i am planning a solo road trip- arriving in rapid city, sd and leaving from jackson, wy. i want to see the badlands area and yellowstone/grand teton area.
i believe 12 days should be enough. i am coming from florida so 2 days air travel and 1 day drive from north dakota to bozeman, mt.
trip planned for first 2 weeks in sept. i need advise on how many days in each place, hotels to stay %26amp; things can%26#39;t miss.
thanks diana
south %26amp; north dakota, montana, wyoming trip
We did that trip last June. We flew in and out of Denver because I got great airfare at $200 round trip. If you want info on our itinerary and where we stayed just let me know.
south %26amp; north dakota, montana, wyoming trip
Diana,
Your post brings me to ask quite a few questions. So I get this right--you are flying into Rapid City and out of Jackson, and 2 days are for air travel. So that brings you down to 10 days. Then you are mentioning a day drive from North Dakota to Bozeman, so that brings you down to 9 days. Can you tell us more about what you really want to see? To me, 9 days for the Black Hills/Yellowstone/Grand Tetons isn%26#39;t enough time, unless you are doing a very quick visit to the Dakotas.
More information will help us to assist you more. What types of things do you enjoy? Wildlife? Hiking? Nature walks? History? I will provide you with a short list of my must sees in the Black Hills:
Mt Rushmore
Badlands National Park
Crazy Horse
Devil%26#39;s Tower (could be seen enroute to Yellowstone, especially if you head to Cody)
Custer State Park
Wind Cave National Park
Jewel Cave National Park
travelsd is a great website to give you an idea on the area%26#39;s attractions.
You may not have time to see all of these must sees in your time frame. To really see the Tetons/Yellowstone and do them justice, you really need a week, imo. Just to give you an idea, in 1997, we spent 9 days in Yellowstone/Tetons, and in 2006, we spent 11 days in South Dakota. We weren%26#39;t bored for a minute. Both of these areas have a vast diversity of sights and should not be rushed.
For the Black Hills, most people make a base in either Keystone, Hill City or Custer. We liked the Roosevelt Inn in Keystone.
Also, I%26#39;m not sure what you are planning to see in North Dakota, but with your time frame, I%26#39;d focus on SD and Yellowstone.
In Yellowstone, you will also need to consider in park vs. out of park lodging. If you are looking to stay inside the park, you should look into reservations soon if you haven%26#39;t already done so.
Please provide with some additional information when you have a minute and we will try to help more. Enjoy your trip planning.
We did the trip in 2007 from Wisconsin. Here is how our trip worked:
Thursday - Stayed in Sioux Falls after driving.
Friday - Left at 6 am did the Corn Palace (mitchell, not owrth the back tracking for you), then stopped at Petrified Gardens, then did the Badlands. Got to Rapid City around 6 pm that night.
Saturday - Left our hotel to see Mount Rushmore as soon as they opened, did Crazy Horse, Thunderhead Falls, and Bear Country. Went back to the same hotel in Rapid City for the night.
Sunday - Left Rapid City 6 am and began driving to Yellowstone. Stopped at Devil%26#39;s Tower (A Must Do) and the drove through the Powder River Pass (on the road to YNP and very senic). Stopped in Cody, WY for the night. We got there after all the museums were closed so we didn%26#39;t get to do any of the things here, but there are things to see and do.
Monday - Left at 7 am for YNP. Did the southern loop of the figure 8 and whaterver else we had time for (we had our 3 kids; 5, 2, and 1 with us so we were limited to hikes no longer than 3/4 miles). Stayed in Gardiner MT as our base.
Tuesday - Did more hikes and stayed in Gardiner that night.
Wednesday - My husband went fishing while I packed the bags and did some things with the kids around the hotel. Left our hotel and finished the northern loop. Went through the Bear Tooth Pass (Another Must Do) on the way home (we took the northern route though North Dakota for the way home). Stayed in Miles City MT.
Began driving home around 3 am since there was nothing else we wanted to see on the way home. Stopped for BK to let the kids out in North Dakota, otherwise only stopped for food and gas until we hit Wisconsin. We got home around 6 pm that night. This was also a day after the bridge collapse in Minneapolis so it took extra driving time there.
Home Thursday night.
We cut out one night in Gardiner since we were restricted to 3/4 mile hikes and had done all we could do. We also cut out a night in North Dakota and just drove straight through.
For you I would spend 2 days in South Dakota and spend 5-6 days in Yellowstone.
May I ask what the draw is to Bozeman?
Hope this helps. If you have any other questions please feel free to ask.
thank you so much for info. i will definitely see all the things you listed.
i have a free frequent flyer ticket with delta so was trying to get airports they service. i also have a goal of visiting all 50 states and these 4 are for this year.
as for things i like-its hiking, wildlife, nature and sightseeing. As a woman alone travelling sometimes i am limited to some things-therefore like hotels with free breakfasts and in populated areas.
i have all the chamber state books and have been researching. my thoughts were 4 days in the black hills area(sd)-2 in keystone and 2 in spearfish and drive 85 north thru north dakota and see badlands there (1 day). then to miles city, mt for sleep over. then continue on to yellowstone. don%26#39;t need bozeman visit- would like to know best place for yellowstone hotel stay. 3-4 days there and rest of week in grand teton area-leaving from jackson hole.
if there is better ways of travel or hotels recommended-i would appreciate. thanks for all the info. diana
On our Delta frequent flyer tickets we have always had to fly round trip in and out of the same airport. I would check with Delta to make sure of the requirements unless you have done this before and had good luck. That is why we flew in and out of Denver last year. And before in and out of Salt Lake City or Jackson Hole.
I%26#39;m probably about to blow your quest to visit 50 states here, but I really think I%26#39;d skip North Dakota for now. I was looking at your route, and to me it still seems like a lot of ground to cover. Based on your first post with your time element, I%26#39;m not sure how you will get any time in the Tetons. You need at least 2 nights here to give it justice. You are going to be amazed at the scenery here! Based on your recent post, it looks like you have 9 nights not including Jackson.
I know a person who decided to see both North and South Dakota in one trip (did not include Yellowstone), and she was disappointed with North Dakota but loved South Dakota. Although there is a Badlands region in North Dakota including T Roosevelt Nat. Park, you can also visit Badlands National Park in South Dakota to get a similar perspective, and it would be much more convenient for you. I just can%26#39;t see you going out of your way getting to ND. After seeing the Badlands of ND, your drive to Miles City would be about 2.5 hours. Then to get to get to Gardiner, MT (gateway town at the north entrance of Yellowstone) you would have about a 4-5 hour drive or about a 6 hour drive to West Yellowstone (gateway town at the west entrance).
To me, this sounds like an awful lot of driving.
For staying in SD, with 4 nights, I would not split my time between Keystone and Spearfish. You will have plenty of time to see the must sees I have on the list I gave you. Be sure to allocate one of your days to Custer State Park if you enjoy your wildlife. Of course, you will see even more in Yellowstone. I would choose to stay in Keystone for the duration of the trip. You could see Devil%26#39;s Tower enroute to Yellowstone. After seeing Devil%26#39;s Tower, you could continue on to Cody and spend the night. Then you could move on to Yellowstone and either stay inside the park or in West Yellowstone. (I have firsthand experience staying in West Yellowstone and liked it for the amenities it has). I prefer having access to TV, pools, internet, etc. Some prefer staying inside the park because it will get you to the sights faster, but your amenities will be more limited. West Yellowstone has some chain hotels that include breakfast, but some of the Mom and Pops do not include it. There are several restaurants, however.
When you stay in Jackson, I%26#39;d highly recommend the Buckrail Lodge. There is no breakfast included, but you will find plenty of restaurants in Jackson. The Lodge is immaculate, and each room is like walking into the master bedroom of a log home.
I hope this helps some. Please feel free to ask more questions.
If you are heading from North Dakota to Miles City (we stayed here on our way home from Yellowstone at Econolodge, not very fancy but large rooms with king beds and cheap) you will want to drive through the beartooth mountains. Very pretty and on the route to Yellowstone.
We stayed in Gardiner as our base. This worked well for us. Things were a lot cheaper outside of the park.
You are like us. When we vacation we want to see and do as much as possible. We don%26#39;t worry about the driving and I would suggest you keep your plans. A vacation is what you make of it and if you want to see all 50 states then a 5 hour detour is a must.
We don%26#39;t mind driving and are considering driving from central Wisconsin to Florida (even down to Sanibel Island).
Have a great trip!
You NEED to get to North Dakota. I also was on a 50 state quest. ND was #50. I actually had to make a special trip just to get there. I%26#39;d been to South Dakota a couple of times but never bothered heading north. There%26#39;s really not much there. We did the Medora Musical and spent a night around Fargo(nice State Museum).But I regret not getting to ND while I was in SD. GO FOT IT!
If you want lodging in Yellowstone,reserve it now. We stayed in a cabin at Yellowstone Falls. Good value.I thought Jackson Hole was a bit of a let down. Just too rich for my blood I guess. The Tetons are spectacular.Cody,Wyoming is a nice town with a surprisingly impressive museum. Lots of hotels there.
Totally understand the 50 state thing. I%26#39;ve got just GA, SC, DE and HI left to visit and regret not ducking over to DE when I was in D.C. a few years ago.
Assuming the split airport bit works out why not fly into Bismarck, ND? It would avoid a lot of back tracking to get back south. The badlands in ND are not as extensive as in SD and look a lot the same. Instead youc could go south on the Enhanted Highway and view the worlds largest metal sculptures. Then work your way down to the Black Hills. Maybe even take Hwy 73 to Phillip, SD and stay a night at Wall then visit the badlands there on the way to the hills.
A couple days minimum in the Black Hills (Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Caves, Custer Park, Deadwood, etc...). Devils Tower and Custer battlefield on the way to Billings. Then Beartooth Pass to Yellowstone. Many people recommend staying in the park but it will be extra busy there this year in Sept. with Labor Day so late. Might be hard to get in-park lodging. More lodging options at W. Yellowstone or Gardiner. A bit north of Gardiner is a Chico Hot Springs with a wide variety of room options from $49 (main lodge shared bath) to $490 (chalet). Figure three days at YNP then drive south to Jackson for a couple days.
If you end up needing to use the same airport on a straight R/T ticket then Billing%26#39;s would be a good choice.
Medora is worth seeing, so go to ND and make sure you see the show. They are still running it until Sept 6, so get up there by then.
From Medora, get on I-94 and drive until you get to Laurel, MT on I-90. At Laurel, get on US 212 to Red Lodge, a cute town where you can spend the next night (several nice hotels, including The Pollard). It is all flat, boring driving between Medora and Billings on the interstate and you can make good time. Stop at Pompey%26#39;s Pillar to stretch your legs for an interesting stop.
The following morning, drive to the park via the Beartooth Highway between Red Lodge and Cooke City, MT. Don%26#39;t go all the way to Bozeman on I-90. It is a nice town, but the Beartooth Highway is spectacular and should not be missed. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beartooth_Highway
Here is a link for road conditions:
鈥ot.gov/projects/beartooth/conditions.htm
The highway should still be open in early September, but in case of early snow, go in by way of Livingston and the Paradise Valley to Mammoth.
That won%26#39;t take too long, you%26#39;ll bag ND, and you%26#39;ll catch one of the most scenic drives in the world. You%26#39;ll be at the north end of the park with plenty of time to circle around, see everything and drop down to the Tetons. Keep your fingers crossed that winter does not start early (it is possible).
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