Help with itinerary - after doing Deadwood Marathon

Hi,

My friends and I are going to do the Mickelson Trail Marathon this June and need some help planning what to do and see afterwards.

We live in Houston. It looks like we could fly to Denver and then drive to Deadwood. Any thoughts?

My friends will probably only stay for 3 days. My husband and I plan a week. We, like others would like to see as much possible so thought we might go to Yellowstone too. Or is there is a lot to do in the Black Hills, stay there. We like hiking so if you have some recommendations on hiking in either place that would be great!

Do you have any recommendations on lodges, hotels? We usually don%26#39;t like to stay in the typical chain hotel.

Thanks so much for your help.

Help with itinerary - after doing Deadwood Marathon

I know Denver would probably be much cheaper, but if you can fly into Rapid City, I%26#39;d recommend it. I%26#39;m not sure what current airfares are running, but Rapid City is very convenient to the Black Hills region. From Rapid City, you are talking an hour drive to Deadwood, vs. a 6 hour drive.

If you are only staying a week, I%26#39;d recommend staying in the Black Hills area. In order to see both Yellowstone and the Black Hills, you%26#39;d really need at least 10 days, preferably 2 weeks, to do both justice.

Custer State Park offers good hiking; there have been some recent posts by Accomodator outlining some of the best. There are also many caves in the area if you like underground adventures.

You can also post on the Yellowstone forum as well to get more info on that area. Yellowstone has an endless list of hikes/walks throughout the park. Yellowstone has it all, from thermal areas to waterfalls and lakes to wildlife.

You can take a look at some of my recent posts for a list of my must sees of the area. This is a short list; there are many more things to see and do.

As far as lodging, we liked the Roosevelt Inn in Keystone. It%26#39;s not a chain, and they provide various room types. They rate themselves as a small hotel with a European style.---not sure what this means as I haven%26#39;t been to Europe. At any rate, it%26#39;s a very clean facility with spacious rooms. Their website is rosyinn.com. If you decide to book, be sure to ask for the internet rate; they don%26#39;t provide it to you unless you ask.

Have a great trip, and please let us know if you have additional specific questions.

Help with itinerary - after doing Deadwood Marathon

You%26#39;ll find plenty to do in the Black Hills area for a week if you don%26#39;t go to Yellowstone.

Mount Rushmore

Custer State Park

Badlands Nat%26#39;l Park

Devils Tower Nat%26#39;l Monument

Spearfish Canyon

Wind Cave Nat%26#39;l Park

Jewell Cave Nat%26#39;l Monument

Crazy Horse Memorial

and more.

I%26#39;d look at staying in the northern Black Hills for a few days after the marathon and then relocating to the central/southern Black Hills for the rest of the trip.

Consider the Spearfish Canyon Lodge for a lodge setting in Spearfish Canyon or one of the more unique Deadwood hotels like the Celebrity Hotel.

One of the Custer State Park lodges would be a great place for the second half of your trip.

Good hiking can be found all over the Black Hills but you%26#39;ll probably want to concentrate on the Spearfish Canyon area and then on the Black Elk Wilderness and northern Custer State Park area--the area of the Needles Highway. Try out some hiking in the Badlands, too.

Driving from Denver is common but make sure it%26#39;s worth your while because it is a 6-7 hour drive. Flying into Rapid City is really easy but it can a little expensive.