Trip out West

coolmom42 wrote:

stargate3805jc wrote:
We are looking to head from Lexington,Ky on I-64 to St.Louis stopping to check out the Arch. Good RV park for that area anyone can suggest? Then on to Topeka,Ks to visit friends. Maybe checkout Wichita and Dodge City while still in Ks.Would we see more by taking I-70 to DENVER.I-25 to Buffalo then I-90 across to Mt. Rushmore and Devils Tower. We have also looked at taking I-29 out of Kansas City to Sioux Fallsand then taking I-90 across to Rapid City SD.

I much prefer the I-29 out of KC route. It avoids eastern Colorado & western Kansas, which are very empty, and not in a good way. :D It also avoids the substantial tolls around Denver on the quarter-circle from I-70 to I-25. ($26 for a truck & trailer.)

Take time to stop at the Loess Hills area in Iowa. Very interesting and pretty.

If you want to visit your friends west of KC, take one route out and the other route back.

^^^^^This

Unless you have a burning desire to see Denver, pay excessive tolls for a very short drive, and be in bumper-to-bumper traffic from Denver north to the Fort Collins area (finally breaking out of it near Wellington), then follow the above suggestion. There is much to see and do in Colorado, but from your OP, it appears that this is not the trip to see Colorado and you want to get to the Black Hills area. It's also way out of your way to go the route to Denver and then north, if your destination is the Black Hills.

Missouri has some nice state parks.We have stayed at St Francois but that's about 50 miles south of St Louis.Babbler SP is closer but west of SL. When you go to Rushmore,I would recommend staying in Custer State park.There's alot to see and they have electric hookups.Do the Wildliefe Loop and drive Iron Mountain Highway.And check out the visitor centers. There's also Rafter J which is a very nice private campground near Hill City. We enjoyed going to Bear Country USA,The Cosmos,Wall Drug and the Badlands.

If you aren't in a big hurry, I strongly suggest you get off the interstate and travel the back roads. Their backroads out there are usually very nice to travel down. That way you get to see all the farms and little towns along the way. A lot of the towns will have places you can park for the night, sometimes even with hookups. If you don't see a place posted, just ask one of the locals or sheriff and they can advise.

Some of the nicest parks and interesting things we found while traveling the back roads.

If you do I-29 to Sioux Falls then on the way to Rapid City you can take the trip thru the Bad Lands and end up at Wall Drug. Interesting place to say the least. The Corn Palace in Mitchell is on the way too. Gotta take in the Crazy Horse Monument, great museum and live presentations and its just a few miles up the road from Rushmore. Devils Tower is very cool and has a KOA at its entrance. Deadwood is a doable stop on the way to the tower.

msmith1199 wrote:
I thought you said this was about a trip out West. All that stuff is back East! :)

:B

I thought you said this was about a trip out West. All that stuff is back East! :)

Casino Queen is close to the arch but if you have kids I would suggest the new rv park in st peters or babler state park in wildwood a bit of drive 20 min but it is hassle free to St Louis. Be aware there is a lot of construction going on I would park at the 6th street parking garage (I least I think that's what its called non the less you can t miss it Its white in color) and walk the Short blocks to the arch Enjoy our city there is a ton of things to do for families

stargate3805jc wrote:
We are looking to head from Lexington,Ky on I-64 to St.Louis stopping to check out the Arch. Good RV park for that area anyone can suggest? Then on to Topeka,Ks to visit friends. Maybe checkout Wichita and Dodge City while still in Ks.Would we see more by taking I-70 to DENVER.I-25 to Buffalo then I-90 across to Mt. Rushmore and Devils Tower. We have also looked at taking I-29 out of Kansas City to Sioux Fallsand then taking I-90 across to Rapid City SD.

I much prefer the I-29 out of KC route. It avoids eastern Colorado & western Kansas, which are very empty, and not in a good way. :D It also avoids the substantial tolls around Denver on the quarter-circle from I-70 to I-25. ($26 for a truck & trailer.)

Take time to stop at the Loess Hills area in Iowa. Very interesting and pretty.

If you want to visit your friends west of KC, take one route out and the other route back.