Western States Vacation Recommendation?

[genesis273]

My wife and I will be celebrating our 25th anniverary in little over a year. We want to go somewhere that we`ve never been, and do something we`ve never done. We want this to be special. You know, that once in a lifetime trip.

We both enjoy hiking, kayaking, being outdoors, and anything that`ll help us stay in shape while having fun.
I have only been on the left side of the Mississippi twice, and those were on business trips, and she`s never been anywhere remotely out west, but wants to go.
One place that we both thought about and we think we would enjoy tremendously, is going hiking in Yellowstone NP or somewhere that could compare to the beauty. An Alaskan Cruise has been brought up too, but we`re actually leaning toward Yellowstone.

Questions, since most of you guys have probably been there, are:
1. Are there opportunities to hike in Yellowstone (or other NP with comparible beauty)?
2. If so, what time of year would you recommend (temps and crowds)? We do not necessarily need to be there on our actual anniversary.
3. Would there be any disappointments that I may face, things that I`m not aware of, ie crowds?
4. If Yellowstone ends up being the place to go, are there towns near by that have nice hotels and places to eat?
5. Also, if YNP is picked for a week+ of hiking, would you recommend a hiking guide or is it relatively easy to do on your own? Also, are there opportunities to kayak in YNP?

Any other recommendations are welcome and appreciated, ones that include the western states, mountains, hiking/kayaking, and a nice hotel w/ tv nearby (not much for camping)!

Also, a hunting trip was mentioned and shot down! She enjoys hunting, but said..."not on this trip"!

 

[dustinf]

This is what my wife and I did: https://vimeo.com/42463130

 

[wyoming556]

Yellowstone is best enjoyed during the winter or off season when it's not packed full of tour busses and crawling with tourists IMO. In some cases the animals are more like a petting zoo than what I would call wild as they can get used to the cars and tourists. It just depends what you are looking for I guess. Sitting in traffic and fighting crowds of people, many of whom don't even speak english, is frustrating to me and why I avoid yellowstone during the peak summer months.

Might think about a road trip and hit up several places like Pikes Peak, RMNP, Mount Rushmore, Devils Tower, Teton NP, Yellowstone, and Glacier. Lots of good stuff in between those places as well. One of my favotites in Centennial and Saratoga Wyoming.

 

[jryoung]

Every NP has extensive hiking opportunities with plenty of information for DIY (park websites and or books). Do you want to settle in one Park and make several day hikes or do you want to backpack to a remote location for a couple of days.

How long to you plan to travel? Would multiple Parks be an opportunity? (YNP/Grand Teton or YNP/Glacier). If multiple, I would include the southern Utah Parks (Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Arches) or California (Yosemite, Sequoia).

If I was going to do one Park for a week or so, I would go to one with one that has a variety of landscapes. Yosemite comes to mind here, the Valley is simply breathtaking, but after a few days/hikes you can head to the Alpine (Tuolumne Meadows TO-ALL-OH-MEE) for a change of scenery and even drive out to Mono Lake.

(here's a trip report from a trip in Yosemite I did in 2007 http://forums.wakeboarder.com/viewtopic.php?t=72743&highlight=yosemite)

In general though every park has so much to offer and there is plenty to do in each for a week. Crowds will be at their peak from mid-June to mid-August no matter where you go, Memorial and Labor Day weekends are thereabouts are great times to visit the Parks for good weather and most crowds have dispersed.

How do you plan on getting there? Fly and rent a car, or drive from NC? Close proximity to an airport should be considered too.

Most Parks also have some sort of backcountry accommodations. In Yosemite, there are something called High Sierra Camps that you can see in the link I provided. They pack in food, wall tents, and everything for the summer and you can stay at one for a few days and have a backcountry experience with many comforts.

Keep in mind whatever Park you decide on, you should look for other activities in the area. For example when I was in Arches we went a river rafted on the Colorado River. Also, no matter where you are surely there will be equipment rentals nearby (kayak).

 

[Straight Arrow]

During the past two years, the month of September has been sunny and warm in Montana. YNP is a wonderful place to hike (and yes, mostly DIY hikes there, with great maps) and to see and hear wildlife. September is the month when the elk go into rut and become easy to see and hear almost anywhere in the Park.

Streams and rivers in Yellowstone are pretty much off limits to kayaking, but there are some lakes with spectacular kayaking / canoeing. Check out Lewis Lake and the Lewis Lake - Shoshone Lake connecting channel. That's really a primitive campsite overnight trip, but may be worth considering. (My wife and I did a canoe trip into Shoshone Lake for three days for our Sept anniversary in 2011 and it was the best trip ever ... hiking outback geysers, lounging in edge-of-lake hotpots, lulled to sleep by loons on the lake, awakened by bugling, grunting elk!)

There are really nice hotels and restaurants in all of the towns of Wyoming and Montana near YNP entrances ... and they especially cater to folks wearing hiking gear.

If you could extend for a second week ... it's a shame to come to Montana and not hike in Glacier National Park. I could go on and on. PM me if you want more of my tourism rant.

 

[genesis273]

Dustinf, that was an awesome video!
That, alone with the suggestions, has me thinking about going to more than one park! I have some time to make the plans, and I knew you guys could point me in the right direction. I`m use to going alone the Appalachian mountains from Ga to Pa hiking and sightseeing, and to be honest, it almost all looks the same. One day is enough. However, the parks mentioned above has a lot more to offer.

I can take as much vacation time as I want (hundreds of hours of accrued vacation time), and plan on taking at least two weeks when we do go. Not quit sure if I want to drive all the way out and see the sights, or fly and rent a vehicle. Charlotte is only 10 minutes from my house, so flying would be easy.

 

[drahthaar]

You are gonna be into crowds during the summer in YNP or Glacier NP. I think if you want to see animals, YNP is the place, if you want "holy crap" type scenery, hard to beat Glacier. You can do lots of kyaking on the lakes in Glacier too. Rafting on the middle fork of the Flathead, or kyaking too.

 

[mdunc8]

You'll get away from 99.9% of the crowds in Glacier and Yellowstone by hiking 1/4 mile from the pavement, which you can easily do on your own.

 

[shootist]

These videos are from my and my wife's 2011 western vacation. They are lengthy, but you might enjoy them. We went to 5 national parks (Badlands NP, Wind Cave NP, Yellowstone NP, Grand Tetons NP and Rocky Mountain NP) along with many other side ventures. We went over the 4th of July, so it was very busy. That being said, the places weren't near as busy as we expected them to be and it did not take away from our trip. Like previously mentioned, when you are off the road, most of the crowds disappear.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uFlWzlzg7Q (Badlands, Wind Cave, Mt. Rushmore, Devils Tower, Bighorn Mountains)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfPo_QCoz2o (Yellowstone)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdW-5G-GfkU (Grand Tetons, Rocky Mountain NP)

 

[pointingdogsrule]

As others have stated: "YELLOWSTONE AFTER LABOR DAY". Beautiful fall colors, animals and less people. If you are on your way out west, on interstate #90..... DO NOT forget to stop in the Black Hills. You could spend a week, alone there. I passed by Mt. Rushmore 7 times before I stopped. Once I stopped to see it I wonder how stupid I could have been! also Devil's Tower is just 1/2 hour off the interstate.
If do take the north route (interstate #90) you'll be welcome to stop by my place (in Iowa)

good luck to all
the dog

 

[----]

My favorite time to go to Yellowstone is late spring, around Memorial day. Lots of elk in velvet out feeding all day and the bears are really active that time of year. Crowds are tiny compared to July/August.

 

[huntRme]

As has been stated YNP after Labor Day for the same reasons.

Also, someone mentioned the parks of Southern Utah. So much to see. I've heard April is the time to go before it gets real hot. My wife and I did a back-road trip through there for our first anniversary and a week just wasn't long enough. You gotta see Zion.

I don't think it matters much where you go if you've never been there. Take the back roads and stop whenever someone/something catches your attention. Stop when you get to the Pacific Ocean and take another route home.

Take lots of pictures/video and share with us when you get home.

 

[deer_shooter]

My wife and I have done YNP three times, but all three trips in the summer months. Way too may people for my taste. There are extensive hiking opportunities though if she has any apprehension about bears, they can be a pain. Last trip we did a five mile overnight trip to Slough Creek second meadow. We saw three other people and a black bear on the trail. Other than that it was uneventful. If you go and want pinch a penny, Roosevelt lodge has primitive cabins for rent for around $65 per night and the lodge serves a decent meal. Depending where you stay, Bozeman, Cody and Cooke City are all a couple hours away.

We also did a camping trip to Colorado. I took my wall tent and set up above Taylor Park reservoir. Pretty good fishing, great hiking and and opportunity to scout (hint, hint.) We saw way more elk and deer than people. We camped about 45 miles from Gunnison so going to a restaurant would have been a comittment. I found grilling steaks under the stars with a cooler full of beer to be a fair trade off.

You also mentioned an AK trip. Just my opinion, but instead of a cruise, you could do a much more fun trip by flying into Anchorage and renting a 4x4 and exploring. Even better would be a small RV. We have been up seven times now and have explored pretty much from top to bottom. A cruise sounds ok but I like the option of doing what you want when you want. There is way too much to see and do in any vacation (or a lifetime) up there but if you plan it out, you can do a lot.

 

[UIVandal]

Yellowstone and Teton are nice because they are close and are a great combo. The hiking is great at both. I would recommend the last week of September into the 1st week of October. Usually nice seasonable temperatures for hiking, all the trees will still be full of fall foliage, and the elk will most likely be in full rut. Many viewing opportunties to see mature bulls courting and managing cows, as well as big bulls squaring off. If you choose this time of year, unlike many in the parks, please remember safety first over photo opportunity.

 

[Topgun 30-06]

Like has been said, go after the kids are back in school in September. My wife and I did a 3 week trip in 1998 and hit the SD Badlands (in a cabin there) and then the adjacent Black Hills with Mt. Rushmore/Custer State Park for a couple days (more cabins), then a couple days through the BigHorns in Wyoming (motels on east & west side of the mountains), on to Cody for several days in motels (Buffalo Bill Museum takes two days alone on the ticket you buy), then on into Yelowstone for a couple days in a cabin ( still too many foreigners in buses for my liking even at that time of the year). From there we went down through the Tetons to a cabin in Zion (as beautiful a place as I've ever seen before and after a rain) and on down around the big hole to the south side of the Canyon. From there we headed through the Painted Desert on over to Albuquerque (motel and a day going up and down the tram to the top of the mountain east of the city). That's the best nonhunting vacation I've ever had in my life. Yosemite is another gorgeous that we went through on the way back from a family reunion in Sacramento and I would have liked to have stayed there for a few days, but we were pressed for time to get back home.

 

[genesis273]

I`ve shared all of these comments with my wife, and in the last few hours, we have went from a nice hiking trip to YNP, to more of a road trip to see some of these other places you`ve mentioned. We may never have another opportunity to travel to those parts of the world again and we definetly want to make it well worth it. Now she`s talking about spending a few weeks to a month! Time is not a problem. I have tons of vacation time that can be spent at any time of the year, and she doesn`t work. She said..."I don`t have to be anywhere, I would love to fly somewhere out west and then drive in a big loop and see a lot of things!" Even said, "lets see and do 25 places for 25 years!" I like the way she thinks, but that`s a tall order!

 

[spook12]

Genesis, If you have time and the $ take a road trip. You will never look at this country of ours the same way. I think when people fly to their vacation they sure miss a lot.Load up the old family'' truckster''and take off.
If you do decide to hit multiple Nat'l Parks buying a yearly pass, can save you a couple bucks. Pick a route so that you never take the same road twice.As far as crowds we hit the touristy spots in the off hours.Example, get a cup of coffee and watch Old Faithful at 8 a.m. while everyone else is still getting up.Then take a nap in the middle of the day while everyone else is standing shoulder to shoulder on the boardwalks.You take your Mrs. on a nice auto tour of the West and i assure you she will love it[exp since shes never seen it.]Good luck, let us know how it goes.

 

[JohnCushman]

Sturgis

 

[wyoming556]

Sturgis

Good advice. Watch "Full Throttle Saloon" for a vacation planning guide.

 

[Dinkshooter]

Don't forget "Walley World" the original one that is.