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7-8 days, first week of January.
4 drivers
$1000 total for gas, lodging, food.
Thinking I-90 to I-94 to I-90.
Doable?
How feasible/worth it is it to hit up Glacier, Yellowstone, Rushmore, or Badlands?
Any advice from people who have done this drive before?
Hello and welcome to RTA !
The journey itself could be done quite comfortably in 4 days if the weather plays ball, so with 7-8 days you have time for a little sight seeing and some 'wiggle' room incase you run into winter weather and need to pull of the road and shelter from a storm. I was presuming this is a one way trip? Now I'm not sure as your gas budget seems quite high, if it is as the title would suggest, a one way trip. If not, you won't have much time for anything but to drive and relax for for a while wherever you end up for the night]
Glacier and Yellowstone will be all but closed to traffic during this time of year due to snow accumulation, so I'm not sure it's a good use of your time.
If you want to hit up Rushmore and the Badlands, then you would want to take I-90 all the way. I wouldn't recommend I-94 anyway due to the western ND oil boom, lodging is in short supply and expensive as are other motorist services.
Thanks for the tip on ND.
Yes, definitely a one-way trip. None of us are particularly experienced in driving snowy mountains, so we'd like the extra days in case of bad weather or mishaps. We do have people experienced driving in snow, but in the flat Midwest, not the Rockies.
The $1000 includes a motel room every night, gas, and food. What do you think just gas would cost?
Also, we have 2 car options--a Honda minivan from 1996, and a Acura TL 3.2. Any advice on that?
Thank you all!
For 6 or 7 nights for 4 people I think your budget is pretty tight. Sure you will split the gas and lodging costs but it still only equates to $35 per day per person. On the right hand side of this page you will find the gas calculator that will work out how much each of the vehicles will cost you if you have an idea of mpg., but at 20mpg you would be looking at close to $400. As for the vehicle choice you will need to work out the pros and cons based on size for luggage, comfort, reliabilty and cost.
You can also get an idea of motel costs in areas you are thinking of stopping over by browsing the RTA deals that are available, also on the right hand side of this page. If you can get one with a breakfast included it will help set you up for the day, but at the moment I think you will barely have enough cash to eat, never mind going out for a beer or sight see etc.
Interstates are a priority to keep clear and open to traffic as are all major routes so even having to wait out a storm you will be fine. Keep up to date with weather and road conditions as you go and use the info wisely for the day ahead, there is no point heading up a mountain on a scenic By-way in a blizzard and putting yourself in harms way.
I think if you are trying to make this trip for $1000, you will need to try to do it in 4 days with no diversions. Gas cost will be the same, but food and lodging is going to add up quickly.
The minivan is certainly going to be more comfortable than the Acura, but it will probably use more gas and it won't perform as well in the mountains.
Thanks for pointing on that fuel calculator--yeah, it looks like on 23 mpg, $337, so close to $400 overall with stops and sightseeing.
We are thinking of bringing a lot of our own food. I've looked up motels and hotels in cities along the way (Rapid City, Cour d'alene, etc).
Does anyone have recommendations on places/towns we should definitely stop and see?
I heard Mammoth Hot Springs and the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone are still open in the winter. Has anyone done Yellowstone in the winter here before and have tips on what to see?
Thanks everyone!
Slight change in plans--we'd definitely like to add Glacier to the list.
Driving Seattle - Coeur d'Alene is 5 hours
Coeur d'Alene to Glacier NP is about 6 hours
Can anyone speak to the driving terrain between Seattle and CdA? I assume this is going to be where most of the mountainous driving is.
Would it be foolish to try to push Seattle to Glacier in one day?
If conditions were favourable then you could drive to Glacier the same day, or perhaps a better option would be Kalispel making the day slightly more comfortable and being just under an hour from Glacier. There would be no benefit driving, or arriving after dark.
I'm not familiar with I90 but all Interstates are built with gradual curves and gradients so that the biggest of rigs can drive them , so although you might be at high elevation you won't feel as though it's a "mountainous drive" as such.
Glacier will be well and truly in 'winter mode' and as mentioned previously, the only thing that matters is the conditions when you are actually travelling so keep an eye on forecasts prior to leaving. You can get an idea of what visiting Glacier in the winter is like here on the NPS page.
Possible, but extremely unlikely in winter months. You'd be crossing parts of two heavy mountain ranges -- The Cascades and the Rockies and both are likely to have snow and/or winter driving conditions when you are there. Just driving from Seattle to Coeur d'Alene could take all day!
Mark
Weather and road conditions permitting, you can drive from CdA to Kalispell in 4 hours via I-90/MT-135/MT-200/MT-28/US-93. Being that the GTSR is closed in the winter, you will have to come back out of Glacier the same way you went in. The quickest route back to I-90 is back to Kalispell and US-93.
Unless you are dedicated winter outdoors types, I'd really recommend you visit Glacier during the summer when the whole park is open to wheeled vehicles. I feel the same way about Yellowstone.
I'd tend to agree that unless you are a big winter sports enthusiast, Glacier is a tough place to visit in winter since so much of the park is unreachable.
If I was going to visit one in winter, I would do Yellowstone. You'd still be able to enjoy Mammoth Hot Springs, and from what I've read, the wildlife viewing in Lamar Valley can actually be better in winter, as animals take advantage of the lower elevations. Obviously there is still a ton of the park that you can't get to, but I think those things would be enough to consider a detour, and will be a lot more than you'd get to see/do in Glacier.
Thank you everyone for all the great input! We will take all of this into consideration.
As mentioned previously, it's probably just a case of wait and see. There are always plenty of attractions around the Black Hills/Badlands area to visit. If the weather was poor further to the north and you were going to use all of your 7/8 days, you could even consider heading down into Utah through SLC and perhaps visit Arches/Canyonlands NP near Moab, and continue along I70, one of the most scenic of all Interstates [with the likes of Colorado NM, Glenwood Springs etc] to Denver and then hook up with I80 via I76. That of course goes through the Rockies and also has a high risk of seeing winter driving conditions, but you do have choices.
Have a great trip.
I presume you know something of Snoqualmie pass, that mountain range and its issues.Quote:
Originally Posted by SeattleChicago2012
From Cle Elum to Spokane is flat/rolling except for the descent and climb in and out of the Columbia gorge.
Spokane to CDL is not even a climb-- Spokane and CDL airports are at the same altitude.
East of CDL I-90 turns into what this Coloradoan thinks of as mountain driving.
I can't address the route to Glacier.
I did this drive from Portland a few summers a go. We made it to Glacier in one day (of course, we had perfect, summer conditions, but coming from Portland added a quite a bit of mileage), and stayed in a super cheap, very nice hostel in Kalispell. I believe it's called Brownies, and it's attached to a grocery store. There are private rooms or sex-specific bunk rooms available.
Be careful of conditions while going over the continental divide. It's steep!