Mpls to Mt. Rushmore

Planning a Thursday - Monday trip in September and have a few questions. We are planning on leaving Thursday afternoon and wondering wheat is a good city to stay for the night. We would like to drive a good portion of the drive that day but want to stay in a city that has decent hotel options. Also, what hotels do people recommend for when we are in Keystone? We don%26#39;t necessarily need to stay real close to Mt. Rushmore as we are looking more for a nice, clean hotel. Thanks in advance.

Mpls to Mt. Rushmore

Since you are going on a weekday in September, I wouldn%26#39;t plan a stop at all. There should be motels available whenever you decide to stop. I%26#39;d just drive until I got too tired to go on and then look for a motel.

If I tell you to stop at Sioux Falls and you book a room there but get an earlier start than I expect, you will be far from the Black Hills and wide awake. If I suggest Murdo as a stopping point and you didn%26#39;t get to leave until 5:30 in the afternoon, you will be driving half the night.

Mpls to Mt. Rushmore

Depending on what you mean by afternoon I would shoot for between Sioux Falls (4 + hours) or Mitchell (5+). There are lots of motels in small towns in between also. There are a lot of motels in Keystone. You can get plenty more information from Trip Advisor as to where folks think is a good place to stay in Keystone. I have personally only stayed at the Kelly Inn towards the end of town heading up to the monuments. I seem to remember that you could watch the lighting ceremony from the driveway there. It was nice and reasonable.

Only hitch in Sept. would perhaps be Labor Day weekend, which falls as late as possible this year (Monday is 7th). Then I would not risk just a drop in. Even the next weekend for chance of empty-nesters making a week of it. A lot too depends on where in MN leaving from. Even North Metro is different, timewise, from South. Or from Western MN route would be less freeway to get to I-90. From Duluth or Fargo add several hours.

From Twin Cities I would tend to favor Mitchell as a good comporomise. About 5 hours via I-35 and I-90. If leaving early enough (2-3pm) Chamberlain is also doable but definitely make a reservation because motel choice is more limited than Sioux Falls or Mitchell.

As far as places in Keystone, I have personal experience at the Roosevelt Inn and really enjoyed it. We stayed in a family suite, but if there%26#39;s only 2 of you, you probably won%26#39;t need that much room. It%26#39;s clean, and the we found the employees pleasant and helpful. Some of the rooms have nice balconies, and there%26#39;s a great restaurant called Big Time Pizza right on site. There%26#39;s a small continental breakfast as well, along with an indoor pool, hot tub, and family gameroom. Their website is rosyinn.com.

K Bar S Lodge is also highly recommended on this site (kbarslodge.com). It looks very nice on the website and many regular posters on here have stay there and enjoyed it. There%26#39;s no pool, so if that%26#39;s important to you, that should be a consideration.

Rates will be cheaper in September in most places, so that will be a plus.

I%26#39;d suggest Mitchell for a stop. Pop. is about 15,000 and it%26#39;s right on I-90.

From MPS to Sioux Falls is about five hours and from Sioux Falls to Mitchell is about one hour.

Be careful as you head further west. Chamberlain is about the last town with reasonable lodging before you get to the hills. There is not much once you cross the Missouri and it gets pretty isolated. You wouldn%26#39;t want to get past Chamberlain and be overcome with fatigue with nowhere to stop.