Yellowstone Trip from North Carolina

[llewis27]

Planning on heading to West Yellowstone thru South Dakota Mt. Rushmore of course then down to the Grand Canyon aroune Flagstaff, any suggestions or ideas would be appreciated.

38 Foot Monaco Diplomat

[randco]

If you want to see the countryside from something other than the interstate take I-90 from Rapid City, SD to Buffalo, WY. In Buffalo take Hwy 16 West toward Ten Sleep and Worland, WY. Follow Hwy 16 thru Worland. It will head north to Manderson, Basin and Grey Bull, WY. In Grey Bull follow Hwy 14 westbound toward Cody, WY. After Cody stay on Hwy 14 to the Yellowstone - East entrance. It will take you to Fishing Bridge Campground on the north side of Yellowstone Lake, I will also intersect with Grand Loop Road. If head south south on Grand Loop Road you will intersect the South Entrance Road near the West Thumb Information Center. If you turn North on Hwy 20/89 at the intersection you will be heading toward Old Faithful and the Madison Information Station near the intersection of Grand Loop Road and the West Entrance Road. If you head West at the intersection you will be headed toward the town of West Yellowstone, ID.

From West Yellowstone follow Hwy 20 until it intersects with I-15 near Idaho Falls, ID. You can follow I-15 South thru Utah and see some beautiful areas. You can stay on I-15 all the way to Las Vegas if you want. If you are going to the North Rim of the Canyon you can take Hwy 17 about 4 miles north of Leeds to Toquerville and La Verkin. In La Verkin follow Hwy 9 until it intersects with Hwy 89. Take Hwy 89 south until you get to Kanab, then take Hwy 89A until it intersects with Hwy 67 at Jacob Lake. Hwy 67 (Grand Canyon Hwy) will take you to the North Rim Campground.

If you want the South Rim area take I-595 from Las Vegas to Boulder City, NV. In Boulder City, I think I-595 turns into Hwy 93. Stay on Hwy 93 until you get to I-40 near Kingman, AZ. Take I-40 eastbound for about 125 miles to Williams, AZ. From Williams, take Hwy 64 about 60 miles to Grand Canyon National Park, South Rim.

Have a great trip.

[NCWriter]

We're also heading out that way late summer. We're going to spend a couple of days in St. Louis - never been to the Arch and looking forward to the Lews and Clark info.

Found a great guide based on a forum search here, "Along the Trail With Lewis and Clark." Ordered it online and it's filled with useful info. (Will also be handy for a future trip to Oregon.)

This trip, we'll follow (somewhat) the direction Lewis and Clark took, will stop at L&C state park in Onawa, IA, and up to Chamberlain, SD before reaching the Badlands and Custer State Park.

[s_N_s]

Great suggestions by "Horsedoc". If your staying in W Yellowstone I'll suggest the Grizzly RV Park. Great place and just outside the West entrance. Have a great time and TAKE your time. There is plenty to see.

[Horsedoc]

You are going to have a great trip. Hope you are allowing for plenty of time to see the sites.
We have made several similar trips and just our opinion it gets really boring across some of the Midwestern states. We head up across Iowa to avoid the St Louis traffic and have a couple of places we overnight on I-80. You can save several miles if you use I-680 instead of heading toward Omaha to head north on I-29. In S Dakota on I-90 there is a Cabelas in Mitchell that invites RVs to come in and spend the night in their lot. Then just set sail toward Rapid and the Hills. So much to do there that we suggest you do a google search on activities and attractions in the Black Hills. Lots of places to stay.
Maybe stop at Sundance Wyoming and see Devils Tower. Stop at Little BigHorn Battlefield and pay respects to all the soldiers who were killed there. There is a great history museum with a lot of artifacts and photos. Visit Last Stand Hill there and see the actual locations these men, including Custer were found at.
You can approach W Yellowstone from several directions, but the easiest and still a beautiful ride, is to run I-90 to Bozeman and then 191 down to W Yellowstone. Most of that route is beside a river as it cuts through to the park.
From the park to GC is quite a drive and there are any number of side trips and things to do. We love the Wind River Canyon area, although that route will lead you just a bit east from due South to the canyon area.
I write too much and too long! Have a great trip and take your time to enjoy it all

[Passin_Thru]

You want the 2 lane or the interstate. Interstate would be I 77-I 70-I74 at Indy to I80-I29-I35 in IOWA-I94-West to MT, I 94-I15 south to Kanab UT to Flagstaff on 86 then I 40 home.