Category: Bike

Get Off the Beaten Path in Yellowstone

For most of the parks we visit on the National Park to Park Highway I will be posting our top ten picks of kids activities, but Yellowstone is a special case. The first National Park is so huge and so popular (especially on Independence Day weekend when we visited) that instead of a top ten list I decided to share some off-the-beaten-path adventures with you instead. As always, follow @mountainmomtots on instagram for daily updates and to see what park we’re visiting right now.
First some tips:
If you’re traveling to Yellowstone save your gas money and choose just one area a day to focus on in the park. Whether it’s Old Faithful, Mammoth or Canyon areas, it’s more fun to get out and explore than hurry back to your car.
Get out of your car and onto a hiking trail. There’s a statistic out there that more than 90% of visitors to Yellowstone never go farther than a boardwalk, road or visitors center. Even if it’s just half a mile off the road, you can find solitude and nature away from the crowds.
Try less well known areas like the ones we visited here:

Firehole Lake Drive – Between Old Faithful and Madison Junction
This short, one way drive off the main road offers great geyser and hot springs viewing, not to mention a surprise spring. The features are similar to other geothermal areas in the park but the crowds are minimal.
Bike off of Fountain Flat Drive –Between Old Faithful and Madison Junction
Fountain Flat Drive is a short road that dead ends at the trail head for a primitive bike trail and hiking area. This gravel bike path is flat and easy to maneuver (except when your son gets a flat tire in the parking lot). Features to see along the 9 mile path include Ojo Caliente Spring, Goose Lake, Sentinel Meadow Trail, Fairy Falls Trail, and the Firehole River Crossing.
Ojo Caliente – 0.3 miles from the end of Fountain Flat Drive
We loved this little hidden hot spring not only for its secluded, off the beaten path location, but also because the hot water empties into the Firehole River. Touching water in the hot springs is not allowed (not to mention its a terrible idea) but you can swim in the river downstream from the spring. Can I just say, it was like sitting in a hot tub in the most beautiful place on earth.
Junior Ranger Station  – Madison Junction
We loved this little gift shop and information station. The hands on exhibits of animal furs, skulls, antlers and horns are great for little (and big) explorers plus you can look for wildlife with their spotting scope. Stay for a ranger talk which happen every half hour throughout the day and enjoy the beautiful views.
Beaver Ponds Trail – Mammoth
Because the Mammoth area of the park is so much further north than the rest of the park fewer people are on the roads to get there so pull over at some scenic overlooks. Once you’re at Mammoth try hiking to the Beaver Ponds Trail to get a view of the hot springs from behind.
Swim the Boiling River – Mammoth
This is a popular swim spot since the hot springs empty into the river. It is not off-the-beaten path but it is still worth visiting, especially if you can catch a glimpse of elk munching across the river like we did.
Do you have any favorite off-the-beaten-path locations in Yellowstone? Share them here.

10 Things to Do with Kids in Grand Teton National Park

There is so much to do at Grand Teton National Park. Here are our top picks for kids. Make sure to check our instagram for daily updates from our National Park to Park Highway trip.

Bike to Jenny Lake The paved bike path from Jackson to Grand Teton is a 26 mile scenic trail through some of the prettiest scenery on earth. Obviously 26 miles is way more than me and my tots can handle but the path joins the multi use path at the Moose Entrance inside Grand Teton National Park. There it crosses several pullouts and parking areas, allowing for an adjustable length adventure. We took a ranger’s advice and drove to Windy Lakes pullout just past the Moose Entrance to avoid the steepest hill.
Boat on Jenny Lake A shuttle boat takes hikers across Jenny Lake to Inspiration Point trailhead every 10-15 minutes in the summer for $15.00 per adult round trip. In addition you can rent canoes, kayaks or take a 1 hour scenic boat ride to explore this beautiful glacier lake.
Swim in String Lake Just north of Jenny Lake is a great picnic area surrounded by tall pines. Enjoy your meal then head to the water to splash. The shallow water is great for swimming, paddle boards, or canoes. Keep all your food locked up to be Bear Aware.
Visit the Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve This modern style museum is beautifully situated at the base of the Tetons. Parking is limited so it’s best to plan your visit to arrive before 10 am or after 3 pm. Several beautiful hikes start from here including my favorite the Woodland Trail to Phelps Lake.

Hike to Phelps Lake This 3 mile round trip hike walks along a river to Phelps Lake. We loved swimming in the clear water, but especially loved the scenery. It’s hard to beat the pine trees and mountains around the lake.

Enjoy Inspiration Point Take the ferry across Jenny Lake and then enjoy the less than a mile long hike up to Inspiration Point. The views are amazing, but so are the crowds. This is one of the most popular hikes in Grand Teton National Park so don’t go expecting solitude. You can also explore hidden falls, the trails connect.
Check out a Naturalist Backpack At the Craig Thomas Discovery Center and Laurence S Rockefeller Preserve you can check out a naturalist backpack complete with nature journal, drawing materials and everything you need to make a plaster cast of an animal track.
Take a Scenic Drive Teton Park road passes alpine lakes and offers great views of the Teton mountain range. For another good scenic drive try the Moose-Wilson road toward the south of the park. Parts of this road is not appropriate for RV, Truck or Trailer use.

Travel Back in Time The Historic District at Grand Teton National Park has several wild west buildings still in use. A chapel built in the early 1900s, Menors Ferry and General Store and a little further on Murie Ranch. If you’re a history buff you won’t want to miss this.
Watch for Wildlife You drive through the Elk Refuge when you approach Grand Tetons from Jackson. Watch for wildlife including bison and elk especially in the mornings and evenings. Be aware that the speed limit is 55 during the day and 45 at night.
Raft the Snake River Okay so this one might be easier just outside of Grand Teton National Park but the Snake River has some great whitewater rapids and makes for a fun day trip or leisurely float. Several rafting companies are based in nearby Jackson Hole, WY.

Lessons Learned from a Campout Gone Wrong

Last week we completed Stage 1 of our National Park to Park Highway Tour. On our week long camping adventure to Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park and Cedar Breaks National Monument we wanted to see just how hard living out of our truck full time would be.

Spoiler Alert: Camping with kids is hard.

Here are the lessons we learned from Stage 1 of the National Park to Park Highway Tour that will hopefully make our big trip (leaving June 27, 2016) a little easier.

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1 – Don’t Leave Essential Gear at Home.

In our frantic packing at the start of the trip we forgot our tent poles and our Lightspeed Outdoors Tripod Quick Canopy. I’m embarrassed just writing that. We forgot our tent poles and shade shelter! As a seasoned camping family we know better than that.

Lucky for us Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks are in the high desert region of southern Utah and we didn’t get rained out. Unlucky for us, Zion and Bryce Canyon are in the high desert and we didn’t have any shade.

 

We survived the first half of the trip by spending the hot afternoons swimming in rivers and the nights sleeping under the stars. Big E and Little G slept on the bench seats inside the truck while Mountain Dad and I slept on the Lightspeed Outdoors Air Bed (with Foam Topper) out under the stars. And when she wasn’t crying, Baby L slept on her Klymit Static V Junior Camp Pad next to us.

Did I worry about creepy crawlies snuggling up with my baby? A little, which is why she ended up on the mattress with me and Mountain Dad every night at some point.

Then on day 5 of the trip my sister came to the rescue, bringing our missing poles and Lightspeed Tripod Quick Canopy to us in Bryce Canyon National Park. Her family came to hike and camp along with us and I was so grateful.

On our big trip this will be less of a problem thanks to the truck top we ordered from Sam T Evans Trailers in Salt Lake City. The plan is to sleep in the back of the truck, leave our bed unmade and not have to roll up sleeping bags every single day.

Making due is a lesson that any camping family learns. Luckily we remembered enough gear to make the trip manageable.

 

2 – Be Flexible

A few days before we left for Zion National Park, Mountain Dad got a message from ReserveAmerica.com.

 “We’re sorry, your reservation for Point Supreme Campground in Cedar Breaks National Monument has been cancelled. They are unable to open the Campground at this time due to unexpected snow levels.”

What? The only firm camping reservation we had on this trip just got nixed? It was a bad omen. We were looking forward to attending Cedar Breaks’ Saturday Night Star Party, but without a place to sleep that just wouldn’t be possible.

This is the second lesson any camping family learns. Sometimes our plans just don’t work out.

 

It’s a lesson I’ve learned before, but apparently have to keep learning. We do everything we can beforehand, but as John Steinbeck says in his books Travels with Charley In Search of America, “…A trip…has personality, temperament, individuality, uniqueness…And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless.”

 We decided to cut our trip short by one day since camping in snow didn’t sound that fun anyway, especially without tent poles.

 

3 – Pack and Strap It

A big headache on this trip was packing, strapping and attaching our gear. I’ve realized that the right gear for packing is just as important as the right gear for hiking and biking.

 

Inside our truck bed we installed a Decked system, which is great for keeping our camping gear organized. Our camp chairs, stove, emergency supplies and even food stay neatly in their places and easy to find. But the space between the top of the Decked and the tonneau cover is only about eight inches. That means every sleeping bag, backpack, and baby carrier has to either squish to fit or be strapped on another way.

We’re fixing this in three ways. First, we’re getting a truck top from Sam T Evans Trailers in Salt Lake City. That will give us space to sleep and hang our backpacks so they’re out of the way, helping with the packing and keeping setup and take down work to a minimum.

 

The other two fixes are thanks to our sponsor Yakima. First, the SwingDaddy 4 Bike Hitch Rack has been awesome. Because of it’s unique design, we’re able to move the bikes out of the way of our tailgate without taking them off every time. It’s genius! Fitting our tots’ tiny Woom bikes on the rack built for full sized, adult bikes was tough, but we figured it out eventually. Only after I got home I found out that I’m not supposed to mount bikes vertically on the SwingDaddy. Looks like we’ll have more figuring out to do.

Second, we need a place to pack our bike trailer. While the Burley D’Lite Bike Trailer packs pretty flat, we already had limited space in our truck bed due to our Decked system. Mountain Dad came up with a brilliant solution of strapping the Burley D’Lite on top of our tonneau cover. For our big trip we’ll be installing a Yakima LoadWarrior Rooftop Cargo Basket to the top of our truck cab. This will allow us to pack the oversized items without having them bounce around on our unmade bed.

 

4 – Camping Requires Some Work

Mountain Dad’s biggest complaint on the Stage 1 trip was how often we had to wash dishes. After every meal!

I’m committed to producing as little waste as possible on our National Park to Park Highway tour. That means no paper plates, utensils and paper towels (who wants to use paper plates for 7 weeks anyway?). Mountain Dad, on the other hand, is focused on making our lives as easy as possible, which I also support.

We love the Sea to Summit X series dish sets, I just wish there were a way to make them self cleaning. Washing dishes after every meal adds a lot of time to the work part of camping and less to the play part.

Since our kids are still young (ages 7, 4 and 1) they can’t wash all of the dishes on their own. Big E and Little G have helped with the work, but as most ‘teaching kids to work’ projects go there’s a lot of direction from Mom. It’d be faster and easier (and less whiny) if I just did it myself.

We don’t have an easy solution to this, other than to suck it up and do the dishes. With a family of five this may just be part of the work of camping that we can’t make much easier.

5 – Joy Amidst Work

So if camping with kids is so tough, why do we do it? What is the point of loading up life, driving for hours, and sleeping in your car/tent/on the ground for a few days?

I think that’s best answered by my kids. When my sister came to camp with us she asked Little G the following questions.

Q – What do you like about camping?

A – We do fun stuff all the time.

Q – Like what?

A – Like play.

It’s true we do fun stuff while camping. Swimming in the Virgin River in Zion, riding bikes along the canyon rim in Bryce, even playing with pine cones at our campsite are out of the ordinary, unique experiences. And my kids aren’t the only ones playing. Mountain Dad and I are in the water with them, riding along side, even adding to their pine cone pile at camp.

This is the reason I camp with my kids. There are moments amidst the work that are relaxing, fun and beautiful. I’m present for my family without TV and smart phones distracting me. Nature helps me feel happy.

Twice on this trip Big E and little g said “This is the best day of my life.” Even with the sleeping, packing and cleaning of the trip. They got to do fun things outside. When I think about it, that’s why I like camping too.

Before we leave for our big National Park to Park Highway Tour June 27th, we’ll be working on solutions to our packing dilemmas. I’ve already started on a packing list to prevent leaving essentials at home. The biggest lesson I learned from Stage 1 of our tour is to make the work more manageable, then focus on the joy of being outdoors with my family. That’s what I want to be doing anyway.

What about you? What are your biggest headaches when camping? Why go (or not go)?

 This post includes affiliate links. I receive a small commission if you purchase something by clicking through these links. Thank you to our 2016 National Park to Park Highway Tour sponsors, several of whom are listed here. Check out our Sponsors page for more info about them.

10 Things To Do With Kids in Bryce Canyon National Park

We finished Stage 1 of our National Park to Park Highway Tour and wanted to share our top ten activities to do with kids in Bryce Canyon National Park. I especially liked attending the Annual Astronomy Festival and seeing Saturn and its rings. Enjoy!

Hike Bristlecone Loop – Located at Rainbow Point at the very end of the Bryce Canyon Scenic Drive, this 1 mile trail passes some of the oldest trees in the west. Some are more than 1,600 years old.

Bike the Multi-use Trail – This was my favorite part of the trip! The 6.2 mile paved trail runs from Bryce Canyon City to Inspiration Point within the park. It passes the Visitors Center, North Campgound, General Store, Sunrise Point, Sunset Point and Bryce Lodge. The paved trail is relatively flat and passes under towering pines. And it’s great for wheelchairs, strollers and pets.

Have Lunch in the Lodge – What makes Bryce Lodge unique is not only that it’s still standing (built in 1923), but its wavy roof pattern is like an optical illusion. The lodge is worth a visit all on its own whether you stay overnight, stop in for a meal, shop in their gift shop, or make reservations for a horseback ride through the park.

Camp at North or Sunset Campground – With convenient shuttle stops and newly renovated flush toilets, our stay at North Campgound was super easy and fun. I know flush toilets don’t often connote luxury but on this trip it was surprisingly nice. Come early, the spots fill up quickly especially on the weekend. There’s also a laundromat and showers available at the General Store.

Visit Mossy Cave – Mossy Cave in the North section of the park is not on the itinerary for most Bryce Canyon visitors. The cave itself wasn’t too impressive, but we loved playing in the Tropic Ditch waterfall. This man made river was carved by the shovel full by Mormon Pioneers over 100 years ago. On our trip the water flowed cool and quick, but in the winter the waterfall freezes into icicles.

Hike the Hoodoos – The special program called I Hiked the Hoodoos is unique to Bryce Canyon National Park. It’s a scavenger hunt and hike all in one! Several popular trails including Queens Garden, Navajo Loop, Mossy Cave, Tower Bridge and Bristlecone Loop have medallions placed along the trail. Hike 3 miles and take a selfie with the medallion and you can receive a reward from the visitors center.

Become a Junior Ranger – Every National Park in the US has a Junior ranger program that’s perfect for getting kids involved in the park. Pick up a booklet at the Visitor Center, complete the activities, attend a ranger presentation and your 4-12 year old can be sworn in as a junior ranger and receive their own badge.

See the Stars – The night sky is brilliant at Bryce. Away from the light pollution of cities, the whole sky is blanketed with stars. Rangers lead astronomy programs all summer long which typically include a multimedia presentation followed by stargazing with telescopes. There’s also a ranger led full moon hike. Check at the Visitors Center for times and sign ups.


Attend the Annual Astronomy Festival – Once a year Bryce Canyon hosts the Salt Lake Astronomical Society in an awesome star gazing festival. Held in early June, the festival includes special events including an indoor planetarium at Bryce Lodge, special speakers like 2016’s keynote speaker Seth Jarvis from Clark Planetarium, and 30+ telescopes for the public to use. Members of the Salt Lake Astronomical Society are on hand to point out the planets, galaxies and constellations. Big E and I loved seeing Saturn, Mars, Jupiter and its moons, the ring nebula and two distant galaxies. It was so cool!
Cross Country Ski – Winter in Bryce is breathtaking, both the scenery and the weather. With snow topped hoodoos at 9,000 feet elevation it’s a cold adventure all its own. The main road is not plowed in some sections, but it is open for non motorized winter use. So strap on the nordic skis and see Bryce Canyon like few others do.

Thanks for following along on our National Park to Park Highway Tour. Stage 2 begins June 27, 2016. It’s a big one, traveling 7 weeks to 16 National Parks and Monuments for a total of 6,000 miles. You can come along by signing up for the Mountain Mom and Tots Newsletter below. Just enter your email and come along for the ride.