There’s a trip that starts with yummy potatoes, a rainy drive through the West Yellowstone entrance, mac & cheese for dinner, all with the goal of trying to find a bear throughout the weekend? Sign me up.
This is the best itinerary for your next weekend trip to Yellowstone and Grand Teton, especially for the autumn season.
Friday: Idaho & Montana
Our wannabe early morning didn’t start very early, but it didn’t hold us back. From Salt Lake City, we drove to Pocatello, ID. We stopped here for the potato museum, something that’s been on my bucket list of museums since I found out about it 4 months ago.
You will learn the origin of the potato, how it became popular in different cultures, along with the process of growing and farming a potato. At the end, you must get the cheddar tots. I continue to think about these.
Our stop for lunch was at Idaho Falls. We stopped at Subway and had a mini picnic next to the falls. We didn’t have a lot of time to explore the city, but we did see their Walmart.
Rain covered the landscapes on our way into Montana, but it made everything more beautiful. During this time, we kept going back and forth on whether we should car camp or camp in the tent. But we ended up using the tent since the rain stopped once we got to our campsite.
Before that, we explored the town and shops around. I ended up getting this Yellowstone hat and Smokey the Bear mug. I’m weirdly obsessed with anything Smokey the Bear. The rain was coming in more intensely so we decided to make our way to the campsite before it got dark.
In West Yellowstone we stayed at a campsite near town. After we set everything up, we walked around the campsite and explored the lake that was nearby. It was there my boyfriend and I talked about starting our blogs and what goals we had with them. It was our topic for the evening and why you’re reading this right now. More goals and ideas came throughout the night; as we indulged in mac & cheese, spinach artichoke dip, monopoly deal, and looked at the stars as the clouds cleared the way. It was also this night I woke up at 3 a.m. convinced a bear was going to attack our tent and was anxiously awake for 4 hours.
Note to self: camp with other tents and not RVs so you don’t feel alone in the woods.
Saturday: Yellowstone
With the rain that was coming and going into the morning, it set the scene for a brisk awakening. I personally love exploring in the colder months, with my layered outfits. Our entrance to West Yellowstone felt like a painting. Fog over the warm rivers, autumn colors surrounding the trees, and wildlife just waking up.
We arrived at Midway Geyser around 10 a.m.. Not a long line and we got a parking spot very close to the front. You couldn’t really see the colors of these geysers but the steam that came from them was what I found really beautiful. I love how nature looks after a night of rain.
After this, we drove to Old Faithful. Since I could remember, my grandma told me stories about Old Faithful Inn and how beautiful the lodge was. In the 60s, they had no toilets inside and that’s what kept her and her boyfriend from ever staying. She talks about this place a lot, so it was nice to see something that I’ve heard about so much.
We saw the Old Faithful Geyser go off; stopped for a goûte, made friends with a crow, and explored the surrounding Geysers in the area. By this time, the air was warming up and layers came off. We spent about 2hrs in this area and headed back, and around to Norris Geyser.
Tip: On our way back, a line of cars were waiting for Midway Geyser. If you can make it there before 10 a.m., you should!
Norris was a beautiful stop. So many hues of blue and pink coming together, it was incredible to see with your own eyes. Something I do have to say that I wasn’t expecting about Yellowstone is how guided the park is. It’s very simple. Drive, park, see, next. I’m used to hiking different trails and a variety of things to see from other National Parks like we have in UT. I’m sure there are some hikes you can do in Yellowstone, but I did miss this part of the nature aspect.
Then again, I didn’t plan anything for this trip or look anything up. I just let my Capricorn boyfriend do the planning and I will show up. So…if I go again I will look into the hiking trails they have to offer.
We ended our time in Yellowstone with lunch at Canyon Village, views of their version of the Grand Canyon, and driving through open land filled with grass and bison. We were making our way to Grand Teton, passing through the lower parts of Yellowstone that blended with Grand Teton.
We set up camp at Lizard Creek next to the dried up lake at the top of Grand Teton. No fears of bears came this night, it was a campsite filled with others.
Sunday: Grand Teton
We got up just in time for the sunrise. Bundled up and looking out for bears, but none could be seen. After packing up, we made our way to a parking lot near Leigh Lake. We took a trail along the west rim along the cliffs to Hidden Falls, through Jenny Lake. The autumn colors healed something in me and it was the perfect time of year to visit.
Hidden Falls was a beautiful spot to take a small break. Heading down to the lake, we took the boat across to Jenny Lake visitor center and hiked along the east rim back to Leigh Lake.
There are a lot of rocks on this side and you should pay attention. Don’t be like me because I ended up rolling my ankles multiple times and got diagnosed with six ankle sprains three days later. We ended our afternoon hopping around Jackson and trying to drink a beer to make the pain go away (it didn’t). I would’ve loved more time in Grand Teton and I plan on going back. Sunday was a rushed day because we had work the next day in SLC.
Weekends like these remind me how lucky I am to live in Utah and closely surrounded by so much beauty. A good dose of nature is just what I needed.