West Yellowstone, MT - Best Things to do with Toddlers

We have been going to West Yellowstone, MT for probably about 10 years now. We have experienced many things here with and without kids. If you’ve never been to Yellowstone National Park, it is a must see! We do want to tell you that it’s extremely hard to squeeze in all the sights in one trip (especially with toddlers), so keep your expectations in check. We visited a few weeks ago and we still saw things we’d never seen before. You can do a lot of driving in YNP, it is VERY big so be prepared for stops and don’t try to squeeze in too much. We will do a separate blog on YNP, but we’re going to focus this blog on the best things to do in the town of West as well as easier, toddler friendly must-sees in YNP if you are staying in West.

Earthquake Lake Visitors Center

In August of 1959, an earthquake near the Madison River caused a massive landslide in this valley moving millions of tons of rock from one side of the canyon to the other. This took the lives of many visitors camping in the valley and resulted in an entirely new landscape. The stories of the survivors are unreal. We enjoyed wandering the small visitor center and watching the informational videos with a great view (while the kids also played with sand and the items in the gift shop). The trails are definitely worth checking out - they offer great views and the rock monuments are mind-blowing.

Targhee Creek Trail

This trail always brings us happiness when we’re in Montana. This is one of those hikes that we’ve done pretty much every time we’ve been in West. While the trail continues, we hike to a special spot on the river and enjoy snacks/lunch. The trail boasts wildflowers, alpine meadows, the scent of pine, and the beautiful Targhee Creek. To access this trail, you’ll head south towards Idaho from West and turn right on Forest Rd 057. The trail is about one mile each way. Once you start hiking closer to the river, we always turn at the 2nd left turn trail that goes down to the river for our picnic spot.

Paddleboard (or Picnic) Yellowstone Lake

Yellowstone Lake in and of itself is a very unique experience! There are plenty of spots to picnic or if you are feeling adventurous, grab your paddle board! To paddle board, you’ll head towards Grant Village and stop on the right hand side to have your paddle board inspected (we recommend already having your paddle board blown up), then go to the visitors center for your permit, and last, launch from one of the nearby marinas. When you are in the water, pay attention to the ripples in the water - if you see a circle with still water, that means a thermal feature is below the surface. If you head towards the West Thumb Geyser Basin shoreline, you can see the thermal features like Fishing Cone and Lakeshore Geyser from the water. NEVER access the water through a geothermal feature, like the West Thumb Geyser Basin, as this could cause serious injury to yourself and the landscape. Yellowstone Lake is about 1.5 hours from West.

West Thumb Geyser Basin

The West Thumb Geyser Basin may be our favorite geyser area in YNP. The contrast of the geysers against the lake is beautiful, plus this area boasts wildflowers which is not the case in the other geyser basins which are hotter since they don’t rest against the lake. The geysers bubbling against the lakeshore are a sight to see. In addition to the beautiful geyser colors in this area, there are some paint pots which are basically boiling mud geysers and we think they are just silly to look at.

When we were visiting, a little girl had been using the edge of the boardwalk as a balance beam and she fell into the geothermal feature causing severe burns - please watch your toddlers! Normally I’m all about curbs as balance beams, but not in these areas!

Midway Geyser Basin

Grand prismatic is our favorite geyser simply for its grandeur and color. It’s seriously amazing to see as well as the other colorful geysers in this basin. Make sure you see it on a day when the sun is shining and it’s not to chilly. If there is no sun, you don’t quite get the entire color and if it’s too cold, the steam takes over. If you can’t get a perfect day, that’s ok, you still need to see this one! This is about 40 minutes from West.

Grand Prismatic Overlook

This is another favorite of ours and is completely reasonable with toddlers. If you visit the grand prismatic boardwalks, chances are you will see the folks at the overlook. To get to the overlook from midway geyser basin (where grand prismatic is), you’ll need to hop back in your vehicle and drive about a mile towards old faithful to the fairy falls parking lot. The hike is 1.2 miles out and back (0.6 miles to the overlook) and the view is stunning. If you and your toddlers are up for it, you can continue down this trail to fairy falls which is 4.5 miles round trip. We tried it once when our daughter was about 3 months old and it was extremely hot, she was hungry and I wasn’t great at breastfeeding so we ended up turning around. If you’ve been and have tips with toddlers, we’d love to hear it in the comments! This is about 40 minutes from West.

Old Faithful

Old Faithful is definitely one of those things you need to see once in your life. Watching the water roar out of the ground is such a sight! Be prepared for this to be a major tourist event though - the first time we visited, we were completely unprepared for that. Old Faithful blows about every 90 minutes and the park rangers can tell you the next time to expect it to blow. Be sure to arrive early for parking. The boardwalk will be flooded with other tourists. We suggest you arrive early with your toddlers, look at the other geysers in this area so they can get the wiggles out, grab some ice cream from inside the lodge, and await the splendor. This is about 50 minutes from West.

Artists Paintpots

This trail is about 1 mile round trip and is a good place to stretch your legs and see boiling mud. You’ll get a little bit of that at the west thumb geyser basin, but seeing it here just brought me joy. Seriously, how does this stuff exist?! We just giggled at the sound and sight of these thermal features. This is about 40 minutes from West.

Firehole Falls Drive

We do this drive nearly every time we enter YNP. It just sets the stage for the park in our minds. The canyon is magnificent and firehole falls is not to be missed! You used to be able to swim in the Firehole Swimming Area, but it’s been closed for years so don’t expect to do that. This is just after Madison junction on your way to the geyser basins and is about a 2 mile one way drive. This is about 30 minutes from West.

Waterfall Overlooks

There are so many quick stop overlooks of waterfalls in YNP. Gibbon Falls & Keplar Falls are two of our favorites and can give you and your toddlers a little break from the car. There are certainly more, but these are also some that are closer to West which is our focus in this blog.

View Bison

Every time we go to YNP, we make it a point to find and see some bison. These guys are so majestic. Watching them run across the road pulls on my heart strings a little bit - haha! When its cooler (early or late season), they are typically found between the West Entrance and Madison junction. As it gets warmer, they move into the Hayden Valley and Lamar Valley. Go try to find you some!

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is another place not to be missed! The north and south rims offer completely different and beautiful perspectives. Doing both will take a while, so you may want to choose one at a time to do with your toddlers in tow. We thought the north rim was a bit more impressive because you can get up close and personal with the lower falls and the overlooks offer great views from a distance. The hike to the brink of the lower falls is 0.8 miles round trip with 265 ft elevation gain (we mostly had to carry our big out - I forgot fruit snacks and her motivation faded quickly). You can also access a view of the upper falls, but we didn’t have time for that in our latest visit. The south rim is where you’d find the iconic Artists Point lookout which is generally the most photographed perspective of this canyon and has a great forward-facing view of the upper falls. Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is just over an hour from West.

YNP Visitors Center

We always stop in the visitors centers to learn about the history, let the kids play with exhibits, get some wiggles out, and get our passport books stamped. Our favorite visitors center so far is at Grant Village. The views of the lake are extremely impressive, the center is not very busy, and the staff was the most helpful yet.

Pioneer Park

This is a great playground in the center of West Yellowstone. It is large, shaded, has a lot of variety, there are clean restrooms, covered picnic tables and a large green space. In the summer, there is a music series in this park - we unfortunately missed it during our visit. Check for the schedule in the town boards as the dates are inconsistent (i.e. different days of the week and not every week) - we saw a schedule at the grocery store and the library.

Mountain Man Rendezvous

The mountain man rendezvous comes to West Yellowstone once a year, typically in August. It’s really fun to see an 1800’s encampment and demonstrations of trades and crafts from that time. Vendors create and sell their leatherwork, beads, knives, etc. There is food and music. This is held at the Old Airport which is at the intersection of Highway 20 and Iris St.

Town Biking Trails

The town of West offers a variety of biking trails. Many of them do not allow e-bikes. We have the Trek Marlin+ & Trek Powerfly e-bikes and load the children in our Burley D’Lite X Trailer. Two of the reasons we like our e-bikes is because they are lightweight (~40 lbs) mountain bikes and the power functionality can be completely turned off. Thus, we are able to ride trails where e-bikes are not allowed (or so we think, but we haven’t had anyone to ask…). Despite the fact that we think we can ride these trails, we generally stick to trails we know e-bikes are allowed on because we are rule followers.

Our personal favorite bike out of West for the family was down the dirt Old Airport Rd to the Black Sand Spring. When we arrived we had to work through our realities with toddlers including poop on the trailer from an overflowed nappy and another needing to poop in the woods (see our tips for adventure bags with toddlers and ALWAYS remember poop bags and clorox wipes with toddlers - we did not this time!). Dipping our toes in this fridgid water and sitting on the shoreline was particularly a treat after that! This spot seems like it would be a perfect drinking spot for moose so always be aware!

Yellowstone Aerial Adventures - Zipline Adventure Park

In order to participate in the high ropes and ziplines at Yellowstone Aerial Adventures, your toddlers must be at least 4 years old. There is a gem mining experience for $28/bag that even younger can participate in. They are good bags too - we found a large amethyst in ours! We opted to just take the big while the little was napping because we didn’t know there was gem mining in advance, and I still think our little would have not been happy that he couldn’t do the big kid stuff.

The high ropes course was 15’ off the ground - I was concerned my big would be too scared, but I wanted to give her a chance, and boy, did she blow me away! I couldn’t go fast enough for her! There were a few times where she needed help, but never was she ready to give up. The guides will help you get secured and support you along the way. For $39, littles are able to do the high ropes course as many times as they’d want and an adult going with them for encouragement is included within that price. Our toddler also really loved the zipline and the guide makes that experience even more fun by doing silly releases off the plank and grabbing the cable so it bounces your little. Don’t forget to tip your guides! Our daughter also got a small gift when we finished up.

Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center

The Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center has bears, wolves, birds, otters, and fish as well as a playground! Our toddlers loved seeing the animals including the bears wrestling each other in the water and the wolves howling towards the sky. There are exhibits of bears hibernating, safe camp spaces, and examples of trash cans which bears tried to get into.

This center actually saves animals that have gotten into trouble - for example, bears that have learned they can find food in town and thus become a danger to locals/tourists. This is why it is SO important to not attract wild animals into your campsite. Secure your food and other scented items - inviting them in endangers you, but it also creates a habit for them that cannot be broken unless they are put down or saved by a center like this.

If you have an AZA (Association of Zoos & Aquariums) membership, entrance to this discovery center is included. Otherwise, admission is $16.50 for 13+, $11.50 for children 5-12, and free for 4 and under. You get two days of access for this price too!

West Yellowstone Public Library

If you read our blog about the Pinedale, WY library, this one is pretty similar, albeit a bit smaller. I love small town libraries in particular when there aren’t indoor play places in the town. I highly recommend this for a rainy/cold West day or if you just want your littles to be contained to a small place and entertained with new toys while you catch up on emails. The staff here was so kind, the environment stayed quiet even with kids playing, there was a kids fishing boat with magnetic fish and fishing poles, a play kitchen, toy kits, and many other miscellaneous toys. Also, allow your toddler to pin where they came from to the map in the entryway.

Museum of the Yellowstone

This is another great rainy day outing and had a great play area to entertain the littles. The Museum of the Yellowstone had a ton of historical information about YNP and the town of West. The building itself is beautiful, there were displays of carriages (and our guy was of course impressed with the wheels) and plowing snow on the railroad tracks, they have wild videos from the firefighters perspective of the Yellowstone fires in 1988, and a great aerial tour of YNP. The kids play area had a teepee, trains, legos, building blocks, and other fun toys. Tickets are $10/adults ($7 for military) and children 17 and under are free. This admission is also for two days.

Fly Fish in Blue Ribbon Waters

The fly fishing in this area is world renowned! If you have no experience, catch a guide from one of the local shops. Otherwise, grab your waders (the water is fresh without them!) and drop a fly in the Madison, Gallatin, Firehole, Gibbon or Yellowstone Rivers. Make sure you have your fishing license which you can buy online these days! Depending on where you decide to fish, you’ll need either a Montana license or YNP license (or Wyoming or Idaho, depending on how far you head). Sometimes this can be a challenge with kids. My husband and I take turns and let the kids throw rocks and have snacks while the other gets wet.

Yellowstone Beer Company

YBC is such a perfect atmosphere for a family dinner in West! The space is large, well laid out, there is a big bar and large tables, a waterfall and rocks, pool tables and more. I like big (relatively) loud spaces for dinners as a family because I don’t need to be on kids the whole time. They played with rocks and the water feature, poked at the gambling machines, and enjoyed the balls on the pool table. You do have to order drinks from the bar and food from the kitchen - there is no server, which was a slight challenge with toddlers. The beers were fun and the food was really great!

Try Some Huckleberry Ice Cream

There are plenty of ice cream shops in West and we haven’t sampled them all, but we do recommend you find a place to try huckleberry ice cream if you haven’t already! Our daughter is very sensitive to sweets so getting ice cream all the time isn’t our thing, but huckleberry ice cream is not to be missed.

Mack’s Inn Float (Island Park, ID)

This is about 30 minutes (into Idaho) from West and is a gorgeous river float down the Henry’s Fork. You can bring your own float, raft, or SUP (consider removing your fin as the water is shallow) or rent from Mack’s Inn River Adventure. The float is 5 miles with the drop in at the Big Springs Boating Launch and the take out at Cafe Sabor or the Springhill Suites (directly across the river from one another). We recommend doing this with friends so you can have a vehicle at each location, or an e-bike also works well if it’s just your family. If you rent equipment from Mack’s Inn River Adventure they will also include transportation to the launch site with your rental. The water is amazing in the summer, its clear, and oftentimes you’ll see wildlife. I think we’ve seen a moose every time we’ve done this float!

Cafe Sabor

This is a great spot for lunch or dinner on the Henry’s Fork River in Idaho, about 20 minutes from West. We love it because it’s an escape from the tourism in West, is right on the river, and has outdoor seating and green space for the littles to run around. The prices are reasonable and nothing beats a margarita on the river in the summer!

Drop us a comment if we’ve missed your West favorites!

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