Planning this 30-day road trip across 4 states – Washington, Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho – was challenging as there is so much to see and do. And then the driving distances are longer between our “must-see” sites, so we needed to identify overnight stops along the way to break up the drives. We like to plan our drive times for about 4-5 hours a day so that we have the ability to stop if we find something interesting on the road.
We are planners and not just get in the car and go travelers, so we meticulously planned all our accommodations along the way. In National Park areas planning is a must if you want prime accommodations near or within the park. Accommodations get booked up quickly and surprisingly they also can be quite pricey.
For this trip, we are flying in/out of Seattle and renting a car. We prefer hotels and love the ease of driving to a place where we just have to check in and a hot shower and bed are readily available.
Washington
Our plans to explore Washington will be in the front and back ends of the trip since we are arriving and departing from here.
We will visit Seattle and do the requisite sites such as Pikes Place Market and the Space Needle. We are going on a whale-watching adventure while at Orca Island, which is part of the San Juan Island group. And then we’ll drive through the southern part of the Cascade Loop Scenic Byway on our way into Montana.
On returning to Washington, we will stop at Mount Rainer, the highest mountain in Washington State with a summit elevation of 14,417 ft, and Olympic National Park, along the Pacific Coast. Olympic National Park is nearly a million acres with distinctly different ecosystems, including glacier-capped mountains, old-growth temperate rain forests, and more than 70 miles of wild coastline. We have been warned that because of the size, there will be a lot of driving to get from place to place, but there is so much to explore!
Montana
A visit to Montana must include a visit to Glacier National Park, and that is exactly where we are headed. We made the required car reservations for the Going to the Sun Road. So we will drive that road along with the accompanying audio guide from the National Park Services to check out all the highlights for ourselves.
We have a few days in the Glacier National Park area, so we also explore a couple of the glacial lakes including Lake MacDonald with the backdrop of the Rockies and Flathead Lake, which is the largest freshwater (and supposedly the clearest) lake on the continental US west of the Mississippi.
From there we’ll make a stop in Bozeman on our way to the Montana area of Yellowstone National Park. We will be staying at the new Under Canvas North Yellowstone, which will be our first glamping adventure. I’m really excited to check this out, as I learned a long time ago that I’m not a camper, but perhaps I could be a glamper.
Wyoming
After a few days in the northern part of Yellowstone in Montana, we’ll head over to where all the top spots are in Yellowstone in Wyoming, such as Old Faithful Geyser, the Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone Canyon, and Yellowstone Lake.
Yellowstone became the first US national park on March 1, 1872. Its 2.2 million acres of protected land contains geothermal areas with almost half the world’s active geysers.
After Yellowstone, we’ll travel south to stay in Jackson Hole while we explore the Grand Teton National Park. While in Jackson Hole, we’ll also head to the Jackson Hole Rodeo for the last rodeo of the season.
Idaho
After leaving Wyoming, we will make our way through the southern part of Idaho stopping at Craters of the Moon National Monument, Redfish Lake, Shoshone Falls, and Sun Valley, known for its ski resorts and the destination for “billionaire summer camp”.
We’ll spend a night in Boise as we make our way west back into Washington State. And of course, I am expecting to have lots of meals with every variety of potatoes. And the Idaho Potato Museum & Potato Station Cafe is on our list of places to stop.
This is the plan, but with any travel, there will be detours along the way, unexpected stops that will turn out amazing, and plans that go astray. If you have any suggestions for us on sites to see, places to stop, or where we much have a meal, as we make our way through Washington, Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho, please send us an email or contact us via Instagram and Facebook via the links below.
