Jump to a day
Stops, in order
A river-city and a jewel of a lake at the gateway to the northern Rockies — falls in the middle of downtown, and a resort town on the water.
A mountain town on a glacial lake halfway down Idaho — beaches and old-growth ponderosa in summer, a ski hill and a carnival of snow sculptures in winter, and the reason the length of this state no longer has to be driven in one day.
Idaho's surprisingly hip capital — a geothermal statehouse, a green riverside path through the middle of town, and the largest Basque community in the country.
A vast, otherworldly sea of black lava, cinder cones, and caves — so alien that Apollo astronauts trained here.
America's original destination ski resort in summer bloom — mountain trails, a charming town, and Hemingway's final home.
A laid-back university and river town in western Montana — a surf wave downtown, and the home base of the nation's smokejumpers.
The Crown of the Continent — knife-edge peaks, glacial lakes, and the incomparable Going-to-the-Sun Road, all still home to grizzlies and mountain goats. A full stay.
Montana's capital, born of a gold strike — a domed statehouse, a walkable gold-rush main street, and a soaring cathedral.
A booming college town in the mountains with one of the great dinosaur museums in the world and hot springs all around — the northern gateway to Yellowstone.
The world's first national park, sitting on a supervolcano — geysers and rainbow springs, a golden canyon, and valleys teeming with bison, wolves, and bears. A big, unmissable stay.
The most dramatic mountains in America — the Tetons rise straight off the valley floor above lakes, barns, and the winding Snake River, with the Old West town of Jackson at their feet.
Buffalo Bill's own town at Yellowstone's east gate — a superb five-in-one western museum and a rodeo every summer night.
The windswept hills where Lakota and Cheyenne warriors defeated Custer's cavalry in 1876 — now a moving memorial to those who fell on both sides.
America's first national monument — a colossal, fluted stone tower rising from the plains, sacred to Native nations and famous from 'Close Encounters.'
Wyoming's capital and a living monument to the Old West and the railroad — home of the 'Daddy of 'em All' rodeo. The last stop before Colorado.