Yellowstone Road Trip Menu

This Family Road Trip Menu is perfect for a long weekend together or an extended stay in an Airbnb or cabin. These family cabin meals were a perfect selection for our Epic Yellowstone Road Trip but would have worked just as good for our Southwest USA Road Trip last summer as well. The main thing is our focus was on easy meal planning, healthy menus for road travel, and keeping cooking easy for mama on vacation.

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We just got home from an Epic Summer Family Road Trip where we covered 10 states in 11 days visiting the Badlands National Park, Mount Rushmore, Custer State Park, Little Bighorn Battlefield, Yellowstone, Jackson Hole and Grand Teton National Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, and Estes Park, Colorado. Yes, I know. So many places, but so much beauty and so many wild animals.

This Road Trip Menu and Grocery list for Yellowstone National Park extended to cover meals for Rocky Mountain National Park and a Family Road Trip to Badlands National Park, Estes Park and discovering wildlife at Grand Teton National Park. These ideas are meant to make vacation meal planning easy, healthy, and take all the work off mama. #yellowstoneroadtripmeals #vacationmeals #familycabinmeals #cookingatairbnb

This trip was perfect for us at this time. It was socially distancing friendly and Little Man LOVES animals and is a pretty good car rider. We knew we would see some beautiful scenery and hoped we would see some wild animals, but we had no idea just how pretty that part of the country really is.

Big Sky, Montana completely took my breath away, and we only drove through at sunset. Estes Park was also breathtaking and I’m ready to retire there. But we also loved exploring Yellowstone and Rocky Mountain National Park and spent much of our time trying to find animals in their natural environment and we were not disappointed. We found a valley full of buffalo, we took a wildlife safari and got up close and learned about why buffalo behave the way they do, we caught a rare moment with a young bear scampering from the forest to a berry field and we spent more than an hour with a moose at dusk. It was dreamy and I’m so ready to go back.

While planning all the details is a lot of work because you want the perfect itinerary and everything timed just right. But, meals have to be part of the consideration and mama wants to be on vacation too! We took this trip with my inlaws and a fun aunt, so we had 5 adults and a toddler and it was important for us to keep cooking easy, but save a little money and belly pains from eating to go. Our goal was to keep it semi-homemade, have lots of protein to keep us full from snacking all day (but we had snacks covered too), and healthy dinners at home.

In case you need, here’s the Meal Plan and Grocery List for a family beach trip that we used last summer at Tybee Island and Savannah.

Family Road Trip Menu, that is also perfect Airbnb or Cabin Family Meals

Planning this menu, it was important to me to consider meals that were quick to make, cheap for a crowd, would fit into the preference of picky eaters, toddlers, and carnivores, and called for simple ingredients that we could find at any grocery location. I knew going into making my list that I might have to make adjustments as we went and had thought through a plan for that. It was also important for me to be organized before we went so the extra thinking and stress were at a minimum. I had our first grocery pick-up set before we left and I had the lists for the other two printed out and in a calendar event on my phone. This way if the technology was not in my favor, I had options.

This Meal Plan and Grocery Guide for a family road trip to Yellowstone is everything you need to build a menu for a weekend at a cabin, an epic family road trip menu, or just preparing for a family adventure to the Grand Tetons or Rocky Mountain National Park. These easy family meals for vacationing are perfect for adults, kids, grandmas and toddlers. #vacationmeals #roadtripmeals #campfiremeals #roadtripmenu #mealsatairbnb

We broke our meals up into 4 segments, to mirror our main stopping points and destinations along the trip

snacks for the road
Walmart Grocery Pick-up #1 – Rapid City, SD
Walmart Grocery Pick-up #2 – Bozeman, MT
Grocery Shopping – Safeway – Estes Park, CO

As you plan and make your grocery lists, consider what car space you have to accommodate taking things with you. Check your reservations and make sure you know what cooking utensils and amenities you will have access to. And, if you family wants to just eat out all your meals, that’s totally fine as well. I took a few things and then made plans to buy a lot of paper goods, etc at our first grocery stop so we could split them up between cars once we were all together. I also adjusted my subsequent orders once I saw how much we were eating and what leftovers we had to carry with us each day. We did take an Artic cooler bag with us and that helped tremendously in transporting groceries as well as taking our picnic lunch each day and then leftovers to a new location. I would for sure recommend a cooler and maximizing the space you have to carry that in your cargo space with easy access each day.

Family Road Trip Snacks – non-perishable items

Teddy Grahams
animal crackers
Cheez-its
Jerkey
Trail Mix
Peanut butter cracker sandwiches
Individual peanut butter tubs
Gummies – for kids and grown ups
Nuts
Zbars/ Lara Bars/ Epic/ Cliff/ Kind bars
hummus and crackers
Go Go Squeeze pouches
water bottles and flavor enhancers
Gatorade

Family Farmhouse Vacation Menu for Badlands and Custer State Park

Accommodations = Airbnb Farmhouse

Day 1 – breakfast on family visit stop | lunch – drive-thru near the Corn Palace | Dinner to go from across the street in the hotel room
Day 2 – breakfast in hotel lobby | lunch – drive-thru | Dinner – hearty family country dinner
Day 3 – breakfast – frozen biscuits, sausage patties, fruit | Lunch – Laughing Waters Restaurant at Crazy Horse Memorial | Dinner – Stouffer’s lasagna, caesar salad, bread, cookies
Day 4 – breakfast – crescent roll pigs-in-a-blanket, frozen frittatas, fruit | Lunch – on road | Dinner – pick up something in West Yellowstone or chicken salad sandwiches

Family Cabin Menu for Yellowstone National Park and car/hotel food for Jackson

Accommodations = Airbnb cabin and boutique hotel in Jackson

Day 5 – breakfast – egg casserole and cinnamon toast | lunch – sandwiches, chips, treat in park | Dinner – Canyon Village dinner picnic
Day 6 – breakfast – canned biscuits, cinnamon rolls, sausage patties, fruit | lunch – charcuterie lunch – summer sausage, cheese, crackers, chicken salad, pimento cheese, oranges | Dinner – Swedish meatballs, egg noodles, green beans, Sister Shubert rolls, dump cake
Day 7 – breakfast – what’s left? – cinnamon rolls, sausage, toast | lunch – picnic leftovers in Grand Teton | Dinner – pizza in the hotel room after the wildlife safari
Day 8 – breakfast – room service or restaurant downstairs | Lunch – on-road (Taco Jons!) | Dinner – Thai to go after grocery shop in Estes

Menu vacation house meals for Estes Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, and trip home

Accommodations = house on the golf course

Day 9 – breakfast – frozen something, Jimmy Dean biscuit roll-ups and fruit | Lunch – sandwich, chips, treat picnic at Rocky Mountain | Dinner – Antonio’s Pizza or philly cheeseteak loaf, carrots and ranch dip, apple dumplings or smores dip
Day 10 – breakfast – out, somewhere local before shopping | Lunch – snacks or something around Estes Park | Dinner – Orange Dijon Rustic Chicken and Veggies Sheet Pan Meal, cookie butter crescent rolls
Day 11 – breakfast – Jimmy Dean Breakfast Sandwiches or toast and leftovers | Lunch and Dinner on Road – make sure at least one you get out of the car and sit outside or in a restaurant to eat

I use the same process whether I’m building a menu for the week or planning for a week away on vacation. I write out the menu in a grid then I look at each menu item and add the items I need to make it to my grocery list. Then, I go in and pull up my grocery app and order using the list I made. So, whether you are shipping grocereies to your desitnation, doing a grocery pick up or walking the aisles in person, I think doing all the planning and work up front makes buying so much easier.

Meal planning for a family for a road trip, weekend in the woods, or everyday weeknight dinner is hard, but if you plan ahead the stress can be removed and just get to be present and enjoy the moment.

Road Trip Farmhouse Grocery List Stop 1 | Rapid City, SD

Biscuits – frozen
Sausage patties
Tub butter
Jelly – strawberry, and grape – or family preference for PBJ and biscuits, double use
frozen Lasagna – make sure you check serving sizes
Caesar salad kit
Garlic knots x 2
Cookies/brownie bites
Tea by the gallon x1
case of Water bottles
Propel or Gatorade – family preference
Little smokies with cheese x2
Crescent rolls x 4 cans
Fruit – clementines, Bananas, Cantaloupe, Honeycrisp apples
Milk – ½ gallon
Orange juice
peanut butter
Carrots
Breakfast extras? – Cereal, Pop-tarts, Zbars, Belvita, cheerios
Snacks – Trail mix, graham crackers, turkey jerky, peanut butter cracker sandwiches, cheese crackers, animal crackers
Cheese sticks
Frozen frittatas
salt and pepper or season all – or ask if those are provided at cabins
Splenda Packets – for whole weeks – coffee and tea
Coffee- Folgers grounds
Coffee filters – if not provided
To go coffee cups
Ziploc gallon, sandwich (lots), snack – or bring with you
Paper plates
Paper towels
Foil
mixed cutlery
Cleaner wipes? – for cleaning up accommodations and or picnics
hand sanitizer – for car doors
Trash bags or just Walmart sacks for picnics/diapers
sharpie – or bring with you

Road Trip Cabin Grocery List | Stop 2 – Bozeman, MT

Egg Beaters egg substitute
O’brien frozen hashbrowns
cheddar cheese
sausage crumbles
roma Tomato
small bag, frozen chopped onion
cinnamon/sugar blend
Milk-gallon
1 loaf wheat bread
4 loaves fancy bread
Fruit?? – Bananas, oranges, cantaloupe, apples
Lunch meat 3 lbs
Sliced cheese
Mayo
Deli mustard – honey dijon
Pringles x 3 – for picnic
Cookies – fig newtons/nutter butter/teddy grahams – for picnic
Chicken salad-16 oz
Pimento cheese
Summer sausage
Block cheese
Triscuits
Biscuits – 3 cans
Cinnamon rolls – 4 cans
Sausage patties
Turkey meatballs
Stroganoff seasoning
French onion soup x 2
Golden mushroom x 2
Sour cream
Egg noodles
Margaret Holmes Green Beans
Sister Shuberts – 20 bag or 1 pan
Cherry pie filling
Crushed pineapple
Yellow cake mix
Stick butter
Redi whip
Gallon tea
Oj?
Carrot chips
Water? Gatorade?
Snacks????
More paper goods?

Road Trip Vacation House Grocery List Stop 3 | Safeway in Estes Park, CO

Frozen breakfast – biscuit roll ups, sister shuberts, frozen biscuits
Breakfast sandwiches
French loaf bread
Roast beef lunch meat
Provolone
Frozen 3 pepper and onion
petite carrots
Onion/ranch dip
wavy lays
Milk
Crescents x 3
Green apple x 2
Butter?
Sugar?
Cinnamon sugar?
1 can mountain dew
cookie butter?
Chicken tenders
Honey Dijon/brown mustard – may still have from sandwiches
Zucchini
Squash
Red bell pepper
2 big oranges
red onion
Brown rice pouches x 2
Can corn- seasoned
Garlic bread
fruit?
bread?
Lunch meat or sliced cheese?
Chips?
Picnic snacks?
Gallon tea
Cheese sticks?

There it is. All your planning is done. You can thank me later. But really, I’d love to know how you enjoyed these meals and if you use anything different for your own family road trip menu. Leave me a comment, or let’s connect on Instagram. You can find all the ideas I pinned for this trip on Pinterest or follow me there as I continue to grow and share my ideas.