Car trip from ohio to Mt Rushmore. 10 to 14 days in July, 2016, 4 adults in 60s. What to drive to St. LOUIS, stay a day, travel to Rushmore, Deadwood, Crazy Horse. What else might be interested to know about. Is Bryce canyon or Yellowstone National Park doable. Probably 2 nights per area.
Ok I better much just ask the questions and need advice. I'm new to roadtrips. Please advise.
Let's go from ohio to st louis to South Dakota. Anything along the way to or from..
[Edited: 2016 Feb 23 03:13 - Roosta:95057 - Moved from Support to North America forum]
Reply to this From Ohio to Mt Rushmore is over 1000 - 1200 miles of mostly flat land. There are interesting stops along the way, especially if you follow the Oregon Trail (via St Louis and Kansas City/Independence) or the exploration route of Louis and Clark. On the way to Rapid City don't miss Wall Drug and the Badlands NP. But once you've made the effort to cross the Great Plains, you should then enjoy the Rocky Mountains and its beautiful scenery. So head west over the Wyoming border to see Devils Tower and then to Yellowstone and Grand Teton NPs...not to be missed! From there you could head southeast to Dinosaur NM, Arches and Canyonlands NP before heading east on I70, with perhaps a slight detour through Rocky Mountain NP, before heading home. But those Great Plains can be boring! Anyway, have a great trip!
Reply to this Welcome to Travelblog, and the adventure of road trips! Ohio to western South Dakota through St. Louis.requires three days of driving. Western South Dakota to Yellowstone requires two more. With 14 days available, doing just the Black Hills leaves 8 left for touring. Attempting Yellowstone as well will leave only four days, which is too little to cover everything. Find a few additional days and it will be well worth it.
St. Louis can easily be seen in a day. The Arch is the only must-do sight. For a nostalgia trip, find the Ted Drew's custard stand on the original Route 66.
The Black Hills needs at least three days, unless you want to just skim the surface. I liked the patriotic lighting ceremony at nightfall at Mount Rushmore. Unless you only want to gaze at the monument from the highway (which is free) the Crazy Horse memorial will need a few hours to do it justice. The area also features Custer State Park, one of the most scenic parks in the US. The wildlife loop road practically guarantees sighting buffalo. The Needles Highway, also in the park, is tricky to drive but incredibly scenic. The Journey Museum in Rapid City features Lakota Sioux history, plus dinosaurs, and is well worth a few hours.
Badlands National Park sits just east of the Black Hills. It features unearthly eroded canyons and spires. Some of the hiking trails are short and relatively easy too. Also, there is Wall Drug, a famous tourist stop advertised on thousands of billboards. I found it rather tacky, but that's the whole point.
For a taste of cowboy culture, book dinner at a chuck wagon show. The Black Hills has a few. Skimming blogs from South Dakota will reveal many other ideas.
The trip will be a great adventure; looking forward to reading it!
Reply to this Hello Carol and welcome to Travel Blog
You have planned a fantastic road trip! We are so eager to read your blogs.
You've already been given some great suggestions. I'd suggest not eating in any chain restaurants. This part of the country has some amazing local diners. If you stick with National Parks you'll have a great time. This part of the country is very scenic. If you have some interest you will pass a couple of Presidential libraries or Presidential home towns and you will find some interesting things to do.
I agree with others that you are better off not traveling to Yellowstone or the Grand Tetons....it won't leave you enough time to see them.
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