Mt. Rushmore - Yellowstone - Grand Teton trip

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Mount Rushmore is not a time consuming thing. May have spent 20 minutes there, but I was by myself.

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Agree w/ this. We went in the evening for the lighting ceremony and they had a short presentation about the National anthem. Also, learned later there is a museum and a trail w/ different views of MR.

But, MR is near Custer State Park which can take more than a day.

We ( wife, me) did a similar trip last year and there are a lot of things to do in the Rapid City, SD area. We spent 2 or 3 nights in RC. I did a trip report and if I can find it I will post it.

SD MT WY trip report 2019
This link is to the Travel Board trip report I did for the trip similar to what you have planned. It is more than one page and you may have to click View ?, Reply or something at the bottom of the 1st page to see the entire thing; depends on how it opens I guess.

It is probably more than you want to read but to answer your question:
- 3 or 4 days in YS is enough IMO
- you can do the Badlands and MR in one day; we got off of I 90 at Wall and drove through the Badlands but you can get off at the exit before and get back on at Wall.

One reason we stayed in Billings one was to take the Beartooth highway into YS. But you can go to Cody, WY and take a road that intersect with Beartooth and enter YS through the NE entrance. That brings you through Lamar Valley where a lot of the wildlife are.

The Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody is impressive; especially if you like cowboy and Indian stuff, wild west art, or guns. It takes a day.

My parents took us on a similar trip when I was 11 or 12. We left with just a basic framework and itinerary and just spent time in places we found interesting. I think the trip ended up being a little over 2 weeks. It's been so long any recs I'd have would be dated, but I would recommend keeping your schedule and itinerary flexible. There's so much to see out there it's easy to fall in love with an area and spend more time there, and honestly some things aren't as impressive as you'd hoped and you'll be ready to move on pretty quickly. Mt Rushmore is an example. It's cool to see, but it's a one or two hour thing, so don't plane 1/2 a day there.

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We ( wife, me) did a similar trip last year and there are a lot of things to do in the Rapid City, SD area. We spent 2 or 3 nights in RC. I did a trip report and if I can find it I will post it.

SD MT WY trip report 2019
This link is to the Travel Board trip report I did for the trip similar to what you have planned. It is more than one page and you may have to click View ?, Reply or something at the bottom of the 1st page to see the entire thing; depends on how it opens I guess.

It is probably more than you want to read but to answer your question:
- 3 or 4 days in YS is enough IMO
- you can do the Badlands and MR in one day; we got off of I 90 at Wall and drove through the Badlands but you can get off at the exit before and get back on at Wall.

One reason we stayed in Billings one was to take the Beartooth highway into YS. But you can go to Cody, WY and take a road that intersect with Beartooth and enter YS through the NE entrance. That brings you through Lamar Valley where a lot of the wildlife are.

The Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody is impressive; especially if you like cowboy and Indian stuff, wild west art, or guns. It takes a day.

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I haven't made it thru all of this yet, but so far its GREAT info. I've checked for lodging in Yellowstone and its not available so we'll be staying in West Yellowstone most likely. I'll look for somewhere near Lamar Valley for at least 1 night though so we can try and get there early one morning.

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I haven't made it thru all of this yet, but so far its GREAT info. I've checked for lodging in Yellowstone and its not available so we'll be staying in West Yellowstone most likely. I'll look for somewhere near Lamar Valley for at least 1 night though so we can try and get there early one morning.

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Personally I'd recommend not staying in the same place twice around yellowstone. Its A LOT of driving, basically a big circle and I'd recommend moving in the circle slowly. The bear and wolf place in West Yellowstone is cool if you have the time, there's like 8 Grizzlies they rotate every 45 minutes or so. They spend about 10 minutes hiding food and treats and then let the bears wander around and find them. It keeps the bears active, some of them are together some are single. I don't think its as amazing as the parks, but very unique.

Make sure to pack a cooler with plenty of drinks and snacks and replenish, there's not convenience stores all over.

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Mt. Rushmore - Yellowstone - Grand Teton trip

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get your arse over to Glacier before you leave Montana!

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get your arse over to Glacier before you leave Montana!

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Thats going to be part of a MUCH longer trip in a few years (when the kids get older). Rode ATVs to Knik Glacier and took an inside passage cruise into Glacier Bay last year. Both of those were amazing. It was surreal spotting a moose swimming in Glacier Bay. Plan on making the trip again, but driving next time and stopping in Glacier, Banff, Icefields, etc on the way up.

Unfortunately the US has too many great places to visit and trips can only be so long. Hitting Mt Rushmore and Yellowstone as the main places this time. Next trip will probably be either towards Tennessee or Grand Canyon.

Rushmore/Yellowstone/Teton as part of a road trip over a decade ago. One of the more memorable trips I've ever done.

Which way are you going to get to Rapid City/Rushmore? Badlands NP is a cool stop while in SD, but depending on how you are getting there it may be opposite of the way you need to go to get to Rushmore.

When we were out there, we took I-90 out of Rapid City all the way to Bozeman and into West Yellowstone that way. That allowed us to go to Little Bighorn Battlefield, which was a great stop. But, if you are going into the park via Cody, then it is out of the way.