Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Need vacation ideas for "Out West"

Sorry if this is off topic....but you guys and gals are the best and mostest helpful people I know.

I live in the mid-West. Life is pretty flat.

My oldest child will be a junior in highschool next year. We have two opportunities for entire family vacations....this summer and next summer.

This summer, we plan to go Out West. Next summer, Toronto.

The current plan is to fly into SLC in late July, rent a big van and Base Camp (ok, live out of motels) in maybe four locations over 14 days. We will excurse from the base camps.

Yellowstone area is already pencilled in.

I want to do something in Southern Utah but have no idea of a good base camp.

The other two base camps are still open.

The kids are 16, 14, 9 and 7; two girls and two boys.

Talk to me.....suggest base camps and "must sees" within 90 driving minutes of the base camps.

Thanks in advance
-Joe

PS, the 7 year old prefers to avoid intimate encounters with rattlesnakes and coyotes. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/help.gif" alt="" />

Wyoming,South Dakota-Mount Rushmore,DevilsTower are some great sights to see.on the other side side of Wyoming is YellowStone.

Hope you like traffic, cause thats what your going to see in Yellowstone, I'm not saying you should not go there, but any more that 24 hours and I'd go nuts.
May want to see the Big Horns or some of the other Mt. ranges.
western Momtana is great

If in Wyoming, head north to the Little Bighorn battlefield. Enlightening, and very sobering.

In S.Utah, see Zion and Bryce Canyons. Also consider Capitol Reef, which is off the beaten path but is supposed to be excellent. Hike the slot canyons. July is a good time for cooler spots in S. Utah!! Think mountains and shady canyons.

In the central part of the state, go to about Manti, and then head east, and get up on Skyline Drive. Ferron Reservoir used to be super good fishing, and Duck Fork is reputed to be even better. Both are in very pretty locations. At sunset, when the breeze dies down, and the bugs are over the water, Ferron fairly boils.

As you pass Layton, north of SLC, take Antelope Drive off I-15, and see Antelope Island. There is a relic of a working ranch there, and a herd of buffalo that roams around. There is a nice herd of pronghorn, and I've seen coyotes. There is a herd if bighorn sheep, which I've never managed to see.

Going through Yellowstone, you can do Cave Falls, which is far off the beaten path (dead end road), and an excellent place to fish and picnic. You can get a 3-day fishing license, and there are some big lunkers easily visible. From Yellowstone, head south and do Teton Park.

In NE Uah, there is Flaming Gorge. South of there, there is Bear Lake, which is a local vacation spot.

North of Bear Lake, there is Chester, Idaho, which is a sort of ghost town, built by Mormon settlers a long time ago. It's kinda cool. They have tour guides there.

Of course, coming south from Bear Lake you can hit Huntsville, which is the scenic route south. You'll come over Monte Cristo, which is a big mountain, with lots of friends. Most scenic route back down from Huntsville is through Liberty, and a little mountain pass that will take you down north of Ogden, to I-15.

Taking that route will put you fairly near the road off I-15 to Corrine. Past Corrine, there is the Promontory Point site, which is where the rails from the east joined the rails from the west. It's cool. There is also a fun display of rockets near there, at Thiokol.

In Wyoming, we like Cody and the area between Cody and Red Lodge, Montana. The Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody has a world class museum including the orignal Winchester firearms collection. Now for the bad news. The Hells Angels have decided to hold their annual convention in Cody July 26-30, in advance of the annual motorcycle rally in Sturgis, S.D. August 8-14. Somewhere in between all that there's another motorcycle rally called the Ham and Jam in Hulett, WY, near Devil's Tower. There are going to be a lot of bikes and crowds in the area the entire time. Personally, I'd stay away from that party. (With apologies to the Cody Chamber of Commerce.)

As for Yellowstone, you probably can't get reservations in the park, or Grand Teton national park on such short notice. However, unless things have changed, they have a 48 hour cancellation policy, so call up early two days before you arrive and start seeing what's available. Grand Teton N.P. is really cool, and if you could swing rooms at Jackson Lake Lodge, particularly the mountain view lodge rooms, you will never forget it.

Here's another offbeat suggestion. We like the Durango, Silverton, Ouray and Telluride area of southwest Colorado. Telluride is a quirkly little town with politics that make L.A. look like Salt Lake City, but it's historic, well preseved and overbuilt for summertime. With advance planning, we've scored multi-bedroom condos for better prices, or slightly more expensive, than hotel rooms in some towns such as Cody. Watch out for jacked up rates during so-called festivals, and you can usually get discounts for multi-night stays. We could tell you an exact 2 bedroom condo to request that has a wooden hot tub in the condo and decent views of the mountains. They have a lot of high end types in town, but if you drive a few miles down the road and walk in the woods you can really get away from the people. (E.g. Lizard Head Pass area.) Ouray has condos as well, and they rent a lot of Jeeps there. The area is 4 wheel drive heaven, with some awesome views from Engineer and Imogene passes. We used to vacation in the area all the time, then boycotted it until Colorado got around to passing a good CCW law with good reciprocity.

Good luck.

joe m.,

look at rafting on the green, and the colorado....
best family fun available...
a waterproof camera is a must... they are available reasonably priced.... as are the trips..... john w

I'd do Cody, then up to Red Lodge, Mt. and over the Beartooth Pass. Keep going on down into Cooke City, Mt. and into the Northeast entrance (Silvergate) to Yellowstone. OR, you can turn east after you get off the Beartooth and shoot down alongside the Clark's Fork of the Yellowstone over Dead Indian Pass. Turn right at the "tee" and head back into Cody.

Lots of riding, but the Beartooth Pass is worth the trip. Also, if you choose to go through Cooke City and into Yellowstone, you might stop at Skyline Guide Service on the way into Cooke City. You could splurge on a short (or not so short) trail ride or fishing trip into the Beartooth Wilderness. There's also a campground just before you get to Skyline Guide Service which you could camp out in, or you might stay at the guide service (they have a pretty big lodge). Cooke City has motels, but I'd call ahead if I could...

Gotta throw in that my family really likes Estes Park north of Denver. Wife can shop, and the kids and I can spend a couple of days wandering Rocky Mountain National Park.

Would cut out a day or two for Cody if you can if you're already going to be around Yellowstone. The museum is awesome..

Our family did the southern Utah tour years ago. You've got to see the Grand Canyon while you're in the neighborhood, then on to Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, and Arches national Parks. Cross over into Colorado and visit Mesa Verde.
Dinosaur park is northern Utah.
Before planning a trip over the Beartooth, check with the MT road report. A landslide wiped out a bunch of that road last year, I don't know if it's been completely repaired yet.

I took my family to see all that the summer of 2000. We were RV'ing and had no problems finding places to camp. Yes, Yellow Stone was full, didn't even try to get a spot there. But we pulled into a State camp ground just outside Cody. It was largely vacant. It had no electrical hook ups but it was very cool at night and we did not need the A/C.

That was a good base camp to visit Yellow Stone from.

I highly recommend seeing Mount Rushmore, The Crazy Horse monument, Devils Tower, and Yellow Stone. The Cody musuem is worth a full day to a rifle nut.

I must second Cheyenne on the Durango, Silverton, Ouray area and the Million Dollar Highway drive between the three, starting at Durango and going North to Yellostone. Take a good camera for many pictures and your kids will never forget the Southern Colorado experience neither will you. The drive from Durango to Ouray is less than 100 scenic breath taking miles, a couple of mountain passes, gold mines, Pine forests, and colorfull above timberline mountains. Most beautiful part of the West. A real education for your kids and a lifetime of memories. -- no

I agree with Cheyenne, Another note off caustion is to stay clear of the city of Cheyenne, at least 50 miles, the last full week of July. Thats Frontier days and you may have a hard time getting lodging.

Have you thought about renting a motorhome? Not sure what the final cost breakdown would be... you could save some $ by cooking most of your own food. Have more options if the crowds got to you...

Yes, did look at renting a motorhome. Cost ran $2900 to $4000 for 12 nights. And that was with just the tack-on fees the lady could think of off the top of her head....$45 per person for bedding, $25 dollars per person for towels, $35 per tire for high altitude air..... I thought that would rent many hotel rooms.

Also had the issue of having to pay for the campsite. I did not know how spoiled we were in Michigan until we camped (once) in Indiana. $40 a night bought a campsite next to an I-80 downgrade. We listened to Jake-brakes all night long. We did not stay for the second night.

JM,

Just a suggestion, since you mentioned S. Utah- Every few years, my wife and I take an extended tour of the Southwest. To do this one, you need to rent a motorhome, as there aren't a lot of motels along the route.

One of the best routes we have taken begins at Arches Nat'l Monument. Good camping, great scenery and geology.
Then, on to Capitol Reef NM. Spend the night. Then on to Zion, spend the night at Bryce. There is lodging at Bryce. Sunrise at Bryce is something to behold.

Then, work your way south to the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Spend a day or so taking in the sights of the greatest of the 7 Wonders of the World.

Further south is Canyon de Chelly, again with lodging. Some great cliff dwellings there.

Along the way are side trips and things to see and do, too numerous to mention.

Hit Durango with the Narrow Gauge Railroad after Mesa Verde. Neat stuff.

You could go to Cayon City, down south of southern Utah and check out the polyagamists.<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Definately stop and visit us in Cody. The museum is great. Besides the firearms museum they have the plains indian museum which is really interesting and makes the Smithsonion Indian museum in DC pale in comparison (or so I have heard, haven't seen it myself). There is the new natural history museum mostly about the yellowstone ecosystem, its pretty cool too. If you like art there is lots of that as well. CM Russell, Fredrick Remington type stuff. You can check out the Cody Chamber of Commerce page for more info on the other stuff like the rodeo, Old Trail Town, river trips, etc.

Definately check out the Beartooths, it is open over to Red Lodge. They fixed the highway.

Depending on how you much you want to drive and where you want to go you could go from Yellowstone up to Glacier too. Then you could stop and see the Bozeman boys from the fire.

...now THAT'S a trip I want to make...

Consider Kanab, UT. It's just into Utah from Arizona and not far from the North rim of the Grand Canyon. One hotel, if it's still standing, was headquarters for western movie stars from back in the 40's and 50's. Nice town. I went through there in 1974 so can't make any guarantees as to what it is now but I really liked it then. Utah is one of the prettiest states out west and SLC is the cleanest city I've ever seen. Brian's Head Peak (ski area) is really beautiful. Visit Lake City, CO if possible.