Critique My Colorado/Wyoming Vacation Plan

In My Humble Opinion
1

In early September (but after Labor Day) Mrs. Raza and I will be vacationing in the mountain West. The part that cannot change is we’re flying into Denver on a Saturday and departing the same way the following Friday. We’ll be renting a car.

The plan, subject to change based on doper advice, is this:

  • we arrive early morning Saturday; drive up to Estes Park/Rocky Mountain National Park and cruise the park area (by that I mean, given the time alloted, we don’t expect to engage in any activities other than sightseeing).

  • stay Saturday night in a hotel in the Loveland/Fort Collins area.

  • Sunday drive leisurely north along I-26 towards Casper Wyoming; stay Sunday night in Casper.

  • Monday drive west along US 26 (I think that is the right road), through Jackson, and ultimately to Rexburg, Idaho

  • spend Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday nights in Rexburg, visiting Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, and perhaps other sites as time permits (again, our time will be primarily sightseeing, rather than horse-riding, boating, and other activities).

Why Rexburg Idaho? We can get a significant hotel discount there, and hotels in Jackson appear to be in the $150-$300 range even in September, which is out of our league.

  • Thursday head back towards Denver, likely via a different route (like going down to Rock Springs and across I-80, but open to other ideas).

We do not yet have a Thursday night hotel reservation, and our Friday flight isn’t until late in the afternoon, so we have some flexibility. Ideally, we’d prefer using this extra time not too far from Denver, so that an unexpected event doesn’t leave us too far from our departure airport.

Those who live in the area or have visited often or recently, please let me know if you see any flaws, or have suggestions for routes or sites. Many thanks!

2

All of this is doable, even the jog back toward Denver. I once stayed in Rexburg, then visited Yellowstone the next day and overnighted in Rawlins! (Of course I only got about 3 hours of sightseeing in in Yellowstone but that was enough for me personally.)

In fact if you really want to you could probably stay in Estes Park on Saturday, and see some of the park before driving to Casper. It’s less than 5 hours, and speaking for me personally, I’d be bored stiff if all I had on schedule for the day was a drive from Ft Collins to Casper. But if Mrs. Raza or you are the type that enjoys to sleep in until 9, then get a leisurely brunch before heading out on the road once in awhile, then that might be another story.

3

Lots and lots of driving with not enough time to enjoy the parks. Unless you’re really set on going to Yellowstone, I would consider keeping to the Colorado Rockies. Maybe hit Glenwood Springs after Rocky Mountain NP and then loop back from there via Aspen? The big tourist towns are expensive, but there are little places all over that won’t cost a fortune.

4

If you go to Yellowstone, get up EARLY. In fact, you may want to have some sort of portable food to take with you instead of stopping for breakfast. The park is very crowded and the traffic jams can be tiresome. A very EARLY start may help you avoid that.

5

The “lots and lots of driving” is, in this instance, part of the fun. OK, not literally the driving, but seeing what we’ll see on the way. I haven’t been out that way in over 20 years, and the Mrs. has never, so it’ll all seem a novelty to us.

I appreciate the idea of more thoroughly exploring one area, but since we’ve been talking about doing this for years and only now getting around to doing it, we definitely want to see as much as we can in the time we have.

Yellowstone is actually the target of our trip. We originally were going to fly into SLC, but tickets for us to Denver were half the price, so that is why we’re originating there - seeing RMNP is a side-benefit. And Google Maps is telling us it is only about a 10-hour drive from Loveland to Rexburg total, and we’re only doing half that in each day (going up), so we should have plenty of time to take side roads, stop along the way to smell the roses, etc.

[QUOTE=Ludovic]
I’d be bored stiff if all I had on schedule for the day was a drive from Ft Collins to Casper
[/quote]

Yes, that is a concern. But given that we’re on vacation, I think we’ll appreciate NOT getting an early start (neither of us is known to be an early-riser). We’re also somewhat artificially constrained in the sense that we only want to overnight in towns where we can get a room at a particular hotel chain, due to the discount (and said discount is quite significant, so not using it could add hundreds to the trip). There are only about 5 hotels in this chain in the entire state of Wyoming.

6

Chefguy, would the crowd issues be true even in September? Good tip on the food; I think it is 1.5-2 hours from Rexburg to the park (or am I wrong), so that is definitely a good idea.

7

Dubois (pn: DUE BOYS)/Lander/Rawlins From via 287 from I-80 from I-25 is the way to go.

BTW - US 287 parallels the Oregon Trail, and you can still see the wagon ruts if you are interested.

Here is the link: Wyoming Tails and Trails has history: The Oregon Trail

For lodging, call Signal Mountain Lodge…NOW.
Here is the link: http://www.signalmtnlodge.com/
After labor day, the rates drop sharply and there are usually vacancies.
I think I paid $80/night the week after labor day for a cabin with a DBL bed, called the day that I left CO and they gave me a great deal.
It is in Grand Teton NP on Jackson lake and ~ 20 mins from Oxbow Bend of the Snake River.

You also might want to check out YNET.
Here is a discussion on YNET about your planned route:
http://forums.yellowstone.net/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=13596

YNET is a great resource for all things about Yellowstone, by and for Yellowstone zealots.

Real time road conditions:
WYDOT: http://map.wyoroad.info/hi.html?cp=1&co=0&al=0
CDOT map: COtrip Traveler Information

For RMNP, try and get up to Trail Ridge Road in RMNP–at least as far as the visitors center @ ~ 11,000 ft. Pictures are here: http://www.nps.gov/romo/photosmultimedia/webcams.htm#CP_JUMP_438321

You might want to take a bio break at the Stanley Hotel in Estes on the way back–it is where some of The Shining was filmed and is a very cool old hotel.

If it was me, I would blow through Casper and drive from Ft Collins to GTNP, probably ~ 6hrs.

Drink PLENTY OF WATER (really- Plenty of Water) and take aspirin or ibuprofen at the first inkling of a headache.

The Bison and Elk Ruts are on now–so you will have fun. Hayden Valley for wolves…all of that is on YNET.

8

Wow, phxjcc, a ton of info…THANKS!

9

NP.
By the way…Signal Mountain Lodge is very basic, but clean and you are buying location and saving 4 hrs/day drive time to/from the park. Don’t expect the Ritz Carlton and you will be pleased. The restaurant is good at SML. Best pizza is at Coulter Bay Marina about 15 miles N of SM Lodge. Also, Better Salads and sandwiches than elsewhere.

The Moose Road has been intermittently closed in GTNP due to bears, but last I checked it was open. Check on YNET for status as it is posted daily.

Last add: Get a copy of Yellowstone Treasures. The best guide book to the park. Amazon can probably get you one in 2 days.

10

Day two is all wrong. It’s a waste of a day unless you have really dear family in Casper you need to see. The drive from Ft. Collins to Casper is boring, boring, boring. You’d have to be saving hundreds of dollars in lodging to make that trip worthwhile.

Alternate: Do your day in RMNP, but instead of exiting east, exit west to Granby via Trail Ridge Road. You’ll drive over 12,000’ altitude (on a paved and well-maintained road) and from Granby head north one hour on Hwy. 125 to Walden, CO or one more hour north to beautiful Saratoga, WY (125 changes to 230 in WY, then to 130 right before Saratoga). Saratoga has natural hot springs that are very relaxing and a bunch of small hotels. Those highway changes sound daunting, but it is the same road going in the same direction - no turns at all.

The next day would be a 7 1/2 hour drive to Rexburg, but then you’re there, and you’ve saved a full day. The drive from Casper to Rexburg is just as long as Saratoga - Rexburg.

11

P.S. If you’re able to find lodging in GTNP, the drive from Saratoga is only 5 1/2 hours.

The route bypassing Casper that phxjcc recommends is the same one I describe, once you get to Rawlins, WY.

12

It’s definitely a lot of driving (more than I would recommend) though certainly doable. Much of the drive will indeed be scenic.
Here are a few specific recommendations:

Plan an elegant dinner night in Jackson WY. This decidedly upscale town (local saying: “the billionaires are driving out the millionaires”) has plenty of restaurants charging fancy prices, some of which deliver food and service worthy of what they charge. My recommendation would be the Snake River Grill.

As you drive north on Route 20 out of Rexburg toward Yellowstone NP, consider the detour on Route 47 east out of Ashton, that takes you past Mesa Falls - not as spectacular as the best of the YNP scenery, but very worthwhile.

In YNP, be sure to check out the Firehole Canyon Road, which departs the “main” road about half a mile south of Madison Junction.

A couple of miles south of the YNP north entrance, just south of a bridge across the Gardiner River, is a parking area east of the road (N 44.9925 W 110.6914). If you walk from there about a half mile south along the river, you come to a place where the outflow of a hot spring (very hot) merges with the river (very cold). In the area where the waters merge, you can soak in water of a temperature you select. This is a popular activity among locals, though no park official will tell you about it.

After reading its history, visit the Teton Dam site - it’s north of Route 33, about 20 miles NE of Rexburg. (Briefly, in 1976 the dam - inadequately planned and constructed - failed during its first real test, releasing a more or less catastrophic flood. It was never rebuilt.)

On the way back from Rexburg, take Route 20 south and connect with Route 26 along the Snake River, past Swan Valley, Alpine, Hoback Junction and Bondurant - amazingly scenic.

South of Bondurant, stop in Pinedale WY for lunch. Grab sandwiches, etc. and head northeast out of town on Fremont Lake Road. This turns into Skyline Drive, which leads to a spectacular roadside spot (N 43.0088 W 109.7579) overlooking Fremont Lake and giving superb views of the peaks of the Wind River Range. Note that there are many short and long hikes in these stunning mountains.

Heading back toward Denver, take I-80 east to Laramie, then Route 287 SE to Ft Collins - very scenic.

13

You’ll be competing with a lot of retired people and their motor homes at that time of year, and possibly a lot of foreign visitors. School will be in session, so probably the family traffic will have abated. For such a large park, the traffic in summer is unbelievable. Let a bison appear at the side of the road and you have an hour traffic jam. A herd crossing the road and just standing in the middle of it staring stupidly at the cars is a good two hours.

While I’m sure you’re a smart person, I just want to point out that while a lot of the animals there are habituated to humans and cars, they can still be very dangerous. Leaving your car when wildlife is present is risky, and approaching an animal is downright dangerous folly. People who know better (including me) do it all the time, however. Well, not the approaching part, but the leaving the car part. I actually saw a woman edging closer to a bear, sneaking up on it like you would see in a cartoon. :rolleyes:

Have a great trip!

14

The bears are getting ready for hibernation this time of year. They are storing as much fat as possible before winter. 20,000 calories is successfully chasing down 50 squirrels a day or there’s this big yahoo shoving a camera in my face. Hmmm.

15

If you really like driving, consider a side trip out towards Red Lodge on the Beartooth Highway.

The wildlife traffic jams just about drove my friend insane on one trip. You really cannot count on making time through the park except for maybe early in the morning.

One of my favorite spots in Yellowstone to get out of the car for a few minutes is Sheepeater Cliff; if you’re lucky you might have the place to yourself for a half hour or so. You can commune with the marmots that hang out in the broken blocks of basalt and take a stroll along a nice little Creek.

16

To answer the question posed though, the park is much less crowded after labor day. As a matter of fact, the week after labor day is a traditionally “slow” week with limited (sometimes none) NPS Ranger programs. The “leaf peepers” start showing up at the end of Sept.

You will still get animal jams, but nothing like July or August. Crowds are more like 1st wk of June.

17

Thank you to everyone single one of you - all great information, and it may take me a bit to digest it all.

I have been to Yellowstone about 20 years ago (was nearly killed there during a sudden snow shower driving a RWD rental car), but with my memory it will all seem every bit as exciting as before. Well, hopefully without the drama of nearly plummeting to my death.

18

Raza:
Have fun, it is one of the best places on earth.
Bring shorts and sweatshirts and hats, though–as it can be COLD at night and 80*+ during the day. Also recommend a flashlight as it is DARK at night and is handy going to/from the car and if you get caught in a night time animal jam and nature calls you will need it.

A good book for GTNP is Roads Through Time: A Roadside History of Jackson Hole, Sam Lightner, Jr (2009). I bought mine at the GTNP Moose Visitor Center bookstore, although it now may be out of print. It is a funny and informative read on the history of the town of Jackson and GNTP itself.

19

Ms Hook and myself lived in Wyoming for 20 years (16 in Green River and 4 in Laramie). I second the idea of driving through Saratoga, beautiful country. Lander is fun little town. It is amazingly yuppiefied to be in the middle of Wyoming, I recomend the Cowfish restaurant. It’s on the main street that you would be on anyway.

Coming back from the park you’ll want to stop at the Mercantile in Farson. They sell one HUGE ice cream cone for a dollar.

If you go through Dubois make sure to pronounce it Duboys, it’ll save being snickered at.

20

If you have 8-12 hours to spare once you get back to Denver, come on down to Colorado Springs. We’ve got the Garden of the Gods, which I think you would greatly enjoy, and we’ve got a lot of museums. A lot of them are focused on local things, but you might be interested in the Museum of Mining and Industry.

We also have the Air Force Academy, which is well worth a visit.