Wisconsin to Yellowstone and back in 7 days?

[jfogarty]

Hello!!!

Road trip newbie here! My husband and I are considering a trip from Wisconsin to Yellowstone and back this summer. We will have only 7 days to complete the trip. Should we even attempt it? Thanks in advance for the words of wisdom!

[Mass Tim]

Welcome to the RoadTrip America Forum!

It depends somewhat from where in Wisconsin you will be starting from, as it can be 2 or 3 days of travel each way. Two days isn't bad since that would give you 3 days to spend exploring the park. You would have to stick to the straight route, however, so you wouldn't have much time to explore during the journey out or back.

[jfogarty]

Thanks for the reply. We are in the Northeast portion of Wisconsin. It takes about 4 1/2 - 5 hours to get to Minneapolis.

What would be considered the "straight route"?

Thanks!!

[AZBuck]

From Green Bay to Yellowstone, there are two nearly equal 'straight routes', I-90 through southern Minnesota and South Dakota, and I-94 through central Minnesota and North Dakota. There is only a few miles difference between taking those two routes, so it's a perfect excuse to take one out and the other back. However, at over 1300 miles this is not a two day drive. If you want to stop at some of the sights between you and Yellowstone, it would be closer to three. Still, You would have a little more than a full day at Yellowstone as the highlight of your trip. I guess the thing I'm suggesting is that you slow down a bit on the drive and have as much fun as you can on that, the major portion of your trip time-wise, rather than just rush through it to have a few more hours at one (thoroughly amazing) place.

AZBuck

[jfogarty]

Thank You!!! I thought that we may have to make it a 10-day trip. Sounds like that may be the way to go to avoid crabby spouses!!! Thank you everyone for your advice!

[Kestrel]

A few hints for Yellowstone.

Get up early and stay up late. Visit the popular attractions before 10 AM or after dinner and you will avoid some of the mob scene.

During the middle of the day, take a hike. Most visitors to our National Parks don't make it more than 300 yards from the car.

Most people know about Old Faithful, but other spectacular geysers nearby such as Beehive that have predictable eruption times.

The ranger station near Old Faithful posts predictions for these geysers. I have even gone out at night and watched eruptions by moonlight.

[glc]

10 days would be ideal - 3 days each way and 3 days in the park, with 1 day for contingencies.

[Mass Tim]

Thank You!!! I thought that we may have to make it a 10-day trip. Sounds like that may be the way to go to avoid crabby spouses!!! Thank you everyone for your advice!

The extra three days will serve you well. No need to feel rushed at all. Even if you have to drop back to nine days, you'll still be far better off than with only seven.

Kestrel is right about taking a hike. We visited during the July 4th week, and there were but a few brave souls taking to the woods to visit nature. We found our own little geyser and a tucked away waterfall.

[jfogarty]

I know this is probably a very vague question but my husband and I just not scheduled travelers. We'd rather wing it and relax. That being said is lodging available along the way from Wisconsin to Yellowstone without a reservation, or is that a bad idea? Thanks!

[glc]

You should not have a problem finding walk-in hotel rooms at Interstate exits and in towns along secondary highways unless there is a special event going on in the area or it's high season in a popular tourist area. I very seldom make reservations when I travel and I rarely have problems finding a place to stay. I might have to pay a bit more than I want but that doesn't really bother me much. The earlier you come in off the road, the better the selection will be. What you might want to do is visit hotels in several chains before you go and pick up directories. That way you can call in when you have an idea about where you want to stop each day and find out if there are rooms available and inquire about rates. I have a Motel 6, Super 8, and Best Western directory in my truck.