Wyoming and Montana:
Date of trip: June 9-14, 2023
I booked my yearly medical conference trip in Big Sky, Montana with the goal of visiting Yellowstone and the Tetons. While the drive from Big Sky isn’t exactly ideal, this itinerary might give you some ideas on what parts of the parks to check out. We also spent an evening at Steve’s boss’s cattle ranch near Dillon, Montana. I had already “checked off” Montana while in Idaho by hiking the Cabinet Mountains but now I feel like I’ve really gotten the quintessential Montana experience.
Day 1: We flew directly from Atlanta to Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport. We stocked some groceries then drove 2 hours west to Bar Double T Ranch. The owner of Steve’s company founded the ranch in the 1980s and it continues as a working cattle ranch. We only had one free night before my conference started in Big Sky but we would have loved to stay a week here.
We were welcomed by Steve’s boss and his family and enjoyed a family style dinner before setting out to enjoy sunset on a side-by-side.
The area is a historic landmark where Lewis and Clark were led by Sacajawea.
The scenery was stunning. This was looking toward the Sawtooth Mountains in Idaho.
Day 2: We were treated to a guided sunrise hike with the owner’s grandson to the top of the mountain on the ranch. It was a difficult little scramble and of course there isn’t an AllTrails link, but the views were amazing.
He then took us on a full ATV tour and explained how the cattle ranch is operated. We even saw a baby antelope.
We chose skeet shooting as our last activity at the ranch and I was surprised that I wasn’t terrible considering I had never shot a gun prior.
And Steve was actually really good but that’s not surprising since he can do pretty much everything well.
We then hit the road to Big Sky. Google maps apparently was going to take us the longest route, so we broke out a paper map and followed the directions from the guys at the ranch.
We arrived late so pretty much just checked in to our room at Big Sky Resort and planned our route for the next day.
The resort was nice but we were barely there to enjoy the area. We read about some great hikes and a furnicular, but we just didn’t have enough time.
Day 3: We took a mini-tour of Big Sky to find a grocery store, stocked up and headed toward Yellowstone (50 minute drive). We arrived through the West Yellowstone entrance after stopping by the visitor center for advice and bear spray (fortunately we didn’t need it this trip).
I was not aware of the extensive driving required even once inside the park but Yellowstone encompasses 3,472 square miles!
First stop was the Fountain Paint Pots trail which was 40 minutes from the visitor center. It’s only 0.6 miles with views of the iconic paint pots.
Fountain Paint Pot Trail on AllTrails
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/wyoming/fountain-paint-pot-trail?sh=sxlnu6
Then we drove only 5 minutes to the Grand Prismatic overview trail which is 1.5 miles with 200 feet elevation gain. It was pretty crowded but a nice view of the Grand Prismatic hot spring.
Grand Prismatic Hot Spring Overlook Trail on AllTrails
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/wyoming/grand-prismatic-hot-spring?sh=sxlnu6
Next we headed to see Old Faithful 10 minutes away. We did the short Geyser Loop while we waited for the predicted geyser activity.
Old Faithful Geyser Loop Trail on AllTrails
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/wyoming/observation-point-loop-trail?sh=sxlnu6
Old Faithful was right on time based on predictions.
We then drove to Artist Point Overlook Trail which was a whopping 1 hour and 15 minutes drive across the park.
Wildlife view along the drive ⬆️
In action with my trusty iPhone 12.
We then circled back on Grand Loop Road to the other side of the canyon to Lookout Point Trailhead.
North Rim Trail, Red Rock Point, Lookout Point, and Grand View on AllTrails
We did this 2 mile trail along the rim and although got rained on, we got to capture a rainbow along the canyon!
Then we descended the steps of Lower Falls of the Yellowstone to get a closer view of the falls. It’s a short trail with 265 feet elevation gain (you walk down a bunch of steps then back up).
Brink of the Lower Falls Trail on AllTrails
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/wyoming/brink-of-the-lower-falls?sh=sxlnu6
We drove an hour further north east to Mammoth Hot Springs in time for sunset.
There’s a short trail we followed up the springs for the best views.
It ended up adding two hours of driving to a long day, but I highly recommend Mammoth Hot Springs for sunset. The travertine stone made for such unique photos.
It was over a 2 hour 15 minute drive back to Big Sky. I have to admit I looked at Mammoth on the map and thought it was “on the way” back to Big Sky but didn’t realize there was a mountain in the way.
Day 4: Today was our hiking day where we wanted to accomplish Avalanche Peak Trail, a big hike the ranger recommended. It was a 3 hour drive from Big Sky through Yellowstone to the trailhead. I’ve linked the AllTrails below:
Avalanche Peak Trail on AllTrails
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/wyoming/avalanche-peak?p=-1&sh=sxlnu6
The hike was rated as hard and I would agree, it was 4.5 miles with a little over 2000 feet in elevation gain.
In June there was still snow on the trail in many parts.
Views of Hoyt Peak along the way⬆️
Approaching Avalanche summit ⬆️
The snow made for a treacherous ascent on the mountainside
Note the storm rolling in
And of course just as we hit the summit, the rain came. We ran all the way down the mountain because I was terrified of lightning.
And accordingly this was our last photo of the day hike.
Views along the long trip back home.
Mary Bay ⬆️
Day 5: I convinced Steve to make the long trek to Grand Teton National Park which ended up being almost 4 hours with stops. I would definitely recommend to stay in Jackson Hole rather than Big Sky if you know you’re planning the Tetons.
We drove to the Visitor Center in Teton Village and gathered our plan based on their recommendations. We headed to do the Jenny Lane loop but once there, added Inspiration Point and Hidden Falls for additional mileage and views. I’ve linked all the trails below. Jenny Lake perimeter was 7 miles. You’ll come to Hidden Falls first which is an out and back 1 miler. Then next you’ll see the trail for Inspiration Point where the boat drops off folks. Inspiration Point adds 1.8 miles with 419 feet elevation gain, but gives great views of the lake from above.
Jenny Lake Trail on AllTrails
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/wyoming/jenny-lake-trail?sh=sxlnu6
Inspiration Point via Jenny Lake Boat Shuttle on AllTrails
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/wyoming/inspiration-point-via-jenny-lake-boat-shuttle?sh=sxlnu6
Hidden Falls Trail on AllTrails
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/wyoming/hidden-falls-trail–2?sh=sxlnu6
Views from the perimeter trail ⬆️
Hidden falls ⬆️
Views from Inspiration point hike
Note the storm rolling in
We finished our hike and headed back to Big Sky. Here are a few shots just from viewpoints along the way
Questions?
Our quick trip to Montana and Wyoming was a success! Although there was plenty of driving, getting to explore two stunning national parks and capture these incredible views made it all worthwhile. If you ever need tips or suggestions, feel free to reach out—I’m happy to help!
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