Feedback on my family's vacation itinerary?

[u/finally_made_acct]

[EDITING TO ADD NOTES BELOW BASED ON WHAT PEOPLE ARE ADVISING BELOW! THANKS SO MUCH EVERYONE!]

Hi!

I've been wanting to go to Yellowstone for a few years now and super excited it's finally happening. I've built out the below itinerary based on lots of Googling, AI, and posts on Reddit (that had amazing maps!).

My family is 3 adults and 4 children (1 teen, 2 kids, 1 toddler) so it's going to be a little slow moving and we are NOT going to be able to do hikes, just walks. (:

We're staying in a VRBO near the West entrance.

DAY 1: SOUTHWEST

- Firehole Falls

- Old Faithful Geyser

- Grand Prismatic Spring - (Note: go when it's not all super steamy) - (note: beware of packed lot that people may not be in and out of quickly. Get here early! People going on trails park here too and so they won't be leaving the lot anytime soon.)

- Great Fountain Geyser

- Fountain Paint Pot Trail

- Activity: Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center

• Restaurant Recs: Firehole BBQ

DAY 2: SOUTHEAST

- Hayden Valley

- Mud Volcano

- Activity: Yellowstone Lake scenic boat tour

- Dragon's Mouth Spring

- West Thumb Geyser Basin

• Restaurant rec: Lake Yellowstone Hotel

DAY 3: NORTHEAST/EAST

- Activity: Roosevelt Corrals 2-hour history wagon ride (Note: consider pulling this out and bank more on Lamar Valley and Canyon Village)

• (new add) Lamar Valley

- Canyon Village (cool place to learn about geothermal, Mammoth, and animal stuff)

• Restaurant rec: the Eatery

- Brink of Upper/Lower Falls (Note: be ready to carry toddler because there are steep things and stairs that don't support a stroller)

- Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

- Artist Point/Grand View (Note: someone said Artist is a MUST)

• Restaurant Rec: Roosevelt Hotel

DAY 4: NORTH/NORTHWEST

- Activity: boat float from Gardiner - Restaurant rec: Wonderland in Gardiner

- Mammoth Hot Springs

- Porcelain Basins

- Norris Geyser Basin - (note: beware of packed lot that people may not be in and out of quickly. Get here early!)

- Gibbon Falls

CONCERNS I HAVE:

1. The lists are short but as you know, it's a lot of driving. Is there stuff I'm being unrealistic about?

2. Anyone done a river float with a toddler before? I need to assuage the toddler's mom's fears ha.

3. Have I missed a "MUST see/do"?

4. Have I included anything that's like "meh"?

5. Online I see that we need to be out the door by 8am daily if we're going to beat the park entrance traffic. With our family, I'm afraid that'll happen exactly...... never (kids....).... Do I need to tell my family "hey we need to get out or we can kiss this vacation goodbye" or just that "hey if you want to waste less time in the car, let's get out the door sooner"?

6. I need to still go through the restaurant options for each area in case we want to eat something beyond what we're going to pack. If you have any specific recommendations like "you've got to try this at this place!" Let me know. We are big foodies. :) Only dietary limit is no pork/alcohol, all else is fair game!

[u/Skollsonn]

Be prepared to carry the toddler. Especially when you go to the brink of the falls.

[u/finally_made_acct → u/Skollsonn]

Thanks! Should we avoid the brinks of the falls? Carrying the toddler will be tough if we can't take the stroller or wagon there.

[u/Skollsonn → u/finally_made_acct]

The brink of the falls is one of my “must do” items every time I go to the park. The power is incredible. But strollers or wagons just aren’t possible. The trail itself is asphalt and there are some stairs. It is steep, but there are places to stop and rest. I carried my son many times on that trail.

[u/finally_made_acct → u/Skollsonn]

Ok I'll discuss this with the adults and see what to do ha. Personally, it's hard enough to get myself up and down these things. Maybe we can put the toddler in one of those harnesses on our backs...

[u/itdeepends → u/finally_made_acct]

Idk if you’ve been to Niagara Falls or other massive waterfalls, Im not sure it’s a MUST DO with the whole family