This one is mostly for all of my Midwest peeps, as it is a road trip itinerary for one week to Badlands, Yellowstone, & Grand Teton National Parks! You could use this itinerary for flying, and I would recommend doing it in reverse.
Keep on reading for a great summer vacation itinerary. This trip could be great for families of different sizes or ages, couples (that's what we did!), or for your adventurous girl group!
To Know Before You Go
Before you go or when you arrive at the first NP, I highly recommend buying the America The Beautiful- Annual National Parks Pass rather than the one-time entrance fee for your vehicle at each park. To enter the park (good for 7 days), it costs your group $30 at each park. The annual pass is $80, meaning if you visited all 3 parks on this trip then you would save $10 (or more if you visit Glacier)! Plus, if you plan to visit any other parks within the year, you can use the pass again and save even more moola. The pass can also work at some National Monuments and Attractions throughout the country- like Devil's Tower, so it could potentially save you more there too!
Day 1: Travel Day - Iowa to South Dakota
My (now) husband and I decided that we wanted to go on a road trip together in the summer of 2020 to a few National Parks because of the Covid restrictions for travel to many places via airplane. Many of the National Parks were still very open to visitors and were within driving distance for us midwesterners. It was also on his bucket list to take his Mustang on a road trip before selling it once he officially settled down.
So, we decided on Badlands, Yellowstone, and Grand Tetons National Parks- a 17-hour drive that would check three parks off of our bucket list.
*Note: You could also add on Glacier National Park for an additional 6ish hours of driving and possibly 2-3 more nights. If you have the vacation time, I would encourage you to do it!*
Where to Stay
Badlands National Park is a nice halfway point from where we live in Iowa to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. On this first travel day, our goal was to drive to get close enough to Badlands National Park- about 7 or 8 hours of driving.
When we went we drove until we needed to stop, finding a random restaurant and hotel along the way. I would recommend looking into staying in Interior, South Dakota because it is the closest town on the east side of Badlands National Park. A good motel to check out is Badlands Inn because it is a 4-minute drive from the Badlands National Park Visitor's Center and will put you right where you need to be the next morning.
Day 2: Badlands National Park
Get an early start on the day by arriving at the park as it opens. It will be much less crowded, you'll have plenty of time to explore within the park, and will leave yourself enough of the evening to make the rest of the drive to Cody, Wyoming. You will want to get to Cody for tonight's stay!
When we visited Badlands NP in August 2020, it was not very crowded and the Visitor Centers were not open for visitors. We were able to stop by Ben Reifel Visitor Center where they had a table set up out front to grab our National Park stamps, buy a few stickers, and get acclimated to the park quickly before setting off on our morning hike.
Nowadays, you would be able to go into the Visitor Center & shop, grab a bite, and learn all about Badlands National Park. Don't forget to get your National Park book stamped OR buy a book to start your stamp collection on this trip. (each NP has its' own stamp with the date of when you visited that you can add to a book, which they sell in each park. You could also have them stamp a piece of paper to take home with you for your scrapbook, journal, etc. If you're going to visit these 3 parks, and possibly more in the future, I highly recommend starting your collection!)
Hiking the Notch Trail
There are many short, relatively moderate, or easy hikes in Badlands National Park to pick from. One of the most popular is the Notch Trail because of its' unique wooden ladder climb! Even if you're afraid of heights, tackling the Notch Trail is totally doable and super fun.
The Notch Trail is rated as easy on AllTrails (an app I highly recommend you download for this trip) and is 1.5 miles out and back. It took us about an hour to complete, but you could always turn back at any point if you're tired or crunched for time!
We really did not have to worry about parking when we visited this park, but there is one parking lot for three different trails: Notch Trail, Window Trail & Door Trail.
The ladder is toward the beginning of the hike, once you start becoming enveloped in the canyon-like walls. After ascending the ladder, you will head left and walk on a small cliff of rock up and into the canyon until you get to 'the notch'. This is the end of the hike and is a series of holes in the canyon walls that overlooks the Badlands.
Definitely be sure to take it all in here, spending time enjoying the view before heading back to the parking lot.
Honestly, after our little morning hike, we did not spend much more time in the park. We drove through the remainder of the park via SD-240. Along this road, there are quite a few viewpoints to stop and check out. At the end, it will connect back to I-90 near Wall, SD.
My Favorite Part of Road Trips? Picnics!
One of the reasons that we did not spend any more time in the park is that we had a picnic lunch planned and needed to get on the road to reach this destination around lunchtime.
Personally, I love packing picnic lunches on road trips because we usually stop and sit down for dinner. Picnicking can be quicker, more cost-friendly, and healthier than eating out for both meals. Plus, we always try to choose somewhere adventurous or scenic. For example, Bridal Veil Falls in Spearfish, SD.
We pulled off the interstate onto Spearfish Canyon Highway to find the waterfall, walk about for a bit, and enjoy our lunch. I cannot remember exactly what I packed to eat, but I do remember eating out of tubes of Pringles!
*Note: If you did not care about what time you arrive in Cody, Wyoming you could make a small detour to see Devil's Tower, about 30 minutes off of the interstate. You could even have a picnic here!
Where to Stay
As I mentioned above, during this day you are going to need to make the next leg of your long drive- about 7 hours total. How long you spend at Badlands will determine what time you arrive at your next stay in Cody, Wyoming. We arrived in the evening with time to check in to our hotel and go out for dinner. We ate at a local Irish/American brewery & restaurant called Pat O'Hara Brewing Company and we stayed at a basic hotel/motel in Cody. They have quite a few basic hotel chain options to choose from.
Day 3: Yellowstone National Park Pt. 1
Now, Cody is the closest town to the East entrance of Yellowstone National Park but it is still about 75 miles from Yellowstone NP. We stayed here because it had hotels and restaurants, however, if you wanted to stay closer there are cabins that boast being the closest stay to the park at Pahaska Tepee Resort. They appear to be very rustic and are a bit more expensive, but it would save you some time driving in the morning and have you feeling very close to nature!
We did not do that. We drove the 75 miles in the morning from Cody, Wyoming to the East Entrance of Yellowstone Park. One important thing to note about Yellowstone NP is that it is MASSIVE. You will 100% want to have a map of the park and a plan to tackle all of the sites that Yellowstone has to offer. It seems that each 'corner' of the park boasts a completely different landscape or attraction. For example, Old Faithful is nowhere near the East entrance. In fact, it would take you 1 hour and 39 minutes to drive to see Old Faithful from this entrance. So, make sure to plan your route and hit all of the stops in order on the way!
Don't worry, I will show you- keep reading!
My recommendation is to enter from the East entrance and then head North via Entrance Road and onto Grand Loop Road, this will have you doing and seeing the North part of Yellowstone National Park on Day 1. You will do enter at the West entrance and complete the South part of the park on Day 2.
First Stop: The Caldrons
The first stop on the Grand Loop Road route has you parking and walking on a boardwalk to see various mud pools, caldrons, and bath varieties. It is not a far or challenging walk at all, but it is very important to stay on the boardwalk path- the ground could literally kill you here!
We spent some time here taking pictures, making funny jokes, and reading the signage about these interesting landscapes.
Points of Interest:
-Mud Caldron
-Cooking Hillside
-Sizzling Basin
-Churning Caldron
-Sour Lake
-Grizzly Fumarole
-Mud Volcano
-Dragon's Mouth Spring
Beware of Bison!
It was along Grand Loop Road, near the Yellowstone River Overlook that we got held up in a major traffic jam caused by a herd of bison! There were probably 100+ bison crossing the road here and they were taking their sweet time to do so, walking in between vehicles, engaging in fights with one another, and putting on a show for us! I was so scared that a bison was going to get spooked and run into Spencer's fancy car.
*Note: please do not be one of the idiots and get out of your vehicle to engage with the wildlife to get a better photo. You may survive this altercation like the people we saw doing it, but it is not a great look. The bison are incredibly dangerous and we are literally in their habitat.
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
The next stop was something that I had not even heard of until I researched Yellowstone NP and it actually ended up being my favorite part of the whole park- the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. It's almost like a hidden canyon within the Yellowstone River that you cannot see from the road in your car, so you must get out and see it!
(At this point, you would be in about the middle of the park)
To do so, we continued on Grand Loop Road until you reach South Rim Drive. We knew that we were going to do more of a hike here from the parking lot to Artist Point via the South Rim trail. We parked at the start of South Rim Drive and found the trail marked for the South Rim Trail. Once you get it on, you will see that you are following the canyon on the right side of the river and the view just gets more and more incredible as you go along!
This hike is a bit longer, 2.5 miles out and back, but it is rated as easy on AllTrails and as I said, the view at the end is so worth it! Plus, you can take as much time as you need, take many breaks, & eat some snacks along the way too- all with a great view.
*Note: if you are not feeling as ambitious or are lower on energy today, you can drive to the end of South Rim Drive, park your car there, and then walk a shorter distance to see the view at Artist Point.
South Rim Points of Interest:
-Upper Falls View
-Uncle Tom's Trail
**Artist Point
A drive and get-out-to-see vibe is also very similar to what the North Rim of the canyon has and what I would recommend doing on the other side of the canyon after your hike. You will drive on North Rim Road, park, and walk a short distance to see various viewpoints of the canyon.
North Rim Points of Interest:
**Brink of the Upper Falls
**Brink of the Lower Falls
-Lookout Point (you can walk here from Brink of the Lower Falls or drive)
-Grand View
**Inspiration Point
Definitely pick and choose which or all of these points you want to see. They are all different views of the canyon from the South side and the North side. I starred the ones I recommend the most!
In this area of the park is one of the biggest Visitor Centers as well as the Canyon Eatery, which is like a food court with a variety of options to eat. We stopped here to get our stamps, do some shopping, and eat lunch. I scored a Yellowstone NP-themed beer here and I thought that was kind of fun as I had not seen another park have this!
Mammoth Hot Springs
The last part of the park to explore on the North side is the Mammoth Hot Springs area. This is in the very North part of the park and touches Montana! We headed here after lunch via the Grand Loop Road and it was quite a jaunt to get up there. Be sure to stock up on beverages, snacks, etc. before leaving the Canyon Eatery and setting off on this next adventure because it will be some downtime in the car. At least it is a scenic drive!
This part of the park is kind of its' own separate part with a Visitor Center and other historic buildings. It also has Hot Spring terraces with a boardwalk to walk and see them. Here we parked in the Upper Terrace Loop Parking Lot and hopped on the boardwalk to walk about 1 mile to see these very interesting pools.
You could do more exploring here, checking out the Visitor Center and the buildings. You could even hit the North entrance of the park to officially enter Montana, but we did not do this. We spent about an hour here and then decided to get back in the car and hit the road continuing on Grand Loop Road to head back south but toward the West entrance of the park.
Where to Stay
At this point, we were on the West side of the park for our stay for the night in West Yellowstone. Staying here would set you up to hit the West and South parts of the park tomorrow without retracing any of your steps from today! Efficiency!
We stayed in a motel in West Yellowstone and ate at The Buffalo Bar before hitting the hay. I don't even remember what our hotel room looked like because I was so tired!
Day 4: Yellowstone National Park Pt. 2
Rise & shine early for another day of park exploring & driving!
Springs, Basins, & Geysers Galore!
We entered the park at the West entrance near West Yellowstone and then headed South on Highway 191 or Grand Loop Road. This should be a different road than the day before. Along this road, first, you will encounter lots of springs, basins, and geysers to stop and see. You basically follow the road and the signs for each point of interest along the way.
Points of Interest:
-Firehole Falls
-Firehole Spring
-Gentian Pool
-Foundtain Paint Pot Trail
Turn onto Firehole Lake Drive to stop and see from your car:
-Artesia Geyser
-Labial Geyser
-Mushroom Pool
-Great Fountain Geyser
-Firehole Spring
Once you are back on Grand Loop Road you'll hit a more popular part of the park and will either need to fight for a parking spot in Grand Prismatic Spring Parking Lot or join those who are parking on the side of the road to walk. Up ahead is the famous Grand Prismatic Spring.
We parked in the parking lot and walked up ahead to the boardwalk where we found lots of other tourists wanting to see Grand Prismatic Spring. Here we walked the boardwalk on top of the spring to see it up and close.
If you want the best view of Grand Prismatic Spring, do what we did and head over to Fairy Falls Trailhead to hike the 0.6 miles to view the spring from the Grand Prismatic Spring Overlook. This does have its own parking lot, Fairy Falls Parking Lot, but we did not feel like backtracking to move our car. This hike is a mild incline, so make sure you've got on proper shoes and grab your water bottle!
After you've taken lots and lots of photos of the colorful spring, you'll have to walk back to the car to continue on the road to the next stop. Our next stop was a longer hike where we'd have a picnic lunch and spend a good majority of our day!
Hiking Mystic Falls Trail
If you are not up for a hike, you most certainly could skip this one! Just make sure to stop by here to walk the Biscuit Basin trail and see the collection of thermal pools within Biscuit Basin.
Points of Interest in Biscuit Basin:
-Vulnerable Spring
-Black Opal Pool
-Coral Geyeser
-West Mustard Spring
-West Geyser
-Firehole River
Mystic Falls continues on from the Biscuit Basin trail and is 2.4 miles out and back. It is rated as easy on AllTrails. The hike leads up and back to a beautiful waterfall. This is where we sat to have a little picnic lunch, enjoying the view, being surrounded by nature, and getting away from the masses of tourists in the more popular parts of the park!
*Note: Yellowstone is one of the most visited parks in the U.S. so expect there to be heavy crowds in the summertime, especially in the areas of the park that do not require much physical activity to see!
The Big Boy: Old Faithful
After our hike, we got back into the car and continued down the road to the next stop- Old Faithful. This is another very popular part of the park and may require a bit more planning ahead, as Old Faithful goes off on a consistent schedule. If you showed up right after it went off, you may have to wait around a while until it goes off again.
We did not mind waiting, so we showed up without knowing the times. We followed the crowd from the parking lot toward the Old Faithful Observation Deck and we waited. During this wait, we answered some fun road trip questions and checked out the Visitor Center.
This part of the park could also be a great spot for lunch if your timing is right, if you did not have a picnic on your hike, or if you skipped the hike. They have another food court here as well as a few other restaurants. You could hang out in this area for awhile and watch Old Faithful erupt as many times as you want!
Another activity in this area is the trail behind Old Faithful where you can see even more small geysers and springs.
Looking to add even more adventure? Glamping!
By this time we were POOPED from our hike and we were a bit over the endless amount of geysers, springs, and pools to look at. So, we decided to get back in the car and leave Yellowstone NP out of the South Entrance. We knew we had quite a drive to tackle, about 3-4 hours until we reached our home for the night in Irwin, Idaho where we wanted to get settled in and have dinner.
Staying in Jackson Hole in August is definitely not cheap. Therefore, to save a little bit of money and to add even more adventure to our trip, we decided to go glamping in Irwin, Idaho at a location we found on Airbnb. It was so cool! Each tent that they had there had its' own bathroom, a bed, heating & air, and theme. Our tent's theme was Arabian Nights and it felt like we were staying somewhere straight out of the movie, Aladdin.
Once we arrived in Irwin and checked into our tent, we settled in for the evening by getting a campfire going, grabbing some cards to play a game, and making a dinner of hot dogs and s'mores with some huckleberry beers- huckleberry is very popular in this area! We snuggled up by the fire, enjoyed each others' company, relaxed & reminisced on Yellowstone NP, and looked at the stars. Then we went to sleep in our tent, where we slept in the next morning until check out.
If you have ever wanted to check glamping off of your bucket list, I would highly suggest adding this to your trip. I almost wish we would have stayed here for two nights, but unfortunately, it was like an hour out of our way and would have taken a day away from exploring Grand Teton NP.
Day 5: Grand Tetons National Park Pt. 1
We made the one-hour drive from Irwin, Idaho to Jackson, Wyoming for our first day of exploring Grand Teton National Park. Because we got a later start to the morning, our first-day agenda consisted of getting our bearings within the park, seeing a few viewpoints within the park, and then checking into our hotel in Jackson.
Exploring GTNP
GTNP is just up the road from Jackson, Wyoming and the park basically follows two roads that form a loop, Highway 191 and Teton Park Road. Highway 191 connects the two parks, GTNP and Yellowstone, and gives a spectacular view of the Tetons from further away. Teton Park Road takes you closer to the mountains and hugs GTNP's two largest lakes, Jenny Lake and Jackson Lake.
We first entered the park and headed to the Visitor Center where we got our park stamps! We then drove Teton Park Road, stopping at the Jenny Lake Overlook to take a few photos.
We then looped back onto 191 and stopped at Oxbow Bend, Snake River Overlook, & Schwabacher Landing for more photos. At all of these stops you will want to park your car and walk to see the viewpoint. These spots are iconic and known for where photographers have snapped famous photos in the park. They're also great spots for watching the sunrise over the mountains if you are ambitious enough for that- we were not!
Where to Stay in Jackson
Next, we checked into our hotel for the next few nights: The Virginian. This was the most reasonably priced hotel that we could find in Jackson at this time. It was just fine, but make sure to book your stay well in advance. You will probably have more luck this way and now that Covid is not affecting travel, that will probably help too! If I booked again, I would most likely select an Airbnb with a view, like this one!
Chuck Wagon Dinner & a Show!
A popular dinner activity to do in Jackson Hole is a chuckwagon dinner with a show! They have many different companies in the area that do these. We booked dinner and a show with Bar T5. You can do both a chuckwagon ride with dinner & a show or skip the ride and just do dinner- this is what we did! Just make sure to book your reservation ahead of time; I am not sure if they sell tickets the night of.
The dinner is just okay but it is really more about the experience of eating dinner while watching the show. It is very wild-west, which goes well with the whole vibe of Jackson, Wyoming.
If this is not your vibe, I would recommend eating dinner in Jackson instead where they have a variety of restaurants & shopping. Make sure to check out the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar!
Day 6: Grand Tetons National Park Pt. 2
Day 2 of GTNP was our big hiking day, the biggest of the trip so far. We got up nice and early, ate a good breakfast, packed up all of our gear, and made our way into the park to beat the crowds.
Cascade Canyon Trail
We planned to hike the Cascade Canyon Trail. This trail is 9 miles out and back and is rated as moderate on AllTrails. The hike takes you up and in between the mountains of Grand Teton National Park and is known to have lots of wildlife sightings. This hike took us about 4-5 hours because we stopped to eat a picnic lunch and we took lots of photos with our tripod.
To hike the Cascade Canyon trail, you must take the ferry boat from the Jenny Lake Boat Dock to the trailhead. The boat will take you to the start of the trailhead for Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point, both spots are very popular with tourists. Once you get past those spots, the tourists thin and it becomes more of a 'serious' hike. We caught the first boat out in the morning. You can find the tickets and schedule for the ferry boat here.
Recommended Gear:
-a hiking backpack with a water bag or a backpack with a water bottle.
-good shoes for hiking or hiking boots
-a picnic lunch of sandwiches, chips, & huckleberry beer (optional)
-sunglasses
Optional:
-an engagement ring
Getting Engaged in Grand Teton National Park
So... Spencer and I actually got engaged on this hike! On our way back out, we set up the tripod to take some photos with the mountains in the background. Spencer made me go stand on a rock so that he would get the camera all setup. He came up to join me for a few photos and the next thing I knew he was down on one knee!
I was super surprised, not expecting that to happen at all on this trip but I am so glad that it did. It is now one of my all-time favorite hikes.
Even if you did not want to do the full hike, I still recommend taking the boat and checking out Inspiration Point and the Hidden Falls trail. Those are short but super scenic & you can always decide to do more once you are there!
Celebratory Drinks & Dinner with a View!
After our big hike and telling all of our friends and families via FaceTime about our engagement, we decided that we needed to celebrate. To us, that meant drinks & dinner with a view.
We headed into Teton Village, where we took the aerial tram/gondola up to The Deck @ Piste. Here we got food from the restaurant and lots of celebratory drinks with a great view.
This restaurant and deck are part of the ski resort, so there are also lots of shops and restaurant options down below in the village part too. We stayed here to watch the sunset and then headed back to the hotel, once again super-tired from a day full of exploring and adventures!
*Note: the tram does cost money until a certain time. Make sure you ask what time it becomes free and then get in line. Practically everyone near us it seemed was waiting for the free ride up!
Day 7: Grand Tetons National Park Pt. 3
We only had one more day left on our trip and in GTNP. By this point, we were fully exhausted and in need of some chill recovering.
Recovery Brunch
Our first mission of recovering was to treat ourselves to some good breakfast. I had seen and had my eye on a cafe/restaurant in Jackson from when we explored in days prior and their menu looked pretty bomb. We decided to try it out for breakfast and I am so glad that we did- it was delicious! Cafe Genevieve in downtown Jackson, right off of the town square has a super cute cafe vibe with a delicious menu. If you are a fan of Bloody Mary's, I highly recommend theirs with the pig candy bacon. Spencer recommends and loved their eggs Benedict.
Hiking & Hammocking
After we engorged ourselves with some brunch and beverages, we decided to head back into GTNP and try out our new hammocks! I had gotten Spencer and I each a hammock for an anniversary gift, specifically with trips like this in mind. There is nothing I love more than sitting and enjoying nature with good company or a good book, and especially if there is a good view.
We parked at the String Lake trailhead and hiked a bit until we found a spot with a good view to hang up our hammocks and relax for a bit before we did some final hiking in the park around String Lake and Leigh Lake. Both have super short but scenic trails that were the perfect trails to end our trip with.
After one final day staring at the glorious mountains, we made a quick pit stop at Mormon Row to check out the famous buildings there and view them with the mountainous backdrop, then we took one final photo with the GTNP sign... very sad to be leaving bright and early the next morning.
Exploring Jackson Hole, Wyoming
We had one final evening to explore and eat in Jackson and we decided to go for some Mexican cuisine! We ate at Merry Piglets, where we had some more celebratory engagement drinks and free fried ice cream from the restaurant to congratulate us! We also had some pretty good street tacos.
Back in 2020, Spencer and I were very into street tacos. We were on a mission to try street tacos everywhere we went and we rated them on a scale of 1-5 stars. I want to say that these street tacos were at least a solid three!
Day 8: Travel Day Home
Because we had such a long drive ahead of us, 17 hours, we decided to get up very early and try to tackle the entire thing in one day. We just wanted to be home and be back in our own beds after a very adventurous and exhausting trip.
17 Hours to Home
Somehow, we made it! My wonderful husband drove the entire 17 hours from Jackson, Wyoming through South Dakota and back home to Iowa. I mean, he kind of had to drive the whole thing, as the Mustang was not a manual drive and I do not know how to drive a stick-shift. But... I did offer him many times to stop and get a hotel if he wanted. He refused and we made it home probably around 11 p.m. to go straight to bed... the most exhausted yet!
My Final Thoughts
This was the second trip that Spencer and I took with it being just us two and we not only survived... we thrived! We rocked all of the hikes, saw some incredible sights (scenery & wildlife), and we decided to spend the rest of our lives together with our engagement. We came home with some great memories, some good bonding, and some pretty big news to share with our family and friends in person!
I am so happy that my husband and I got engaged in such a beautiful place, doing one of my favorite things- hiking and that it was such a beautiful, intimate, and memorable experience. We came back from the trip ready to dive into wedding planning and couldn't wait to start our married lives together- which we are currently doing now with our wedding being 1.5 years ago and our first baby on the way!
"Checkin' it off the bucket list!"
-Mackensie
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