The Yellowstone lake hotel is awesome.

We have done the first three of those. Co springs- Glenwood - Moab was great with multiple younger kids but with a teen - I absolutely agree with Yellowstone/Grand Tetons, followed by Grand Canyon / Bryce.

Definitely Yellowstone and Grand Teton NPs. We stayed at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge which is right by Old Faithful and was really nice. Reviews said the Old Faithful Inn tended to be noisy due to thinner floors and walls. We also stayed in Jackson at the Cowboy Village Resort which was nice. I don't recommend staying in West Yellowstone-- We stopped for ice cream, and the town is a slightly run down tourist trap. Also recommend horse back riding with Swift Creek Outfitters and making reservations for the Jackson Rodeo and Astoria Hot Springs. We had such a great trip!

Yellowstone has built a ton of new lodging in the park- you can book one year out (liberal cancelation). We stayed in 2 places to minimize driving (old faithful inn for one).

Jackson- many lovely places to stay. We stayed at the Huff House. Really nice.

For Spring Break this year, we flew into Phoenix, drove to Sedona, then Grand Canyon, then Page, then Zion, and then Vegas. The weather was perfect, the kids (15 & 12) loved the trip, and we balanced some nicer/splurge hotels/dinners, with more basic stuff in some areas.

If your kid hasn't been out west yet, I think they would likely be impressed with any location. But the summer weather would lean more towards the Yellowstone/Grand Teton option.

Anonymous wrote:
Not PP you’re replying to, but we liked Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone and Signal Mountain Lodge in Tetons. The latter has an elk bull who visits frequently!

Thanks so much!

Not PP you’re replying to, but we liked Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone and Signal Mountain Lodge in Tetons. The latter has an elk bull who visits frequently!

Anonymous wrote:Pp here. Yellowstone and GT are stunning and not doable over spring break (too cold, too far). You can also stay in nice places in both areas. Great food in Jackson WY. (I did this trip a few summers ago).

Yosemite is totally overrun with tourists. I would skip this until they bring back timed entry.

We went to Zion/ Bryce over spring break and it was perfect. (We did GC + Sedona over winter break another year).

What lodging for YS/GT would you recommend?

Anonymous wrote:We did Grand Canyon, Grand Staircase/Page, AZ, and Zion. It was a fun trip. Our kids are similarly aged, and I feel we (as parents) are similar in terms of accommodations and food. If you take this trip, definitely start at the Grand Canyon, then Page, then Zion, as the accommodations and food only get better that way. I think if I had to do GC last, I would have been disappointed, as the accommodations and food are like stepping back in time.

Thanks so much for your reply and advice! Did you fly into Las Vegas or Phoenix? The drive time to the Grand Canyon isn’t much different from either, it seems. Either way, if flying out after Zion, would flying out of Vegas be the better choice? Thanks again!

+1 Yellowstone and Grand Teton for summer and Zion/GC for spring break. We have done these trips at these times, and the weather was perfect.

Anonymous wrote:Yellowstone / Grand Teton for cooler weather.
GC + Zion will be very hot. Personally I would do that over spring break.

+1.

Pp here. Yellowstone and GT are stunning and not doable over spring break (too cold, too far). You can also stay in nice places in both areas. Great food in Jackson WY. (I did this trip a few summers ago).

Yosemite is totally overrun with tourists. I would skip this until they bring back timed entry.

We went to Zion/ Bryce over spring break and it was perfect. (We did GC + Sedona over winter break another year).

Yellowstone / Grand Teton for cooler weather.
GC + Zion will be very hot. Personally I would do that over spring break.

We did Grand Canyon, Grand Staircase/Page, AZ, and Zion. It was a fun trip. Our kids are similarly aged, and I feel we (as parents) are similar in terms of accommodations and food. If you take this trip, definitely start at the Grand Canyon, then Page, then Zion, as the accommodations and food only get better that way. I think if I had to do GC last, I would have been disappointed, as the accommodations and food are like stepping back in time.

We are in the very preliminary stages of planning a summer 2027 vacation and would love some input.

Travelers will be two parents and one almost-16-year-old.

We've narrowed our ideas to:

* Denver → Glenwood Springs → Moab
* Grand Canyon → Zion
* Yellowstone → Grand Teton
* Yosemite

At this point, we don't strongly favor one over another. We know all of these involve some logistical challenges, airport proximity and a fair amount of driving.

What we're looking for is an adventure: beautiful scenery, immersion in nature, and the chance to experience the West, new to us.

One caveat: while we love the outdoors, we also appreciate comfortable lodging and access to decent food options. We don't need luxury, but we're not looking to rough it either.

For those who have done any of these trips, which would you choose and why? Any pros, cons, or things we're overlooking?

We're also very open to other Western US suggestions that might fit these parameters.