6 Energizing Reasons to Hit the Road for Yellowstone

Summer is winding down, but there's still time to sneak in a road trip that will have you feeling refreshed for fall.  One popular attraction might be a huge disappointment, but everything else at Yellowstone will give you a mood boost!

As a parent, I've eaten every word I ever said prior to having kids and I was reminded of that on a recent road trip to Yellowstone National Park.  I used to think things like banning screens and forbidding messy snacks in the car were acceptable ideas, but on this and every road trip the kids are usually digging into crumbly muffins and watching their favorite YouTubers four miles in.  And I'm okay with it.  Road trips are a chance to launch the family out of the usual routine, refresh and recharge, and connect with nature instead of viewing it through a screen and we were all about it, even if we were all in car comas by the end of it.

I've been hearing that national parks are a huge draw right now as we all emerge and start traveling more, and Yellowstone was PACKED.  It's a huge park with plenty of wide-open space, but even the animals seemed a little shocked by the number of visitors that had flocked to the park to get a look at them.  We encountered full parking lots at several of Yellowstone's biggest attractions and the lines were long at the gift shops to pay for water and trail mix.  Yellowstone may be a rural space, but it was a metro area the week that we were there.

Despite the crowds, there are several things to love about Yellowstone.  The Idaho side is known for having some of the best fishing and recreation at the Snake River, but we were on the Wyoming side of the park.

It was memorable and refreshing to say the least!