This road trip is when I started getting into some of my more challenging planning. I loved the challenge and this trip.
See my post for pictures & details.
Day 1
Minuteman missile National Historic Site – The office will have all the information for where to see the missile. We didn’t get to tour the control center (COVID) but really wanted to. Check into tickets for it.
Badlands National Park – 15 minutes from Minuteman. The main drive is the Loop Road that takes about 2 hours. Go South to North.
Wall Drug Store – you’ll come out the north exit close to Wall Drug. Perfect stop.
Mammoth site – This is a little south from where we were going but really loved this.
Custer State Park – This is where we stayed for the night. Our cabin was in the Camp BlueBell Campground. We drove the Wildlife loop. Great place to stay. We checked in then finished the day.
Mount Rushmore – Parking will be crazy. We also enjoyed the sculpture studio here.
Crazy Horse – Practically right next to Mount Rushmore.
Day 2
Deadwood – It’s about an hour from the Cabin. We strolled the town. Highlights for us were Historic Saloon #10 (where Wild Bill was killed), and Mount Moriah Cemetery (where Wild Bill & Calamity Jane are buried).
Sturgis – Roughly 30 minutes from Deadwood. We had things planned… but we didn’t know it was the weekend of the bike rally. So the fun we had was not planned. The rally is fun!
Devil’s Tower, Wyoming – Only 2 hours from Sturgis.
Bowman, ND – We drove into Bowman, North Dakota, to help get to all 50 state. I would recommend skipping this leg if all 50 states isn’t a goal. This is where we spent the night. Cute small town charm.
Day 3
Theodore Roosevelt National Park -1 hour from Bowman. A few things were closed. Again, COVID. But we did the South Unit Scenic Drive. We got real close to a bison.
Little Big Horn Battlefield – See the site of Custer’s last stand. This place is MASSIVE. It’s a driving tour with lots of options to get out for pictures. It’s about 3.5 hour drive from Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
Billings, MT – a good stopping place before the next leg.
Bozeman, MT – We finished the drive across Montana and stayed in Bozeman. This got us ready for an easy day into the highlight of our trip.
Day 4
Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center – Guaranteed place to see bears. On the way into Yellowstone.
Yellowstone – We did the North Loop Day 1. PRO TIP: Download the National Parks App before getting into the park. There is little to no cell reception. The app is a great way to find everything you want to see.
Cody, WY – We stayed at the KOA in Cody. It’s about an hour from the park. Cody also has many great sites to see that we didn’t plan for this trip.
Day 5
Yellowstone – The South loop.
- Some of our favorites between both days:
- Mammoth Hot Springs, Undine/Wraith Falls, Mud Volcano, West Thumb Geyser Basin, Old Faithful (& the Inn), Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone Grand Canyon.
Grand Teton – This Park is connected to Yellowstone. This is where we saw a mama bear with 3 cubs! We did Signal Mountain, Jenny Lake, Snake River, Oxbow Bend, Jackson Lake.
Jackson Hole – I wanted to see the 3 Million Dollar Bar but we didn’t get to.
From here, we started our drive home with a stop in Colorado to see family.
Hollyday Planner 