Stephanie and I have been in the thick of planning our summer 2021 camping trip to Yellowstone National Park. So we thought we would take you along for the ride on today's episode of The RV Atlas! I tend to drive Stephanie bonkers planning our big trips because I vacillate and hesitate and act like Prince Hamlet. Perpetually unable to make a decision and creating chaos all around me. Stephanie is more precise and decisive and she has great track record for picking the right places and planning the right routes. So I basically bombard her with options and force her to decide. It's a bit dysfunctional, but our track record for planning epic adventures out west is impeccable. 

To listen to Stephanie and Jeremy discuss planning their big summer 2021 trip to Yellowstone National Park, click on the media player above, or subscribe to The RV Atlas wherever you get your podcasts!

Our Late Summer Strategy For Heading West

When it comes to planning our big summer trips out west, we have settled into a pattern that we both love. Instead of taking our own RV out west, we fly in and rent an RV. Or we rent a car and stay in cabins or NPS lodges. We only have about 12 days for this Yellowstone trip, so driving out is not a viable option. That would mean too much time in the truck, and not enough time in the parks. We think that too many RV owners never get around to their bucket list trips because they are totally committed to their own RV's and don't have enough time to drive to many of the epic locations out west. So instead, they spend all of their vacation time closer to home.

Fly and camp trips have allowed us to see the PNW, South Dakota, and Glacier on our own timeframes and on our own terms. Staying in NPS Lodges, glamping tents, and cabins has been an incredibly experience that we wouldn't trade for the world.

We have also fallen in love with traveling out west in late August and early September. Why? Because we find that many popular locations, like Mount Rushmore, are less crowded at that time. This is because so many kids are back in school. Our boys don't start school until after Labor Day, and we are thankful that we can travel at a time when the weather is great and the summer crowds have thinned out a bit. We are taking this same approach for Yellowstone. Max and Theo have a baseball tournament that ends around August 21st. We have about 14 days before school starts, so why not do Yellowstone, right?

Our Loop

So this year LORD WILLING we are flying into Jackson Hole and doing a loop---staying first at Grand Teton National Park, then West Yellowstone, East Yellowstone/Cody, and back to Jackson Hole. We are missing out on Devil's Tower on this trip, but besides that, this loop looks perfect! We will have time to explore Grand Teton National Park, both sides of Yellowstone, and Cody and Jackson Hole. Sounds like a perfect 12 days to me.

First Stop: Colter Bay Cabins

Our first stop will be at Colter Bay Cabins. We were surprised that there was NPS lodging available inside Grand Tetons National Park--so we grabbed it! Yellowstone basically had nothing left--so this was our one chance to stay inside one of these monumental parks. The cabins look pretty basic on the outside--but they look really nice and cozy on the inside. But most importantly, they comfortably sleep five! This is a huge reason why we prefer cabins over hotels when we do fly trips---room and sleeping accommodations for the whole family. Pictures of the interiors of this cabin look absolutely charming--and we think it will be nice and centrally located for our trip. We are hoping to do the hike around Jenny Lake and visit mormon row while we are here. I would also love to rent canoes or kayaks.

Second Stop: West Yellowstone

I am thrilled that we are staying two nights in a luxury glamping tent at Under Canvas Yellowstone.