NY to Chicago to Mt. Rushmore... then what?

Hi, I am really new to this site and am excited to post my questions. We are planning a little over three weeks for our road trip out to the mid-west in July.

My husband and I are finally retired and we are active and want to see and do as much as we can. We love to drive and long hours on the road don't bother us. We basically want to see the major sights our country has to offer and lots of walking is fine. Hiking and crazy sports are not for us though. We also will be taking along our 8 lb dog. I wish we had a choice but it's either stay home or take him with us. He is crate-trained and will have no problem in hotel rooms while we are out. We will return after a few hours in the early afternoon, take him for long walks or drives and then return him to the hotel if we want to take in a museum or do something where he won't be allowed. We will always be on the look-out for casual outdoor spaces to enjoy breakfast and dinner with Rascal.

Here is what I have so far.
We will drive from NY and stop one night in Cleveland Ohio. How is the Middleburg Heights area?

The next day we will drive onto Chicago. I booked 5 nights in the downtown area. Is this too much to get a feel of the city, see F. L Wright's buildings, and see a museum or two? Any place where dogs are welcome?

We need a place to spend the night between Chicago and Rapid City - a pet-friendly hotel in a safe, pleasant area where we can give the dog a nice long walk before bed and again in the morning.

Then we will drive onto Rapid City, South Dakota. I booked 6 nights there to see Mt. Rushmore, the Black Hills, Custer State Park, the caves, etc at a relaxed pace. Are the Badlands somewhere near this route? Are dogs allowed anywhere?

As for Rapid City, how does 6 days sound? Are there sights we will be able to see and enjoy from the car?

And now the big questions? Where do we go from South Dakota? We will have about 10 days left. Is Yellowstone Park doable? What else? We can also try to cut the other locations down if strongly suggested. I always book hotels with that flexibility.

Any suggestions for the drive back to NY on a slightly more southern route for a change of scenery and maybe a couple of interesting places to spend a day or two here and there?

As you can see I am floundering a lot. A native New Yorkers, other than the eastern coast, we have seen only Vegas, the Grand Canyon and Sedona. Any and all suggestions will be seriously considered. We are anxious to see a lot!

Thanks so very much for reading this and for any thoughts you may have.

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

With regards to the dog, you may have a problem with your current plan. While their are plenty of places that are pet friendly, most of them will not allow you to leave your dog alone, unattended, in the room. As far as You really need to check with each of the specific places you want to see for their policies, because it can change dramatically.

For a spot between Chicago and Rapid City, Sioux Falls would be a good option that's a little more than halfway. If you want something closer to halfway, then Fairmont Minnesota would be the best place that has a reasonable selection of hotels.

Badlands would be before you get to Rapid City (about 100 miles east - a good map would be helpful here) and is something you probably would want to do as part of your drive.

6 nights in the Black Hills could make for a very nice time, however, you might consider splitting your time up a bit. You might want to spend part of your trip around Keystone, or Custer to see places like Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Custer State Park, and the caves. Then you might want to stay in the western black hills to see places like Deadwood, Sturgis, and Devils Tower, Wyoming. Rapid City is the most central location to all of them, but you can be looking at drives of 1 to 2 hours each way to get to some of the attractions farther removed from Rapid.

I assume the 10 days you've got left includes the time you need to drive back to New York?

Yellowstone is an option, and it is one of my favorite places on the planet, but it is another full day drive past the black hills, and it would mean you need 4-5 days then to drive back to NYC. That would leave you 4-5 days to explore the park, which is doable although requires a bit faster pace than your other destination. If that's where you decide you want to go, I'd probably take a couple days away from Chicago and the Black Hills, or even cut way back on Chicago since its much easier to get to from NYC for a future trip, relatively speaking.

If you decide after the Black Hills you just want to and a nice drive home, I'd head north, towards Teddy Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota, and start making your way back, possibly stopping at Lake Itasca Minnesota (headwaters of the Mississippi River), and places along the south shore of Lake Superior like the Apostle Islands and Pictured Rocks. If you've got your passports, then you could continue into Canada, and make your way back going through the Georgian Bay area, and then home either via Toronto/Niagara or Montreal. If not, make your way back south through Michigan.

Thanks so much Michael. I will certainly check out the hotels in Sioux Falls. You gave me some other excellent suggestions and ideas to really think about. I never thought of driving further north to come home. Hmmm, sounds really good to me.

I selected Rapid City for the full 6 days because the Holiday Inn Express there said the dog would be welcomed. Are any of the sites mentioned in SD doable by car - or maybe allow a dog that will be carried in a carry bag the entire time? It's a bit awkward but he definitely stays in one.

Cutting into Chicago is definitely another option, or stretching the trip out closer to 4 weeks. This is the beauty of retirement. I really would love to add on Yellowstone. As for the dog, I already found out about "pet-friendly" hotels. I had to cancel one after I found out their policy. Now I call the hotels directly and am very clear about being able to leave a crated dog unattended while we are out.

Again, I sincerely appreciate your time and advice.

The Badlands loop can all be seen by car - with stops at many viewpoints - where your dog would be fine. You just couldn't take him on hiking trails.

Custer State Park is pet friendly, and there's a lot you can see just by driving, including the Wildlife Loop which is one of the park's biggest highlights.

Mt. Rushmore and the Caves do not allow pets, and just in general you'll find they aren't allowed on the trails at most national parks. State Parks and National Forests tend to be much more pet friendly.

We will leave NY in mid-July for a full three to three and a half weeks.
Sleep in Cleveland OH.
Chicago - are 3 days enough for an overview, the boat ride on the river and a couple of museums?
sleep near Minneaspolis or Sioux Falls
Rapid City/Antiques Roadshow/Mt. Rushmore/ Black Hills - how many days would you allow?

Yellowstone - 2-3 days in Gardiner MT and 2-3 days in West Yellowstone - what would you do?
Grand Tetan/Jackson Hole - 2-3 days?
Cody WY - one day enough for overview and a rodeo?

Drive home on a slightly southern route and any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks very much!

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

Keep in mind that it's your time to allocate however you see fit. The one thing that others can offer you is warning when you simply don't have enough time for what you're planning. That is not the case here. Sure three days is enough for what you want to see and do in Chicago. Could you use more? Less? Yes to both of those. What matters is what suits you. Same with all your other locations. The one spot where your pace and interests would seem to indicate that more time is needed is in the Black Hills of South Dakota. There is just so much there - including Badlands National Park, Mount Rushmore, Wind and Jewel Caves, the Crazy Horse Memorial, Devils Tower, Deadwood, and other sites - that you might want to allocate another day or so.

Some tips on your routing. Since you are headed for Rapid City, it makes no sense to head up to Minneapolis on I-94 unless that is a destination in and of itself. Just stay on I-90 when I-94 splits off in Wisconsin and head for Sioux Falls. And Cody fits better in the drive to Yellowstone rather than the drive back if you want to take a more southern route. For that southern route, look at heading down parallel to the Wind River Range in US-26/US-287 to Rawlings and picking up I-80 there to follow the old Oregon Trail along the Platte River in Nebraska, then using I-29 to cut down to I-7- through Kansas City, St. Louis, Indianapolis, and Columbus on the way home.

AZBuck

AZBuck, thank you for your list of to-do's in South Dakota. It is evident I need to find another day!
I also appreciate the route suggestions you made. We considered going to Minneapolis just because... but I will select one of the hotels in Austin MN to spend the night and then continue straight through. I am making notes for a return trip through Nebraska, Kansas City, and so forth. Sounds good!! Thank you very much for taking the time to help us out.

PS. Since there is something we really want to see in Milwaukee we chose to stop in Austin, rather than drive onto Sioux Falls after Chicago. The drive to Rapid city will be a little longer but it will work out.

I received great tips from this forum and others on driving west from NY. We have an SUV and are seniors, so sightseeing is our passion rather than strenuous activities or great adventures. This is what I have for our 3 to 3 1/2 week trip in July.
First night in Cleveland,
2 1/2 days in Chicago,
one night in Minneapolis,
one night in Mitchell SD,
tour The Badlands on the way to Rapid City
remainder of that day plus 4 more in Rapid City
one night in Cody WY - with the hopes that we have the stamina to take in an 8 PM rodeo.

I thought to break up YNP this way. Please share your thoughts and advice:
We will enter YNP from the east, drive around a bit and exit the north to our hotel in Cooke City, MT.
We have the full day in Cooke City,
Then we will drive through the northern entrance, tour as we exit the western entrance to West Yellowstone, WY.
We have another full day there.
Then we drive from the western to the southern entrance, drive around via Old Faithful, and go thru GTNP to Jackson, WY.
Another full day in Jackson.

(You are probably wondering why we chose to break up the park this way and not stay central within YNP instead. We will have a small dog with us and some hotels won't allow him to stay in the room even if crated. We also started planning late and I couldn't get reservations.)

Now we want to return on an alternate route. We have allowed 7 days, although 6 is preferable, as we know 500 miles a day is the max. we should attempt.
Our only definite stop is one night in Denver CO to tour the Denver mint. Please suggest what other towns are worth stopping at along route 80. It can be just for a couple of hours to relax and enjoy an outdoor meal with our dog or to spend the night.
Thank you very much.

Moderator Note: Please keep all questions about this trip together in the same thread.

A few thoughts on your current plans:

Minneapolis remains a fair bit out of your way, and you won't have much time there on your current plans, but Buck and myself have both already mentioned that.

If you want to get to a rodeo in Cody, then I'd spend at least the last night of your black hills stay in the western black hills, somewhere like Spearfish or even into Wyoming. It would likely make more sense to do that anyway if you want to visit places like Deadwood or Devils tower that would require a lot of backtracking if you stay only in Rapid.

Rather than Cooke City, which is actually the northeast gate of Yellowstone, I'd look at spending that night in Gardiner, which is much closer to the main loop road. Cooke City would mean going all the way out through the Lamar Valley. I'd say your Yellowstone trip would look like this:

Day 1: Drive by the lake, See the mud volcano, Canyon, and Tower Falls areas, heading briefly into the Lamar Valley if you have time (I kind of think you won't).
Day 2: See Mammoth Hot Springs, Norris Geyers area, and as much of the other geyser areas between Madison/West Yellowstone and Old Faithful as you can.
Day 3: Finish the Old Faithful area, and if time the West Thumb area before you head south to the Tetons.

Here's a look at some of the many options for things to see and do along I-80, although if you are going through Denver, you might also consider I-70. Check out the Map Center for more ideas for things to do along both.

Thank you Midwest Michael for your response, once again. My husband wants to make that detour to Minneapolis to call on a friend and we decided to skip Deadwood and Devils Tower.
I did book a hotel in Cody already and considering it's about 400 miles from Rapid City, it seems like I did that one right.
I apologize if I repeated my questions but, as you see, I am still confused with the enormity of YNP and fitting in all the other places we are trying to see. I thought there were only four entrances to choose from and since Cooke's City did have a hotel where we could leave the dog in the room unattended, we grabbed it early on. Your suggestion led me to research it further and dumb me now sees there is a north entrance as well as that northeast one. That is certainly so much smarter!! Let's hope I can find a hotel at this late date that will accept the dog. And THANK YOU for laying out a Yellowstone itinerary so clearly for me. I needed that.
I will focus on the return trip once I get Gardiner squared away.
And lastly, are there any states or cities that are known for having better gas prices that other?

Gasbuddy.com has a color-coded map of average gas prices, county by county throughout the country. You can also find it via RTA's fuel cost calculator on the right side of this page.

You'll probably see the highest prices of your trip in Chicago and around Yellowstone. Try to get your fuel either in Indiana or wait until you are in Wisconsin for your trip around Chicago. Yellowstone is so big that its almost hard to avoid filling up there. Prices in Gardiner were about 10 cents less than in the park last year, but stations in Cooke City were actually 25 cents more than in the park. Prices are a bit less in the Tetons, but you don't get back to "normal" prices until you reach Jackson.

If traveling with a laptop or other wi-fi enhanced device, be sure to either bookmark gasprices.com (same as gasbuddy mentioned above) or get the gasbuddy app for your phone or tablet. For the past 2 years, we've traveled with a laptop and check the next day's locations for the best possible fuel prices. For instance, we're getting ready to leave on a trip, and I know which stations in Yuma have the best prices, and that those prices are better than El Centro and Gila Bend.

BTW, Michael, thanks for the reminder about Indiana being lower than Illinois. Our trip will take us through IN and IL this year, so we'll try to fuel up (diesel) before entering IL!


Donna

I can vouch for the Gasbuddy smartphone app. It's very useful.

Today around Yellowstone, gas is $3.63 in Jackson, $3.83 in West Yellowstone, $3.89 in Gardiner, $4.09 in the park, $3.57 in Cody, and Cooke City is not reporting - but I'd bet it's around $4.25.

No trip to South Dakota is complete without a stop at Wall Drug. It is right at the end of the Badlands Loop and is a "must see." In addition to a pretty decent restaurant, they have everything from the junkiest rubber tomahawk souveneirs to very nice gifts and western clothing. Here's a little more info on Wall Drug: Wall is the northern gateway to the Badlands National Park, and the home of the block-long Wall Drug Store. In 1936 the owners of this small-town pharmacy, Ted and Dorothy Hustead, came up with an ingenious marketing campaign. Realizing travelers going through the hot, dusty prairie would be thirsty, they put up signs along the highway offering free ice water. Tourists have been stopping there ever since. Having had success with small roadside signs, the Husteads began investing in billboards. Wall Drug roadside advertisements appeared across the country. While the 1965 Highway Beautification Act forced the removal of most of these famous billboards, there are still Wall Drug signs beside South Dakota's highways and in many countries overseas. The store is now the principle industry in Wall, employing almost a third of the town's residents.

If you can work out the pet situation, I would suggest a night or two in Keystone and then taking the Iron Mountain Highway (US 16A) through Custer State Park and then on in to Custer for a night or two. From Custer, you could head north on US 16 and US 385 through Spearfish Canyon to either Deadwood or Spearfish. Along the way, you could make your stop at Crazy Horse Monument. There are some things to do in Deadwood although it has kind of been overun by casinos in recent year. Mount Moriah Cemetery is the burial place of Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane. They also have a play called "The Trial Of Jack McCall." McCall is the man who killed Wild Bill. If you're interested in casinos, Kevin Costner's Midnite Star is pretty nice and has a good restaurant.

As others have suggested, you're going to do an awful lot of unnecessary driving if you "headquarter" in Rapid City for your entire stay, but if you can't find pet-friendly lodging, I guess you have no choice.

If you do decide to head north from the Black Hills to Medora, North Dakota and Theodore Roosevelt National Park, you might want to go to The Medora Musical, a wonderful music show performed in a beautiful outdoor amphitheatre. The Badlands of Theodore Roosevelt are not as extensive as those in South Dakota but they are much more colorful and eye-pleasing.

Have A Great Trip!!

Thanks for all the additional information. I really appreciate you sharing your knowledge and experience with me. We will have a laptop with us - no Smartphone yet. (It takes us a while to catch up with technology!) Gasbuddy.com is book marked!!

I did find a pet-friendly hotel in Gardiner - one more reason for a big thank you to Michael.

More and more places are putting in free public wifi - almost all McDonalds and Starbucks have it. Panera Bread (and their affiliates St. Louis Bread Company and Paradise Cafe) has it, and I recently found it at a Bob Evans restaurant and a Denny's. Truck stops will have it, but not necessarily free. Some states have it in Interstate highway rest areas. Just make sure your battery is charged, as it may be difficult to find an electrical outlet. I have also found it at public libraries. Most hotels have it, but it's not always free.

Great to know, glc. Will remember to charge each night.