'd be covered there, but the redemption rate for that area is atrocious, so I wouldn't use miles there. Even so, I'm at like $3500 on just those two items. I'll leave the decision up to my wife on this one. I think that's too steep for visiting Wyoming, and would rather try off-season instead. Next year's trip would have to be in mid-June.

[robbiestoupe]

You’re definitely paying for peak season. Luckily we did our trip when the kids weren’t in school. This is our last year until our oldest starts kindergarten.

[NTP66]

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.

[robbiestoupe]

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.

[NTP66]

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.

Similar issues, yeah. Flights would be using miles, but hotels in SF more than make up for the cost. I think we’re going to wait a few more years where we know my daughter will be able to actually go on hikes.

[Silentom]

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

[MrKennethTKangaroo]

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

those places would love for you not to go

[Silentom]

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

those places would love for you not to go

[NTP66]

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

Now is definitely not the time for Yosemite. They've already closed it at least once due to the wildfires, and apparently there's so much smoke in the area that people are leaving early. I do agree, though, I definitely want to visit all of those. Throw in Olympic National Park in Washington, as well.

[Viva la Ben]

Any of yinz looking for some nice hiking trails should check aht Harrison Hills up near Freeport.