National Park travel

My Top 5 National Parks

Published on January 10, 2024January 8, 2025 by Skylar M. BeckLeave a comment

Throughout the last few years I’ve been able to visit several national parks while road tripping within the United States. Although I’ve only been to 13 National Parks so far, I wanted to share my top 5 favorite parks as of now. Of course this may change as I explore and visit more parks, so this is based only on the parks I’ve already been to. Be sure to check out my detailed guides on the parks mentioned if you’re planning a trip anytime soon!

1. Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

It was challenging picking my top national park so far but I chose Grand Teton because of the park’s stunning views, accessibility, proximity to a town, and the overall feeling I experienced while visiting. Grand Teton was unlike any other park I’ve been to (so far!), it’s extremely close to Jackson Hole which was a rare perk that offered plenty of restaurants and shopping spots.

Biggest tip: Watch every sunrise in the Tetons during your visit

Favorite experience: Hiking parts of the Cascade Canyon trail

Must do/see: Visit Mormon row and Schwabacher landing for sunrise or sunset

2. Glacier National Park, Montana

Glacier national park is hands down one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been to. It’s often called the crown jewel of the continent and is well known for the vast mountain views seen along the ‘Going to the Sun’ Road. Although Glacier is stunning, I gave it number two due to the crowds we experienced while visiting and because of it’s remote location.

Biggest tip: Get to trail heads early to beat crowds!

Favorite experience: Hiking parts of the high line trail

Must do/see: Drive along the Going to the Sun Road

Hiking in the clouds along the High Line trail

Hiking parts of the Grinnel glacier trail

3. Rocky Mountains National Park, Colorado

The Rocky Mountains national park will always hold a special place in my heart. It was one of the first national parks I’ve ever visited and my first experience there was magical. I love where the park is located, right outside the charming mountain town, Estes Park, and the incredible views and wildlife the park offers.

Biggest tip: Drive along the Trail Ridge Road

Favorite experience: Hiking parts of Mount Ida.

Must do/see: Hike the bear lake trails!

4. Zion National Park, Utah

Zion national park truly feels like you’re on a different planet. The mountainous views, desert like feel, and the collection of red and orange rock colors made an impression on me. Zion definitely succeeded all of my expectations. It’s one of those parks that’s always talked about and it did not disappoint!

Biggest tip: If visiting during the summer, find accommodations with A/C! Zion is so hot in the summer, it was not realistic (for us) to camp.

Favorite experience: Watching the sunrise at Canyon Overlook

Must do/see: The Narrows hike!

5. Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

Bryce Canyon national park is an underrated park in my opinion! It’s on the smaller side with less major hikes and activities to do but the landscape is so incredibly unique, it had to be included on my top 5 list. We only spent one day while visiting Bryce but we were able to see the main highlights.

Biggest tip: Watch the sunrise in the park to see the hoodoos light up!

Favorite experience: Exploring and hiking the Navajo loop trail

Must do/see: Visiting inspiration point to view the hoodoos from above

Views along the Navajo trail feel like a different planet!

Glacier National Park, Montana

Published on January 3, 2024January 8, 2025 by Skylar M. Beck4 Comments

Glacier National Park is one of the most magical places I’ve ever been to. Glacier has been named the “crown jewel of the continent” for good reason. We were able to spend three full days in Glacier national park and experienced some of the most beautiful views I’ve ever seen. Here’s a quick guide and overview of our time in Glacier.

Things to Know Before Visiting Glacier

Glacier national park is in the middle of nowhere! The park has done a nice job creating souvenir shops, mini grocery stores, and resturants but it’s limited.
During peak season (May-September), the park requires a reservation pass for four sections of the park. This includes Going to the Sun Road, North Fork, Many Glacier, Two Medicine areas. Learn more on the park’s website.
There are several options if you plan to camp in Glacier. As always, I’d recommended booking these at least 6 months in advance. Glacier was the one park we almost didn’t secure a camping spot due to popularity.
Be prepared to drive. Glacier is a large spread out park and most of the park is only accessible by one road.
Check 0n the park’s website for updates. When we visited there was a lot of road construction and trail closures due to wild life.

Must See Spots in Glacier

Going to the Sun Road

This is the top “must see” in Glacier. The going to the sun road is an iconic road that has several look out points and incredible mountain views that will leave you speechless! Here are some stops along the way:

The Loop– Hair pin turn on the road that allows views of stunning mountains
Weeping Wall– Named after a cliffside that has water dripping from snowmelt onto the road and your car!
Big Bend – Located just after the Weeping Wall, the best spot for photos or to watch the sunset :)
Logan Pass – The highest point on the road, also where the visitor’s center is located
Jackson Glacier Overlook– Pull off area to view Jackson Glacier
Saint Mary Falls – Trail head for Saint Mary Falls starts at this pull off
Wild Goose Island – Stop here to get a photograph of the famous island in the middle of Saint Mary lake!
Rising Sun– Cute area to stop in for a restroom break or snacks

Big bend stop off the ‘going to the sun’ road

Polebridge area

Polebridge is technically a mile outside of Glacier national park, but it’s still a neat spot to add to your itinerary if you have time! The town offers a sweet old fashion western feel and is home to the Polebridge Mercantile. This cute general shop has souvenirs, homemade eats and sweets and is definitely a must stop while driving through Polebridge. I’d recommend trying any of the huckleberry pastries!

Many Glacier area

The Many Glacier area is a quieter side of the park that offers stunning mountain views, wildlife, and iconic spots to see. We spent part of one day exploring this area and it did not disappoint! One of the main spots to check out while visiting is the Many Glacier hotel. The hotel has a swish chalet inspired design that truly allows you to feel like you are in a different country! We spent time exploring the inside of the hotel and the grounds. A popular hike in this area is grinnel glacier overlook. We hiked a portion but unfortunately didn’t have enough daylight to hike the entire trail. It’s still worth attempting even if you can’t finish to the top, the views were incredible! There’s also a boat from the hotel that takes you to various points on the trail if you don’t want to drive over to the trailhead, which also seems like a fun experience.

Must Do Hikes in Glacier

The high line trail

The high line trail is by far the most memorable hiking experience I’ve had in any national park. It’s accessible from the Logan pass visitor center. The high line trail a challenging and long hike but the views make it all worth it. It was surprisingly open when we visited the park in early July, typically it opens mid to late July due to snow melt. We weren’t able to finish the entire hike unfortunately due to weather conditions, we were able to hike about 8 miles round trip. Due to the weather conditions, there were times we were hiking through the clouds— that’s how high the trail is! Definitely be prepared for high elevation and altitude changes. Even if you don’t intend to hike the entirety of the high line trail, I’d recommend hiking part of it just to experience some incredible views!

Avalanche Lake trail

Avalanche lake trail ended up being one of our favorite hikes during our time in Glacier! It’s an out and back 4 mile hike that takes you to Avalanche lake. The trail starts with the trail of the cedars which is a beautiful paved path through the forest. The trail of the cedars can also be a 1 mile loop trail but if you’re going to the avalanche lake trail turn off, you’ll walk about .5 miles to the start of the lake trailhead. This is the one hike we saw a grizzly bear from a distance once we reached the lake, so go prepared with bear spray and bells, and travel in a pack with other hikers if possible.

Grinnel Glacier overlook trail

Grinnel Glacier overlook trail is accessible from the Many Glaciers area of the park. This trail is 11 miles round trip out and back. It’s pretty challenging but the views are incredible! Patrick and I weren’t able to hike the entirety of this hike due to time constraints but we did hike the first few miles and definitely plan to attempt the full hike someday in the future.

Hidden Overlook trail

Hidden overlook trail was the hike I was most looking forward to while researching Glacier! It’s accessible from the Logan pass visitor center. The trail has board walks that take you up a hill in order to see a hidden glacier lake. The views from this trail are some of the best from a short trail. When we visited we were only able to hike to the look out point of the trail and not the last half mile down to the lake due to bear activity. The park monitors wildlife activity and will close trails because of it. Luckily, we were still able to enjoy almost the entire hike! If you plan to hike hidden lake, I’d recommend starting early. The parking lot at Logan’s pass fills up incredibly fast and there’s limited parking. Since hidden lake is a fairly short hike, this is also popular for many visitors.

Other Tips for Visiting Glacier National Park

If you plan to visit several areas in the park, I’d suggest booking different campgrounds. I wish we would’ve done this but while I was researching, I didn’t realize how large Glacier is and how spread out the various sections are from each other. We stayed at Fish creek campground which is close to the main entrance of the park so there were days we drove 1-2 hours each way.
Research any permits or reservations you need in advance. As I mentioned, due to the popularity Glacier continues to have, the park has several reservations and permit requirements for specific areas and trails that aren’t available for purchase on the spot.
Be flexible with plans! The weather changes quickly in Glacier due to the higher elevations and location. It may rain, snow or hail even in the summer!
Always have bear spray and bells. Glacier is grizzly bear country and it’s essential to be prepared on hikes. The park will usually close a trail if there’s a lot of reported bear activity but it is still possible to have a run in with a bear on any trail.
Start early! This tip really applies to any big national park, but especially Glacier. It was one of the most crowded parks we’ve ever been to. By 7am, most trails and roads are flooded with visitors.
Fill up on gas and food. Although some of the campgrounds have lounges with food options, it’s not much so it’s important to be prepared for meals. Similarly with gas, there’s one gas station when you’re about to enter the main entrance of the park. Otherwise, you’ll have to drive 15-20 minutes outside of the park for restaurants and gas stations.

Detailed Itinerary: South Dakota, Wyoming, & Montana Road trip

Published on December 27, 2023January 8, 2025 by Skylar M. Beck4 Comments

Over the summer, Patrick and I explored four national parks within a two week road trip. It was definitely one of my favorite trips we’ve ever taken so I wanted to share the itinerary I created. Of course with any big trip, plans can change so we didn’t get to everything listed on this itinerary, but most! I’m mentioning it here to give various ideas if you are planning a similar trip! We wanted to have options and back up plans which is why some days are packed. Combining these locations across a two week trip is convenient and makes for a perfect road trip! I mention the campgrounds we stayed at for reference and those that I’d recommend. Keep in mind, most campgrounds within the parks book up quickly, typically up to 6 months in advance so be prepared if you plan to camp! We also used the app campendium to find free campsites.

Check out my other blog posts to prepare and plan for a national park trip if you are looking for more tips.

Badlands National Park & Wall Drug Store, South Dakota

day one 🚐

After driving in from the East, we officially started our trip in South Dakota with the intent of spending time in Badlands National Park. We only planned for one full day within the park and while we could stayed for longer, it was doable to see most highlights within a day.

Badlands highlights in one day:

Take a picture at the Badlands national park sign upon entering the park
Stop at big badlands overlook
Hike notch trail (1.3mi) *be sure to get here early if you want to experience this hike with less people!
Hike window trail (.3mi) same parking lot as notch
Hike door trail (.8mi) same parking lot as notch
Stop by visitor’s center
Drive badlands loop road and view overlooks
- yellow mounds
- pinnacles overlook
On the way out of the park, stop by Wall Drug store and check out some iconic historical highlights:
- free ice water
- 5 cent coffee
Drive to Center Lake campground (1.5 hr from wall drug)

🌛Center Lake Campground (Custer state park fee required as well as campsite fee)

Mount Rushmore, South Dakota

day two 🗿

Wake up early and drive to see Mount Rushmore (30 mins from camp) *we got to the monument at 5:30am and had the place to ourselves!
Take a photo at amphitheater/viewing deck
Walk along the presidential trail (.9mi loop)
Continue driving to Grand Teton NP (8hr)
Camp at free dispersed spot

🌛 Upper Teton View – Toppings Lake Dispersed Campsites

Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

day three ⛰

We spent four days in Grand Teton national park. This was by far one of our favorite parks we’ve ever been to. Since there’s so much to see and do between the park and the nearest town, Jackson Hole, I’d allow at least three days to fully explore. To save a little money, we stayed at a free campsite for a couple nights before going to a campground. The free campsites in the area are primitive and aren’t reservable so there’s no guarantee you’ll find a spot each night which can add stress, but the benefit is it’s a safe and free place to sleep!

Sunrise at schwabacher landing (wear layers in the early mornings, it’s cold even in the summer!)
Drive into Jackson hole and stop by cowboy coffee for coffee and breakfast
Drive along the Teton park road and see outlook areas for wildlife:
- Oxbow Bend Turnout
- Cascade Canyon Turnout
- Teton Glacier Turnout
- Glacier View Turnout
- *Schwabacher Landing
- Teton Point Turnout
- Snake River Overlook
- Elk Ranch Flats Turnout
Stop at visitor’s center
Spend time exploring Jackson Hole
Dinner in town: hand fire pizza

🌛 Upper Teton View – Toppings Lake Dispersed Campsites

day four 🏔

Watch sunrise at mormon row
Hike to Delta lake (9 mi roundtrip) via lupine meadows access
- We unfortunately didn’t get to finish this hike because Patrick got altitude sickness in the middle of the hike! Learn from our mistake and prep yourself with plenty of snacks, water, and time to adjust to the altitude in the area before taking on a big hike.
Drive along scenic highway and stop at pull off spots
- our favorite was mountain view turnout :)
Sunset at schwabacher landing

🌛 Upper Teton View – Toppings Lake Dispersed Campsite

🚿 Showers are available at Colter Bay, Signal Mountain, and Headwaters at Flagg Ranch.

day five 🥾

Wake up early to hike parts of cascade canyon (we started at string lake)
- Along the way enjoy popular spots like:
  - inspiration point
  - hidden falls
  - jenny lake loop
Watch sunset from Jenny Lake scenic drive area
Check into campground

🌛Jenny Lake campground, tent only

day six 🐻

Hike around taggart lake (4 mi round trip)
Drive into Jackson and spend time exploring and souvenir shopping
Kayak or swim in Jackson lake
Go back to any favorite spot for one last sunset in the park!

🌛 Jenny Lake campground, tent only

Read more:
Things To Do in and Around Badlands National Park
Two Days in Yellowstone 
Grand Teton National Park travel guide
Tips For Planning a National Park Trip

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho

day seven ⛲️

We spent a day and a half exploring Yellowstone. We definitely could have spent much more time exploring, Yellowstone is massive! However, we were able to see some nice highlights throughout our short but sweet time in park. One thing to note about Yellowstone is you will spend a lot of time driving to various spots (especially if your time is limited like ours was) but the views while driving are stunning and worth being in the car!

Drive to Yellowstone NP (2 hr from Grand Teton)
Explore the old faithful area
- See old faithful erupt (you can look up predicted eruption times online) this iconic geyser does erupt every 60-90 minutes!
Walk along boardwalks to see other geysers and pools in the area. Some of our favorites:
- Castle geyser
- Daisy geyser
- Spa geyser
- Morning Glory pool
- Grotto geyser
- Grand geyser
- Beauty pool
Stop by visitor’s center
Drive to grand prismatic spring and hike to overlook (1.5mi)
Drive to camp

🌛 Canyon Campground (showers included in reservation)

day eight 🦬

Wake up early and drive to Hayden valley to watch bison! (our favorite experience in the park)
Drive to see the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and stop by various look out points:
- park in South Rim Rd to see view with Artist Point
- drive to North Rim Rd to see lower Lookout Point
- drive down the road to Grand View
- inspiration point to see a farther view
Drive to Lamar valley to view more wildlife. We unfortunately didn’t see many bison in this area due to the construction occurring in the park at the time.
Drive to see mammoth hot springs to see minerva terrace
Drive to camp for dinner
Catch the sunset back at Hayden valley (we ended up seeing a bison herd commuting to find a place to rest for the night, such an amazing experience to witness).

🌛 Canyon Campground

Glacier National Park, Montana

We ended our two week road trip with our last few days in Glacier national park. This part of the trip offered us some of the most incredible views we’ve ever seen! Glacier is extremely popular and crowded so it requires advance planning to ensure you book vehicle reservations (needed during peak season) and campgrounds. During peak season, the park is separated into four sections that require reservation tickets to enter during designated time periods as an attempt to limits crowds. More information on this can be found on the park’s website. Also, be sure to have bear spray on every hike in Glacier!

day nine 🚐

Drive to Glacier national park (7 hours from Yellowstone)
Check into camp

🌛 Fishcreek campground

🚿 Showers are available at camp

day ten 🏔

Wake up early to hike to avalanche lake
- Walk the trail of the cedars nature trail (1mi loop) continue hiking to avalanche lake (4.5 mi round trip)
Drive and stop along the ‘going to the sun’ road
Stop to see look out points along the way to take pics:
- The Loop– Hair pin turn on the road that allows views of stunning mountains
- Weeping Wall– Named after a cliffside that has water dripping from snowmelt onto the road and your car!
- Big Bend – Located just after the Weeping Wall, the best spot for photos or to watch the sunset :)
- Logan Pass – The highest point on the road, also where the visitor’s center is located
- Jackson Glacier Overlook– Pull off area to view Jackson Glacier
- Saint Mary Falls – Trail head for Saint Mary Falls starts at this pull off
- Wild Goose Island – Stop here to get a photograph of the famous island in the middle of Saint Mary lake!
- Rising Sun– Cute area to stop in for a restroom break or snacks
Get huckleberry ice cream as a reward!
Check into camp

🌛 Fishcreek campground

day eleven 🏔

Wake up early to drive to logan pass visitor’s center to hike the high line trail (parking lot here fills up extremely quickly!)
Hike the high line trail (~14 mi round trip)
- Due to extreme rainy and snowy weather conditions, we weren’t able to finish the entire hike but it was still one of the best experiences we had while visiting the park! We were hiking within the clouds at times! These kinds of weather conditions are typical while hiking in higher altitude, be sure to check the weather before hiking in some areas.
- The high line trail is definitely worth trying even if you only plan to hike for a few miles, the views are incredible!
Stop by lake McDonald and go for a swim to relax after a long hike.

🌛 Fishcreek campground

day twelve 🥞

Sleep in and enjoy breakfast at camp
Drive to Polebridge area of the park
- Explore the area, check out the Polebridge general store (super cute and has amazing pastries!)
Drive back up to the going to the sun road to explore pull off areas
Watch sunset at big bend

🌛 Fishcreek campground

Big bend stop along the ‘going to the sun’ road

day thirteen 🥾

Drive to logan pass visitor’s center to park
Hike to hike hidden lake overlook trail (2.7 mi)
- We were only able to hike to the overlook area and not down to the lake due to bear activity. Be sure to look up park closures in advance before planning certain hikes!
Drive to the Many Glacier area
Explore and stop in the Many Glacier hotel
Hike the grinnell glacier viewpoint trail (10 mi roundtrip)
After a long last day of exploring and hiking, get some huckleberry ice cream!
Relax at camp for final night

🌛 Fishcreek campground

Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

Published on October 4, 2023January 8, 2025 by Skylar M. Beck4 Comments

The Grand Teton national park will hold a top spot on my favorite national parks lists. I finally had the chance to visit this incredible park and I was in awe with its beauty. We spent a few days in the park and we were able to see most of the highlights. Here’s an overview of what we did and some tips I learned from after our experience.

Things to Know About the Grand Teton National Park

The park requires an entrance fee. It’s $35 for a 7 day period. I’d highly recommend purchasing the America the Beautiful pass if you plan to visit multiple national parks at once (like combining the Tetons and Yellowstone into one trip). The annual pass is $80 and gets you into any national park for a year!
The Grand Teton’s closet town is Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I would recommend spending time in Jackson, it’s about 30-40 minutes outside of the park, depending on the area you’re staying in. There’s plenty of restaurants, stores, and accommodations if you’re unable to stay inside the park.
The Grand Teton is about an hour and a half from the southern part of Yellowstone national park, which is why many people travel to both these parks in the same trip!
There are six established campgrounds within the GTNP which are all conveniently located throughout the park. As always, I’d suggest making a reservation well in advance if you plan to camp. We stayed at Jenny Lake campground which is tent only and this was a very central location. Be sure to research on where in the park you’d like to be, the campgrounds are spread across the entire park.
Other than campgrounds, there were a decent amount of free camp spots which was a nice surprise! We stayed at a free spot for three nights before moving to our campground. These free camp spots were definitely more crowded then others we’ve stayed at but it was nice to have a free sleep!
There are camp showers available for $6 at Signal Mountain and Colter Bay campgrounds. We went to Signal Mountain every day until we checked into Jenny Lake campground, which also has showers. Signal Mountain and Colter Bay areas also have laundry services available for use.
The Grand Teton is a relatively small national park and there’s two sides to it, one is highway 191 (outer road) and the other is the scenic drive (inner road) which includes many beautiful look out points and access to popular trails. Interestingly, if you stay on the side of highway 191, you don’t have to pay an entrance fee even though you’re technically in the park!

Things to Do in GTNP:

Day One

Overview:

Sunrise at Mormon Row
Stop at Cowboy Coffee
Explore Jackson
Fishing stop at Pacific creek
Drive along Teton park road

On our first full day in the park, we started the morning bright and early for sunrise at Mormon Row. This was by far one of the most beautiful sunrises I’ve ever seen. The one take away I had from our time in the Tetons was to never miss a sunrise. Mormon row was full of other people even at 5am waiting to watch the sun come over the Tetons. The lighting in the morning changed so fast here, the pink sky only lasted for a few minutes which made the experience even more magical. After sunrise, we drove into Jackson for coffee and breakfast. One of our favorite spots in Jackson was Cowboy Coffee. It’s a popular place for good reason!

After breakfast we walked around Jackson before driving back into the park. Most of the afternoon we spent time at Pacific Creek because Patrick wanted to fly fish. There were some great spots for fly fishing if that’s your thing too! While Patrick fished, I spent time exploring nearby areas and taking photos. We ended our first day driving along the Teton park road (the “inner” road of the park). After a beautiful first day, we went to our free camp spot for the night, which I found using the campendium app.

Sunrise view of the Tetons at Mormon Row

Day Two

Overview:

Sunrise at schwabacher landing
Hike part of Cascade Canyon
Spend the afternoon in Jackson souvenir shopping
Dinner at Hand Fire Pizza

Day two was on of our favorite days in the park! We started the morning at another well known sunrise spot, Schwabacher landing. This spot is on the “outer” road of the park, along highway 191. There were a lot of other people here for sunrise, but we still managed to have a great view to watch the sun rise over the Tetons. We spent a couple hours here before heading back to the car to make breakfast and coffee. After some fuel, we headed to the String Lake area to access the Cascade Canyon trail. There are a few different ways to access this trial. We started at String Lake and walked along Jenny lake before connecting to the Cascade Canyon trail head. We didn’t plan to hike the entirety of cascade canyon but total we hiked about 8 miles. This was a stunning hike and we were able to see some famous spots in the park along this trail such as:

Inspiration point
Hidden Falls
Jenny Lake loop

After a full afternoon hiking, we stopped by signal mountain camp area to shower. Showers here are available for $6 and it gives you 7 minutes to shower. The showers here were extremely clean and lots of room which was a luxury compared to other public showers we’ve used. We then drove into Jackson for dinner and souvenir shopping. We decided to have dinner at Hand Fire Pizza which was amazing! After dinner we headed back into the park to set up camp for our first night at Jenny Lake campground.

Day Three

Overview:

Sunrise exploring scenic highway
Breakfast at Jenny Lake visitor’s center
Taggart Lake
Jenny Lake scenic drive

On our last full day in the tetons, we woke up bright and early. Patrick wanted to fish again so I dropped him off at Pacific Creek. For the rest of the morning I explored parts of the scenic drive, pulling over for photos as the sun rose over the tetons. I made my way back to camp and walked around the Jenny Lake visitor’s center area. Inside one of the general store’s in this area, they serve coffee and breakfast sandwiches. It started for campers but is now available for anyone stopping by the area in the morning. The breakfast sandwich was delicious and just what I need after an early morning. Once Patrick was done fishing, we went for a short hike at Taggart Lake. This is a brief loop trail that takes you around Taggart Lake. It’s a fairly moderate hike that can be completed in a couple of hours or less. We took showers at our campground, Jenny Lake, and it was $5 for 6 minutes.

For our last night in the Grand Teton national park, we drove along the Jenny Lake scenic drive. This drive is so beautiful and perfectly hidden from the main road, we were one of the only ones there exploring. Along the drive there’s some pull off areas for hikes accessed from this road and parking for the Jenny Lake lodge. Our favorite part of this scenic drive was the look out point for Jenny lake. There’s a path where you can walk along the water and take in the views of Jenny lake. It’s such a sweet spot, I would definitely add this to your itinerary while visiting the park. We spent our last night at camp cooking dinner before heading to bed.

Path along Jenny Lake accessed from scenic drive

Two Days in Yellowstone National Park

Published on August 16, 2023January 8, 2025 by Skylar M. Beck3 Comments

Patrick and I recently returned home from another out west national park trip! One of the most memorable national parks we visited on this trip was Yellowstone. Yellowstone national park is the first national park in the country, established in 1872 and the charm and western feel of the park is still alive today. We had two full days in the park and we focused on seeing the major highlights. Here is an overview of how we spent our time in Yellowstone.

Things to know about Yellowstone

Yellowstone is huge! It’s separated into two loops, the northern and the southern. In hindsight, it would make sense to spend part of the trip in the north loop and part in the south loop to reduce drive time during the day. We ended up driving back and forth between the loops throughout the two days which is doable but plan to spend lots of time driving!
There are so many bisons! We were so surprised with how comfortable the bison are within the park. There were bison on the sides of the road throughout most of the park!
Yellowstone national park requires a fee for entrance into the park. It’s $35 for a 7 day period. As always, I’d highly recommend purchasing the America the Beautiful pass. It’s $80 and gets you into national parks for a year!

Day One

On our first day in the park, we decided to start at the most famous geyser, Old Faithful. Old Faithful is one of the oldest erupting geysers in the park and it erupts consistently every hour to hour and a half. We used a website called geyser times to check in on the old faithful’s next predicted eruption before showing up. This was helpful to have a gauge on how much time we would have to wait. After watching Old Faithful, we walked along the boardwalk (upper geyser trail) that takes you to many other geysers and pools in the park. This was a pleasant walk and we went all the way to morning glory pool and back which was about 3 miles total. There is so much to see in this part of the park so make it your own! Some geysers or pools I’d recommend are:

Old Faithful
Castle geyser
Daisy geyser
Spa geyser
Morning Glory pool
Grotto geyser
Grand geyser
Beauty pool

After exploring this part of the park, we took a 15 minute drive to the fairy falls trailhead to hike to the overlook of Grand Prismatic spring. This is an iconic spring because it’s colors are so vibrant. There is access to see this spring up close but we preferred the overlook to see the spring from above. The hike to the overlook is about 1.5mile and a bit steep at times, but the view is definitely worth it!

We stayed at Canyon Campground while visiting Yellowstone and it was wonderful! The reservation here covered a shower a day for each camper and they had laundry facilities for campground guests.

Grand Prismatic spring via fairy falls overlook trail

Day Two

Day two in Yellowstone started at Hayden valley to watch bison! Hayden valley is a well known spot in the park to capture an up close view of bison. I was hopeful we’d see some bison but I was in awe of how many bison we did see and how comfortable they all were walking near the road! Please respect the bisons home and space, we were able to see these incredible animals up close from the safety of our car, it’s not necessary to get out of the car. It’s also not safe to do so, these are wild animals after all.

After a beautiful morning in Hayden valley, we headed to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone is such an underrated spot in my opinion! This was a stunning canyon different than others I’ve seen before. I appreciated that the park had several different viewpoints of the canyon and waterfall that are all well marked while driving through this area. We started along the south rim drive at Artist’s point which was beautiful and probably my favorite of all the view points. I’d also recommend:

South Rim drive: Artist’s point and upper falls lookout point.
North Rim drive: brink of lower falls, inspiration point, grand view point, and lookout point

After spending time exploring the various view points of the grand canyon, we headed towards the northern loop of the park to drive through Lamar valley, another famous valley where bison are known to graze. The drive to this part of the park was beautiful, there were so many scenic pull off areas with mountain views. Unfortunately when we reached Lamar valley, there weren’t many bison at all which we believed was due to the construction going on. Regardless, it was still a beautiful drive.

From here, we continued driving to another famous spot in the park, Mammoth Hot springs. This was a crowded spot for good reason! The lower terrace of the hot springs was so unique and stunning we were in shock. This is a fairly quick stop but I’d say it’s a must see while visiting Yellowstone. From here, we continued around the northern loop and stopped at the Norris Geyser Basin area to see more beautiful geysers and springs. This area is similar to the old faithful area, with boardwalks that lead you to view points of the various geysers and springs.

After a busy second day, we ended our last night in Yellowstone by cooking dinner at camp before heading back to Hayden valley for sunset. One of our favorite parts of the park was watching the bison! When we went back to Hayden valley after dinner, there were herds of bison moving together. It was so magical to watch the animals in their natural habit settle for the night. We parked the car on the side of the road and had a front row seat!

Yellowstone Tips

Book a campground early if you plan to camp! There are several campgrounds within the park, all of which seem to fill up pretty quickly. I can’t speak for the other campgrounds in the park but we were very impressed with canyon campground! I’d recommended picking a campground close to sites you’d like to see since the park is so large.
You will do a lot of driving! Regardless of where you stay within the park, if you plan to see many of the park’s highlights, be prepared to drive a lot during the day.
Look up Old Faithful’s eruption times prior to stopping by
Pack your own food. There are several restaurants and “general stores” at major sites in Yellowstone, but the food wasn’t the best and it was pretty expensive.
Check out the park’s website for closures and construction zones. When we visited, there were several spots under construction which caused delays.

Things To Do In & Around Badlands National Park, South Dakota

Published on August 13, 2023January 8, 2025 by Skylar M. Beck1 Comment

Our road trip this summer started with some time in South Dakota. As someone who has never visited South Dakota, I was surprised by it’s beauty and unique features throughout the state. We planned to spend our short time in South Dakota stopping by Badlands National Park, the iconic Wall Drug store and Mount Rushmore before moving on to Wyoming. Combining these three destinations within two days worked out well for us before moving on to other parks. Here’s an overview of how we spent time in South Dakota.

Badlands National Park

Badlands is a park that truly surprised me! From the highway, this area of South Dakota seems pretty rural and green but as soon as you enter the park, there are desert like features and stunning badlands. Badlands is a small park but it did offer a lot of activity and sites to see in our short visit.

Things to do:

Check out the visitor’s center.
Hike the Notch trail. This trail is beautiful and offers a fun ladder to climb partially through the hike. Unfortunately we didn’t get to hike the entirety of this trail due to crowds. We made the mistake of trying to hike this mid day and once we reached the ladder, there was a huge line.
Hike the Window and Door trails. These are short trails along boardwalks that take you to a beautiful opening of more badlands.
Drive along the scenic road within the road. The road that takes you through the park is the scenic road and there are several pull off areas to stop to enjoy more badlands views.

Wall Drug store

I didn’t know about Wall Drug until I started researching things to do in South Dakota. This is a huge tourist attraction about 15 minutes from Badlands National Park. The day we drove into South Dakota, we started seeing signs and billboards for Wall Drug 3 hours out! Although it’s a tourist stop, it was definitely a fun experience and I’d recommend stopping. The whole place feels western and old fashion which is part of the charm. Wall Drug is famous for it’s 5 cent coffee and free ice water which was historic years ago for travelers passing through.

After exploring Badlands and Wall Drug, we drove about an hour and a half to a campground in Custer State park, Center Lake campground, to be closer to our next destination. This was a wonderful campground for the night and the best part was we were only 30 minutes from Mount Rushmore!

Mount Rushmore

We woke up bright and early to visit Mount Rushmore before the crowds. If you can, I’d highly recommend this. We arrived around 5:30am and were one of the only ones visiting the monument. It was so peaceful and relaxing to experience this iconic monument without having to fight crowds. We spent a lot of time taking photos before walking the presidential trial. This trail is a little less then a mile and well paved with boardwalks and steps that give you an up close view of the monument. There’s also the sculptor’s studio along this trail that gives more information about the building process, practice sculptures that were built and the overall history of the monument. Since we were there so early this was closed (opens at 8am) but I would have loved to explore this part as well. Keep in mind, the monument itself is free to visit, however, it does cost $10 to park.

There is so much to see throughout South Dakota and I wish we would’ve had more time. Wind Caves National Park is also extremely close to this area too if you want to add another stop along the way. If you’re short on time like us or just passing through, these three stops are must sees!

Tag: National Park travel

My Top 5 National Parks

1. Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

2. Glacier National Park, Montana

3. Rocky Mountains National Park, Colorado

4. Zion National Park, Utah

5. Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

Read More About My Top 5 National Parks:

Glacier National Park, Montana

Things to Know Before Visiting Glacier

Must See Spots in Glacier

Must Do Hikes in Glacier

Other Tips for Visiting Glacier National Park

Detailed Itinerary: South Dakota, Wyoming, & Montana Road trip

Badlands National Park & Wall Drug Store, South Dakota

Mount Rushmore, South Dakota

Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho

Glacier National Park, Montana

Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

Things to Know About the Grand Teton National Park

Things to Do in GTNP:

Day One

Day Two

Day Three

Two Days in Yellowstone National Park

Things to know about Yellowstone

Day One

Day Two

Yellowstone Tips

Things To Do In & Around Badlands National Park, South Dakota

Badlands National Park

Wall Drug store

Mount Rushmore