possible trip to mt rushmore in 2 wks , info please!!

im in the process of looking into flying out there from PA. havent even cked flight costs yet, to see if i can afford it.... my husband and 16yr old son never been out there and would like to attempt seeing mt rushmore, 4th of july events are on the 3rd. it appears keystone and custer are closest towns for lodging.... we would fly in to rapid city regional and have to rent a car then drive out that way. get there the 2nd of july and and go home either sunday the 5th or monday the 6th... I went to mt rushmore national park site and read the info.... airport is about 35 miles from mt rushmore? thats what it said.

anyways, i feel the closer we stay to it the more exp the hotels are, correct? can anyone recommend reasonable decent places to stay in whatever town thats nearby? and would anyone be able to assist in car rentals, near the airport im guessing is where we would have to rent one...

i realize its 2 wks away and im pushing it, but we couldnt decide where to go this yr and still not sure if we will go here if flights are to costly from PHiladelphia, PA.. where is crazy horse at from mt rushmore area? maybe we could see that too. i read that on 90 i could drive about 2.5 hrs to devils tower, id love to see that too.. i believe old faithful is to far west in wyoming to see while we are out there isnt it?

sorry for all the questions, but looking for as much guidance as i can get. thanks so much

nancy

possible trip to mt rushmore in 2 wks , info please!!

i cked availability at the roosevelt inn and holiday inn exp and no rooms open. the K bar s lodge you have to call, im sure its booked too and it looks exp...

roosevelt seems to have decent rates and lots of info on their site.. keystone and custer and hill city are the towns nearest to sites . they all have lists of hotels/motels but im not sure of the places themselves and if they are decent places and safe, to stay.

possible trip to mt rushmore in 2 wks , info please!!

Yes Old Faithful would be another trip to Yellowstone and the GT. You would need at least a week-10 days for that trip. I like K Bar S Lodge but may be more expensive this time of year. Check the Comfort inns in Custer or Hill City. Others on this site have stayed there. Check on TA under hotels for each city and they rank them with great reviews. You should visit Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse and Custer State Park. The wildlife loop in Custer State Park is great. Eat at the State Game Lodge for lunch. These sites are all in close proximity and the drive is very easy. Is is neat to see Devils Tower but with your limited time I would concentrate on the Black Hills and maybe visit the town of Deadwood. There is also Wind and Jewel Caves in the area if that might interest you. We were there last June and stayed at the K Bar S Lodge.

Nancy,

I just looked on Orbitz, and flights into Rapid City are running over $600 RT. This is really outrageous. I think it%26#39;s because of travelling last minute and around a holiday.

I am sure you will find limited availabilty with lodging, plus, it will, too, be much more expensive because of the holiday. Although I don%26#39;t have direct experience, you should note the fireworks at Rushmore get extremely crowded. You have to get there pretty early to get in and get parking. I don%26#39;t know about you, but crowds like this are not for me.

Car rentals at Rapid City airport are also running very high at this time according to Orbitz. Hertz is running $55 per day with a limit of 150 miles. You will go through this in no time. I%26#39;m not sure if there are cheaper options away from the airport, but I would look into Rapid City options if you are serious about this trip.

Old Faithful is way too far away for this trip; plan on seeing Yellowstone Park on a separate vacation.

You really need to do some more research on airfares, hotel availabilty/prices, and car rentals to see if this trip meets your budget. To me, it looks like a pretty costly venture at this late juncture. IMO, you would be better off planning to visit at a different time, and you would have more time to plan. THe Black Hills is a wonderfully economically sound vacation, but advance planning is really necessary during summer peak travel times to get the best rates.

Other option: Fly into Denver. Lots of airlines, lots of flights, lots of competetion, should find lower airfare.

Dollar Rent should give you better car deal than others.

we are going to go in mid July instead of 2wks from now. this way we have a week and can go see different things instead of a just a few.

Is there a better day and time to book flights and get better rates?? i read tuesday or wednesdays was good and after midnite.... i actually have lots of sites that i ck for airfare and all came in at 340 total rnd trip.... not too bad...

the car rental places i cked out online at rapid city regional and they came in about similar rates 300 for the week, budget was lowest and if i go over 1050 miles i pay 35 cents a mile ...

i dont know if we should fly into wyoming or whatever airport thats close by 1st and do old faithful , rent a car there, then drive to SD and do all that,drop car off at rapid city, and fly home from RC regional SD...

not afraid to drive and id rather see what we can in a week while out that way... i dont think id go back that way to there again.

ive been to denver airport, if i flew into there then id have to rent a car from there and drive to yellowstone, then drive again to SD... what about bozeman or billings montana airports? ill ck it all out and see.... thanks

thanks

Yes, flying into Denver could be an option, but if you decide on this, I would definitely extend my trip by several days so you have time to see the wonderful sights the Black Hills has to offer. July 2-6 would be way too little time.

yellowstone says salt lake city is the closest major airport to them. denver is over 500 miles away .. i cked bozeman area and its about 380 rnd trip. i go right to the actual airline pages and see.

i dont know , ill keep looking. wyoming and MT have airports within 90 miles, thats an easy drive. i dont know how far utah is to there.. ill ck into it..

Last year we flew in and out of Denver and did Black Hills of SD, Devils Tower, YNP, Cody and Cheyenne. We got great airfare and rental car rates. In 2007 we did Las Vegas, GC, YNP, GT and Jackson Hole and flew into Las Vegas and out of SLC. Rates were higher for rental car because of one way charges. You will do a lot of driving but you can do the Black Hills and see Old Faithful if you have a full 7 days. I will give you our itinerary from last year if you would like it- especially if you decide to fly in and out of Denver. The other option would be to fly into SLC and do YNP then out of Rapid City or vice versa.

hi CeCe, thanks for the info... i was thinking that we could do that....fly into either SLC or bozeman airport,, didnt you think denver was a long drive to YNP? says its over 500miles.. bozeman is only 90, SLC is about 300 i think i read.. i have a lot to ck out to see which would work best.. then rent a car 1 way, you stated that renting 1 way was more costly?? dont most airports have same car rental companys? some do. well, ill ck that out.. that way we can drive from there to SD and see the things we want to see, then drive to rapid city drop off car and go home..... but my guess is that when i ck flights, i have to do it 1 way, right? due to going home from a different airport... ill look again at prices... itll probably be more costly that way too ill bet....

ill let you know what i find out. thanks

I would check the flight combinations and see which works best and is cheapest. Also check car rentals for one way. The website carrentals.com will let you do that for all the major car rental companies at a particular airport. Be sure to check if they have limitations on the states that you can drive in and the number of miles. Good luck with your trip.