Embark on a two-week adventure packed with hiking, scenic views, and family fun! This itinerary is designed for families (including four-legged members) to enjoy the best of Wyoming, Montana, and the Dakotas starting and ending in Des Moines, Iowa. Take a look at our 3,900 mile adventure of fun!
Some basic notes we kept in mind while planning our trip:
- No back-to-back driving days. We did have a couple that were short.
- No more than 5 to 6 hours on driving days, except our first day.
- A lot of planning and booking of campgrounds started about 12 months before our trip. Most of our campgrounds were KOA. We really enjoy the amenities for the kids and K9 parks they have. If you plan to book at a KOA I highly recommend signing up for their loyalty program.
- We purchased an Annual US Park Pass which saved us a lot of money when visiting four National Parks.
- Since we were bringing our dog along we did a lot of research and planning what days we would be able to take him on our adventures, and specific items needed for our camper to keep him safe during the day.
- There are so many great things to do at each National Park including hikes, boat tours, drives, etc. Every family is different so I encourage you to do some research and choose 2 to 3 things that are your non-negotiables before you arrive. The days go quickly and you will find yourself exhausted and grumpy if you push yourself to do all the things.
Let’s get started with all the fun!
Day One – Driving Day
Drive Time: 8 to 9 hours
- Destination: Laramie, Wyoming
- Camp: A.B. Camping | Cheyenne RV Park
We planned for this to be one of our biggest driving days. Our goal was to get as west as fast as possible so we could then spend more time at the places worth exploring. A.B. Camping was a smaller campground and the sites were pretty close together. We did not spend much time at the campground, so it was a good option for us. The highlight was the BBQ they served. It was mentioned before we arrived and it ended up being the perfect meal for us to order and pick up after a full day of driving. We learned how popular it was when tons of cars arrived right at open at 4 p.m. and the smell was yummy too!
Day Two – Explore Curt Gowdy State Park
- Activity: Curt Gowdy State Park is home to stunning waterfalls and scenic trails. Follow a 2.9-mile hike (6-mile round trip) to fully immerse in the park’s beauty. They also offer camping if you book way in advance!
- Pet-Friendly: Yes, dogs are welcome and Willie loved his hiking adventure. He did so well!
- Lunch Stop: Westby Brewery
Our family was super impressed with Curt Gowdy State Park. I did not realize how beautiful this area was. After some research, it was highly recommended to hike Crow Creek Trail to see Hidden Falls. The information I read said this hike was 2 miles, but we quickly learned it was 2.9 miles there and 2.9 miles back making it 6 miles round trip. A good portion of it was shaded, but there was a chunk that was not shady and quickly got hot later in the day. The kids did get a little antsy towards the end, but I think if we were better prepared it would have been just fine. It was worth the adventure!
Tip: Go early! Pack snacks, lunch, and lots of water. Once you find Hidden Falls many people find a spot to sit down to rest and eat. The waterfall area has shallow water to splash and play. Wear your suit under your clothes and bring a towel.
After exploring Curt Gowdy State Park we stopped at Westby Brewery which is family-friendly, dog-friendly, and has a fun outdoor space.
Day Three – Driving Day
Drive Time: 5 hours and 15 minutes
- Destination: Dubois, Wyoming (55 minutes to the East of Grand Teton National Park)
- Camp: Dubois/Wind River KOA Holiday
The Dubois/Wind River KOA Holidays was located in a beautiful area and a cute cowboy town. We made sure to do some wandering and shopping when we had time. This campground also had an indoor pool, dog park, playground, laundry available, and other amenities. It was located right along the river which we enjoyed walking to several times.
Day Four – Discover Grand Teton National Park
- Activities:
- Visit Emily Stevens Park, a dog-friendly spot for a family stroll.
- Teton Park Pass Loop – A 42 mile loop to see most popular spots such as Jenny Lake, Hidden Falls, Inspiration Point, the Snake River Overlook, Oxbow Bend Turnout, Mormon Row, Albright Overlook, and Glacier View Turnout.
- Drive into Jackson for shopping and dining.
- Coffee: Cowboy Cafe in Dubois
- Lunch Spot: Snake River Brewing
- Dessert: The Bunnery
During our trip we planned our days at the National Parks for when we would bring our dog along and when we would keep him back at the camper. Rules for National Parks and dogs vary from park to park, but in most cases dogs must be kept on a leash no longer than 6 feet and within a certain distance of parking lots.
The Teton Park Pass Loop was perfect for the first day. It was a great way to see some of the most popular spots and get a feeling for what we wanted to explore more of on our second day. This was also the day we brought our dog along to explore.
After driving the loop and taking lots of pictures, we headed out of the National Park to Emily Stevens Park which is located at the base of the Tetons and a dog-friendly spot! Another great place to catch some awesome views and the whole family to get some movement in.
We made our way to Snake River Brewing which is Wyoming’s oldest brewpub. We stopped for lunch which had a great patio, food and brews. Afterwards, we explored Jackson Hole where we bought some souvenirs and did not leave without some amazing sweet treats from The Bunnery.
Day Five – Grand Teton National Park
- Activities:
- Taggart Lake Trail
- String Lake
The Taggart Lake Trail was the perfect hiking trail for our family! This trail is under 4 miles round trip and took us to an incredible view at the base of the mountains. This is a very popular trail due to it being perfect for all age levels and abilities. I would highly recommend arriving before 9 a.m. so you can get a parking spot and avoid large crowds. Make sure you pack lots of water, bear spray, bug spray, and snacks.
After our hike we made our way to String Lake for a dip in the water. The day we made our visit it became overcast and a bit chilly, but that did not stop Amelia for jumping in the water! String Lake is a shallow lake and is popular for swimming, picnics, and paddle boating. We packed a picnic lunch (in our bear proof cooler) and ate it by the lake while the kids splashed in the water. We also saw some deer roaming around the area!
Day Six – Yellowstone National Park
- Activities:
- Old Faithful
- Grand Prismatic Springs
- Biscuit Basin
- Morning Glory Pool
- Grand Canyon of Yellowstone
- Wildlife
- Lunch Spot: Canyon Village – Canyon Soda Fountain
We spent one long day in Yellowstone National Park. There are many hikes and things to see, but we knew the main things we wanted to see and we squeezed it into one day. It was a long day, but worth it! My number one tip is to start early, because it gets crowded easy.
We started our day at Old Faithful. Old Faithful erupts approximately every 90 minutes. When we arrived we spent some time exploring the lodge, purchased some souvenirs, then got a great spot to watch the beautiful eruption. This is also where we got out National Park Passport stamp.
We then jumped into our car and made our way to see other popular attractions including Grand Prismatic Springs, Biscuit Basin, and Morning Glory Pool. Have patience and pack lots of snacks! There is not a ton of parking at a lot of these places so you will spend a lot of your time sitting and waiting for a spot to park or slowly driving because of wildlife crossing.
We then headed to towards Canyon Village to eat lunch at Canyon Soda Fountain which was a fun spot for the family. After we fueled back up we headed to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone which was beautiful!
Day Seven – Driving Day
Drive Time: 6 hours 30 minutes
- Destination: Livingston, Montana
- Camp: Livingston / Paradise Valley KOA Holiday
Our route to Livingston took us through Yellowstone National Park. We had our camper attached, but it was another day where we could take in some beautiful scenery of Yellowstone and some more wildlife. We exited out the North Entrance of Yellowstone which is where the Roosevelt Arch is located and it was fun to see. One take away, is I wish we spent a bit more time in this area (Gardiner, Montana) to explore. There is a super cute town I would have loved to walk through.
As we drove down the mountain we also got a fantastic view of the Mammoth Hot Springs!
The Livingston/Paradise Valley KOA Campground was fantastic. We were only there for one evening, but our campsite was right along the Yellowstone River. It was a great place to unwind with a campfire and relax before our last leg of the trip.
NOTE: One big takeaway/change we would make is camping a bit closer to Yellowstone. This first stretch ended up being a lot of driving which we did not realize until we were spending our days driving to and from the campsite and then driving through each National Park.
Day Eight – Driving Day
Drive Time: 5 hours 45 minutes
- Destination: Glacier National Park
- Camp: West Glacier KOA Resort
- Stops: Bozeman, Montana and Two Basset Brewery (because of these two stops it was not a straight drive to Glacier and added a bit of time)
This day was an “easy” day. We made a couple of stops that were on our list. These were not required, but were places we wanted to explore. The morning we got up and ate breakfast at Feed Cafe which was the cutest, farm fresh breakfast spot. Afterwards we spent some time wandering downtown and did a little shopping.
On our way out to Glacier we made a bucket list spot at 2 Basset Brewery. Our family are big basset fans and even though this stop was a little out of the way it was well worth it for us! Willie was invited in and we left with some great craft brews.
Our campground at Glacier was beautiful! One of the nicest campgrounds we have ever stayed at and they had so many great amenities. It has also won best campground of the year! We could have easily spent our days playing here. It has two pools, hot tubs, a beautiful garden where they have live music most nights, restaurant, ice cream, walking trails, and so much more.
Day Nine – Glacier National Park
- Activities:
- Going-to-the-Sun Road and stop at scenic viewpoints
- Stop for Bear Claws at The Kyiyo Mercantile or Polebridge Mercantile its sister store.
Going-to-the-Sun Road is a very popular drive to take when you make a visit to Glacier National Park. It is only open a few months out of the year. If this is on your bucket list, it is recommended to go the very end of June through mid to late October. It really depends on weather and snow. When we drove the road it was June 30th and the road has just opened the week prior.
The drive takes about 2 hours with no stops. We spent a good 3 to 4 hours driving and making all the fun stops. We also brought our dog along for this trip! He really enjoyed the snow at the top.
There are many stops to make to take in some incredible views such as Heaven’s Peak, Weeping Wall, Logan Pass Visitor Center, Saint Mary Lake, and many more.
Tip: Pack lots of snacks, water, and make sure you have a full tank.
Day Ten – Glacier National Park
- Activities
- Apgar Bike Trail (the only dog-friendly trail, 4 miles)
- Visit Lake McDonald
Our days at Glacier were pretty overcast and dreary, but this did not stop us from exploring. Our second day we spent some time exploring Apgar Village in Glacier National Park which was a cute town that was dog-friendly and near Lake McDonald.
The rest of the day we spent at our campground which was literally in the clouds on the west side of Glacier National Park. It was a great day for us to unwind, play and enjoy ourselves before our journey home.
Day Eleven – Driving Day
Drive Time: 6 hours 40 minutes
- Destination: Billings, Montana
- Camp: Billings KOA Holiday
This was our journey back home! I will admit we were pretty tired after this day and we ended up staying an extra day in Billings because we loved our campground and wanted another day to just play. This campground was the World’s first KOA which was kind of fun to experience. They had a great pool, huge K9 dog park, mini-golf, and more.
Day Twelve – Relax in Billings
Relax in Billings, Montana and we did just that! We spent the day at the pool, playing at the playground, getting caught up on laundry and just enjoying ourselves. A great little pit stop before continuing back to Iowa.
Day Thirteen – Driving Day/Theodore Roosevelt National Park
Drive Time: 4 hours
- Destination: Medora, North Dakota
- Camp: Medora Campground
- Dinner: Pitchfork Steak Fondue
- Activity:
- Theodore Roosevelt National Park
- Parade in Medora
- Medora Musical
Our original plan was to drive back through South Dakota and see the Badlands and Mount Rushmore over the Fourth of July. Since our family had already made this visit a few years ago, we decided to cross off another National Park on our way home. We headed to Medora, North Dakota to celebrate the Nation’s birthday!
It was a shorter drive time this day. We arrived around lunchtime. After we dropped our camper off at our campsite we headed to Theodore Roosevelt National Park. We decided to take the Scenic Loop Drive which is about 36 miles and includes pull out stops. The kids favorite stop was Prairie Dog Town where you literally see hundreds of prairie dogs running around and popping their heads up and down through their holes.
After our adventure through Theodore Roosevelt National Park we headed into Medora where we enjoyed their annual Fourth of July Parade.
We closed out our evening with a Pitchfork Steak Fondue. This was such a fun experience with amazing views! After our dinner we enjoyed the Medora Musical in the outdoor amphitheater which was favorite patriotic and a great way to end the day. The kids still talk about Medora and all the fun we had in less than 24 hours. This destination is on our list to visit again!
Day Fourteen – Driving Day
Drive time: 8 hours
- Destination: Sioux Falls, South Dakota
- Camp: Sioux Falls KOA Journey
This stop was made to break up our driving time. We did not do much exploring at our campsite here, but it was a nice campground. It had a pool and other fun activities. Highly recommend if you are adventuring to Sioux Falls.
Day Fifteen – Drive Home to Des Moines, Iowa
Drive time: 4 hours
- Destination: Des Moines, Iowa
- Breakfast: Josiah’s Coffeehouse
We were not in a huge rush to leave Sioux Falls since we only had a few hours to drive. We decided to stop at a local breakfast spot that was also dog-friendly! Josiah’s Coffeehouse was a cute spot that had great coffee drinks and breakfast items. This was another town we would love to come back to explore more.
