Combine Glacier NP with Yellowstone and Grand Teton?

[Anonymous]

Anyone ever done this? Already planing about a week in Glacier for next August and thinking of adding on more days to see some of Yellowstone and Grand Teton as well. Any tips/itineraries? Or bad idea?

[Anonymous]

Yellowstone and Grand Teton are right next tomeach other.
Glacier is an 8 hour drive away. I guess you can fly.
We did those in 2 separate trips, staying in Jackson Village and Kalispell. The parks are spectacular.

[Anonymous]

Alternatively, you could combine Glacier with Banff. We're doing that next Summer.

The last time we were in the Tetons, we ran into a family who were driving between the three. So people do it

[Anonymous]

I looked at this for a trip next summer. Yellowstone and Grand Teton together are a no brainer, but adding on Glacier required more internal travel time than I wanted for one trip so I nixed it.

[Anonymous]

I think it all depends how much time you have and if you like road trips. Yellowstone and Grand Teton are amazing. It's about 3 hours from the northern border of YS to the southern border of GT, and about an hour between Old Faithful and the northern area of Grand Teton. The Grand Loop road in Yellowstone is aboutique a 6-8 hour drive including stops.

[Anonymous]

Glacier is melting. Sooner will be better than later.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Alternatively, you could combine Glacier with Banff. We're doing that next Summer.

The last time we were in the Tetons, we ran into a family who were driving between the three. So people do it

Yes, my family did this. Glacier / Waterton and then we drove up to Banff / Lake Louise. The unexpectedly nice thing about that trip was that there was amazing Japanese food once we got up to Banff.

[Anonymous]

You know your family best and your tolerance for driving, but that is a LOT of time in the car. For context, Portland, Maine is about the same distance from DC as Grand Teton is to Glacier.

We did Yellowstone/Tetons a few years ago and loved it but there is some park fatigue also- it will be more special if you don’t try to do too much in one trip.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You know your family best and your tolerance for driving, but that is a LOT of time in the car. For context, Portland, Maine is about the same distance from DC as Grand Teton is to Glacier.

We did Yellowstone/Tetons a few years ago and loved it but there is some park fatigue also- it will be more special if you don’t try to do too much in one trip.

NP. I very much appreciate the comparison and wish more posters did this but is there ever traffic in MT?

[Anonymous]

I lived in Montana for almost a decade and my work and professional development obligations took me all over the state. There isn’t an inch that isn’t beautiful or interesting so the internal travel between Yellowstone and Glacier is well worth seeing. There are lots of roadside viewpoints where your kids can learn about Lewis & Clark and see the places they traveled on the Corps of Discovery. The mountains around Bozeman are gorgeous and as you head to Glacier it’s a really nice ride to get off the interstate and drive up 89 through Bynum so you can stop and see the Montana Dinosaur Center and all the little towns along the scenic way, it’s truly lovely. Your kids will see Hutterite colonies and drive through the Blackfeet Reservation and get a perspective on indigenous life in America.

"I am in love with Montana. For other states I have admiration, respect, recognition, even some affection, but with Montana it is love . . . " - John Steinbeck

[Anonymous]

Two separate trips for us but we like to stay in the parks and fully immerse in them with horses, lakes, hikes, ranger talks, boats, and not just drive through snapping photos at overlooks.

[Anonymous]

Literally just did it a few weeks ago. It certainly depends on your family’s tolerance for driving, but it is doable and I didn’t think it was overly exhausting.

We did a version where we added in Utah. I flew into SLC a day early, rented the car, and drove up to meet the rest of the family who flew directly to Glacier Airport in Kalispell/Whitefish. 4 nights there and then did the drive down to West Yellowstone for two nights and did the west side of the park, and two nights at Canyon Village on the east side. Did a drive and stop at the Tetons and then down to SLC for everyone to fly home. I would have liked another day to explore the Tetons more, but the 4 and 4 for Glacier and Yellowstone was good.

If you are not price-sensitive, there is a better version where you fly into Kalispell and out of Jackson. Airfare and the car will run you more, but fewer nights would be needed to do the same trip.

[Anonymous]

I've done Yellowstone and Glacier in one trip. Trying to add Grand Teton to it sounds like too much, but that might depend on how much hiking you intend to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Alternatively, you could combine Glacier with Banff. We're doing that next Summer.

The last time we were in the Tetons, we ran into a family who were driving between the three. So people do it

What’s your itinerary for this trip? What airport are you flying into/out of and how are you handling rental car if multiple airports?

[Anonymous]

How many days are you planning to add? You may need at least to add a week to see Yellowstone and grand Teton, it’s not about adding a couple of days extra. And as pp mentioned, it’s an 8 hour drive between Glacier and the north or west gates of Yellowstone and then there is the drive to grand Teton.

So unless you add a considerable time, it maybe just more practical to choose something closer to glacier to see.