Planning a Trip to South Dakota & Wyoming

[NJ6PACK]

I am in the early stages of planning a trip to South Dakota and then head into Wyoming from New Jersey.

Things I want to see:

- Mount Rushmore

- The Black Hills

- Custer State Park (I keep hearing it's a must see)

- I want to ride parts of the George S.Mickelson Trail in South Dakota

- Devils tower

Is there anything else worth seeing?

I was looking to take 2 weeks off but will do 3 if needed (Thinking of July), I have to consider the ride from New Jersey and back..... having said that is there anything else along the way in other states worth seeing to break things up?

If anyone else has done this this please give me some advice on time and things to do and see or anything else I need to know....Thanks

[TexasShadow]

re Black Hills in July... will be busy but not nearly as busy as the second week of august when the big Sturgis motorcycle rally happens.
If you want to stay inside Custer State Park (recommended) make your reservations as soon as you can because it is a very popular park. you can do day trips from there to see everything else, including Devil's Tower.
As for Yellowstone and Tetons, I advise saving them for another trip because they are worth it and will take almost a week for each of them.

[dodge_guy]

You’ll definitely want the 3 weeks. It’s 2 full driving days just to the Chicago area (was in Jersey City in July). And it’s 2 full days to the Black Hills. So you have at least a week of drive time alone!
Badlands is amazing, but Unless you like to do a lot of hiking, you can just do a drive through of the Badlands and do a couple of small trails.

Definitely do the Tetons. I actually liked the Tetons better than Yellowstone! We did that trip last year. If you want a great drive into Yellowstone stay in Redlodge and drive the Beartooth hwy (NE entrance) into the park.

[CloudDriver]

NJ6PACK - We also live in Monmouth County, east of Exit 105. We have made a similar trip a number of times and I thought a route suggestion might be helpful.

In the past we had used the PA Turnpike across PA to I70 to I74 at Indianapolis to I80 at Davenport to I29 to I90 at Sioux Falls. This route avoids the toll roads in OH and IN as well as the really bad traffic around Chicago.

The tolls on the PA Turnpike have become too expensive for us and we have changed to use I80 across PA to I76 then I71 to join I70 at Columbus. The only toll we pay on this route is at the Delaware River bridge on I80.

We are retired and prefer to avoid the crowds that show up at popular destinations after kids get out of school. We usually leave home in early to mid-May so that we can get there without having to make advance reservations. Can you get away earlier? Also, three weeks would be much better than two. It's a long drive across the country.

X2 on the suggestion to continue on to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. Well worth the extra miles and time!

[agesilaus]

Hey! Wall Drug is worth seeing if you are in the right frame of mind, ready for tourist kitsch in other words. I didn't enjoy the Corn Palace all that much but it was worth an hour stop and break from the road. If just to see a building covered with corn cobs if nothing else....heh.

[coolmom42]

LibertyMan wrote:
If you are staying in a campground near/around Devils Tower, a good day trip will be the Battle of Little Big Horn. It would be about a 3 hour drive from Devils Tower going into Montana. Absolutely spectacular following the headstones where the soldiers died and seeing Custer's last stand. If you are using Custer State Park/Mt. Rushmore area as a base camp then it will be a little too far of a drive for a day trip.

This.

Also, the Big Horn County Historical Museum is in Hardin, MT near the Little Big Horn site.

Don't waste your time in Mitchell. Wall Drug and the Corn Palace are .... lame.

[Swell1]

There were 9 movies shot in the Badlands.

[DrewE]

Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks seem like a very obvious omission, unless you aren't including western Wyoming at all.

It looks to be somewhere around 25 hours of driving time each way out and back, not including stops. To me that seems like a week's worth of travel out and back, and many people would not consider it worthwhile to spend a week on the road in order to spend a week enjoying what you went to see in the first place. (I myself am often game for a road trip just for the sake of travel in itself, so I'm not sure I would object, but it still seems a better plan to take the extra week.)

There are plenty of things along the way worth seeing, of course, depending on one's interests and route.

[Dick_B]

We like the bus tours to leave the driving to the hosts and hear what they have to say about the area.
Do you know what movie was shot partially in the Badlands?

[LibertyMan]

If you are staying in a campground near/around Devils Tower, a good day trip will be the Battle of Little Big Horn. It would be about a 3 hour drive from Devils Tower going into Montana. Absolutely spectacular following the headstones where the soldiers died and seeing Custer's last stand. If you are using Custer State Park/Mt. Rushmore area as a base camp then it will be a little too far of a drive for a day trip.

[jplante4]

We spent 3 days in Rapid City and should have stayed a week. So much to see. Add Deadwood to your list.

[Swell1]

The Corn Palace in Mitchell SD and the Auto museum in Murdo SD. These are good stops to get out and stretch as SD can be a long way across.

[NJ6PACK]

Yes, I also forgot to mention the Badlands...... Thanks

[agesilaus]

Well there is the Badlands National Park just east of the Black Hills. We really like it but like many parks you need to get out of your vehicle and walk around to appreciate the place. There are also two national park Cave systems in the Black Hills close to Custer SP, visit one or the other but get there early in the day to avoid the mob scenes.