Route Opinions Please

just an fyi ..NO trailer on the needles highway as there are small tunnels you drive thru And pay the 27 $ for Crazy horse ..the movie inside explains how the guy got it started ,interesting. And the gate money pays for the monument .

We were on I-90 in that area (from Sioux Falls to Billings). Overall traffic was light (such a relief from I-80), but be careful on that road, parts are smooth, but in SD, it got very rough in places. If it says DIP or ROUGH ROAD ahead, SLOW DOWN, they mean it. There was a dip/bump that just about launched my Goldwing into the sky. That's all I can help on.

We did a portion of this trip last summer and we had a great time.

After leaving Billings, stop in at the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. It is right off I-90 and worth a visit. We drove into Buffalo on I-90 before turning east for the Devil's Tower area. There is a GREAT steak house right by the freeway. The Winchester Steak House has great food, decent prices and is very casual. Right next door is a very nice KOA so it you can plan a stop this is a pretty good choice.

We were not taken by the scenery along I-90 into and past Gillette but as soon as you turn off on 14 at Bancroft it gets very pretty. There are some campgrounds in the Tower area but we stayed at the KOA right at the base of the mountain. We went in late September and worried about the cold nights.

You have a good route down to and into Custer State Park. You have to enter from the west so get to 16, follow that east to the town of Custer and then on into the park. This road will take you directly to your campground. I hope you are planning on a few days in the park. We stayed three nights and did a lot of driving around.

We followed 16A north and stopped in at Mt. Rushmore. Then we drove the Needles Highway that loops around the north part of the park and takes you through many tunnels with spectacular views all along the way. On the second day we drove the southern loop and saw a lot of wildlife from buffaloes to wild burrows, deer and lots of hawks.

On the way in you can stop along 385 and view the Crazy Horse Monument. There are some good vantage points along the highway to see and photograph the mountain without having to pay to enter.

After leaving the Rapid City area on I-90 we stopped in at Wall Drug just to say we had done it. From there we took the 240 highway into the Badlands. There is a decent visitor's center where it meets up with highway 44. We then headed south down to Texas but you would take the short drive north to meet up with I-90 again. We were glad to have made the loop and found the badlands quite interesting. Reading more about the area at the visitor's center was also helpful.

We were really taken by Custer State Park and the surrounding area. I hope you have good weather and plenty of time to see most everything. Mt. Rushmore was really something.

Best wishes for an enjoyable trip.