Sheridan, Wy to Yellowstone

Thanks everyone, this is great. And yes, I am absolutely going to Devil's Tower. I haven't been there since about 1980 and I can't wait to see it again.

Tim

Take 16. Fuel up in Buffalo. Not much between Buffalo and Worland.

16 is every bit as scenic as 14 but not quite as hard on your brakes. there are several NF campgrounds off 16. Ten Sleep has a little rv park on the west side of town and if you ask the owner he will tell you how to get to Hyattville and some pictographs along a canyon wall..pretty interesting. about 20 miles from Ten Sleep.

I've been over Hwy 14 and 16 dozens of times each -- maybe hundreds of times over 16. I recommend Hwy 16 out of Buffalo to those wanting an easier route. For scenic beauty, 14 and 16 are close. I think 14 (out of Ranchester/Dayton) is a little prettier going up and coming down, but 16 is prettier across the top. 14A (alternate) is very scenic but a little steep with sharper curves, and I'd not recommend it for towing a long 5er. I'm sure you could make it, but I'd not recommend it. Time-wise, there's not much difference in any of them. I once had a business partner from Greybull who alternately drove 14 and 16 to Gillette. He said one was 5 minute quicker, and I think that was Hwy 16.

The past couple summers Hwy 14 has had some detours and closings due to heavy rains washing out the road and causing rock slides. Nothing yet this year that I've heard.

More often than not, when I go to Cody (from Gillette) I take 16 to Worland, then head through Greybull to Cody. I take 14 now and then for a change of scenery.


If you'll be stopping at Devils Tower (the country's first national monument), there's a couple good campgrounds there. We prefer the one inside the park -- Belle Fourche Campground. It's got no hookups. If you want hookups, the KOA just outside the gate is nice too.

Buffalo has a few nice commercial campgrounds in town -- KOA, Indian Campground and Deer Park Campground. Or if you want something in the mountains, Tie Hack Campground is 12-14 miles out of Buffalo just off Hwy 16. It's one of the newer NFS campgrounds on the mountain and was designed for the bigger rigs. No hookups, just spacious campsites carved out of the pines with picnic tables, fire pits and the occasional deer or moose.

Those aren't real switchbacks on 14A, just a few curves with a 200ft radius. If you can keep your speed down to 25 mph on a 10% grade, you will be fine.

https://maps.google.com/?ll=44.799317,-107.961026&spn=0.003738,0.008487&t=h&z=17&layer=c&cbll=44.79937,-107.961126&panoid=zHYAX7n9TYJrC-0Br2HuiA&cbp=12,270.41,,0,4.89

https://maps.google.com/?ll=44.795472,-107.950019&spn=0.003769,0.008487&t=h&z=17&layer=c&cbll=44.795555,-107.949979&panoid=3aGHb9SIif335Ylgi84TwQ&cbp=12,26.1,,0,0

Old Hwy 14A is still visible in the Sat view to the north. It has tighter curves that qualify as switchbacks. It also is longer, so has a lower average grade. That is often the case, since old cars had lower power to weight ratios.

From what I have heard, avoid 14A (different than 14); some 10% or steeper grades as well as lots of switchbacks, etc. If you're confident with mountain driving, you may be just fine with either of the other 2 routes. We were not experienced at mountain driving and took what I now believe was 16 (this was many years ago) - practically burned out the brakes in our little MH on the descent (eastbound).

Just drove down 16. It was an easy drive in my rig. The trip thru 14 is prettier but more switchbacks. Not any harder to drive in my opinion. Others have issues with mountains so you know your setup. There were some really nice campgrounds in the lower mountains this trip on 16. Last trip I took 14 but it was two years ago and I was not looking for them then. Peter Ds in Sheridan and ten Broek in Tensleep are two good places to stay with full hookups. Loads of forest service campgrounds on the roads in.