Ohio to Yellowstone via I-90 onto Colorado

This is our first road trip. 2 adults no kids. I do not want to over do the driving taking the enjoyment out of the trip.

If I have missed something/somewhere to stop along the way please let me know. Ideas are encouraged.

We have planned two weeks for this trip the second week of June. Starting in Southwest Ohio heading across I-90 plan to stop around Sioux Falls for the first night. Hit the Corn Palace, Badlands, and Mt. Rushmore and stay in Black Hills for the second night. The following 4 nights we will stay in Gardiner, WY spending the days exploring Yellowstone. Head out of Yellowstone via Cody, I would like to make it to Cheyenne but may have to stop in Casper for the 7th night. Spend the next 3 nights somewhere between Denver and Colorado Springs. Sight seeing in Denver, driving out RT 34 on the scenic loop through Boulder, Rocky MTN National Park, Pikes peak, Garden of the Gods. Then heading home via I-70. We have been told there is not much to see on I-70 (ideas please) so I plan to push on staying in Kansas City the 11th night. Stop by the arch in St. Louis and home the 12th night.

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

I'm a little concerned that you are trying to do so much in a short time here that driving very much will suck some of the fun out of this trip.

Your first day alone would be more than 850 miles, that's going to put you on the road for upwards of 16 hours. That kind of distance is even more than we advise for a speed run, and certainly isn't condusive to an enjoyable trip. I understand wanting to cover some extra ground on day one, but right now, you're going to wear yourself out before you even make it out west.

Even your second day is overstuffed. Driving from Sioux Falls to Rapid on one day isn't too much, and you can fit in some siteseeing during the day, but to try to fit in the Corn Palace, Badlands, and Mt. Rushmore plus the 400 mile drive, would be a ton of stuff to shoe-horn into one day - especially after your intense day one.

Giving yourself a couple of days at Yellowstone and in Colorado seems like you'll be fine, but also remember, you're looking at full day drives from the Black Hills to Yellowstone and another very full day back to Denver.

You can probably do everything you've listed that you have planned, but I think you're really going to be exerting yourself to do it, and I think you are in danger of having the driving and an overfilled schedule taking away from the enjoyment of your trip.

It's like you're creating just the type of trip that you say you don't want to have.

You might review this post for a list of some of the things to do in South Dakota. Also read the roadtrip report and list of things to do reference in that post.

I understand the allure of Yellowstone. I think you'll either want to just focus on getting there and home again without as much time in the different places along the way, or stick to points closer to home. If you decide to stay closer to home and explore an area more fully, driving less overall on your trip, I think South Dakota might fit the bill. However, that's a decision you'll have to make for yourself.

Your proposed trip is roughly 3600 miles. We recommend driving no more than about 500-550 miles per day, which is about 9-10 hours on the road, so your trip is about 7 days of mainly driving with just very short time on the driving days to explore, thus leaving you only about 5 days to play.

We were thinking of possibly staying 1 night in gardiner, moving on to west yellowstone, 1 night around the tetons or in jackson hole, then cody. Do you think that would be better than just staying in gardiner and driving each day to the places?

We are thinking of possibly cutting out some of the colorado stuff to ease up on the driving.

Thanks for your input.