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

[paullac]

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 days

We 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!

[hitchup]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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.

[katleman]

I have done the Yellowstone/GT/Rushmore loop twice now, with children (ones that like camping and hiking mind you) as well as 4 other trips to Yellowstone/GT

Split of 5/2 between Yellowstone and GT is about right. We would arrive midday, see the sights, book a float for first thing the next morning (early = more wildlife) then head north to Yellowstone.

Rushmore is a one day, see it as you are driving by. Yes there are more touristy things to do, but I would do a day tops there. Better to break the drive to Rushmore into two days and take in Devils Tower. My favorite stop over in between is the Bighorn Mountains. More of a plateau, but very scenic. Have always wanted to go there for several days as a destination.

Regarding Craters of the Moon? I enjoyed both visits, spelunked a couple wild caves there in my youth. Cutting short the tetons by a day and going out there would be fine. As would a detour to Mesa Falls, just to the SW of yellowstone. Incredibly scenic black volcanic rock falls.

If anyone in the family is a western history buff, spend the better part of a day at the buffalo bill museum in Cody as you exit Yellowstone, on the way to Rushmore. You can't do it all in a day, but you'll get much of it.

Your 5 days in Yellowstone will not be enough to see everything. I've now been there 6 times, 33 days, and I still saw stuff I hadn't seen before when I went last summer. But you'll get a great sampling of the park.

[2gypsies1]

jalichty wrote:
I wouldn't spend any time in Jackson Hole, unless you need to re-provision. It truly is a tourist trap and full of people in the summer, making it a little difficult to get around with an RV. I think two to three days in Grand Teton will be sufficient, especially if you are at Colter Bay. Take a cruise on Jackson Lake one day, maybe even the lunch cruise or the dinner cruise. Some of the greatest scenery in the world and you get right up to the base of Mt. Moran that rises about 5,000 to 6,000 feet straight up. Go over to Jenny Lake and take a boat to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point and then to Moose, on over the Gros Ventre and Slide Lake( but the roads are a bit bumpy part of the way. In the evening, drive around toward Moran and then out of the Park to Moose and then back to the campground looking for wildlife, you should see some. Then, 4-5 days if possible in Yellowstone, there are so many features there that you really do want to spend some time at them. Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is a stunning place as well as Norris and Old Faithful. Yellowstone Lake and the hotel are a place you also need to see. Then go to Mammoth over Dun Raven Pass and then to the Lamar Valley. Look for wildlife all the time, but in a motorhome, might be tough to stop and watch and take pictures. I think that one day, after you drive to Rushmore, is plenty, but stop on the way, if you can, and take a quick look at Devil's Tower in Northeast Wyoming. If you find that you can't see and experience all you want, hopefully you can always come back.

This is the timeframe I would recommend for the Tetons & Yellowstone. If the children enjoy nature and nice hikes, the Tetons is where you'll find it. The hiking is awesome to beautiful little lakes. Take a gentle float trip down the Snake River in the park and you might be lucky to see a moose in the river with you. The Tetons are like the miniature Alps. Another poster mentioned seeing only trees. This is definitely not the case. The whole area is wide open with amazing views of the mountains and lakes. The Tetons aren't covered with trees. Have a great trip. Both are definitely places for families.

By the way, if you need a major grocery by the time you get to the Jackson area, there are two larger groceries just south of town. Fuel is cheap at the groceries, too. If you wait to W. Yellowstone to stock up all they have are two very small mom & pop stores. The rodeo is fun in Jackson, too.

Bring a towed vehicle if you can or rent a car for a few days. It will make your trip more pleasurable.

[RWDIII]

Devils Tower is neat !!!

[Mote]

We may see you out there as we are going for the last two weeks of June. Plan on having four days to get to Yellowstone seeing what ever we can see along the way including Cody and Red Lodge. Then drive into Yellowstone on the Beartooth Highway. Then we have reservations for two nights at Canyon, two nights at Madison and two nights at Grant. Head out of the park thru the Teton's and then four days to get home. We didn't want to make to many firm plans except for the Yellowstone reservations. We want to just play the rest by ear.
Safe travels and if you see an old red dodge truck with a Lance camper driving around Yellowstone stop by and say Hi.