I am in the early stages of planning a trip from Cleveland OH out west leaving Oh 8-17 to: Glacier(GNP), Little Big Horn(LBH), Mount Rushmore(MtR), Yellowstone / Grand Teton(YGT),Rocky Mountain(RNP), in that order.My plan is: GNP-4 days,LBH-4 days, MtR-6 days, YGT-6 days, RNP-4 daysI would appreciate any and all advice and suggestions about any issues those of you who have been to these parks and maybe visited several of them in one trip can offer. My rig is a 2500 Silverado towing a 30 ft TT. We are not boon dockers and plan on staying in sites that have a minimum of water and electric. Just the wife and I, no dogs -no kids. Are there any better routes than others?

Little Bighorn the Custer site? That deserves 4 hours at most not 4 days. Rushmore is a few hours also, tho there are other things to do in the area: Custer State Park, two National Park Caves, Badlands NP. The big parks YNP, GNP and RMNP can take as much time as you have to devote to them and you'll still only have scratched the surface. That assumes you are the types to get out of your vehicle and hike/bike around the trails.You might want to add a stop at Devils Tower which is near the Black Hills/Rushmore area.

Great advice agesilaus. As for places to stay - GNP - Mountain Meadows or any of the KOA's, West or East. We stayed a few days at North American RV park because they are a Passport America park and it saved us some money. Stop at all the sites within the park and of course, do the Going to the Sun road and the hike from Logan Pass Visitor Center. If you can, continue on returning through Hwy 2 around the park and stop at Goat Lick. I agree on LBH - we purchased an audio tour in advance and drove through while listening to it. We stayed over at a KOA near there, took the tour in less than a few hours, then left the next morning. For Mt. Rushmore - We stayed at Mt. Rushmore KOA when we visited. At that time it was beautifully wooded. We also visited Jewell Cave, Rushmore Cave, and drove the Needles hwy. There is a cave to drive through and we had a 99 F250 SRW and we fit with the mirrors in. Definitely visit Devil's Tower and take the hike around it. There is also a KOA there. For Yellowstone and GTNP - Colter Bay RV is a nice option. It's between Jackson and YNP off the Rockefeller Highway. In GTNP - Visit Menoir's Ferry, Mormon Row, Drive the Scenic Loop, go to the top of Signal Mt, visit the visitor's center in Moose, and Chapel of the Transfiguration. For Yellowstone, there's a lot to do there. If you need hookups in the park - go to Fishing Bridge. If you want to stay outside the park, there still Colter Bay or stay in West Yellowstone - Grizzly RV is nice. We prefer Baker's Hold FSCG. Most of the sites have electricity and you can fill up water at the entrance. It's 2 miles north of West Yellowstone. There's a KOA in West Yellowstone but it's about 5 miles West. If you enter Yellowstone from the East, from Cody. There are nice RV parks in Cody along with a KOA. Visit the Buffalo Bill Cody Museum. Well worth the stop. That's a full day's visit or two. Between Cody and the East Entrance is Buffalo Bill Cody state park and some sites have electricity and water. They take reservations too. If you plan to stay in Cody, take the Chief Joseph scenic byway. Then while in Yellowstone take the Bear Tooth highway tour, both with your TT back at camp. I'm sure I'm missing a lot, but that's all I can think of right now.

I agree with ageless. We found the Little Big Horn Monument very interesting, but it was only an half day visit at the most. Same with Mount Rushmore but we were impressed with the after dark ceremony. The KOA in West Glacier was outstanding. But be careful of your route. Your rig is probably too long to go over the Going to the Sun Road.Fishing Bridge and Colter Bay RV Campground in Yellowstone and Tetons are great but make your reservations now.

Don't know what route you are considering but the sequence of parks you listed means a lot of extra miles due to backtracking.My thoughts - Head west on I80 to I29 to I90 and start with the Black Hills (as already mentioned, more in the area than just Mt. Rushmore), then continue on I90 to the Little Bighorn Battlefield then on to Glacier NP. The west side of Glacier will probably be better for you as there are more RV Parks on the side. To get there, take I90 to Missoula then route 93 north. From Glacier back south on 93 to I90 east to Belgrade then route 191 to West Yellowstone. A number of good RV Parks in and near to West Yellowstone with Grizzly RV our favorite. Fishing Bridge is the only RV park with hookups inside Yellowstone, if you can get a reservation there. Leave Yellowstone via the South entrance to Grand Teton NP. Colter Bay RV is the only place inside the Park with full hookups. From Grand Teton take route 191 south through Jackson to Rock Springs then i80 east to either route 287 or I25 south to Rocky Mountain NP.Agree with others that Little Bighorn is a few hours visit. I would put more days to Yellowstone and Grand Teton. I don't think that the Black Hills are worth 6 days but others will likely disagree.

There are no sites in GNP with hookups. You will need to stay at a commercial park.

Need Advice - Suggestions for Glacier, Mt Rushmore etc

23 Replies

Two_Hands
Explorer
Mar 03, 2017
I agree with ageless. We found the Little Big Horn Monument very interesting, but it was only an half day visit at the most. Same with Mount Rushmore but we were impressed with the after dark ceremony. The KOA in West Glacier was outstanding. But be careful of your route. Your rig is probably too long to go over the Going to the Sun Road.

Fishing Bridge and Colter Bay RV Campground in Yellowstone and Tetons are great but make your reservations now.
ReneeG
Explorer
Mar 03, 2017
Great advice agesilaus. As for places to stay - GNP - Mountain Meadows or any of the KOA's, West or East. We stayed a few days at North American RV park because they are a Passport America park and it saved us some money. Stop at all the sites within the park and of course, do the Going to the Sun road and the hike from Logan Pass Visitor Center. If you can, continue on returning through Hwy 2 around the park and stop at Goat Lick.

I agree on LBH - we purchased an audio tour in advance and drove through while listening to it. We stayed over at a KOA near there, took the tour in less than a few hours, then left the next morning.

For Mt. Rushmore - We stayed at Mt. Rushmore KOA when we visited. At that time it was beautifully wooded. We also visited Jewell Cave, Rushmore Cave, and drove the Needles hwy. There is a cave to drive through and we had a 99 F250 SRW and we fit with the mirrors in.

Definitely visit Devil's Tower and take the hike around it. There is also a KOA there.

For Yellowstone and GTNP - Colter Bay RV is a nice option. It's between Jackson and YNP off the Rockefeller Highway. In GTNP - Visit Menoir's Ferry, Mormon Row, Drive the Scenic Loop, go to the top of Signal Mt, visit the visitor's center in Moose, and Chapel of the Transfiguration.

For Yellowstone, there's a lot to do there. If you need hookups in the park - go to Fishing Bridge. If you want to stay outside the park, there still Colter Bay or stay in West Yellowstone - Grizzly RV is nice. We prefer Baker's Hold FSCG. Most of the sites have electricity and you can fill up water at the entrance. It's 2 miles north of West Yellowstone. There's a KOA in West Yellowstone but it's about 5 miles West.

If you enter Yellowstone from the East, from Cody. There are nice RV parks in Cody along with a KOA. Visit the Buffalo Bill Cody Museum. Well worth the stop. That's a full day's visit or two. Between Cody and the East Entrance is Buffalo Bill Cody state park and some sites have electricity and water. They take reservations too. If you plan to stay in Cody, take the Chief Joseph scenic byway. Then while in Yellowstone take the Bear Tooth highway tour, both with your TT back at camp. I'm sure I'm missing a lot, but that's all I can think of right now.
agesilaus
Explorer III
Mar 03, 2017
Little Bighorn the Custer site? That deserves 4 hours at most not 4 days. Rushmore is a few hours also, tho there are other things to do in the area: Custer State Park, two National Park Caves, Badlands NP.

The big parks YNP, GNP and RMNP can take as much time as you have to devote to them and you'll still only have scratched the surface. That assumes you are the types to get out of your vehicle and hike/bike around the trails.

You might want to add a stop at Devils Tower which is near the Black Hills/Rushmore area.

Forum Discussion

Need Advice - Suggestions for Glacier, Mt Rushmore etc

23 Replies

About Bucket List Trips

Related Content

East Glacier RV Parks

Mount Rushmore to Glacier NP

Glacier National Park and Mount Rushmore campgrounds

Mount Rushmore to Glacier

Mt. Rushmore & Badlands-Must-See Suggestions