Trip Report: NY to the Grand Canyon, UT, Redwoods, Badlands

rexlion wrote:
I would like to get over that way myself this summer. Was looking at hwy 20 on the map just this evening, now I read your post! Great minds think alike. ;)

To me, Craters of the Moon is only worth about 2 hours. It's a vast, desolate wasteland of rough lava. But YMMV, of course.

Wow!!! I can't thank you all enough for ideas and information! I almost don't where to start. :)

rexlion - too funny. Craters of the Moon is probably worth only 2 hours, but my rule of thumb once I get out west is that my shortest stay anywhere is two nights. This will let me drive for a day, rest and sight see for a day and then move on to the next adventure!

From Jackson you are only an easy drive to Yellowstone. Tetons are beautiful, a raft trip on the Snake is a hoot the kids will remember for life, but Yellowstone is among the best of the best. If I could only take my kids to one NP in the country it would be Yellowstone. As for Redwooods NP, I loved it. There is a very nice campground right on the Klamath River just north of the park where we stayed. The mouth of the river meets the pacific right there. The hike from the visitor center to Gold Beach goes right thru the heart of the giant trees, shady all the way but a fairly long hike if kids are small. I pulled a big 5th wheeler on 229 to Redding. The scenery is great and my truck had a 4.10 rear too so you should not have a problem. You will hit bigger grades elsewhere in your trip. I liked both the Custer Battlefield and Devils Tower, nice KOA right there (have the kids seen the movie ET?) better than Mt Rushmore which is a total tourist trap. And The Badlands are well worth a visit. But you really should see Yellowstone. In two days you can see the main attractions, Old Faithfull, Yellowstone Falls and canyon, Hot Springs, etc. They all have easy access from parking areas. I have done back country hiking in the park, but most people never leave the park loop road, and with small kids you really shouldn't. The next time out there try to make it to Glacier NP. That's my alltime fav. When the kids are all a little older the hiking trails on the east side (St Mary's, Many Glacier) and the "Going to the Sun Road" are breath taking.

1+ on Rushmore Cave. The Zip Line car ride billboard is what got the son's attention. :)

Badlands was SO impressive. We did the board walks at midnight under full moon since we arrived at 10 PM then we did them the next morning on way to Mt. Rushmore where we ate lunch before going on cave tour then driving over to Cody to a WM.

One thing that I did not realize before getting to the Badlands is how easy it is to drive through NP's and NF's on the way to the next key stop. We took mainly 2 lane roads to YS from Rushmore letting us experience NP's and NF's that we would have missed doing the same by interstate.

In the west taking the interstate can make for a much longer trip plus many of the two lane roads have the same speed limits and NO traffic plus you get to see and do things that would otherwise be missed.

Crazy Horse is not the best of the Black Hills for kids IMO. My kids favorites in the Keystone area were the cave tour at Rushmore Cave, the alpine slide both of which are near Mt. Rushmore. If you'll be a bit south of there in Hot Springs, the Mammoth Site is excellent for the family.

Badlands NP is two hours from Mt. Rushmore. It's stark and beautiful with scenic short hikes. A drive through takes about 90 minutes. However, the NP campground would be a good place to overnight and take in a ranger-led night sky program with the kiddos.

For family-oriented prairie pioneer history, DeSmet, SD is well worth leaving the interstate. If you are acquainted with the "Little House on the Prairie" TV show, it's based on books that Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote about her childhood. Five of the books are about her life in DeSmet. The Laura Ingalls Wilder home tours are led by good story-tellers. You'll find lots of hands-on activities and a campground at the Ingalls Homestead

Depending on your family's interests and time, you may have to make choices for this part of your trip.

Albiecrazy we went to the Pacific but first at San Francisco because we wanted to cross the bridge and that night did sleep near the beach on the far side of the bridge (old army base). Your plan sounds fine to me.

We left from KY then hit IL, MO, KS, NE, SD (Badlands which took 32 hours from KY counting one night at WM in NE), Rushmore and near by NP's) then WY (Yellowstone (takes two days by bus tour to cover the major features) and did a sunset drive-by of Grand Tetons) and continued down 89 and slept at mountain top rest area over looking Bear Lake.

That took the kids breath then they went horse back riding at a place we learned about at the rest stop near by. That evening we swam in the Great Salt Lake and learned I had cousins 200 miles west on I-80 in Elco NV and that leg took us out on the Salt Flats. From Elco we crossed the bay bridge AFTER seeing Lake Tahoe. After kids swam early the next morning in the 'cool' Pacific we went to Yosemite then on to Kings/Sequoia Canyons to the General Sherman then we drove to Carlsbad CA for LegoLand and kids learned to surf for 14th birthday.

Then we did a Las Vegas drive-by at 11 PM at about 15 MPH for miles (finally road construction delays that was a blessing giving me time to point out the high points and we slept in a parking lot between LV and Hoover Dam which we drove across the next day before we did the Sky Walk over the GC then spent the evening in Williams AZ. After the train to GC and back and next day got to Monument Valley the then drove on to Four Corners, Ship Rock and stayed in Farmington NM. After Los Alamos we went to Roswell then Carlsbad Caverns NM before doing TX and heading home. Finished up in Dallas at 7 PM after 140 foot free fall and pulled in driveway at home at 7 AM. The kids and mom were happy to see each other on day 31 of our 8000 trip.

That was one wild trip and I returned in MUCH better physical/mental health.

No I am not saying anyone should do what we did. It just worked great for us and anyone interested can plot it on a map if they want to see what roads to take. As a REAL warning do not drive south out of Kings Canyon by way of Sequoia NP if you are over 22 foot. It CAN be done in a longer MH/TT but you WILL be on the other side of the road in the hellish switch backs.

We got our cross country MH trip in but ONLY by just taking off late on a Friday afternoon three days late with not one plan as to when and where we were going to sleep or or be on any day. With no toad to keep up with we routed on the fly because 100% of our stuff was in the MH at all times. It is amazing what you can see on short cuts. :B

I absolutely love the Tetons - but I'm not between the ages of 5 and 12. The Tetons are known for their beauty. Yellowstone is known for its moving parts. Lots more things for your kids to see, like geysers, bubbling mud pots, the Yellowstone river and the upper and lower falls. And a lot more wildlife. Save the Tetons for the second trip when your kids can enjoy it. You can't even do Yellowstone in 5 days, but it will whet your appetite for a return trip.
In the Black Hills area, the Badlands is a drive thru, but you can spend some time in Custer State Park driving the wildlife loop, driving the needles highway, and feeding carrots to the herds of wild burros, and check out Mt. Rushmore as well as Crazy Horse.
You'll all want to go back in a few years. So much to see and do.

I would like to get over that way myself this summer. Was looking at hwy 20 on the map just this evening, now I read your post! Great minds think alike. ;)

To me, Craters of the Moon is only worth about 2 hours. It's a vast, desolate wasteland of rough lava. But YMMV, of course.

We will be towing to all locations with no plans of overnights in hotels. Lots of day trips, though.

I have been re-thinking Yellowstone. But I think we may enjoy the Grand Tetons on this trip and then come back for Yellowstone when we can really explore.

It's funny you mentioned Kings Canyon - I know that General Sherman is in the area, but there were two reasons for me to head up north. I wanted to get along the coast and see the Pacific (we will literally drive from the Atlantic to the Pacific) and it just seems like the Redwoods are such a vast place. Also, I wanted to see Lake Tahoe and the route just got off track if I head to Kings. Next trip. ;)

Do you plan to tow to all locations or park the trailer and do day/overnight trips using hotels some?

No Yellowstone plans while you are on location?

That is a big loop but can be done with easy in 45 days. We did Kings Canyon to see the Red Woods vs the drive up to Redwood NP since we only wanted to see the big suckers and did not care where they were growing. :)