Yellowstone Half marathon: Beautiful Scenery, epic elevation and bears!
There is so much to learn and explore in this beautiful nation of ours! I’ll admit, national parks hadn’t been on my list of top things to experience, until Vacation Race’s Half Marathons. Their name alone drew me in, as my goal is to run a half marathon in every state, in order to travel and experience America. I had just completed the Grand Teton Half marathon the weekend before, (pushing a double stroller!) so I was amped to run Yellowstone Half marathon with my best friends (and not pushing kids haha).
Before you visit Yellowstone National Park, I highly encourage you to download the audible Gypsy guide. This app felt like we had a personal tour guide as we drove, answering all our questions before we even asked them.
Yellowstone Half Marathon- The Run
This is a mostly trail run up to a peak of 6,990 feet elevation. There are portions of the run that are over rocky terrain, so watch carefully and protect your ankles! (If you watch the video of Yellowstone above, there’s a very clever tutorial how to run down rocky terrain). Located in Gallatin National Forest, southwest of West Yellowstone, there were a few bear spotting throughout the run as well. Vacation Races put on a wonderful event, as always. If you get the opportunity, run a race with them! They now have events all over the world!
Yellowstone National Park
Things to Do
Yellowstone was America’s very first National Park established March 1, 1872 as a “public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people”. It is one of the world’s largest ACTIVE volcanos! Kinda scary to think about standing on an active volcano as you peer into the boiling geysers and mudpots while exploring. Yellowstone is also the only place bison have roamed freely since the prehistoric times. Exploring was very family friendly with many stops and sights along the way. Be aware, there are not many bathrooms along the way or stops with food so I would recommend packing a lunch, (and also maybe a kid potty).
Drive around the Yellowstone Grand Loop hitting iconic landmarks like Old Faithful erupting faithfully every 60-90 minutes in Upper Geyser basin. We lucked out with an early morning parking spot to walk the geyser loop, but be aware, the line of cars was astronomically long, so plan early! Yellowstone also has the largest concentration of mammals and you’re sure to see a bison. If you see a cluster of cars on the side of the road, pull your car out too, they’ve likely spotted a bear or moose. Yellowstone was one of the three national parks we visited this summer. All three had amazing unique features and were well worth the trip. Check out Zion National Park. Next stop, Hilton Head island, South Carolina.