SEA-Yellowstone-Deadwood-DN-SLC

HI all,

I've read these forums for years but I never signed up and posted until now. I know we don't have a lot of time at each location. I'm cool with only two days in Yellowstone. I would rather see a variety of places for a shorter time.

Could you please give me your option though on my schedule? It feels like I"m trying to do a lot here. I could cut out Denver or SLC. Denver is only 6 hours from Deadwood and I've always wanted to go. SLC seemed like it would be cool and looked like it's not far out of the way since I have to head in that direction home. It looks like either way it's 20 hours back to Seattle. Maybe cut out SLU and spend more time in Denver area?


Day 1 - Montana - Missoula
Day 2 - Wyoming - Yellow Stone
Day 3 - Wyoming - Yellow Stone Day 2
Day 4 - South Dakota - Deadwood
Day 5 - Mt Rushmore
Day 7 - Denver
Day 8 - Denver/Aspen Day 2
Day 9 - Salt Lake City
Day 10 - Salt Lake City Day 2
Day 11 - Home

Thanks so much.

You all are awesome!

Antonio

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

I must say, I am a bit surprised. You say that you've been reading these fora for years, yet you still think Denver and Deadwood are only six hours apart. No. That is only true in the fantasy world of on-line mapping routines where their virtual car never has to stop for gas, or gets behind a slow truck and their virtual driver never needs to eat, or use a restroom, or sees a red light. In the real world in which you'll actually make this drive, it's going to be a LOT closer to seven hours. If you're lucky. That's an extra 15% or so and that same 'time tax rate' will apply to your entire trip. For example, Denver to Seattle (direct, not including Aspen) will take 24 hours of on-the-road time, not 20, and while you would go through SLC on the way, that 24 hours of drive time does not include stopping at all in SLC except for perhaps food/fuel/restroom.

Grand total, I see over 55 hours of just driving to complete your proposed journey. That's really 5 to 6 full days on the road, before ANY stops to see anything meaningful. Add a day at each of your proposed destinations (two at Yellowstone) and you've 'spent' 12 or 13 of your 11 available days, even at a frenetic pace. I can't tell you what to cut, that's up to you. But cut you must, significantly.

AZBuck

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Originally Posted by tony32408

HI all,

I've read these forums for years but I never signed up and posted until now. I know we don't have a lot of time at each location. I'm cool with only two days in Yellowstone. I would rather see a variety of places for a shorter time.

Could you please give me your option though on my schedule? It feels like I"m trying to do a lot here. I could cut out Denver or SLC. Denver is only 6 hours from Deadwood and I've always wanted to go. SLC seemed like it would be cool and looked like it's not far out of the way since I have to head in that direction home. It looks like either way it's 20 hours back to Seattle. Maybe cut out SLU and spend more time in Denver area?


Day 1 - Montana - Missoula
Day 2 - Wyoming - Yellow Stone
Day 3 - Wyoming - Yellow Stone Day 2
Day 4 - South Dakota - Deadwood
Day 5 - Mt Rushmore
Day 7 - Denver
Day 8 - Denver/Aspen Day 2
Day 9 - Salt Lake City
Day 10 - Salt Lake City Day 2
Day 11 - Home

Thanks so much.

You all are awesome!

Antonio

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Hi...WOW...that's a lot of driving especially Salt Lake City all the way back to
Seattle, WA!

Maybe if we knew a little more about you it would help. You mentioned "we". How many are going and age reference might help. Will you be camping or using hotels? Are you going to be making any reservations? What time of the year are you going?

Make sure if you are staying outside of Yellowstone to get try and get into the park VERY early in the morning because the lines to get in are LONG! Don't expect to be able to drive fast in the park. A bison jam can cause HOURS of delays! We've spent two weeks at a time in Yellowstone several times and there's areas we haven't seen! Not to mention you are so close it's a shame to miss the Grand Tetons.


Utahtea

I"m 40 and I'm bringing my 4 year old twins. They are used to long road trips. I'd like to go the first week in August. I'll bring a tent but I also plan on staying at hotels. I'm sure I'll do reservations either way before leaving. As far as what we wold do I'd like to see a few things in Yellowstone, visit the sites in Deadwood (one of my favorite TV shows), and go to Mt Rushmore. I haven't really worked out the details for Denver/Aspen or SLC yet. If we did end up going it would be exploring the city and anything interesting that's open. Do you think it would be better to just cut out SLC?

Wow! You say your two little passengers have done long RoadTrips before, but that must have been as infants, or at least no more than toddlers. At four, things are going to be a whole lot different. I have taken a number of both RoadTrips and fly/drive trips with my own grandsons and at this age yours are going to be active, not sleeping or happy to watch the world go by while they sit inert in their car seats. I would strongly suggest that you do two things. 1) Plan for some significant outside activity (emphasis on active) each and every day, and 2) Plan on spending at least two nights in several different locations. Those two together lead to one inescapable conclusion, at least to me. Your plan is simply too much. I would cut out Denver, Aspen and Salt Lake City and just make this a trip to Yellowstone, Deadwood and Rapid City. Period. That would cut your driving time to about five days tops and leave you about six days for seeing Yellowstone and the Rapid City area, including Deadwood. As Utahtea noted, two days might be the minimal time needed for your children to experience and enjoy Yellowstone, and there is so much to see and do in the Rapid City area that it could easily fill a week, let alone three or four days. Besides Mount Rushmore, there's Devils Tower, Wind Cave, Jewel Cave, the Badlands, and the Crazy Horse Memorial as well as a number of dinosaur museums and dig sites. Don't you think your kids would rather spend time at a few of them rather than more days in the car?

AZBuck

I have to agree with the above from AZBuck, your just trying to do way to much for it to be enjoyable. As it is often with family road trips, less can be more. Yellowstone is likely to be busy but whatever, it is extremely slow going around this massive park. Before deciding anything you should see what lodging/camping options are available in or around Yellowstone as you may have a long drive just to get there in the morning.

Do you remember YOUR vacations as a four year old? Of course not! They are too young to understand or appreciate anything on your list. They would be much happier spending the time at a neighborhood playground. The reality is that you are planning a vacation for yourself and dragging them along.

You would get more out of this trip by postponing it at least four years, or leaving them with someone and going by yourself. That being said, you’ll all get more out of this by cutting the driving and adding “do something” time.

The parks often have kid activities that would be worthwhile. Trouble is that the Covid hysteria has shut so much down, so this might not be an option. Many campgrounds have pools and organized activities but who knows if that will be the case next month?

As long as your youngsters are going to National Parks, let/help them get the most out of their visits by checking for the availability of any Junior Ranger Program at the Visitors Center. The kids will typically be given an activity book that they fill in as they explore the park and then show the Ranger at the end, for which they get free badges, certificates or other souvenirs of their visit. Note the following on that web page: "Junior Rangers are typically between the ages of 5 to 13, although people of all ages can participate."

AZBuck

One problem with that - the visitors centers and ranger programs are still closed in many parks.

I suspect that, even if the Visitors Center wasn't open, if the kids approached a Ranger with their masks on, (s)he would have something for them or at least 'swear them in' as Junior Rangers and/or tell them a bit about the park at their level.

AZBuck

Thanks all. We're like 2 hours from Mt Rainier and they have done the Jr Rangers Program there. It was still an option last month when we went even with the buildings closed. The longest trip we have done was last Summer when the kids were 3 years old. We drove for about 8 hours into Oregon. They are actually pretty good about being in the car still. I think they entertain each other more than anything. Apart from the driving, all we do when we get places is activities/site seeing. That's quite the list around Rapid City. I'll look into adding those to the list. I'll make the reservations as soon as I have the schedule down. Hopefully this week.

It sounds like it's just not realistic to add Denver on to this trip without being rushed and adding a lot of unnecessary drive time. It also sounds there is plenty of things to keep us busy around the Rapid City Area with the extra days.

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Originally Posted by travelingman

The reality is that you are planning a vacation for yourself and dragging them along.

You would get more out of this trip by postponing it at least four years, or leaving them with someone and going by yourself.

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I so fundamentally disagree with this idea that it needs to be addressed.

Of course a 4 year old isn't going to remember the details of a trip at this age, but that hardly means that children don't get anything out of a trip at that age. A trip itself lays the foundations for new ideas, the concept of traveling to see things you've never seen before, and maybe, even a moment or two they will remember. You don't read to 4 year olds because you expect them to forever remember the book, you read to them to lay a foundation for appreciating the importance of reading and learning throughout their lives.

Now, of course, you still need to adapt your trip to the needs of small children. One 8 hour trip in the car is not nearly the same as trying to cover thousands of miles over the course of a little over a week. It means you do need to stop more often, and factor in more things that kids will enjoy - which can be something as simple as a playground - and covering less ground each day so they aren't strapped into a car all day, every day, for repeated days.

Cutting out Colorado is a very good start. I will say there are also many more things on a closer to direct route that would be a good use of the "extra" time you won't be using adding those extra miles. For example, Grand Teton wasn't on your original list, and with just 2 days at Yellowstone, you really wouldn't have time to include it before. Little Bighorn and Devils Tower are also some more places to check out that I'd think your new plan would allow some time for.

Okay. Here is our updated schedule. This one feels much better. Let me know what you think.

Day 1 – Missoula
Day 2 – Devils Tower/Cody
Day 3 – Yellow Stone
Day 4 – Yellow Stone
Day 5 – Deadwood
Day 6 – Mt Rushmore/Crazy Horse
Day 7 – GTNP/Jackson Hole
Day 8 – Coeur d’Alene
Day 9 – Home

Its a lot better than your original but it will still be a full on trip, especially for the young ones. If you take 2 days of travel time off for Yellowstone (where you will add more miles driving around the park) you are still looking at 375 miles or so per day which is 6-7 hours in the car every day. Thats a different experience for the youngsters than one long day on it's own would be.

I'm not sure if you have done a typo but going out to Devils tower and back to Cody then to Yellowstone and back out to Deadwood doesn't make much sense unless there is a reason. Going from Missoula to Yellowstone then Jackson Hole , Cody and across to Mt Rushmore, Deadwood and Devils tower would work better.

Is there a reason you've shortened this from 11 days to 9 days.

Anything you had gained by cutting out Denver and SLC is pretty much wiped out by reducing your total trip time. In some ways, you might actually be even worse off now, since you've added more things into the 9 days.

And as Dave mentioned, the order of things you've got doesn't really make sense either. Cody and Devils Tower aren't close and are on the wrong side of Yellowstone. I would also suggest you'll be better off hitting Yellowstone and Tetons back to back to save time and miles.

Thanks for the recommendation. It feels like I'm getting closer with each revision. Let me know what you think about this. I changed the order and I added an extra day at Yellow Stone, given the travel time from Missoula. I could cut out Devils Tower or Crazy Horse to have more time in Deadwood. Any other recommendations or suggested changes to the order?

Day 1 – Missoula
Day 2 – Yellow Stone
Day 3 – Yellow Stone
Day 4 – Yellowstone
Day 5 - GTNP/Jackson Hole
Day 6 – Cody
Day 7 – Devils Tower / Deadwood
Day 8 – Mt Rushmore/Crazy Horse
Day 9 – Coeur d’Alene
Day 10 – Home

The problem I see now is that getting from the Black hills area to Couer d'Alene is way too much to do in a single day and even stopping at a 'half way' point between Deadwood and home would be 2 long days that would feel like rushing home. Ideally, a day 11 would work best, but if thats not an option then I think doing a quick visit to the Tetons during your 3 day stay in Yellowstone could work OK and take a 3 day trip home.

I agree with Dave, you're getting closer, but still have a couple major flaws.

The Black Hills To Coeur D Alene is more than 800 miles. That would be unwise and unsafe, even if you didn't have to think about a child. The Seattle area to Rapid City is basically at the upper limit of what you should consider doing in 2 full days of driving, and if you are going to do that, then you need to stop at the halfway point - which would be Butte, MT.

If that is the approach you're going to take, then I would strongly recommend flipping your trip around and do the long drive out to South Dakota first, when everyone is at their most fresh and energetic, rather than trying to pile 2 long haul days on the end of a still fairly fast paced trip where everyone is going to be a little tired.

I will throw one more idea out to add some variety into your trip. Rather than backtracking on I-90, you might go from the Black Hills to Cody, then to Yellowstone, and finish with Jackson/Tetons. From there, that would allow you to head west to Idaho and return via I-84/I-82, stopping in Boise or somewhere like that on the way home, without adding much in the way of travel time.

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Originally Posted by Midwest Michael

I agree with Dave, you're getting closer, but still have a couple major flaws.

The Black Hills To Coeur D Alene is more than 800 miles. That would be unwise and unsafe, even if you didn't have to think about a child. The Seattle area to Rapid City is basically at the upper limit of what you should consider doing in 2 full days of driving, and if you are going to do that, then you need to stop at the halfway point - which would be Butte, MT.

If that is the approach you're going to take, then I would strongly recommend flipping your trip around and do the long drive out to South Dakota first, when everyone is at their most fresh and energetic, rather than trying to pile 2 long haul days on the end of a still fairly fast paced trip where everyone is going to be a little tired.

I will throw one more idea out to add some variety into your trip. Rather than backtracking on I-90, you might go from the Black Hills to Cody, then to Yellowstone, and finish with Jackson/Tetons. From there, that would allow you to head west to Idaho and return via I-84/I-82, stopping in Boise or somewhere like that on the way home, without adding much in the way of travel time.

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Michael,

I really like that idea of going all the way to Black Hills first and then doing Cody, Yellow Stone and then Jackson last. I'm sure the trip back will be the least fun and this way I'll be closer. If I take that approach, how can I change my drive in to Deadwood? Would I need to make it three days? Should I still stop at that Missoula? Any other thoughts on stops?

Thanks all for being patient with me here.

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Originally Posted by tony32408

Thanks for the recommendation. It feels like I'm getting closer with each revision. Let me know what you think about this. I changed the order and I added an extra day at Yellow Stone, given the travel time from Missoula. I could cut out Devils Tower or Crazy Horse to have more time in Deadwood. Any other recommendations or suggested changes to the order?

Day 1 – Missoula
Day 2 – Yellow Stone
Day 3 – Yellow Stone
Day 4 – Yellowstone
Day 5 - GTNP/Jackson Hole
Day 6 – Cody
Day 7 – Devils Tower / Deadwood
Day 8 – Mt Rushmore/Crazy Horse
Day 9 – Coeur d’Alene
Day 10 – Home

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I agree this is getting much better. Three nights for Yellowstone really only means you have 2 full days.

I'm going to throw an idea out and I'll understand if you don't like it. What if you took out Cody, Devil's Tower, Mt. Rushmore and instead went to Glacier National Park. That would save you well over 600 miles of driving.

With 4 year old twins the less times you have to move in and out of a motel or set up and tear down campsites is going to go a long way in saving time and limiting Covid concerns.



Utahtea

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Originally Posted by tony32408

Would I need to make it three days? Should I still stop at that Missoula? Any other thoughts on stops?
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if you want to stop in Missoula, you certainly can do that, but yes, if you did that, you'd want to be stopping shorter on the second day. South Dakota would be too far for day 2. I wouldn't be planning to go any farther than say Gillette WY, which would make for an easy morning trip to Devils Tower or Deadwood.

The question would be what is your reasoning for stopping in Missoula. It's a nice town, but are you stopping there because there is something you want to see and do? If so, you need to factor that into your plans as well. If it's just a place to stop for the night, and you want to focus on making time the first two days, then I would try to make it a bit farther down the road.

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Originally Posted by Midwest Michael

if you want to stop in Missoula, you certainly can do that, but yes, if you did that, you'd want to be stopping shorter on the second day. South Dakota would be too far for day 2. I wouldn't be planning to go any farther than say Gillette WY, which would make for an easy morning trip to Devils Tower or Deadwood.

The question would be what is your reasoning for stopping in Missoula. It's a nice town, but are you stopping there because there is something you want to see and do? If so, you need to factor that into your plans as well. If it's just a place to stop for the night, and you want to focus on making time the first two days, then I would try to make it a bit farther down the road.

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I don't have a reason for stopping there other than it seemed like a nice place and it's maybe 8 hours from where I'm at in Seattle. I could wake up super early and make more distance the first day. I could probably get to Bozemon. That would actually make the next day much better because we could check out the city and leave later in the day. From there it's like 6 hours to Gillette. Once we get there we're like an hour from everything. Is that the best city to stop? Driving from Bozemon on the second day we have more flexibility given that we'll be closer.

I did remove some time from the schedule and I can add it back if needed.


Other than Deaddwood and Mt Rushmore is there anything else around the Black Hills area we need to see? We have a lot of national parks here and honestly this is the part of the trip I'm most excited about. Nothing against Yellow Stone :) I love anything to do with history.

Here is my updated schedule.


Day 1 – Bozeman
Day 2 – Gillette
Day 3 – Devils Tower / Deadwood
Day 4 – Mt Rushmore/Crazy Horse
Day 5 – Cody
Day 6 – Yellow Stone
Day 7 – Yellow Stone
Day 8 – GTNP/Jackson Hole
Day 9 – Coeur d’Alene
Day 10 – Home

Bozeman is too far. That's nearly 700 miles. If you're only shooting for Gillette on day 2, then Missoula would be fine.

600 miles is really the upper limit of how far you should drive in a single day, and especially with kids, getting closer to 500 miles is generally better.

If you're a fan of history, you'll be driving right past Little Bighorn.

In the Black Hills, Custer State Park is the spot that I wouldn't miss, particularly the wildlife loop. There are also Jewel and Wind Cave National Parks. There's also the Crazy Horse monument, and several excellent scenic drives, like Iron Mountain Rd.

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Originally Posted by Midwest Michael

Bozeman is too far. That's nearly 700 miles. If you're only shooting for Gillette on day 2, then Missoula would be fine.

600 miles is really the upper limit of how far you should drive in a single day, and especially with kids, getting closer to 500 miles is generally better.

If you're a fan of history, you'll be driving right past Little Bighorn.

In the Black Hills, Custer State Park is the spot that I wouldn't miss, particularly the wildlife loop. There are also Jewel and Wind Cave National Parks. There's also the Crazy Horse monument, and several excellent scenic drives, like Iron Mountain Rd.

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Okay! I'll keep Missoula. Thanks for the other sites to check out. Looks like I have route now. I'll be checking on reservations later this week. Super excited! I know it's still a lot but I have some flexibility and can add a day here or there as needed.

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Originally Posted by Midwest Michael

Bozeman is too far. That's nearly 700 miles. If you're only shooting for Gillette on day 2, then Missoula would be fine.

600 miles is really the upper limit of how far you should drive in a single day, and especially with kids, getting closer to 500 miles is generally better.

If you're a fan of history, you'll be driving right past Little Bighorn.

In the Black Hills, Custer State Park is the spot that I wouldn't miss, particularly the wildlife loop. There are also Jewel and Wind Cave National Parks. There's also the Crazy Horse monument, and several excellent scenic drives, like Iron Mountain Rd.

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Micheal I'm thinking of adding an extra day for the Black Hills. I'd have a total of three before going on to Cody and Yellowstone. Any suggestions on places to stay. I was planning on Deadwood but I keep hearing it's better to be in other places with the kids. I figured we can spent the entire day there one day but stay somewhere more centrally located and better for the kids. What do you think? I could do a day in Deadwood and two in another but I'd rather stay in the same place since everything is in the area.

Rapid City will have the best selection of hotels at reasonable prices. If you add another day you could go through the Badlands and go to Wall Drug.

My last time doing a dedicated trip to the black hills, I found a cabin near Custer, which I found to be a pretty good location. As glc noted, rapid City will have the largest selection of options.

When are you going again? I think you said first week of August so you may be okay as the Sturgis Rally starts August 7 and the place will be booked and busy around Rapid City. First time I looked into visiting Mount Rushmore we wondered why the hotel prices were so high then discovered it was during the rally. No. Made different plans. We were there instead in June a couple of years ago and the locals were telling us how crazy busy it is during the rally.

Hotel prices will go up before the rally. Example - the Motel 6 in Rapid City is $72 a night right now, $82 on weekends. Regular price is $66. On August 1 they go up to $86, August 2 up to $92, August 2 up to $106, August 7 up to $176, August 9 up to $186. They do not go back to under $100 till August 16.

The rally will be held this year with some restrictions. The whole area will not be a good place to be if you observe social distancing.

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Originally Posted by NowthatIamretired

When are you going again? I think you said first week of August so you may be okay as the Sturgis Rally starts August 7 and the place will be booked and busy around Rapid City. First time I looked into visiting Mount Rushmore we wondered why the hotel prices were so high then discovered it was during the rally. No. Made different plans. We were there instead in June a couple of years ago and the locals were telling us how crazy busy it is during the rally.

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Third through the 5th. I guess I got lucky lol. The prices are still pretty high. What I'm really wanting to find is something more rustic to match the setting.

The lowest prices I can find in the area for those dates is the Whitetail Creek Resort in Lead. I'd contact them now before they book out, it will be starting to get busy then.

http://www.whitetailcreekresort.com/

Note that it's pronounced leed, not like the metal.

There are several sites that allow homeowners to rent out their homes (including secluded 2-3 bedroom cabins in the woods). I've done a cursory search in the Rapid City area for your stated dates and found several in the $200/night range. Remember that's for entire houses on acreage! If that seems like what you're looking for, do a search on the terms 'VRBO' (vacation rental by owner), 'vacation rental', 'homeaway', etc. - also including 'Rapid City SD' in the search.

AZBuck

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Originally Posted by tony32408

Third through the 5th. I guess I got lucky lol. The prices are still pretty high. What I'm really wanting to find is something more rustic to match the setting.

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To be brutally honest, Traveling to the Black Hills this August, even though you'll technically be there a few days before the starts, strikes me as a horrifically bad idea.

I hadn't even considered that they would be foolish enough to hold the rally this year. Traveling at that time is always a little extra challenging, and in a normal year, that would be something to keep in mind, but not necessarily keep you from doing the trip. However, anyone going to any event like the rally this year is someone I would assume is someone who isn't going to care one bit about your health or the health of anyone else around them. It's safe to assume that social distancing and masks will not be something you should expect to see.

I know it's not what you want to hear, but the Black Hills will still be there next year and the year after that. Traveling anywhere this year comes with challenges, but the Black Hills on the same week as the Sturgis Rally during the pandemic would be up there with flying to Florida to go bar hopping in terms of bad ideas. I really would recommend changing either your timeline or your destination.

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Originally Posted by Midwest Michael

To be brutally honest, Traveling to the Black Hills this August, even though you'll technically be there a few days before the starts, strikes me as a horrifically bad idea.

I hadn't even considered that they would be foolish enough to hold the rally this year. Traveling at that time is always a little extra challenging, and in a normal year, that would be something to keep in mind, but not necessarily keep you from doing the trip. However, anyone going to any event like the rally this year is someone I would assume is someone who isn't going to care one bit about your health or the health of anyone else around them. It's safe to assume that social distancing and masks will not be something you should expect to see.

I know it's not what you want to hear, but the Black Hills will still be there next year and the year after that. Traveling anywhere this year comes with challenges, but the Black Hills on the same week as the Sturgis Rally during the pandemic would be up there with flying to Florida to go bar hopping in terms of bad ideas. I really would recommend changing either your timeline or your destination.

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Yeah I'm not a huge fan of crowds anyways. I do have some flexibility. There seems to be a lot for kids to do in Cody. Do you think it would be a better option to cut the Black Hills trip shorter and spent an extra day in Cody instead? As it is now, we were only using Cody as a quick stop before going into Yellow Stone and would only have half a day there.

Personally, I would cut out the Black Hills completely, considering what Michael said. You would be getting there too close to the opening of the rally, people will be getting there up to a week early and going exactly where you want to go. Last year, I traveled across SD on I-90 during the week before the rally, and there were a LOT of motorcycles and RV's out on the road all heading west.

The other option is to delay the trip till a week after the rally.

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Originally Posted by tony32408

Do you think it would be a better option to cut the Black Hills trip shorter and spent an extra day in Cody instead?

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As I stated, I would strongly advise not going anywhere near the black hills in the first 3 weeks of August 2020.

If that means spending more time in Cody, great. If that means doing as someone else suggested, looking at Glacier instead, great. If that means putting this whole trip on hold for a while, great.

Thanks for the help all. Updates have been made and everything is good to go. Good point on booking Yellowstone reservations early. I was lucky and they had one opening at Grant Campground that fit our schedule.