Over the summer we visited several National Parks (check out our Top 10 Yellowstone post here). Most of them were repeat visits for our family, but Grand Teton National Park was a new one for all of us!
Grand Teton National Park, like other National Parks, is a great one to explore with kids. We started our trip off by visiting the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center where we talked over our options for the day and also picked up two Junior Ranger packets for our girls to work on. Because of coronavirus, the ranger gave us the girls’ badges ahead of time and we were to give them to the girls once they finished their booklets. The visitor center was mostly closed, but we were able to use the restrooms and chat with a ranger.
From there, we headed over to Mormon Row, which is the site of two pioneer homesteads from members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Not only does my husband have pioneer ancestors, but we’ve also been reading the Little House series as a family, so the girls were very excited to see these homes. They kept pretending that they were Laura and Mary out on the prairie. There aren’t any restrooms or picnic tables, but we brought a lunch and picnicked near one of the houses. Luckily it wasn’t really busy during our visit.
Our next stop was a short hike/nature walk at Schwabacher’s Landing. My goal during our Yellowstone and Grand Teton trip was to see a moose, so when my husband asked the park ranger the best spot to see one, this is where she recommended we go. We got there and the first thing we noticed was the gorgeous view! It was breathtaking and worth the visit even if we didn’t see any wildlife. The girls loved all of the butterflies that were everywhere and overall we had a great little walk. We opted for walking part of the trail and then turning around once the kids seemed like they were getting tired. On our way back, we finally spotted a moose! It was across the water from us and so amazing to see in person! My day was now complete. đ
Near Mormon Row is Menors Ferry Historic District, another homestead location that also has a working General Store (currently closed for COVID) and ferry. I would love to go back again someday to be able to see the inside and pick up a souvenir! Even with everything closed, we still enjoyed walking around and ended our exploring by checking out the chapel near the parking lot. It’s a beautiful building and another place I’d love to see again when everything’s open.
We ended our day by stopping by String Lake. It was more crowded than we were comfortable with, but we quickly walked down to a quieter part of the lake and the kids splashed their feet a bit before we hopped in the car to head home.
Overall, we had a really great day at Grand Teton National Park. We felt like it was a great place to bring our kids and would love to come back and explore more next time. I especially loved all of the history (it’s one of the things I miss the most about our time in France) and, of course, seeing a moose was a big highlight as well! We’re lucky to have family that lives near Grand Teton National Park and we look forward to going back again someday.
Have you taken your kids to Grand Teton National Park before? What were some of your favorite family0friendly spots in the park?
Daley Family Travels 