SEA-Yellowstone-Deadwood-DN-SLC

[Utahtea]

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

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

[Midwest Michael]

Would I need to make it three days? Should I still stop at that Missoula? Any other thoughts on stops?
.

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.

[tony32408]

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.

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

[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.

[tony32408]

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.

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.

[tony32408]

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.

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.

[glc]

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.

[Midwest Michael]

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.

[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.

[glc]

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.