Mom's Travel Advice: Visiting Yellowstone National Park with Young Children

America's first national park, Yellowstone, is a popular travel destination among families. Many people choose to take their young children to view the park's pristine beauty, its high concentration of geothermal features, and its abundant wildlife. However, traveling to Yellowstone with young children can present real challenges for mom and dad as you try to see the park and try to keep tantrums to a minimum.

Make Your Reservation Early

Yellowstone National Park lodging accommodations fill up rapidly. You may need to book 6-12 months in advance to stay at a lodge or cabin. If camping is more your style, be sure to book at least a couple of months in advance to ensure that you get the campground that you want. For instance, not all campgrounds have showers and some campgrounds allow hard-sided campers only due to bear activity.

Yellowstone gets cold at night, even in the summer. Take into consideration your child's disposition when making a reservation. How does your child handle cold? How does your child handle dirt? If you have a young child, camping in a tent may be too difficult as you may need to get up at night for potty breaks in very chilly conditions and trek in darkness towards the common bathrooms.

Consider Staying for 2 or More Nights at Yellowstone

Yellowstone National Park is quite large and it can take a few hours to drive from the south entrance (near Old Faithful) to the north entrance (Mammoth Hot Springs), particularly if you run into a traffic delay caused by wildlife or construction. Most visitors cram too much into one day and this choice can be disastrous for families traveling with young children.

If you stay 2 or more nights in Yellowstone, you can take time to explore one area of the park. Although the Old Faithful area is popular due to the outstanding geysers in the area, it is also the most crowded. If crowds are not for you, then consider spending time in one of the other geyser basins such as West Thumb or Norris.

A longer stay will give your younger children a chance to acclimate to the park. You can take naps during the day. You can pack up a simple picnic lunch and go at your toddler's pace. Take frequent stops and rediscover a world of wonder as seen through the eyes of your child.

Pick a short hike and let your child walk at his or her own pace. For example, the hike to Wraith Falls is a short ½ mile to see a very scenic waterfall. It is located in the north eastern section of the park between Mammoth and Tower and is usually not too crowded. Your child will also spot small animals along the walk such as marmots or ground squirrels.

DIY: Make an "Eye Spy" Animal Game

Before departing on your Yellowstone adventure, introduce your child to the animals that she or he might see on the trip. You can print out pictures of bear, bison, elk, deer, coyote, chipmunks, birds, or wolves. Find a small sticker book of wild animals and print up a one page "eye spy" animal game. On this sheet, you can draw or print out different wild animals. Then, as you encounter these animals during your trip, your child can put a sticker over the animal.

Be sure to take binoculars or a spotting scope with you to view distant animals such as bears or wolves. Consider purchasing your child his or her own pair of kid binoculars and a disposable camera. Your child may not be able to view all the animals that you can, but these items will help your child to feel like she or he is participating in the experience that is Yellowstone.

Most importantly, plan on enjoying Yellowstone's natural wonders at your child's pace. If you go slow and just explore a portion of the park, your child will be happier than if you try to push through and visit the entire park in just a day. Get out of your car frequently and let your child touch rocks, flowers, or pinecones. Take your camera and capture these precious moments of your child enjoying a visit with America's first national park.