If you’re looking to plan a summer road trip, look no further! If there’s one thing to know about me, it’s that I love a good adventure! Traveling has always been something that I have enjoyed, and exploring new places is so exciting. Tristan and I have traveled to 16 National Parks and each park has something special to offer. Of all of our National Park trips, I think our first trip out west was one of my favorites! In this post, I’ll explain where and what we did on our adventure starting in Salt Lake City and ending in Seattle and will give some guidance on what I believe you cannot miss when you visit these parks!
Day 1: Salt Lake City
We arrived in Salt Lake City from Pittsburgh, PA on the first day of our 7 day trip. Soon after landed, we headed straight to pick up our camper van. We rented our van from Escape Camper Vans. The company is known for having fun and bright painted vans to travel and sleep in. They offer a few different van sizes and we went with the Maverick which was perfect for the two of us and our things. After we got our ride for the week, we went to Walmart to buy our necessities for the weekend. Tristan and I like to pack light and purchase a few things for the week when we arrive at our destination, and then donate the items we purchased before we go back home! On our list was a cooler, some picnic foods, s’more ingredients, and cheap camping chairs.
Our plan was to spend the day in Salt Lake before heading to our next stop. We got a recommendation to check out the Salt Flats – so we hoped in our colorful van and headed towards our first adventure! The salt flats were a little over an hour away from the city and were one of the coolest things I had ever seen! We explored the flats for a while and had a lot of fun taking photos before heading back to the city for some pizza and an early night.
Day 2: Wyoming Jackson Hole and Grand Tetons National Park
Day 2 started early for us – we didn’t want to waste any time! We grabbed Starbucks and headed towards Wyoming. The drive from SLC to Jackson was about 4.5 hours. We stopped along the way and enjoyed the mountain views. Our drive took us through Idaho which was a big win for me since I’m trying to visit all 50 states! We grabbed some sandwiches for lunch and pulled over along Snake River for the most breath taking views.
When we got to Jackson, we checked into our hotel and walked around town. This town was too cute with so many fun shops to check out! In the afternoon, we headed towards Grand Teton National Park and went to Jenny Lake. Be prepared to walk to the visitor center in the summer time, there were a lot of cars! We took the boat shuttle service across to Inspiration Point, a one mile hike, and then hiked an additional 3 miles back to the visitors center. This was my first time ever out west and I was truly in awe of the beautiful views. After our hike, we headed back to the hotel and found a local BBQ joint for a fun outdoor eating experience.
Day 3 & 4: Yellowstone National Park
Something that surprised me were how close Grand Tetons and Yellowstone are to one another! We woke up early this morning to be on our way and saw elk and bison on the drive! We took a small detour to check out Jackson Lake and I promise you, it will not dissapoint! Some of my favorite moments on this trip were when we just pulled over and took in the scenes around us.
As we got into Yellowstone, I will not lie to you, I was a little nervous! We lost service and the roads were super windy. Looking back, I wish I hadn’t been so nervous so that I could take in everything amazing around me! Yellowstone was like nothing we had ever seen before! We started with Ole Faithful and the geysers and then made our way to the Grand Prismatic hike. This hike was amazing for seeing the colors and learning about geysers. We continued on to the Fairy Falls hike, about 1.2 miles. I highly recommend this hike to the waterfall, but bring some water and snacks with you because it was longer and hotter than we expected!
We spent one night and 2 days in Yellowstone National Park. On the second day, we drove through a huge part of the park starting on the southern part and ending on north west side. Yellowstone Lake and Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone were a must see spot during your visit! After leaving the park, we drove north a few hours and happened upon a campsite right on the Missouri River and had the entire place to ourselves. This night ended up being one of my favorites from the trip because it was such a lucky find and we were able to watch the sunset over the mountains.
Day 4: West Glacier
We woke up in our camper van and made some coffee and breakfast before starting our next piece of the road trip. We headed towards Kalispell which was a 4 hour drive. There were stores here including a Costco for us to regroup and buy any additional needs. We had planned to sleep at Flathead lake, which was beautiful, but at the last minute decided to make the rest of the drive to Glacier National Park to get a head start on the morning. We went to local restaurant for a nice dinner and stayed at the KOA in West Glacier.
Day 5 & 6: Glacier National Park
I was still sleeping in the back of the van when I heard Tristan start it at 4am! We wanted to get to the park early this day to make the most of it. After getting into the park, we pulled over at a small lake and make coffee out of the back of the van. We grabbed our folding camping chairs and brought them down to the water and watched the sun rise over the mountains. This was such a beautiful view
Next, we headed over to the Lake McDonald Lodge which was an amazing hotel. We talked to some local people who gave us some recommendations for the day. From here, we headed to Going to the Sun Road. Going to the Sun Road is not something I feel I can do justice to through this article! The views, the road, the elevation… it is incredible! GTSR takes you from West Glacier to East Glacier.
Our trip took place in the first week of July and it had just opened for the season, so be sure to keep that in mind when you’re planning your trip! We traveled to the summit of the road where Logan Pass Visitors Center is. We parked here and did hiked about 3 miles out on the Highline Trail. This trails length is 32 Miles if you are looking for a longer adventure! The views on this hike we gorgeous and we even had a snowball fight in July!
After getting back to the van at the visitors center, we continued east on Going to the Sun Road. We stopped at several overlooks and found a quiet place to eat lunch and take a swim! After probably 12 hours in the park, we headed back to our campsite for dinner and an early evening.
Day 6: Half Day at Glacier National Park
On the next day, we only did Glacier until about noon. The perfect hike for our time limitations what the Trail of the Cedar hike. This hike was about 2 miles in length, and the lake it leads to called Avalanche Lake is incredible. My best tip for this hike is to do it early if you do not want to slow down for others.
Day 6 & 7: Seattle Washington
At noon on day 6 we started our journey towards Seattle, Washington. While you may think this part of the trip seems random, let me tell you why we did it, and why it’s worth it! First, on my quest to hit all 50 states, I needed Washington! Seattle has always been a city that we have wanted to explore. Secondly, the Escape Camper Vans had a drop off location in Seattle. Instead of us treking it back to Salt Lake, we decided to drop it off at another location. Day 6 was mainly driving. We played the license plate game to stay busy and just enjoyed looking out the window. We arrived in Seattle fairly late that evening so we didn’t get a whole lot, but planned for all of Day 7 to check out the city.
The next morning we woke up and of course… we’re in Seattle so we had to get Starbucks! We went to the Pike Place where the original Starbucks is and had an awesome time walking through the markets. This was my first time on the Pacific Northwest and it was a really need experience. It wasn’t raining in Seattle while we were there and there was also great visibility. We bought ferry tickets to Bainbridge for lunch and walked around the cute town there. This was a fun way to see the city from the water. In the evening, we found a fun sports bar for dinner and did the needle. I was super nervous about the needle but wow, what an awesome way to see all of Seattle!
Day 8: Seattle to Pittsburgh
Day 8 was the last day of our National Park trip and it was time to head back home to Pittsburgh. We cleaned out the van we’d been living in for the past week and dropped it off. From there, we took an Uber to the airport and did a direct flight back to Pittsburgh. This was a great time for us to reflect back on our amazing week and look through all of our photos.
if you’re looking for more travel tips and places to go, be sure to check out my other travel blogs!
