best, most scenic route from YNP to I-90

We have just one day to travel by car from Yellowstone - leaving either by the north or west entraces - to West Glacier and want to see as much of Montana%26#39;s beautiful scenery as possible. We%26#39;ve planned to make short stops along the way and have at least one mid-day meal and dinner. Suggestions about routes to I-90 are MUCH APPRECIATED!

From Yellowstone to I-90, there appears to be three possible routes we identified so far:

*North Entrance of Yellowstone through Paradise Valley / Yellowstone River to I-90 in Livingston

*West Entrance of Yellowstone via US Hwy 191 along the Gallatin to I-90/Belgrade

*West Entrance of Yellowstone via US Hwy 287 to I-90/near Whitehall - with a possible side trip to a ghost town - Virginia City, Nevada City, or Pony - and possibly a dip in Norris Hot Springs.

best, most scenic route from YNP to I-90

North entrance via Mammoth and Paradise Valley is a straight shot to I-90. A lot depends on where starting from at Yellowstone. We usually stay at Chico Hot Springs along that stretch. This would be the fastest route to I-90 and get the most freeway miles. Plus the valley is really pretty. We%26#39;ve seen a fair number of deer and other animals along there too early in the morning.

Although not far along the route,and with only one day to get to Glacier it might be too much time, Chico does offer day passes to their hot pools. Pay and get towels in the tavern. Then again the faster route might buy a little time for a quick soak.

best, most scenic route from YNP to I-90

We%26#39;ll be staying in Gardiner for three nights at the beginning of our 15 day trip. I%26#39;m hoping the evening after hiking Mt. Washburn and the south rim, we%26#39;ll have time and energy left to make it to Chico for dinner and a soak. We%26#39;ll be going south to GTNP where my husband has a conference, so we%26#39;re actually leaving for Glacier from there (that%26#39;s the way we had to do it with vacation and conferences schedules). So, it seems that we can go via the north or west entrances to Glacier are possible. We%26#39;ve done a cross-country road trip with stops before, so 9+ hours on the rode (only one of two this whole trip because we%26#39;re flying) is doable. It does stay daylight longer with the change in latitude. We just want to take the most scenic route.

We stayed north of Gardiner a couple of years ago - a few miles past Devil%26#39;s Side. Is the rest of Paradise and Livingston worth seeing? Can you comment on the Gallatin Valley or along the Madison (with a short ghost town side trip to Virginia City)? As I saw on another post, even going to the grocery store in Montana is a scenic trip!

All the routes are pretty.

There aren%26#39;t any short cuts through the park, so to get all the way to West Glacier from Jackson in a day, you should consider just crossing the pass and bombing up the interstate to Butte. Butte is an interesting city to spend an hour. Driving through the park will take a looong time, and there is plenty of scenery along the way.

Don%26#39;t get me wrong, I%26#39;ve spent many a fine hour at Norris and in Pony, but you have a lot of miles to get under your belt. Virginia City is pretty nice. The territorial capital of MT is Bannack, located west of Dillon. It is a ghost town. People live in Pony, so it is a ';ghost town'; that isn%26#39;t really -- still a cool place though.

There is a hot springs in Boulder MT which is fun, and the Health Mine (go down in a mine shaft to breathe radon and cure your arthritis!)

Fairmont Hot Springs is more of a developed resort, Montana-style, but the pools are nice.

If you want to get scenic, you could take the route by Seeley and Swan instead of going all the way to Missoula on the interstate.

That is still a twelve hour drive without stops, according to Google Maps.

If you%26#39;re interested in Montana history at all, read the book by Roeder and Malone. You can read about Henry Plummer and his gang of robbers in Bannack, and how the vigilantes cut them down. The current Montana Highway Patrol uses the vigilante message in their patches.

Hello Ainwa,

Thanks for your insight! Targhee pass, West Yellowstone?

truegrit -- did I read correctly that you%26#39;re going from GTNP to West Glacier in one day? If that%26#39;s the case, you will not have any time to make sightseeing stops along the way, so hot springs at Chico or Fairmont, Virginia City et al are not very feasible. Seriously, whatever route you take will be quite scenic, so even a stop for a lunch picnic will delight. Each of the (by my count) four possible routes has some highlights. And these routes can have a totally different look at different times of the day (i.e., sunrise versus sunset). Since you are already staying in Gardiner at the start, I would nix going the north route through Livingston, because going back through YNP will be very slow, and you%26#39;ll have already seen some of it. Going over the pass from Jackson WY to Driggs ID can take a big chunk of time during tourist/construction season, but it%26#39;s a gorgeous drive. And I would prefer going north through West Yellowstone and the Gallatin canyon than the route through Dillon, but it will add a little more time to the drive. Don%26#39;t sweat the route too much, though. If you want to go with a shorter route, you will still have a very scenic drive.

ainwa and RobUSA,

Thanks for your suggestions. I know, we%26#39;ll have a really long driving day from GTNP to GNP, but as my husband says ';we%26#39;ve done it before and we can do it again.';

Here%26#39;s the route we%26#39;ve pretty much settled upon:

US 191 North to MT 85 to I-10

I-10 West to US 93 North to MT 35 (east side of Flathead Lake to Bigfork) continuing NW to Lake McDonald Lodge...527 miles / 9 hours 36 minutes per Google maps.

ainwa, thanks to for your suggestions from Many Glacier to Billings...once again, that will be driven in a day. Two days of scenic driving to enjoy two days for a 1st visit to Glacier seems worth the drive time! We%26#39;re planning on heading south on a more westerly route - US 89 to US 287/I-15 to I-10...460 miles / 7 hours 54 minutes per Google maps, so maybe they%26#39;ll be time for a couple of quick stops.

Having driven all of these routes, the prettiest really is up the Gallatin Canyon, you can grab some lunch in Big sky or preferably at the Gallatin Gateway Inn (if they are still open at lunch).

MT Dreaming,

Thanks so much for your insight. There were so many beautiful photos of Paradise Valley on Google Earth and not as many for Gallatin, so we really appreciate your sharing your ';been there'; on all three possible routes.

Gallatin Canyon is the way we%26#39;ll go!

MT Dreaming,

Thanks, too, for the suggestion on Gallatin Gateway Inn. Checked the website - great history, just my kind of place. Unfortunately, it only mentions ';dinner'; :(