6 Best Road Trips

It is the quintessential American family vacation - pile the kids in the car and hit the open road for a week of nature walks, buffalo sightings, and oohing-and-ahhing over Old Faithful and its smaller geyser cousins in Yellowstone National Park.

But first you have to get there! Don't worry, we have six scenic, adventure-packed itineraries for the driving to Yellowstone from every direction. These driving routes start from Colorado, the Midwest (going through South Dakota), Utah, California, Texas (going through New Mexico), and Montana, and have plenty of pit stops along the way to keep the kids, grandparents, and even mom and dad happy as you travel towards the ultimate family vacation destination, Yellowstone National Park.

Grizzly bears at Jackson Lake in Grand Teton National Park. Photo by Grant Ordelheide

See granite domes, desert landscapes and rare wildlife on this 1,564-mile adventure. On the way stop at two museums, a really clean one and an artsy one.

Devil's Tower near Gillette in eastern Wyoming

See the Badlands, Mount Rushmore, Deadwood, Devils Tower, and more on this 12-day loop through South Dakota to Yellowstone and back through North Dakota.

A Yellowstone cowboy tends to the horses. Photo by Timothy Pelczynski

Get roped into a ton of fun as you explore the best cowboy culture in the West on this round-trip route from El Paso Texas, through N.M. and Colo. to the park.

Hiker at Rock Cut looking at Longs Peak in the distance at Rocky Mountain National Park. Photo by Grant Ordelheide

Rocky Mountain High Loop: Trace the spine of N America from Colorado's central Rockies to Wyoming's Wind River Range to Yellowstone National Park and back.