LA to Mt. Rushmore

[anneandenrique]

We're traveling next July and August (3 weeks) from just north of Los Angeles to Mt. Rushmore. What should we see on the way? How long should we stay at Mt. Rushmore area? What route should we take to get there and back so that we can see the most possible? We like western stuff, fishing, nature hikes, small museums (not art museums).

[DonnaR57]

With three weeks, you could do a loop trip and see a lot in the process. Get a good USA map, look to see what's on the way there/back that would interest you. Museums are everywhere, and if you stop in National parks, you can have nature hikes and "western stuff" galore. Fishing will depend on your ability to pick up fishing licenses in the proper areas, of course.

In the Mount Rushmore area is Wind Cave National Park, Custer State Park ("western stuff"), and more. There are many other national parks that could be captured in a loop trip, if that appeals to you.


Donna

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !

The beauty of the road trip is having the freedom to plan your trip at your pace, based on your interests. In other words don't let us or others tell you where to go or how to spend your time.

Once you have done some research and got some dots on the map we will be only to pleased to make suggestions, offer alternatives and answer any specific questions you have to help 'Fine Tune' your trip.

With so many options [thousands] open to you, you will have to decide at what pace you are happy to travel at and what you really want to see. A loop makes the most sense so you get to drive through different areas. I15 could be a 'corridor' North with the possibility of visiting parts of Southern Utah [Zion NP as an example] and coming back through Colorado and Arizona, for example, RMNP, Mesa Verde [or maybe Moab and Arches NP] Monument Valley and Grand canyon. Such a route would be 5-6 days of dedicated driving.

On another note, Yellowstone and the Tetons wouldn't be out of the question.

Once you have some stuff figured out based on your goals and interests, let us know !