A Little of What I have on Yellowstone & Tetons. One could (maybe should) make Yellowstone/Tetons the major sites to visit (there is so much to see there). Shouldn't short time it. We have always stayed in the parks themselves. Never felt we had to have electric hookups. Never had a reservation before going, always found a place to stay.
More on Wyoming:
We've gone by Thermopolis, WY twice to do a soak in the hot spring water at the State Bath House. Very neat.
We overnighted in the Wind River Canyon in Aug '09 & at one of the Boysen State Park campgrounds by the lake some years ago. Hot Springs
Cody Walmart was our neatest Walmart Overnight Site yet:
Cody is a neat place. In Cody, try to see the Buffalo Bill Historical Center with Five Museums Under One Roof. http://www.bbhc.org/
The Cody Chamber of Commerce has a nice Visitor Center (full of information) & with a really nice art gallery.
http://codychamber.org/visitorcenter.html
Never been to it, but they have a Cody Night Rodeo with rodeo performances every night June 1st through August 31st. Gates open at 7:00 p.m. with rodeo action starting at 8:00 p.m. http://www.codynightrodeo.com/ And a Cody Stampede Rodeo July 1 to 4, http://www.codystampederodeo.com/
Likely to be too out of your way, but just in case:
East of Billings on I-94, we drove by Pompey's Pillar not knowing what it was in 2009, about 25 miles east of Billings, Montana, on our way to Yellowstone. "It bears the only remaining physical evidence of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which appears on the trail today as it did 200 years ago. On the face of the 150-foot butte, Captain William Clark carved his name on July 25, 1806, during his return to the United States through the beautiful Yellowstone Valley." Might be worth a stop, if time allows.
On 1-90 between Billings & Sheridan, Little Bighorn Battlefield Nat'l Mon't has a special place in history. Not far from Sheridan.
Also off I-90 in WY, The Site of the Fetterman Fight and Fort Phil Kearny.
We like to find places like these to see & to spend time on the road. Overnighting Sites & Sights in the Douglas & Wheatland Area. Includes Guernsey & Fort Laramie Area.
Guernsey State Park ------- Fort Laramie National Historic Site ------ Oregon Trail Ruts and Register Cliff
North & East of Yellowstone area & somewhat out the way perhaps: On the western side of North Dakota 27 miles east of the Montana state line, Theodore Roosevelt National Park is very worthwhile to see. The South Unit entrance is in Medora, ND. Medora is accessible via Interstate 94 Exits 24 and 27 in North Dakota. T. Roosevelt is a really nice place to see Bison, at times even in the campground. We visited both units that year. North unit is more into the oil boom area. Road was good back then, but after getting more into the boom area, lot of truck traffic. Maybe worse now?
The colorful Little Missouri River Badlands provides the scenic backdrop to the park & home to a variety of prairie plants and animals including bison, prairie dogs, pronghorn, elk, mule deer and wild feral horses. T. Roosevelt.
The Painted Canyon Visitor Center is located 7 miles east of Medora on I-94 at Exit 32.
The ND Badlands are in TRNP as mentioned. Very neat shapes & colors. Not been to the SD Badlands, can't compare them.
Likewise, perhaps out of your way: Near Bismarck and/or Mandan, ND, Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park is interesting. FortLincoln.Com
North of Bismarck on US 83, The North Dakota Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center between Bismarck & Minot at Washburn. Not sure about overnighting, but neat to visit, nice place to take a break. Pretty vista.
Not far from Washburn, the Knife River Indian Villages Nat'l Historic Site was very interesting.
More toward Minot on 83 N, Lake Sakakawea State Park with links to other sites. Also in the area, Cross Ranch State Park.
๐ What I have on the Black Hills Area of SD.
We have only stayed in the State Park campgrounds & at a Nat'l Forest CG. Not a lot of places to dump there however.
Never been to this one, but many people give it rave reviews: Rafter J Bar Ranch Resort - Hill City.
http://www.rafterj.com/
There is also a private Horse Thief RV Resort which is also close to Hill City.
http://www.horsethief.com/
Many RV parks in & around Custer as well. RV Park Reviews Custer, SD
Don't forget the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Aug 5-11. A heavy use time in the BlackHills.
We really enjoyed the Glass Blowing Studio between Hill City & Keystone. Black Hills GlassBlowers - Keystone
We saw someone waving at a glass blowing shop when riding the Hill City Tain; we went back to see it, a neat place, friendly people.
Deadwood is northwest of Custer.....lot of History happened there, but is more of a Gaming Center now if into gambling. We stopped once years ago, when out kids were young; I wanted to see where Wild Bill Hickok was killed. We did go to a melodrama while there, but mainly just walk around some. It was just starting to become a gaming center at that time. Not stopped since.
:h Traffic in Yellowstone (as well as Black Hills) can get pretty tight, especially in the pullouts (parking lots) for exhibits & sights. Saw someone take out a side mirror at one. At times they have very large tour buses pull in as well. But with a little patience & a lot of caution, one could see most of the 'drive by sights' without much trouble.
Any of the campgr'ds in the park, such as Grant, Canyon, Bridge Bay, Mammoth, Madison etc., would be ideal. It is a big place takes some serious driving to see the place. Much easier to do so in a more central location. Drop down to the Tetons before you leave, it is neat and somewhat different.
This Site Clicky tells about each campground (down by "Click on a Campground Name Below to Take an Interactive Tour"), if the chart has DS for Dump Station in the Features column it has a dump station. Ha! Grant Village, Canyon, Bridge Bay, Madison & Fishing Bridge have them. One could use Mammoth or Norris (ones a generator can be used) & still dump in one of the other places.
In the Tetons: Gros Ventre Campg'd or Colter Bay Campg'd. We stayed at Colter Bay Campground, the one without hook-ups in mid-June 2010 and once before some years ago. The Colter Bay Visitor Center and Indian ArtsMuseum by the Colter Bay Campground is really neat.
I have heard good things about Gros Ventre Campground...get more animals walking by or close by, etc. Nice views. It seems to be named after me as well, (from French: big belly). Actually, the French used the term Gros Ventre, for a local native population/people which was mistakenly interpreted from their sign language. Instead, the Gros Ventre people call themselves by the autonym A'ani or A'aninin, which means "white clay people," or more loosely "ourselves, our people, us, we," etc. The French is pronounced "Grow Vaunt."
Both Gros Ventre & Colter Bay have dumpsites.
We stayed at Mammoth Campground for 2009 visit to Yellowstone. It has some very large spaces in it, almost any size RV could fit. But can't make reservations, but we have never done so in the four visits we have gone there over many years.
We stayed at Grant in 2010, pretty large campground, all sizes of RVs. Bridge Bay looked like it would be a nice one to stay. We did stay there in '86.
I was about 40 when I first made it to Yellowstone. Good Luck with your Trek & Save Cruising.
Oh, Yes, you mentioned seeing the Rockies:
Rocky Mountain National Park may be hard to get into next year due to the recent flooding in that part of Colorado. It is something to see.
Here's some information on :C Colorado.
More on Southern Colorado & Northern New Mexico.
A lot to see & do in the Santa Fe & Bandelier Nat'l Mon't area of New Mexico -A Trip Report last summer (2012).
More on Santa Fe (Eating):
We had very good Asian from Jinja Bar & Bistro in Santa Fe last summer. Just stumbled onto it in a thunder/rain storm. We did carry out, but it was a very nice restaurant.
Someone at the AAA office recommended Tortilla Flats in Santa Fe; it prove to be very good as well.
Normally, we would eat on the Plaza, from Cart Vendors, such as Roque's Carnitas. Cart Cuisine, but they were not there that week-end. Due to the 'Santa Fe Indian Market', "a 91-year-old Native art market", we didn't find the normal street food venders on the Plaza. We did eat once at one of the 'Indian' vendors, but the lines were extremely long. Also at a roasted corn vendor.
Bandelier Nat'l Mon't is off US 285. We were there in August last year. Not too hot at all. Cools off quickly after sundown each evening. I believe we were there years ago in July. Warmer during the day, but cool nights.
Los Alamos is a very neat small city in itself. Free bus system with very neat buses. Very pretty setting up in the high country. Somewhat of a gated community as well. We only drove through & stopped at a SuperMarket. A nice town. http://www.visit.losalamos.com/
http://www.losalamosnm.us/transit/Pages/default.aspx
More on the Santa Fe Area Expanded & ABQ.
No Idea Where You Starting From, perhaps Nebraska information will be of help:
Off US 20, Fort Robinson & Chadron State Parks in the Northwest corner of the Nebraska so seem neat from their websites.
Another neat one near Valentine, :C Smith Falls State Park. We did an overnight there, as did my son earlier. Neat place. Unique Place. We were traveling US 83. US 20 crosses there as well.
On the border NB/SD there is an Indian Casino at the state line. The Rosebud Sioux Tribe Casino Wacipi. Not far north of Valentine. I believe one can overnight at it. We have never stopped, except for fuel.
More Nebraska US 83 Sights.
US 26 South of Fort Laramie Area. Goes to Scottsbluff, by Chimney Rock, Ash Hollow & near Lake Ogallala State Rec' Area by Ogallala. Never driven this, but would have liked to.
I-80: North Platte, Nebraska: the Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical Park and Camping; never stopped there, but driven by on US 83; nice looking campground by the river.
In Kansas, Fort Scott Nat'l Historic Site, we did not stop, my son did an overnight at the State Park. Seems like a neat area as well. Lake Scott State Park even has a New Mexico connection. NM pueblo people moved there to get away from Europeans (Spanish).
Saw the exit for but didn't go to Monument Rocks. It takes some gravel road driving to get to them.
We did two overnights (going up & coming back) at the Liberal Walmart. A nice large parking lot. Just off US 83 as you enter town southbound.
There is a city park with RV sites southeast side of Liberal as well. Arkalon Park, but have never been to it.
More US 83 Kansas.
Just in case: In Texas, Near Amarillo: Never been to the state park, but have read about it & would like to make it over there someday. Palo Duro Canyon State Park as well as Caprock Canyons State Park, from what I have read, seem like very neat areas to see.
Southeast of Amarillo & Southwest of Quanah: Caprock Canyons State Park & Trailway would make a neat place to check out. One I would like to see. Has a Bison herd I have read.
Ditto, Copper Breaks State Park near Quanah sounds pretty cool.
Free Overnighting: Dumas City Park north of Amarillo. Or the Amarillo Welcome Center. Never been to them.
:C Almost Forgot, One can get a good taste of the Rocky Mountain near Yellowstone (between Sheridan & Buffalo West toward Yellowstone & Cody:
One can use WY 59 N from Douglas to Gallette to return to I-90. A very nice hwy. Many supper long coal trains along it, Bison often seen in places by the roadway & open pit coal mines off in the distance. Coal mines & Trains reason for the good roadway.
Or use US 85 N from the Lusk or the Lingle Area to Newcastle; US 16 to I-90 (Keyhole State Park) & US 14 which runs up to Devil's Tower.
Keyhole
Very long detour, but some neat sights & sites (the above tour).
A detour by Sheridan:
We drove up & over the Big Horns from Sheridan on US 14 & took the 14 A down (a very steep descent & one I wouldn't want to do again). BighornMountains.Com
We passed the turn off to Medicine Wheel, but didn't go see it, on 14 A. I've wanted to see the site. 14 A was too bad yet by this turn off. Not for an RV.
Years ago, we did a layover in Buffalo (trouble with the pickup) one Sunday & an overnight. We rode our bikes around the town, went to a museum & by a city swimming pool. Things to do in Buffalo
US 14 & 14 A Video US 14 A was a harry drive, extremely steep. Video: US 14 A I believe the steepest parts are after the Medicine Wheel exit.
A little more on Yellowstone & Black Hills.
Ditto
Devil's Tower
In Future, it would be nice knowing your starting location and type of RV.
Best of Luck in your Trek West. Safe Travels.
More on Wyoming:
We've gone by Thermopolis, WY twice to do a soak in the hot spring water at the State Bath House. Very neat.
We overnighted in the Wind River Canyon in Aug '09 & at one of the Boysen State Park campgrounds by the lake some years ago. Hot Springs
Cody Walmart was our neatest Walmart Overnight Site yet:
Cody is a neat place. In Cody, try to see the Buffalo Bill Historical Center with Five Museums Under One Roof. http://www.bbhc.org/
The Cody Chamber of Commerce has a nice Visitor Center (full of information) & with a really nice art gallery.
http://codychamber.org/visitorcenter.html
Never been to it, but they have a Cody Night Rodeo with rodeo performances every night June 1st through August 31st. Gates open at 7:00 p.m. with rodeo action starting at 8:00 p.m. http://www.codynightrodeo.com/ And a Cody Stampede Rodeo July 1 to 4, http://www.codystampederodeo.com/
Likely to be too out of your way, but just in case:
East of Billings on I-94, we drove by Pompey's Pillar not knowing what it was in 2009, about 25 miles east of Billings, Montana, on our way to Yellowstone. "It bears the only remaining physical evidence of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which appears on the trail today as it did 200 years ago. On the face of the 150-foot butte, Captain William Clark carved his name on July 25, 1806, during his return to the United States through the beautiful Yellowstone Valley." Might be worth a stop, if time allows.
On 1-90 between Billings & Sheridan, Little Bighorn Battlefield Nat'l Mon't has a special place in history. Not far from Sheridan.
Also off I-90 in WY, The Site of the Fetterman Fight and Fort Phil Kearny.
We like to find places like these to see & to spend time on the road. Overnighting Sites & Sights in the Douglas & Wheatland Area. Includes Guernsey & Fort Laramie Area.
Guernsey State Park ------- Fort Laramie National Historic Site ------ Oregon Trail Ruts and Register Cliff
North & East of Yellowstone area & somewhat out the way perhaps: On the western side of North Dakota 27 miles east of the Montana state line, Theodore Roosevelt National Park is very worthwhile to see. The South Unit entrance is in Medora, ND. Medora is accessible via Interstate 94 Exits 24 and 27 in North Dakota. T. Roosevelt is a really nice place to see Bison, at times even in the campground. We visited both units that year. North unit is more into the oil boom area. Road was good back then, but after getting more into the boom area, lot of truck traffic. Maybe worse now?
The colorful Little Missouri River Badlands provides the scenic backdrop to the park & home to a variety of prairie plants and animals including bison, prairie dogs, pronghorn, elk, mule deer and wild feral horses. T. Roosevelt.
The Painted Canyon Visitor Center is located 7 miles east of Medora on I-94 at Exit 32.
The ND Badlands are in TRNP as mentioned. Very neat shapes & colors. Not been to the SD Badlands, can't compare them.
Likewise, perhaps out of your way: Near Bismarck and/or Mandan, ND, Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park is interesting. FortLincoln.Com
North of Bismarck on US 83, The North Dakota Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center between Bismarck & Minot at Washburn. Not sure about overnighting, but neat to visit, nice place to take a break. Pretty vista.
Not far from Washburn, the Knife River Indian Villages Nat'l Historic Site was very interesting.
More toward Minot on 83 N, Lake Sakakawea State Park with links to other sites. Also in the area, Cross Ranch State Park.
๐ What I have on the Black Hills Area of SD.
We have only stayed in the State Park campgrounds & at a Nat'l Forest CG. Not a lot of places to dump there however.
Never been to this one, but many people give it rave reviews: Rafter J Bar Ranch Resort - Hill City.
http://www.rafterj.com/
There is also a private Horse Thief RV Resort which is also close to Hill City.
http://www.horsethief.com/
Many RV parks in & around Custer as well. RV Park Reviews Custer, SD
Don't forget the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Aug 5-11. A heavy use time in the BlackHills.
We really enjoyed the Glass Blowing Studio between Hill City & Keystone. Black Hills GlassBlowers - Keystone
We saw someone waving at a glass blowing shop when riding the Hill City Tain; we went back to see it, a neat place, friendly people.
Deadwood is northwest of Custer.....lot of History happened there, but is more of a Gaming Center now if into gambling. We stopped once years ago, when out kids were young; I wanted to see where Wild Bill Hickok was killed. We did go to a melodrama while there, but mainly just walk around some. It was just starting to become a gaming center at that time. Not stopped since.
:h Traffic in Yellowstone (as well as Black Hills) can get pretty tight, especially in the pullouts (parking lots) for exhibits & sights. Saw someone take out a side mirror at one. At times they have very large tour buses pull in as well. But with a little patience & a lot of caution, one could see most of the 'drive by sights' without much trouble.
Any of the campgr'ds in the park, such as Grant, Canyon, Bridge Bay, Mammoth, Madison etc., would be ideal. It is a big place takes some serious driving to see the place. Much easier to do so in a more central location. Drop down to the Tetons before you leave, it is neat and somewhat different.
This Site Clicky tells about each campground (down by "Click on a Campground Name Below to Take an Interactive Tour"), if the chart has DS for Dump Station in the Features column it has a dump station. Ha! Grant Village, Canyon, Bridge Bay, Madison & Fishing Bridge have them. One could use Mammoth or Norris (ones a generator can be used) & still dump in one of the other places.
In the Tetons: Gros Ventre Campg'd or Colter Bay Campg'd. We stayed at Colter Bay Campground, the one without hook-ups in mid-June 2010 and once before some years ago. The Colter Bay Visitor Center and Indian ArtsMuseum by the Colter Bay Campground is really neat.
I have heard good things about Gros Ventre Campground...get more animals walking by or close by, etc. Nice views. It seems to be named after me as well, (from French: big belly). Actually, the French used the term Gros Ventre, for a local native population/people which was mistakenly interpreted from their sign language. Instead, the Gros Ventre people call themselves by the autonym A'ani or A'aninin, which means "white clay people," or more loosely "ourselves, our people, us, we," etc. The French is pronounced "Grow Vaunt."
Both Gros Ventre & Colter Bay have dumpsites.
We stayed at Mammoth Campground for 2009 visit to Yellowstone. It has some very large spaces in it, almost any size RV could fit. But can't make reservations, but we have never done so in the four visits we have gone there over many years.
We stayed at Grant in 2010, pretty large campground, all sizes of RVs. Bridge Bay looked like it would be a nice one to stay. We did stay there in '86.
I was about 40 when I first made it to Yellowstone. Good Luck with your Trek & Save Cruising.
Oh, Yes, you mentioned seeing the Rockies:
Rocky Mountain National Park may be hard to get into next year due to the recent flooding in that part of Colorado. It is something to see.
Here's some information on :C Colorado.
More on Southern Colorado & Northern New Mexico.
A lot to see & do in the Santa Fe & Bandelier Nat'l Mon't area of New Mexico -A Trip Report last summer (2012).
More on Santa Fe (Eating):
We had very good Asian from Jinja Bar & Bistro in Santa Fe last summer. Just stumbled onto it in a thunder/rain storm. We did carry out, but it was a very nice restaurant.
Someone at the AAA office recommended Tortilla Flats in Santa Fe; it prove to be very good as well.
Normally, we would eat on the Plaza, from Cart Vendors, such as Roque's Carnitas. Cart Cuisine, but they were not there that week-end. Due to the 'Santa Fe Indian Market', "a 91-year-old Native art market", we didn't find the normal street food venders on the Plaza. We did eat once at one of the 'Indian' vendors, but the lines were extremely long. Also at a roasted corn vendor.
Bandelier Nat'l Mon't is off US 285. We were there in August last year. Not too hot at all. Cools off quickly after sundown each evening. I believe we were there years ago in July. Warmer during the day, but cool nights.
Los Alamos is a very neat small city in itself. Free bus system with very neat buses. Very pretty setting up in the high country. Somewhat of a gated community as well. We only drove through & stopped at a SuperMarket. A nice town. http://www.visit.losalamos.com/
http://www.losalamosnm.us/transit/Pages/default.aspx
More on the Santa Fe Area Expanded & ABQ.
No Idea Where You Starting From, perhaps Nebraska information will be of help:
Off US 20, Fort Robinson & Chadron State Parks in the Northwest corner of the Nebraska so seem neat from their websites.
Another neat one near Valentine, :C Smith Falls State Park. We did an overnight there, as did my son earlier. Neat place. Unique Place. We were traveling US 83. US 20 crosses there as well.
On the border NB/SD there is an Indian Casino at the state line. The Rosebud Sioux Tribe Casino Wacipi. Not far north of Valentine. I believe one can overnight at it. We have never stopped, except for fuel.
More Nebraska US 83 Sights.
US 26 South of Fort Laramie Area. Goes to Scottsbluff, by Chimney Rock, Ash Hollow & near Lake Ogallala State Rec' Area by Ogallala. Never driven this, but would have liked to.
I-80: North Platte, Nebraska: the Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical Park and Camping; never stopped there, but driven by on US 83; nice looking campground by the river.
In Kansas, Fort Scott Nat'l Historic Site, we did not stop, my son did an overnight at the State Park. Seems like a neat area as well. Lake Scott State Park even has a New Mexico connection. NM pueblo people moved there to get away from Europeans (Spanish).
Saw the exit for but didn't go to Monument Rocks. It takes some gravel road driving to get to them.
We did two overnights (going up & coming back) at the Liberal Walmart. A nice large parking lot. Just off US 83 as you enter town southbound.
There is a city park with RV sites southeast side of Liberal as well. Arkalon Park, but have never been to it.
More US 83 Kansas.
Just in case: In Texas, Near Amarillo: Never been to the state park, but have read about it & would like to make it over there someday. Palo Duro Canyon State Park as well as Caprock Canyons State Park, from what I have read, seem like very neat areas to see.
Southeast of Amarillo & Southwest of Quanah: Caprock Canyons State Park & Trailway would make a neat place to check out. One I would like to see. Has a Bison herd I have read.
Ditto, Copper Breaks State Park near Quanah sounds pretty cool.
Free Overnighting: Dumas City Park north of Amarillo. Or the Amarillo Welcome Center. Never been to them.
:C Almost Forgot, One can get a good taste of the Rocky Mountain near Yellowstone (between Sheridan & Buffalo West toward Yellowstone & Cody:
One can use WY 59 N from Douglas to Gallette to return to I-90. A very nice hwy. Many supper long coal trains along it, Bison often seen in places by the roadway & open pit coal mines off in the distance. Coal mines & Trains reason for the good roadway.
Or use US 85 N from the Lusk or the Lingle Area to Newcastle; US 16 to I-90 (Keyhole State Park) & US 14 which runs up to Devil's Tower.
Keyhole
Very long detour, but some neat sights & sites (the above tour).
A detour by Sheridan:
We drove up & over the Big Horns from Sheridan on US 14 & took the 14 A down (a very steep descent & one I wouldn't want to do again). BighornMountains.Com
We passed the turn off to Medicine Wheel, but didn't go see it, on 14 A. I've wanted to see the site. 14 A was too bad yet by this turn off. Not for an RV.
Years ago, we did a layover in Buffalo (trouble with the pickup) one Sunday & an overnight. We rode our bikes around the town, went to a museum & by a city swimming pool. Things to do in Buffalo
US 14 & 14 A Video US 14 A was a harry drive, extremely steep. Video: US 14 A I believe the steepest parts are after the Medicine Wheel exit.
A little more on Yellowstone & Black Hills.
Ditto
Devil's Tower
In Future, it would be nice knowing your starting location and type of RV.
Best of Luck in your Trek West. Safe Travels.
