Yellowstone and Grand Tetons

[Finnba]

Hey. We are holidaying in the US in August at Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. Does anyone have any advice on what to see and what not to see? Should we do the aerial tram at the Tetons or not? Any advice on where to go when inside the parks?

I would appreciate any hints and tips. Thanks

@Finnba You don’t have a chance of seeing all the highlights at that pace. I’ve just been and I know that to be true - sorry. You will be in an air con car driving for hours. However you love it, so that’s ok.

@Finnba Estes Park is great.

In your shoes I’d do a grocery shop run for non perishables before you leave Denver, and definitely buy a cooler box. There’s a giant Walmart pretty close to the airport. If anyone in your party likes a glass of wine or spirits at the end of the day try and grab bottles in Colorado as Wyoming and Utah have some weird rules around alcohol with state-run liquor stores and limited choice (+ high prices).

We’ve had some terrific meals at diner type places in very small towns when driving so definitely seek them out on Google Maps.

There’s a country market in Estes Park. It’s much easier than shopping in Denver.

Yes, if you want an overpriced tourist led convenience store, not a supermarket.

This might be hard to believe but you’re not the only person who has road tripped through the US.

@applegingermint ? I’ve just been there!! It’s large and well stocked. Not a convenience store at all, It is a supermarket. It’s not cheap but nowhere is. We left Denver on a motorway so looking for supermarkets would have been difficult. We shopped at a Safeway later in the holiday which was supposed to be cheaper. Couldn’t see much difference. Estes P Country market was full of Americans so surely they know the time of day with shopping? We can all make reasonable choices that suit our needs. It’s more like M&S at home where I shop anyway.

OK, we understand. Every choice you make is superior so enjoy the view from your high horse and shoot down every suggestion that doesn’t align perfectly with what you did on your Perfect Holiday.

@applegingermint I’m merely offering practical advice if, like us, you are driving out of a large city you haven’t been to before. It’s easier to shop in Estes. Who cares if it’s a few $ more and fresh food won’t be hanging around in the car. Plus you obviously thought I was a stupid tourist and didn’t have any idea about food shipping which was rude.

The cooler is an excellent idea and we will definitely do this. We are visiting friends in Denver so I’m sure they can direct us to a good local supermarket. Estes park is the last thing we do before returning home so while I appreciate the suggestion that’s not going to work for us.

You should bring food in the car, and plenty of bottled water, just in case you're forced to stop (car trouble or other emergencies). You'll be traversing empty land so there will be no hope of walking to the nearest shop or farmhouse.

Doing a shop in Denver is sensible. Don't turn up your noses at Walmart. They sell pretty much everything amd Walmarts in the west are a real slice of American life.

Buy a big bag of ice or two at the supermarket where you shop, or at a gas station.

We’ve done a road trip including those places. My tip for Yellowstone and Teton is to get up very early (ie sun rise), to avoid the crowds and to stand a better chance of seeing the wildlife in the Tetons. We went in July and didn’t have any issues with traffic/parking (although we did stay within Yellowstone NP which meant we could get ahead of the crowds coming from outside the park). With Yellowstone, plan your route each day. I think we did one half of the figure of 8 loop each day. Don’t try to do the whole thing in 1 day. If you’re used to road trips, you’ll know that the key to seeing all the highlights is to be organised and to have planned ahead. I think those who struggle to see everything are those without any real plan who aimlessly start driving.

If you are doing Mount Rushmore, visit Crazy Horse as well (we actually preferred it). Cody is also worth a visit (Buffalo Bill centre/rodeo/Cody Cattle Co show). If you’ve got time to spare in Denver, older kids will love Water World.

+1 for stopping at a Walmart outside Denver.

We flew into Denver last year, landing about 4pm, with our first overnight stop being Georgetown Lakes - 1hr west on I70 - before heading to Moab the following day.

Google maps found us a Walmart Supacentre 2 minutes drive from an intersection at Evergreen, 30 minutes into our drive. A quick 30 minute diversion and we'd stocked up on water and other basics/essentials for the next 7 days whilst we were in Utah/Arizona parks.

As others have said - all part of planning the trip