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SLSAntigua
Pennsylvania
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Joined: 09/24/2006
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Planning on a family trip to Yellowstone, Jackson Hole, Grand Tetons with stops at MT Rushmore and Crazy Horse in Mid July due to school. Google maps estimates travel time of 1 day and 12 hours. Where should I expect to be approximately the first day. Any suggestions on which route to take? I 80 or I 90? Any rv campgounds should I look for in particular? Are we also looking at mountainous terrain, big hills etc as in white knuckle slopes?
Steve, DW, 2 DDs
2006 Starcraft Antigua 215SSO
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mfinnerty
Wentzville, Mo.
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How many miles per day do you plan on driving? We just made a similar trip and it was over 1300 miles from St. Louis. There was a time I could do 600+ miles in a very long day, but not any more. I woulld go out via I80 and return via I90.
Mike & Linda Finnerty with Buddy (GS-Lab mix)
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jocobe
Maryland
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We've made that trek a few times. Figure three long days out and three long days back. It it's windy, it'll take longer. We usually take off three weeks minimum. We also never go between Memorial Day and Labor Day, but I realize that is not possible for families with kids in the school system. So dealing with the masses of people, will definitely add some time to your agenda.
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kknowlton
Wisconsin Border Country, IL
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The masses of people aren't THAT bad, as Yellowstone is really big (RI + DE combined). Remember that you'll be doing a lot of driving when you're out there, as well as all the driving you'll do on the way. I would advise planning to spend 3 weeks total on the trip, in order to have more comfortable distances to drive each day and allow everyone - kids and parents - to unwind in the evening.
Plan to spend AT LEAST 4 full days in the Yellowstone/Grand Teton area, and make reservations ASAP. If you want to camp inside the park, remember there is only one CG (Fishing Bridge) which has any hookups at all, and FB is closed to soft-sided units (tents, popups, and hybrids) due to grizzly bear activity. There are lots of other park CGs, just no hookups, so be prepared to dry camp. An alternative is to camp outside the park, which will mean extra driving during the day to sightsee, but gives you more choice of CGs with hookups. Best bets are West Yellowstone (Grizzly RV Park or the KOA have the most to offer, but aren't the only ones available) or Gardiner (a couple parks there). A third option would be Colter Bay RV Park in the north end of Grand Teton NP. (These are listed in order of distance from the CG to the main areas of interest in Yellowstone.)
I agree that going one direction on I-80 and the other on I-90 is a good itinerary that gives you some variety of scenery and sightseeing stops along the way. I-90 is by far closer to Mt Rushmore than I-80 is. There are some pioneer-related sites not far from I-80, particularly in the areas around Grand Island & Kearney, Nebraska, if you've an interest.
Depends on what you mean by mountainous terrain. There's a pretty long climb from Rapid City up into the Black Hills, and depending on which way you enter Yellowstone, you might find some good climbs too. If you want to avoid white-knuckle stuff when towing, then avoid Beartooth Pass, the northeast entrance of Yellowstone (thru Red Lodge MT). Drive that road with just the TV instead (beautiful ride). Yellowstone itself is a big plateau so not much up & down there. Park roads are 2-lane and sections can be narrow and/or winding, but speed limit is 45 throughout the park. Be prepared for sudden stops due to wildlife, or to other vehicles who sighted the wildlife! It's all part of the experience. Since you're from PA, you won't find anything more daunting than some of the hills along I-80 or the Turnpike.  (Except Beartooth, that is.)
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Jim Shoe
Amelia, OH
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Pittsburg to the south gate of YNP is 1850 miles. Assuming an average speed of 50MPH including rest stops and/or meals and you are looking at 37 hours without sleep, via I-80. That includes paying tolls from Pittsburg to Wisconsin and driving thru Chicago.
Consider I-70 to KC, I-29 to Sioux Falls, I-90 thru the Black Hills and then on to Livingston,MT. Then 89 to the north entrance of YNP. That's about 2150 miles, but it avoids driving over the Beartooth range on either 14 or 16. If you've never driven on a road with a six mile downhill and runaway truck ramps, those routes are probably not a good first test of your skills. Get a copy of "Mountain Directory West" and make your own decision. I've done it, but the "beautiful scenery" just isn't worth the risk to me.
On the way home, take 26 and 20 South to Casper,Wy and pick up I-25 South to Denver, then I-70 East to home.
You're talking about probably 4 10 hour days out and the same on the way home with an extra day for Rushmore and Crazy Horse on the way out, which leaves you 7 days in YNP, assuming a 2 week vacation. Not enough, but there's never enough for YNP and the Tetons, IMHO.
Retired and visiting as much of this beautiful country as I can.
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RGar974417
Robesonia,Pa 19551
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Here's what I would do.Take I70 to I74 to I 80 to head to the grand Tetons. Break it down into 4 days. I would stay at KOA's along the way since there are alot of them right off the interstates and they have pools which is nice to take a dip after a long day of driving. The first day in the Tetons I would rest. Second day sightsee then head to Yellowstone the following day and spend 4 days staying in the park at campgrounds closest to whatever you want to see that day. That will mean mostly without hookups so if you don't have a generator,make sure you have 2 good fairly new deep cycle batteries. Make Fishing Bridge your last night stay where you will have FHU. Next day, head over to I90 which will take you into the Black Hills area. I would spend another 4 days there. I would suggest you stay at Custer State Park. Many of their campgrounds now have electric hookups. There is so much to see and do in the park. Take the Wildlife Loop and drive Iron Mountain rd. Stop at the visitor centers and watch the films about the park for some background.If you don't want to stay in Custer SP,then I would stay at Rafter J.It's a great campground but then you have to drive into the park.
Mount Rushmore should only take an hour or so. I didn't think much of the Crazy Horse Monument at the time we were there but that was over 10 years ago.Other side trips might be to Bear Country USA and the Cosmos if they are still open,or drive into Hill City and take a ride on the Train. Now you used up 2 weeks. I would take the last week to make a leisurly drive back home so you won't be dead tired when you get there.I would take I90,to I29 to I 80 to I74 back to I70. Avoid the Chicago area at all costs.It will be a great trip.
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RVMusician
Upstate NY
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We just did this from Corning, NY area. Went I80 out in 4 days.
South Bend, IN first day. WalMart overnight
Western Nebraska (forgot town) 2nd day. 50 miles from WY. Overnighted at Cabella's
Rock Springs, WY 3rd day. WalMart
Grant Village Campground for 10 nights.
I did get up and drive 200 miles from South Bend from midnight to 3 AM to get around Chicago with no traffic. Stayed in a Pilot parking lot the rest of the night. DW and I shared driving duties that day. 950 miles total on the 2nd day, including night driving. Didn't seem bad at all. We pre-made sandwiches in the morning, put them in fridge. Dodge Durango would go about 200 miles on a tank of gas. We'd stop when we needed gas, switch drivers, used a debit card at the pump and the TT as needed at the pump for bathroom, snacks, grab lunch, etc. We would never go in the store at all. We would not eat dinner until we stopped for the night. Allowed for constant driving at 60 mph.
More later.
* This post was
edited 10/19/09 09:00am by RVMusician *
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mecreature
Indianapolis, IN
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I am looking at this same trip but starting and ending in Indiana. I also have a boy in school and am thinking 2 weeks is all I can get off. I would love to have 4 days out and 4 days back but 3 days at 500 miles per day for me would be OK I think. Its a very full day but not too extreme. You will use up 4 easy, I would think 80 out and 90 back seems to be the best I can come up with. first 2 days in the Tetons then into the park seems to be what most suggest.
good luck... sounds fun.
98 Skyline Nomad 1950 Compact
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RVMusician
Upstate NY
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Continued from above (gotta do some kind of work for employer)
Grant Village was a good base for exploring Yellowstone as well as Grand Teton NP. Fishing Bridge has hookups but only for hard sided campers. Some say it's bears, but that's incorrect. It's from a strange belief that only hardsided campers need hookups, so they restrict the campground. Anyway, 200 or more miles a day sightseeing are very common here. It's a big area. We left Yellowstone by the West entrance and moved to Cody, WY. 2 nights there were nice. We left Cody and went to Devil's Tower (Close Encounters of the Third Kind). One night there. From there we drove through Mt. Rushmore just long enough for photos and on to Badlands NP. 3 nights. Gorgeous! Different from Yellowstone in many ways. I would not miss Badlands NP. We ovenighted in a Cracker Barrel parking lot in Baraboo, WI, then on to Toledo, OH. Visited some relatives. Spent 2 night in Cleveland and saw the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Total time out was 27 nights. You could do it in less. We took 80 out to get there as quickly as possible, then relaxed the rest of the trip. I90 has many wonderful sights along the way, worth taking your time coming home. At least, that was our thinking. Let me know if you want more details of any aspect of the trip.
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