Going out to Yellowstone in June. Have reservations for a week outside of west entrance. After there going to Cody out through East entrance then over to Devils Tower and then Mt. Rushmore for the 4th of July. Then going east on 90 to visit kids in Massachusetts.Best route out of Cody is supposedly Rte. 14 to 30 to 20 to 16 to 90.Anyone ever done this route and comments and suggestions appreciated.Seems the route through Yellowstone out to the East is fairly easy.We'll be in our 40' Itasca Meridian with our toad following faithfully.

Yellowstone is mostly a large Plateau. The east gate route takes you through the Shoshone River Valley. My favorite place to see moose. No that hard, but you to keep your eyes on the road.

That route takes you over the Bighorn Mountains. Doable, but steep in spots. If your plans include staying a day or two in Cody (Buffalo Bill Historical Center is AMAZING!), it's the best route. Whatever you do, do not take 14A to Burgess Junction. The Southern route you have planned , (over the Bighorns thru Ten Sleep and in to Buffalo) is the best route. If you don't intend to stop in Cody and are just looking for the best route from Yellowstone to the Black Hills, just leave West Yellowstone and go north on 191 to Bozeman and pick up I-90 there. It will be a few miles longer, but a couple of hours shorter, especially if you take 212 from Garryowen (site of Little Bighorn Battle) over to Belle Fourche, SD then down to Sturgis.

We were planning to stay in Cody for 2 days to see the sites there

I personally love going over the Bighorn Mtn on 14a but agree that for most people it is not a good idea. I don't mind the extreme nature of 14a. I have gone over it in both directions with a variety of vehicle combinations. I have also gone over on 16 and would highly recommend it to most people. You will still be doing some steep and twisted roads.

We took that route last September pulling 26' trailer. Loved it going that way.

Yellowstone Trip | Good Sam Community

WhitehouseLV
Explorer III
Feb 19, 2020
BarabooBob wrote:
I personally love going over the Bighorn Mtn on 14a but agree that for most people it is not a good idea. I don't mind the extreme nature of 14a. I have gone over it in both directions with a variety of vehicle combinations.

I have also gone over on 16 and would highly recommend it to most people. You will still be doing some steep and twisted roads.

I'd recommend going over the the Bighorn Mountains too. We probably have more moose than anywhere else in the lower 48. There are moose everywhere. A lot of times we will see hundreds of elk too!
ppine
Explorer II
Feb 19, 2020
Don't miss the Bighorns.
caver
Nomad
Feb 19, 2020
Leave early every morning for the parks west gate. I was exiting that area two years ago and traffic was crazy on the other side.
allen8106
Explorer
Feb 21, 2020
Did that route in the opposite direction with a 34 foot 5th wheel. No issues.
Grit_dog
Navigator
Feb 21, 2020
ppine wrote:
Don't miss the Bighorns.

As in, you don’t miss them, or they are not to miss?
olfarmer
Explorer II
Mar 06, 2020
BarabooBob wrote:
I personally love going over the Bighorn Mtn on 14a but agree that for most people it is not a good idea. I don't mind the extreme nature of 14a. I have gone over it in both directions with a variety of vehicle combinations.

I have also gone over on 16 and would highly recommend it to most people. You will still be doing some steep and twisted roads.

I agree, I used to love going over 14a and 16, and have done it in multiple rigs, unfortunately, our current rig doesn't like steep grades very good (trans gets hot). Also we are getting up in age (75) with a few health issues so I am afraid our days of travelling that route are over. The trip the original poster is going sounds like a lot of fun, have fun with it no matter what roads you take!
ppine
Explorer II
Mar 06, 2020
Go over the Bighorns.
JoeH
Explorer III
Mar 09, 2020
Ranger Smith wrote:
TechWriter wrote:
We stayed at the Yellowstone West Entrance last September. You'll love it.

Suggest you sign up for a Yellowstone tour and let someone else do the driving as it's a huge park.

Kool . . . Last time we were there was in 1998 and drove to Old Faithful on the Harley. It got really cold and we actually were in some snow flurries then.We did not need reservations then and stayed at Fishing Bridge Campground there.

We did the same on our Harley about the same time frame... 1998 or so. It was a spur of the moment trip from Sturgis after the rally. Stayed at Fishing Bridge too. Very cold mornings in nice afternoons. Been there a couple times since, but stayed at West Yellowstone. Leaving there we took 14 to 20 to 16-- stayed at Ten Sleep for a night and had a blast in town with some of the locals.

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