Our 5,000-mile journey West through 5 national parks and 10 states in 24 days (photos)

TEN STATES FROM OHIO WEST TO MONTANA -- Camping and backpacking are some of my favorite childhood memories. As a kid, I would dog-ear pages of places I wanted to visit while reading my dad’s “Backpacker” magazines. One of those articles I read years ago said that many, if not all, of the glaciers in Glacier National Park would be gone in my lifetime. They have been slowly shrinking since about 1850. I told myself I had to go before they disappeared.

But life and raising a family somehow makes time slip by. Although the desire to go always lingered in my mind, the new challenge became trying to find that sweet spot where our four children were all old enough to manage longer hikes, but not so old they were too busy to go.

Last year we decided 2021 was the time, with our oldest being 13 and our youngest 5. We knew 5 was a little young to do some of the hikes I wanted to do (one was 13 miles), but we had plenty of ideas for shorter hikes.

We also decided that if we’re going to Glacier, why not check the box on several other parks we wanted to visit. So we plotted a course through five national parks and 10 states: Grand Teton, Yellowstone, Glacier, the Black Hills and Badlands.

I should mention that our days of tent camping are mostly behind us. We learned a while ago that trying to make and break camp and cook for six people on longer trips proved difficult. So we purchased a travel trailer in 2015 and have used it on many adventures around the Midwest and to Florida. It has made traveling with four children much more enjoyable.

Related: So you bought an RV or travel trailer during the pandemic? Tips for happy outings

In May 2020, when campground reservations in Yellowstone opened for 2021, I was on the phone at 8 a.m. trying to snag one of the coveted camping spots we wanted. Many of their campgrounds are limited on sites that can accommodate larger RVs or travel trailers, so I had to call to make my reservation, rather than book through the website. If you don’t have the restrictions I have, booking through the website is easy.

We got a spot in Madison Campground, which was my first choice because of its central location.

From there I worked backward, reserving Grand Teton and then picking campgrounds along the route from there to home. We kept our driving days to 6-7 hours to make it tolerable for our younger kids. That gave us time to get into a campground early enough to swim in the pool and have dinner before bed.

After that, I worked forward, booking Glacier, then onward to the Black Hills and Badlands.

Unlike Yellowstone, Glacier has a six-month booking window for its campgrounds. We wanted to stay on the east side of Glacier at the popular St. Mary campground, but would have to wait to book that. We reserved a KOA site in the town of St. Mary as a backup. That proved to be a good plan, as staffing shortages in Glacier forced them to close some campgrounds for 2021, including St. Mary.

Cleveland to Grand Teton National Park (26 hours and about 1,700 miles)

We departed our home in Avon Lake on June 8 and traveled 513 miles to Tipton, Iowa, on Day 1. From there, we drove 404 miles to Doniphan, Neb.; 506 miles to Rawlins, Wyo.; and finally, 266 miles into Grand Teton, arriving early enough to set up our home for the next four and a half days and do some sightseeing.

The trip was relatively uneventful until the final two hours of our drive into Rawlins, where we encountered high wind advisories, with gusts up to 60 mph. We sustained some damage to our slideout awning, but I was able to repair the supports to make them functional.

Grand Teton

The drive into Grand Teton via U.S. 26 is breathtaking. The landscape changes with each passing hour, cutting through mountain passes until you finally lay your eyes on the jagged, snow-kissed spires of the Tetons.

Colter Bay campground is nestled in a forest of lodgepole pine near the shores of Jackson Lake, offering stunning views of the Teton range reflected in the cold, clear waters.

Our goal was to stay on Ohio time, get up early and beat the crowds, as many national parks are setting attendance records this year. We were able to watch the sun’s first rays kiss the Teton range each morning, sharing the view with only a few others.

A must-have if you plan to go West to grizzly country is bear spray. Rent canisters at the parks for about $16 per day or buy them at most park visitor centers for about $50. We purchased ours locally at the Backpackers Shop in Sheffield.

We began our adventure with a hike up Cascade Canyon trail, past Hidden Falls to Inspiration Point, a very popular stop. Then, weeding out some of the tourists, we continued into Cascade Canyon.

There are two ways to reach Inspiration Point; either by hiking around Jenny Lake from the Jenny Lake trailhead, or taking a short boat ride across Jenny Lake to the Cascade Canyon trailhead, which is what we did. The boat cuts off about 2.4 miles of walking each way, but there is a fee for the ride ($18 for adults, $10 for ages 2-11). It was worth it for us, allowing our youngest to do more hiking in the canyon rather than around the lake. We were on the first boat of the day at 7 a.m. and shared the boat with a few other passengers.

The hike offered stunning views of the mountains as we wound through Cascade Canyon. We saw two moose munching on willows. We returned to the boat dock in the afternoon to large crowds, and the wait time for the boat was about 45 minutes.

Another day we biked on a multi-use pathway from Jenny Lake to Moose Junction, stopping at Dornan’s Trading Post for lunch and ice cream.

Throughout the week we enjoyed brisk swims in Jackson Lake, where the water temperature was in the mid-50s. We also hiked around Taggart and Bradley lakes.

I capped our stay in Grand Teton with a 4 a.m. wake up with my oldest son, driving to Mormon Row to photograph the historic homestead barns set against the Grand Teton range. We had the bonus of seeing a grizzly bear grazing on the side of the road as we drove back to camp.

Yellowstone

The trip from Grand Teton to Yellowstone is short. The two parks nearly border each other, and the 74-mile drive from Colter Bay campground to Madison campground took less than two hours. After setting up camp, we decided to explore, starting at the Fountain Paint Pot Trail. We arrived in time to watch a bison sauntering past the boardwalk, ignoring dozens of visitors who frantically grabbed their cameras.

Yellowstone feels more touristy than the Tetons. It’s harder to escape crowds and feel like you’ve lost yourself in the wilderness. But even if you seek solitude, Yellowstone is worth the trip. The Earth there is like no other place I’ve visited. It’s alive, breathing and heaving forth belches of mud, gas and water.

Probably no place in the park feels less solitary than Old Faithful, where thousands of people gather every hour to watch the iconic geyser spew water before meandering back into their cars or the gift shop. Although it’s the most well-known geyser, it proved to be far down on our list of favorites. In that same area, the Upper Geyser Basin, we were lucky enough to see both Beehive Geyser and Grand Geyser erupt. Your chances of seeing them are fewer, so plan accordingly. (The NPS gives daily updates on geyser activity.)

Our favorite was Great Fountain geyser, which we would have missed if not for the advice of a patiently-seated older woman. We arrived at the geyser to see it bubbling and steaming. Unimpressed, we started to leave when the woman told us that it should be erupting soon and that it’s her favorite geyser.

We waited about 45 minutes as the geyser began to show signs of life. She told us the signs to watch. First, the pool surrounding the geyser began to slowly overflow. Then, multiple minor eruptions went off, spitting water 2-3 feet in the air. Finally, with a roar, the geyser began heaving a massive column of water nearly 100 feet into the air for almost an hour. It was an impressive show, and we thanked her for encouraging us to wait.

Grand Prismatic Spring was another favorite, but arriving early is a must. The parking lot is small and people must park on the road once the lot is full. We made two trips to Grand Prismatic. First, we saw it up close on the boardwalk, from which it’s difficult to grasp the scale and colors. For a more dramatic view, we hiked up a hillside via the Fairy Falls Trail to an overlook platform that gives you a more aerial view of the rainbow-colored spring.

We spent one day in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone area, hiking trails to the edges of waterfalls, watching thousands of gallons of emerald green water spill over the multicolored stone walls. We enjoyed views from Artist Point, one of the most photographed spots in the park with a view of the 308-foot Lower Falls.

We drove and hiked areas around Yellowstone Lake, including the beautiful West Thumb Geyser basin.

We finished our stay hiking around the travertine terraces of Mammoth Hot Springs. I had hoped, from there, to make the trip to the Lamar Valley to perhaps see some Yellowstone wolves. But Yellowstone is huge, and we simply ran out of time. Next visit perhaps.

Glacier

From Yellowstone, we drove to Helena, Mont., only about 200 miles away. We took advantage of the short drive day to do some necessary grocery shopping and laundry.

From Helena to Glacier was another 195 miles and the drive into St. Mary rivaled the views into Grand Teton.

This is the part of the trip I was most excited about, and the part that was nearly ruined because of my lack of planning. I booked Glacier more than a year ago, knew where we were staying and what we wanted to do. I’d been monitoring the Glacier National Park webpage that kept visitors updated on snow plowing conditions on Going-to-the-Sun Road. The road was not yet open when we arrived. It had historically opened by mid-June, but there was no guarantee. We could only drive as far as Jackson Glacier overlook, 13 miles into the park.

I had neglected, however, to check the main Glacier webpage closer to our arrival to see the park had implemented a reservation system in March for the Going-to-the-Sun Road entrance. Daily from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., you need a vehicle pass ($2) separate from park admission to gain access to the Going-to-the-Sun Road entrances to the park.

Glacier, along with five other national parks, began doing this because the large increase in visitors was causing traffic problems. The ranger I spoke with when we arrived said there were times last season when cars were backed up for three or more hours. I checked the reservations page and no passes were available until August.

The ranger informed me that about 20 percent of the reservations are held back for day-of-arrival release, so there was still a chance to get one. In the meantime, we would just enter the Going-to-the-Sun entrance before 6 a.m. or after 5 p.m.

Going-to-the-Sun Road, whether entering from the west or east, is the only road in Glacier that needs this pass.

We awoke early our first full day in Glacier and drove to the Many Glacier entrance and the Grinnell Glacier trailhead. We wanted to hike to Upper Grinnell Lake to see Grinnell Glacier. The out-and-back trail is 11.2 miles, challenging for a 5-year-old. But this was a must-do trail for me, and I’d carry our youngest if necessary. We took our time, getting passed by many hikers. About halfway through the out portion, a passing ranger informed us the trail was not open all the way to Upper Grinnell Lake due to snow covering the trail. I had read recent reviews on Alltrails saying there was snow covering the trail, but thought it might be traversable. We went as far as a warning sign roped across the trail, and decided it was unsafe to continue.

We’d gone about four miles to this point and the views were breathtaking. It would be easy to say it was disappointing not to hike all the way to the glacier, but what was to be disappointed about? I was with my family, surrounded by some of the most stunning views in this country on a perfect summer day. We happily ate lunch overlooking the surreal turquoise waters of Grinnell Lake.

We spent the next day in the Two Medicine area. We chose a shorter hike on the South Shore Trail to Aster Falls and Aster Park overlook, about 4 miles round trip. It began to rain, our first of the vacation, as we left the overlook, so we threw on ponchos and trudged down the mountain. We saw a cow moose wading neck-deep and grazing in a pond, adding a little excitement to the day’s adventure.

We had two days remaining in Glacier and still no word on when Going-to-the-Sun Road would open. Our final day, I woke up at 6:30 a.m. and decided one last time to check the road status. It was open!

We didn’t have a car pass to enter Going-to-the-Sun Road. But I had a shot at a day-of-arrival pass.

I found the best Wi-Fi point in our campground and was ready at 8 a.m. to try to reserve one of the coveted passes. At 8 a.m., I added the pass to my cart. I went to checkout and my heart sank: “Sorry, we couldn’t make this reservation.”

Not acceptable! I tried and tried again, refreshing the app and adding to my cart. Each time it failed. Then, on probably the 15th try, I got one!

We were supposed to drive 6.5 hours to Billings, Mont., and had to be out of our campsite by 11. It was now 8:15 a.m.

We knew this was providential, so we packed as fast as we could, hooked up the camper and drove to the Going-to-the-Sun Road entrance with the travel trailer in tow. We showed our pass to the ranger and he waved us through, but said no vehicles over 21 feet, which we already knew. We’d been told we could unhitch and leave our trailer in the visitor center parking lot for the day, and the ranger said that was correct. We were on our way, giddy with excitement.

We drove the road from East Glacier to West, stopping many times along the way.

From the very-busy Logan Pass parking lot, we hiked Hidden Lake Trail, a 5.3-mile round trip with a view of Hidden Lake and the valley below. We hiked through a massive snowfield and slid down the other side on our behinds. The wet snow soaked our pants, and we laughed the entire time. We saw a sow grizzly and her cub, bighorn sheep and hoary marmots, one of which got under our car and would not leave, licking a rusty spot on our exhaust pipe until I prodded him out with a trekking pole (I didn’t want to run him over).

It was a memorable day, and we didn’t return to our travel trailer until after 4 p.m. We hitched up and made the drive to Billings, arriving around 1 a.m., exhausted, but still reveling in the fun we had.

We slept in the next morning before departing for the Black Hills.

Black Hills

We arrived in the Black Hills National Forest and stayed at Sheridan Lake Campground, a beautiful, primitive campground with large sites nestled among towering ponderosa pine. It was out of the way enough from Mount Rushmore to feel peaceful, but with a central location for exploring.

We arrived late our first day and, with only two nights planned for the Black Hills, had a busy schedule. We visited Mount Rushmore first thing the next morning. We explored the area, hiking the Presidential Trail, and toured the museum. We then headed to Custer State Park to explore, hiking the trail around Sylvan Lake before driving the winding Needles Highway and Wildlife Loop.

We returned to our campsite to eat dinner, thinking that was the end of the day. But the kids wanted to see Mount Rushmore lit up at night, so we piled back into the van for one last look at the monument with the crowds of the day gone.

Badlands

From the Black Hills, we had a short 101-mile drive to our campground on the White River, near Badlands’ interior entrance.

We only planned one night in the Badlands, so we headed to the park as soon as we unhitched. We filled the day with hikes around Notch and Castle trails, which wind hikers through the rugged peaks formed through erosion and deposition. We enjoyed a beautiful sunset over the alien-like peaks before returning to camp.

Heading home to Ohio

We departed the Badlands early for our three-day drive home, breaking the days into manageable blocks: 367 miles to Jackson, Minn.; 439 miles to North Utica, Ill.; and finally 393 miles home.

I fully expected some of us to be homesick after 24 days on the road. We weren’t.

We agreed it felt good to be home, but that it was a magical vacation that could have continued just a little longer.

That’s not a bad thing -- the yearning for a little more adventure, the wonder of what’s beyond that next bend or peak. It makes planning the next trip that much more exciting.

I’m already dog-earing pages.