Anyone visited Montana or Wyoming?

[BadgerFace]

I am thinking of a two week road trip next July in one of the northern US States. We did two weeks in Ontario this summer and loved it.

I’d like to do 3 or 4 nights in a ranch and then open to ideas! Also interested in how hot it gets and how busy early July will be. My children will be 9 and 12. Older daughter is autistic and doesn’t like huge crowds (although we live in London so appreciate definition of crowded is relative!). Mid-20s is our ideal temperature.

I’d love to do Oregon or Vancouver but the forest fire risk feels high so thinking of Montana/Wyoming instead. Eldest is very panicky at the thought of any risk and will get very stressed so looking for places which will not trigger those feelings.

We went to Wyoming & Montana a few years ago and loved it. No kids though and we are both a bit 'outdoors' types so that may be a consideration. We stayed on a ranch in central Montana for 2-3 days, did some horseriding etc. Definitely not crowded! Temperature was mid-high 20's although I think that was August rather than July.

We also went to Yellowstone, as well as both Grand Teton and Glacier national parks. Both pretty spectacular but again, may depend on whether that is your and your DCs' thing. We also maybe spent a bit more time in the car travelling between these places than was ideal, but that's often the case when you're trying to explore a region.

Have a fab time if you go!

Went to a wedding in Montana and went to Glacier Park - stunning.

On a previous trip I did a trek america tour and went through Wyoming and Yellowstone. I don't remember much other than it was wonderful.

Been to both and they are lovely, quiet as long as you avoid the national parks. Fire risk is not zero though, these are places full of trees. For dc I think the Washington coast might be a better option then take the ferry over to Vancouver island in BC. Washington Olympic peninsula has temperate rain forest, lovely nature trails etc and you can fly direct to either Seattle or Vancouver and so a circular trip - so eg Vancouver, drive to Seattle, down to mt St Helens, out to the coastal road, up around the peninsula, ferry to Victoria on Vancouver island, ferry to Vancouver. You can find proper wild areas

Long driving. 2 hours to get anywhere from where you start.

Thank you all, this is really helpful. DCs like to swim in lakes etc but are not great hikers.

The riding definitely appeals to us all and they love animals, wolves in particular for my eldest and she knows all about their reintroduction into Yellowstone. But equally we don’t want to spend half of the holiday on the car so I’d wondered about driving distances being too far.

Vancouver & Seattle were on my short list as well. I’m finding it hard to narrow down!

I live in Vancouver and forest fires are not a risk factor here. The fires are hundreds of miles away so the only thing that impacts Vancouver is smoke blowing in and impacting the air quality. The last two summers I don't recall any air quality issues, so it's definitely not a given that we experience them.

Never been to Montana or Wyoming but have travelled to southern Alberta (the part of Canada just north of Montana). It's beautiful but a lot of driving. As in, spending hours getting from town to town. I'd worry about your children getting bored because outside of the scenery and some outdoor activities (hiking, horseback riding, etc.), there isn't a lot of cultural infrastructure like museums or historic sites.