Trip from Syracuse to Reno in late May

We are going to Reno to live for a few months to help our daughter who is having twins. We will be driving from Syracuse, NY. We do have reservations at Yellowstone but want to know what are places we should not miss on the way there. Also what is not worth it.

Trip from Syracuse to Reno in late May

Stop in Keystone and stay at K Bar S Lodge and enjoy Mt. Rushmore, Custer State Park and Crazy Horse Memorial.

Trip from Syracuse to Reno in late May

Thanks for the info. I looked on the site and immediately made a reservation. Now I am looking forward to the drive except from NY to SD!!!

Your posts lead me to some questions.

How much time will you have to spend in the area? How many nights did you book at K Bar S?

What are some of your interests?

This will help us determine how much time you will have to see some of the sights of the Black Hills.

Here%26#39;s my short list of the must sees of the area:

Badlands National Park (Can be seen on the way out)

Custer State Park

Mt. Rushmore

Crazy Horse

Wind Cave National Park

Jewel Cave National Monument

Devil%26#39;s Tower (Can be seen enroute to Yellowstone)

Have fun planning.

Such a nice response. Thank you. We are only staying 2 nights at the Lodge as we are booked at Mammoth Hot Springs right after. Between duties at home and our rental in Reno starting June 1st we have limited time. But what we don%26#39;t see going we can perhaps see on the way back in mid-August. I expect things will be quite different then as to crowds,etc but .......

I understand on the NY-SD part although there really is a lot along the way. I drove solo once from Buffalo to MItchell, SD, in winter when we moved to Mitchell.

Speaking of Mitchell it%26#39;s worth a few minutes to drive into town from the freeway and at least drive by the Corn Palace.

If you have not cross USA driven before be sure to observe the change from eastern woodland forest, to midwest corn farms in Southern MN and past the Missouri river the change to short grass prairie. Then after the Black Hills near Gillette, WY the change to virtual desert.

If you are doing one day from Black Hills to Yellowstone then Devils Tower might take too much time. Also, in late May allow time for crossing the Big Horn mountains. There might still be some snow. I usually prefer US-16 out of Buffalo even though the pass is a bit higher than US-14. It seems less steep on the east side and Ten Sleep Canyon is really cool. Then north from Worland to Graybull and Cody.

Google maps says from Yellowstone to skip Grand Teton and go over into Idaho but I would be a lot more inclined to take US-189 form south of Jackson down to I-80 then over through Salt Lake City and all the way to Reno. Nothing wrong with going through Idaho but while in the area it would be worth driving by the Tetons.

Hi Petunia,

Mid August might not acutally be as bad you might think in this area. We visited the last 11 days of August and found the crowds quite light--nothing like here in the east.

It sounds like you may have more time to tour on your way back from Reno to see additional sights. I see Sequim has given you some options for driving routes; he brings up a good point about timing and weather. You never what you might hit. I also agree with him about seeing Devil%26#39;s Tower on your return trip. I think going from Keystone to Mammoth Hot Springs will be enough for one day. It%26#39;s about an 8 hour drive according to Mapquest.

With your 2 day time frame, I%26#39;d focus mainly on Mt. Rushmore along with driving around Custer SP. Crazy Horse would be interesting if time permits. Some can spend more than a day in Custer SP, depending on their interests.. Definitely see Sylvan Lake, possibly taking a picnic lunch there. Take the time to stroll around the lake. The Wildlife Loop is enjoyable and will provide access to wild burros, pronghorn, prairie dogs, bison, big horned sheep, etc, and Iron Mountain Rd out of Keystone is known for its pigtail bridges and tunnels that frame Rushmore.

If you have any additional questions, please let us know. Have fun planning, and enjoy your new grandchildren!

Thank you. This is more of a response than I anticipated and I am thrilled.