A 14-day summer vacation to Grand Teton and Yellowstone

	Summer (June) trip to Rocky Mountains, Grand Tetons, and Yellowstone from Central Illinois
	Travel from central Illinois through Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota, Iowa, and Illinois. See Rocky Mountain National Park, Grand Teton National Park, and Yellowstone National Park.

Short Summary.

Day 1	Leave Illinois and drive to Milford State Park in Kansas.	Milford State Park, Milford, KS
Day 2	Drive across Kansas and eastern Colorado.	Boulder, CO
Day 3	Day hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park	Rocky Mountain National Park
Day 4	Hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park and driving to Laramie.	Laramie, WY
Day 5	Drive across Wyoming, and relax in hot springs in Thermopolis, WY	Thermopolis, WY
Day 6	Drive from Thermopolis to Grand Teton National Park	Colter Bay, Grand Teton Nat’l Park
Day 7	Hike in Grand Teton National Park	Colter Bay, Grand Teton Nat’l Park
Day 8	Day around West Thumb and Old Faithful. Hike among geysers and hot springs.	Grant Village, Yellowstone Nat’l Park
Day 9	Southern Yellowstone, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone	Grant Village, Yellowstone Nat’l Park
Day 10	Yellowstone National Park, Go to Mammoth Hot Springs	Mammoth Hot Springs, WY
Day 11	Drive across Montana, Devils Tower. Northeast Wyoming.	Newcastle, WY
Day 12	Black Hills, Jewel Cave, Mt. Rushmore, Badlands, drive across South Dakota.	Mitchell, WY
Day 13	National Music Museum, western Iowa.	West Bend, IA
Day 14	Grotto of the Redemption, Eastern Iowa, drive home.	Home

See our list of trips.

My Travel Resources Page

Full Description

Day 1	Friday	Depart on a Friday morning at about 7:40 a.m. Drive to Hannibal, Missouri. Arrive in Hannibal at 9:30 a.m. Leave Hannibal at 10:15 p.m. Stop for a break and picnic lunch at the Long Branch State Park Visitor Center near Macon, Missouri at 11:45 am. Leave Long Branch State Park at 12:20 p.m. Arrive at the Kansas City Zoo at 3:00 p.m. Depart the Zoo and have dinner in Kansas City Depart Kansas City around 6:00 p.m. Arrive at Milford State Park around 8:15 p.m. to set up tent. Stay for the night at Milford State Park or Junction City Best Western (reviews)	Camping at Milford State Park near Junction City, Kansas
Day 2	Saturday	Drive from Kansas to Boulder Colorado, just east of Rocky Mountain National Park. There are several places worth stopping in Kansas. There are good museums in Abilene and Hays, and south of Minneapolis there is a wonderful park with unusual stones where we can have a picnic and play hide-and-go-seek. Wake up around 6:30 a.m. Pack up the tent and leave the state park at about 7:30 a.m. Arrive at the Eisenhower Presidential Library around 8:15 a.m. (when it opens) Leave the Eisenhower Presidential Library museum at 10:00 a.m. Get to Rock City around 10:55 a.m. Arrive at Rock City Park, play hide-and-go-seek, and have a picnic lunch. Leave Rock City Park around 11:45 a.m. Arrive at Fort Hays Historic Site about 1:30 p.m. Leave Fort Hays Historic Site at about 2:45 p.m. Dinner in Goodland, Kansas at around 5:00 p.m. Depart Goodland around 6:00 p.m., but get an hour crossing into Mountain time zone, so it is like leaving at 5:00 p.m. Arrive at Foot of the Mountain motel (reviews) around 8:20 p.m. to spend the night.	Stay in the Foot of the Mountain in Boulder, Colorado
Day 3	Sunday	Spend a day in Rocky Mountain National Park. Go for some hikes there. Camp in the park for the night, or if the campgrounds are full, go on and camp somewhere west or north of the park, or even go all the way to Laramie and spend the night with my friend there. Depart in the morning around 9:00 a.m., and get into the park at 10:00 a.m. Turn on the Bear Lake Road, and go to the Bear Lake trailhead. Hike (about 4 miles round trip) to Lake Haiyaha. Picnic lunch at the lake. At about 2:00 p.m. get on the Trail Ridge Road and continue toward the Alpine Visitor Center, stopping to see the Tundra Communities nature trail. At around 4:30 p.m. get to the Timber Creek campground (reviews). If there is a tent site available, set up the tent to camp there for the night. If not, see about Winding River campground. The Arapaho National Recreation Area is also nearby, and has a good campground (Stillwater). Or, if you are entirely tired of camping and hiking and want to get to a town, drive three hours north to Laramie, Wyoming.	Timber Creek Campground in Rocky Mountain National Park or Winding River near Grand Lake, Colorado or Stillwater Campground in the Arapaho National Recreation Area or Laramie, WY
Day 4	Monday	In the morning take the hike to Long Meadows (less than 8 miles round trip). Or, possibly hike some other trail in the western park of Rocky Mountain National park. Depart the campground around 9:00 a.m., take the hike, and finish the hike around 4:00 p.m. Then drive to Laramie, and arrive in Laramie at 7:00 p.m. Have a late dinner in Laramie. Stay for the night at the Motel 8 Laramie (reviews) or the Fairfield Inn & Suites (reviews).	Laramie, WY
Day 5	Tuesday	Hang out in Laramie until about 12:30 p.m. Buy gas in Laramie before continuing. Stop for a 30 minute rest in Lander, Wyoming around 4:00 p.m. Arrive in Thermopolis at 6:00 p.m. Dinner in Thermopolis. Play in hot springs pool. Either set up a tent for camping or else stay at a cabin at the Fountain of Youth RV Park (reviews) or the Best Western Plaza Hotel (reviews) in Thermopolis.	Thermopolis, WY
Day 6	Wednesday	On Monday, play in hot springs and hang out until after lunch. Perhaps see the Wyoming Dinosaur Center. Buy gas in Thermopolis, and then leave at 12:30 p.m. Enter the Grand Teton National Park. Arrive in Colter Bay Village at around 4:30 p.m. Probably take a late afternoon hike near Colter Bay, the Lakeshore Trail or the Heron Pond and Swan Lake trails are appropriate.	Colter Bay Village, WY.
Day 7	Thursday	Spend the day in the Grant Teton National Park. Perhaps take a half-day hike in Cascade Canyon in the morning.	Colter Bay Village, WY.
Day 8	Friday	Drive north into Yellowstone. Take a walk around the West Thumb Geyser Basin. Take a look at the area around Lake Yellowstone. Possibly stop for a look at the Mud Volcano. Go to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Set up tent in Canyon Campground. As an alternative to camping at Canyon Campground, it would be possible to stay at Old Faithful or at Lake Yellowstone. You could spend two nights at the Lake Yellowstone Hotel (or a Lake Yellowstone Western Cabin with two queen beds). If you did this, you would have a reservation, and you could just drive to Lake Yellowstone area after seeing Old Faithful. Or you could spend two nights at Old Faithful. Either at the Inn or in a Lodge Frontier Cabin. If you did this, you would not need to return to Grant Village after your late afternoon visit to Old Faithful.	Grant Village in Yellowstone National Park
Day 9	Saturday	This is a day to do the lower loop at Yellowstone. You can either go: Lake Village, Mud Volcano, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Norris Geyser Basin, Monument Geyser Basin, Lower Geyser Basin, Midway Geyser Basin, Biscuit Basin, Upper Geyser Basin, Old Faithful; or else you can go around the opposite direction, starting at Old Faithful. Reserve some time to hike along the shores of Yellowstone Lake. Be sure to go up to see Mud Volcano. Spend time around Old Faithful See Midway Geyser basin, Fountain Paint Pot perhaps. Stop to see Monument Geyser basin, Steamboat Geyser, Norris Geyser basin, and be sure to allow at least a couple hours at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.	Grand Canyon Lodge in Canyon Village, WY.
Day 10	Sunday	There is not as much to see in the northern half of the park. Today as you drive up to Mammoth Hot Springs you can stop at any of the geyser basins you missed the previous day. Allow a couple hours for hiking around Mammoth Hot Springs. Spend the night at Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel. Or, if you prefer, plan to leave Yellowstone in the late afternoon, heading north out of the park around 6:30 p.m. and get to Spring Creek Campground near Big Timber, Montana around 8:00 p.m.	Mammoth Hot Springs. or Spring Creek Campground near Big River, MT.
Day 11	Monday	Saturday Depart Mammoth Hot Springs at 10:00 a.m. (or depart Big Timber, MT at 11:30 a.m.) Stop for gas and a quick dinner in Gillette, Wyoming (4:00 to 4:30) Arrive to visit Devils Tower National Monument around 5:45 p.m. Hike around Devil’s Tower, and then depart around 7:00 p.m. Arrive in Newcastle, Wyoming around 8:30 p.m., and stay at either: 1) the Pines Motel (reviews), or 2) the Sundowner Inn (reviews).	Newcastle, WY
Day 12	Tuesday	Morning in the Black Hills. See Jewel Cave in time to take the 10:00 a.m. scenic tour. Drive through Custer State park, stopping to take short hikes and look around, possibly visiting the Mount Coolidge Fire Tower. Continue on to Mt. Rushmore National Memorial, arriving there around 1:30 p.m. Depart Mt Rushmore at 2:30 p.m. Arrive at Wall, South Dakota at 3:50 p.m. Stop for a short visit, and then continue on into the Badlands, departing by 4:30 p.m. Stop to take some nature trail hikes in the Badlands, and get to the Ben Reifel Visitor Center by 6:00 p.m. (it is open until 7:00 in summers). Depart the Badlands around 7:00 p.m. Cross a time zone line so that it will be an hour later. Arrive in Mitchell, South Dakota three hours later (but it is 11:00 p.m. because of the time zone change). Stay at the Kelly Inn and Suites in Mitchell (reviews) or the Coachlight Motel (reviews).	Mitchell, SD
Day 13	Wednesday	In the morning visit the Corn Palace. Depart Mitchell at 10:40 a.m. and continue on to Vermillion, SD. See the National Music Museum. Arrive at about 1:00 p.m.. Probably leave Vermillion around 3:00 p.m. and head east to Le Mars to see the Ice Cream Parlor & Museum. After dinner, depart Le Mars and continue east to West Bend, Iowa to see the Grotto of the Redemption. Departing Le Mars at 6:00 p.m. would mean a 8:15 p.m. arrival at West Bend, Iowa. Set up the tent and camp. Stay at the Grotto of the Redemption Campground If not camping, then stay at the Park View Inn & Suites.	Camping at Grotto of the Redemption in West Bend, Iowa
Day 14	Thursday	Leave West Bend around 10:50 a.m. Stop around 1:30 p.m. for lunch in Waterloo, Iowa, and depart around 2:15. Arrive at the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site at 3:45 p.m. Spend a little over an hour in the Presidential Library and Museum. Continue east around 5:15 p.m., and stop around 6:00 p.m. for a picnic and short hike in Wildcat Den State Park near Muscatine, Iowa. Around 7:30 depart Wildcat Den and continue on to home in Central Illinois. Arrive home in Springfield at 11:00 p.m.	Late night arrival home

Costs. (Day, expense, Cost in 2013 U.S. Dollars, Cost in percent of median year-round full-time income)
(Thus 1,080 Myrfti is 10.8% of a median year-round full-time American income, while 230 Myrfti is 2.3% of median year-round full-time income. To convert costs into current dollars, simply multiply the costs in the far right column times the current median year-round full-time American income, and you'll have an idea of current costs. Otherwise, use a Consumer Price Inflation adjustment to 2011 with the dollar figures. The resulting cost estimates should be similar, at least if travel costs and incomes have matched inflation).
The two-person prices assume an adult couple sharing a bed, and the four-person costs assume a family of four with two children aged between 12 and 17.
I used $49,500 as the median year-round full-time income as a match to the 2011 prices. That should be fairly close to the right number.

Days 1-12	Gas for the trip. The total distance is 3,645 miles. I'll say that is $640 (car getting 20 mpg and gas costing $3.50 per gallon)	2 persons $640 4 persons $640	2 persons 129 4 persons 129
Days 1-12	Wear and tear on a car and depreciation of a car. By my calculations, the non-gas costs in loss of value or wear and tear on a vehicle is about 20.5¢ per mile in 2011. Much of this cost is not realized until one sells the car or takes it in for maintenance at a date long after the trip.	2 persons $750 4 persons $750	2 persons 151 4 persons 151
Days 1-12	Lodging Costs camping as much as possible (in Myrfti, 2, 4, and 6 persons): Milford State Park: 5.5 / 5.5 / 5.5 Motel in Boulder: 17.6 / 19.8 / 37.4 Camping near/in Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park: 6.1 / 8.1 / 10.0 Motel in Laramie: 16.5 / 20.9 / 37.4 Camping at Fountain of Youth in Thermopolis: 7.1 / 9.0 / 10.0 Cabin at Coulter Bay 2 nights in Grand Teton: 68.3 / 78.0 / 105.3 Canyon Campground 2 nights in Yellowstone: 11.0 / 11.0 / 11.0 Camping at Spring Creek near Big Timber, MT: 6.1 / 7.4 / 8.7 Pines Motel in Newcastle, WY: 12.1 / 21.0 / 36.4 Kelly Inn in Mitchell, SD: 16.6 / 20.9 / 33.1 Camping at Grotto of the Redemption: 3.3 / 3.3 / 3.3 Substitutions if never camping (in Myrfti, 2 / 4/ 6 persons): Junction City Best Western: 20.4 / 20.4 / 40.9 Cabin at Winding River: 21.1 / 30.0 / 51.1 Cabin at Fountain of Youth: 32.8 / 33.3 / 36.9 Old Faithful Inn (2 nights): 61.8 / 104.4 / 166.2 Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel: 20.2 / 40.4 / 60.7 Park View Inn & Suites: 20.0 / 24.4 / 40.0	Mostly camping: 2 persons $850 4 persons $1,025 6 persons $1,650 Never camping: 2 persons $1,527 4 persons $2,055 6 persons $3,205	Mostly camping: 2 persons 172 Myrfti 4 persons 207 Myrfti 6 persons 333 Myrfti Never camping: 2 persons 309 Myrfti 4 persons 415 Myrfti 6 persons 648 Myrfti
Days 1-12	Food for 14 days eating mostly in restaurants At the high end, the meal budget is about $36.50 per person per day (7.37 Myrfti per day per person). At the low end, the meal budget is $25.00 per person per day (5.05 Myrfti per day per person).	Higher costs: 2 persons $1,020 4 persons $2,040 6 persons $3.060 Lower costs: 2 persons $704 4 persons $1,408 6 persons $2,112	Higher costs: 2 persons 206 Myrfti 4 persons 412 Myrfti 6 persons 618 Myrfti Lower costs: 2 persons 142 Myrfti 4 persons 284 Myrfti 6 persons 427 Myrfti
Days 1-12	Costs for admissions and fees, and also shopping. Including an America the Beautiful Annual Pass	2 persons $285 4 persons $436 6 persons $601	2 persons 58 Myrfti 4 persons 88 Myrfti 6 persons 121 Myrfti
Total	Total Costs For four persons, this trip would cost between 8.6% and 12.0% of the median year-round full-time income. For two persons the costs would be between 6.5% and 8.5%.	Higher costs (no camping and full food budget): 2 persons $4,220 4 persons $5,920 6 persons $8,250 Lowest costs (mostly camping and 31% reduction in food budget): 2 persons $3,220 4 persons $4,250 6 persons $5,740 Average costs (half-way between most expensive and least expensive): 2 persons $3,720 4 persons $5,085 6 persons $6,995	Highest costs: 2 persons 852 Myrfti 4 persons 1,195 Myrfti 6 persons 1,667 Myrfti Lowest costs: 2 persons 651 Myrfti 4 persons 859 Myrfti 6 persons 1,160 Myrfti Average costs: 2 persons 752 Myrfti 4 persons 1,027 Myrfti 6 persons 1,413 Myrfti
	To afford a vacation like this every two years, a typical family budget for a family earning 120% of the median year-round full-time income ($59,400 would be 120% of about the median income of $49,500 in 2013), might allocate money in this way each month: Housing and utilities: 26.7% ($1,321 per month) All taxes: 16% ($792 per month) Car expenses (gas, insurance, maintenance, purchasing): 13% ($643.50 per month) Groceries, food, and household supplies: 11% ($544.50 per month) Savings for a trip like this every two years: 5.25% ($260 per month) Savings for retirement: 6% ($297 per month) Savings for children's college expenses: 5% ($247.50 per month) Health insurance and health care expenses: 5% ($247.50 per month) Savings for a bigger trip every three years: 4% ($198 per month) Charitable giving: 2.2% ($109 per month) Miscellaneous other expenses: 1.8% ($89 per month) Clothing: 1.8% ($89 per month) Other entertainment, Internet, cable television, movies, etc.: 2.25% ($111.40 per month)