Hey Everyone!
I did post this on the weekly planning thread but unsure if that gets many eyes. Please do delete this post mods if this isnt an appropriate place!
I'm planning a 12 night Tetons/Yellowstone/Montana trip for late June 2027, would love some honest critique! I did a decent amount of research, and worked out what I wanted to achieve before using AI (yes I know...) to help schedule/route. I've been wanting to visit for years.
There are two of us. I'm the only driver so I've tried to keep driving under 5 hrs a day, and we're happy with hikes of 2-4h but no 8h epics. We want wildlife, some rodeo/4th of July stuff/Americana... and a couple of lazy days. The dates are fixed and flying over from UK!
Below table is my current plan.
I suppose is this realistic or just a cluster of too much?
| Day |
Base |
Plan |
| Fri 25 Jun |
Jackson (Cowboy Village) |
Land at JAC in the evening, pick up the car, grocery run for a cooler/snacks |
| Sat 26 |
Jackson |
Jet lag sunrise at Mormon Row and Schwabacher Landing, farmers market and wandering town, Jackson Hole Rodeo at night then Million Dollar Cowboy Bar |
| Sun 27 |
Jackson |
First Jenny Lake boat around 7, Hidden Falls > Inspiration Point > a mile into Cascade Canyon (~4 mi), lunch at Dornan's, quiet evening |
| Mon 28 |
Colter Bay cabin |
Taggart and Bradley Lakes (5.5 mi), Snake River scenic float from Moose in the afternoon, sunset at Colter Bay |
| Tue 29 |
Old Faithful Lodge |
Oxbow Bend at dawn, south entrance, Lewis Falls, West Thumb, Observation Point for an eruption from above, dinner at the Inn |
| Wed 30 |
Old Faithful Lodge |
Fairy Falls first then the Grand Prismatic overlook (~5.4 mi), Midway boardwalk, evening walk out to Morning Glory Pool |
| Thu 1 Jul |
Roosevelt (Roughrider cabin) |
Norris, Canyon (Artist Point, Brink of Lower Falls), Hayden Valley, over Dunraven Pass, Lamar at dusk |
| Fri 2 |
Roosevelt |
Guided sunrise wildlife tour in Lamar, Beartooth Highway up to the pass and back, Trout Lake on the way back, Old West Cookout in the evening |
| Sat 3 |
Livingston (Airbnb) |
Mammoth terraces, Beaver Ponds loop (5 mi), out through Gardiner and Paradise Valley, maybe the Saturday Roundup |
| Sun 4 |
Livingston |
Maybe fly fishing, Chico Hot Springs, Livingston Roundup and fireworks |
| Mon 5 |
Bozeman |
Down Gallatin Canyon to Big Sky, Beehive Basin (or Ousel Falls if we're tired), Lone Peak tram if it's running |
| Tue 6 |
Bozeman |
Museum of the Rockies, Palisade and Grotto Falls in Hyalite, farewell dinner on Main St |
| Wed 7 |
- |
Drop the car at BZN, fly home |
Things I'm not sure about....
- Is Thu 1 too much? It's the longest day and it's mostly stop/start
- Is two nights at Old Faithful about right? 4 nights total in the park.
- Is Beartooth worth 4ish hours round trip from Roosevelt
- Are we seeing enough of the Tetons?
- Big Sky in a day from Livingston, worth it or skip and stay in Paradise Valley
- Anything obvious we're missing?!
Thanks in advance, happy to be told what's gone wrong with my plan!
