We have a question about the number of days for Yellowstone, Grand Teton, & Mount Rushmore.We've read a lot of posts on this forum but not anything addressing this specifically.Here's our rough plan in our class C for late June into early July: - Drive from Cincinnati to Yellowstone - 3 days - Stay at Fishing Bridge, see Yellowstone - ??? days - Drive from Yellowstone to Grand Teton - half day - Stay at Colter Bay Campground, see Grand Teton - ??? days - Drive from Grand Teton to Mount Rushmore - 1 day - Not sure where to stay but see Mount Rushmore - 1 day - Drive from Mount Rushmore to Cincinnati - 3 daysWe have 7 days to split up between Yellowstone & Grand Teton. We know we need to leave as many days as possible for Yellowstone. How many days should we allocate to Grand Teton? We would then put all the remaining days to Yellowstone.The Fishing Bridge & Colter Bay websites show availability but we know we need to book quickly.Thanks!

We are full time so our schedule and interests could be slightly different. When we visited Yosemite, Yellowstone, and Grand Tetons last summer we made reservations for all campgrounds 3 or 4 months in advance.We only spent about 2 days in each of the aforementioned locations.

We have visited Mount Rushmore several times and stay at Custer State Park. The park is worth seeing. They have a wildlife driving loop that we always see interesting wildlife. I believe the CG we stay in only had electric hookups so you have to fill you water tank for the stay.

OP Here -Good point. We are a dad, mom, 14 year old girl, & 11 year old boy.Did you think 2 days was enough at Grand Teton? Or were there major attractions that you missed?Ideally we are trying to spend as little time as needed in Grand Teton as we've only read that you need as much time as possible in Yellowstone.

OP, thank for posting number of people. From your posts it does not look like you will be pulling a car. In the peak season at Ystone you are going to have trouble finding parking at many of the pullouts/sites with a 31' MH. Most of the side roads will not allow you on them except in a car or PU.You have posted that you are a FHU person BUT I would suggest staying at Baker's Hole USFS CG just north of West Yellowstone and renting a car to see the north side of the park. $21/day with electric will help pay for some of the car rental. If you are into long hikes each day then having a car is not as important.You can park your rig at Old Faithful without problems and then I would proceed on to Grant CG for one night. Not as many pullouts or side roads on the south side so doing it in the MH will be easier. I would give the north side three full days and then south side one day. That will put you in the Tetons before noon giving you 2 1/2 days there if I read your timeline correctly. Seeing the Tetons and the town of Jackson will be OK in just the MH. 26/287 is a good road out of the Tetons and it's 500 miles to Rushmore.I'll assume there is no way to make this a longer trip so if you can do 500 miles in one day then I'd do the 1200 miles from Rushmore home in two days giving you another day in Yellowstone/Tetons.I would probably go to the Tetons first as getting there will be a better route. Granted it will be a little further from West Yellowstone to Rushmore (550 miles) but on better roads.Are you sure you cannot get more time for this trip? Hope this helps.

We are booked for a 2 week Yellowstone / Grand Teton adventure this July, starting in Central IL near Peoria. Here is our schedule:2 days to Grand Tetons2 days, 3 nite stay at Coulter Bay RV village4 days, 5 nite stay at Fishing Bridge Yellowstone1 day, 2 nite stay at Ponderosa campground, Cody, WY1 day, 2 nite stay at Devils Tower, WYSioux Falls KOA on way homeI had several trip outlines planned, including adding Mt. Rushmore & area. We've been to the Black Hills before and it is beautiful. However, since we were limited to 2 weeks, we skipped it on this trip, though we will "pass thru" after Devils Tower on way home. We wish we had more time for yellowstone, but by going to Cody, then Devils Tower, we ease our way back east on the way home. We know we will be back !!!!!

Yellowstone / Grand Teton / Mount Rushmore - Number Of Days?

hitchup
Explorer
Jan 23, 2015
Thank you RatRaceRetirees, I was beginning to get bummed out.

We have a 5-wk starting June 1st trip panned from ? to Mt Rushmore and onto Oregon and back to ?.

I tried to fit Yellowstone and BigHorn, MT into it, but decided to drop those two in favor of heading south to I-80 instead of continuing on I-90.

I went to Yellowstone when I was 6, so figured it needed more time than we had from everything I've been reading. Will save it for when we hit Grand Tetons and Glacier and maybe go into Canada to Banff.
RatRaceRetirees
Explorer
Jan 23, 2015
I haven't made it to Yellowstone or the Tetons but have had several friends make that trip. Yellowstone is a big draw for them but the Tetons, not so much. A day or two in the Tetons were about right for all of them. Spend more time in Yellowstone was the advice I received.

I have, however, been to Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills several times. You can do Mount Rushmore in a day but you'll want to take a car IMO. I think you'll want to come back on a second trip because there is so much to see and do in that area. It's not just Rushmore. It's caving, the alpine slide, Custer State Park, Crazy Horse, the Black Hills and so much more. If you have time, definitely stop by the Badlands. You'll really want a day to spend there if you decide to stop. Just beautiful.

Just my two cents' worth. I hope y'all enjoy your trip!
katleman
Explorer
Jan 22, 2015
TOMMY47 wrote:
There is a federal campground a couple of miles away called Horse Thief Lake. Right on the main road to Rushmore. No hookups but nice sites and convenient location.
+1
Really enjoyed our over night there in 2006, on our way to Omaha. Would not hesitate to stay there again.
bukhrn
Explorer III
Jan 22, 2015
Devils tower can be done in 4 hours, maybe a little longer if you hike up from the CG, Mt Rushmore it's self can also be done in 4 hours, however the rest of the area is a minimum of 2 days, if you only have 7 days between Yellowstone & Tetons, I would do 2 at the Tetons the rest at Yellowstone, in actuality neither is sufficient.
We did 10 days in Yellowstone, wish we did 14, This year we will do 3 at the Tetons.
Some folks say you can do Yellowstone in 2 days, perhaps if you just give it the old Chevy Chase head bob, but trust me, if you go through Yellowstone that fast, that's just what you are doing, just "going through" you're not seeing much.
TOMMY47
Explorer
Jan 21, 2015
I wouldn't waste time going to Craters of the Moon if your total time is limited. It was the lowlight of a 15 week trip.
Devils Tower was great and I might return this year. Camping was cheap there. I really liked Rushmore. There is a federal campground a couple of miles away called Horse Thief Lake. Right on the main road to Rushmore. No hookups but nice sites and convenient location. $11 night for senior pass.
I liked the Southern campground in the Tetons better than the Northern one. It's near Jackson Hole.
jeff14
Explorer
Jan 20, 2015
We stayed at buffalo Bill state park just outside of Cody WY. It is no the banks of the Yellowstone river. Very nice state park on the road that leads to the East entrance. We stayed there a week as we visited both Yellowstone and Grand Teton.

AS for Mt. Rushmore we camped at Custer Gulch in Custer SD. the spots are very large and it is just outside of Custer State park. Its also within 20 minutes from MT. Rushmore and Crazy horse. WE camped here for a week also.
Mushroom
Explorer
Jan 19, 2015
We are planning/have booked a trip to Yellowstone for summer 2015. We have 2 weeks to do the run and 2 of those days will be eaten up by a family visit.
From central Indiana we are planning 4 days driving to get to the area. We will only have 3 days in park, fam visit, and then trek home.
I'm in a wheelchair so that pretty much deletes hiking limiting me to motorized touring. *sigh* I will get to put my spouse on a horse for a few hours though.
I will be able to wheel around the paint pots and whatnot but it looks like the highlight of my trip will be the American Computer & Robotics Museum in Bozeman :) sometimes it pays to be a geek!
Uncle_Grumpy
Explorer
Jan 19, 2015
Craters of the moon is a bunch of rock that looks like the inside of your oven. The Bighorns are not a plateau. Cloud peak is over 13,00 ft. Lot's of good trout fishing there. Two nights at devils tower is way too much. They do have a great golf course there but very little in services. Hulett is only pop 400. The museum in Cody is not only about Winchester guns. There are 4 wings. Natural history and a wing of native american culture. It is a #1 destination for anyone near the park. And a wing of western art that is top notch. Yellowstone to me is not that desirable. Yes it is unique and home to a lot of wildlife. Many of them are now so used to humans that they cause traffic jams. I enjoy the other wild places that Wyoming has to offer. You need to go there once for sure...
linnemj
Explorer
Jan 19, 2015
Lauren wrote:
Once you spend 10 minutes looking at lava fields you will realize they all look the same. And you will see lava rock in fields alongside many roads in the west.

We love National Parks and visited Craters Of The Moon a few years back. We spent 1/2 day there and it was plenty for us. We loved the Sawtooth Mountains near Stanley, ID - lots of nice campgrounds and great hiking!
Lauren
Explorer
Jan 16, 2015
Once you spend 10 minutes looking at lava fields you will realize they all look the same. And you will see lava rock in fields alongside many roads in the west.