Yellowstone National Park
Tower Roosevelt
This area of Yellowstone has a definite Western flavor. Stay at rustic wooden cabins at the Roosevelt Lodge, go for stagecoach or horseback rides through the high sagebrush plateau, eat outdoors at cowboy cookouts. There's also hiking trails to waterfalls and lakes, and excellent wildlife spotting. Several families have told us how much they enjoyed staying in and exploring this part of the park.
Roosevelt Lodge -
Trail rides - Go for one or two hour horseback rides. Kids must be eight years old, four ft high, helmets are available, no backpacks on the ride. The one hour ride goes through the sagebrush plateau, a two hour ride is a loop to Lost Lake and the petrified tree. June to September.Little kids will enjoy the half hour stagecoach rides through the sagebrush, and or wagon rides to the cookout.
Old West cookout - Eat outdoors in the wide meadow at Pleasant Valley, a delicious cowboy buffet with steak, baked beans, corn, and more, plus entertainment. Part of the fun is the ride through the meadows to Pleasant Valley in wagons or on horseback. Cookouts daily in summer.Lost Creek Falls Trail - If you're staying at the Roosevelt Lodge, this is a delightful hike. Take the short hike to the falls, it's just a half mile up and back, and the trail goes along the bubbling creek. For a longer hike, keep on going up to Lost Lake (keep a lookout for signs of beaver, logs with chomped off ends).Petrified tree - On the road from Tower- Roosevelt to Mammoth Hot Springs, turn off to see the petrified tree. 50 million years ago, this was a redwood tree; it was buried by mud and ash during the volcanic eruptions, and the wood turned to stone. Originally there was another petrified trees next to this one, but tourists took it away, bit by bit.
Lava Creek picnic area - The Lava Creek picnic area on the Tower-Mammoth Road is a great spot for lunch, a level area with picnic tables, green shade trees, and kids can play along the shallow Lava Creek.
