Mount Rushmore to Yellowstone National Park is an attraction-heavy road trip route from South Dakota’s Black Hills to northwest Wyoming. You should plan for 4 days in the Black Hills, one day for the long drive and 5 days split between Yellowstone and Grand Teton. If you follow our 10 day itinerary exactly, you’ll cover 1,283 miles which will require 31 hours and 25 minutes of driving time.
In this guide we’ll help you plan every step of your Mount Rushmore to Yellowstone National Park road trip itinerary, based entirely on our own personal experiences.
Our Road Trip Experience
We’ve driven from Mount Rushmore to Yellowstone twice, and we’ve spent a lot of time exploring South Dakota’s Black Hills, Yellowstone and Grand Teton. We think 10 days is the perfect amount of time to see the best of each region, keep costs down and not feel too rushed. Read more about us.
Mount Rushmore and Yellowstone are both US bucket list juggernauts. We’ll show you where to visit in the Black Hills, your route options to Wyoming and how to make the most of your time in Yellowstone and Grand Teton. This is one of the best road trips in the US and we hope it will surpass your expectations.
Route Options
Yellowstone is around 450-500 miles drive from Mount Rushmore depending on the route, and it takes about 8 hours to drive without stopping. There are several routes you can take from Mount Rushmore to Yellowstone, including Cloud Peak Skyway (US-16), Bighorn Scenic Byway (US-14) and I-90.
Cloud Peak Skyway and Bighorn Scenic Byway are more picturesque and cross the Bighorn Mountains. Both lead to Cody and Yellowstone’s east entrance. Whereas I-90 is a longer and less scenic route, but it leads to Cooke City and Yellowstone’s northeast entrance, or Gardiner and Yellowstone’s north entrance.
Our preference is to drive Cloud Peak Skyway to Cody. The route has beautiful scenery and it means beginning Yellowstone at east entrance, which is more efficient for this particular itinerary. You’ll see how to make this route work later in our itinerary walkthrough.
Helpful resources:
Places You’ll Visit
If you follow our 10 day Mount Rushmore to Yellowstone itinerary, your road trip will consist of 5 major areas:
- Mount Rushmore
- South Dakota’s Black Hills
- Drive from the Black Hills to Cody
- Yellowstone National Park
- Grand Teton National Park
Let’s take quick look at what you can expect from each area.
1. Mount Rushmore
Mount Rushmore National Memorial is one of the most iconic and recognizable landmarks in the world. And it’s simply unmissable on your visit to South Dakota. We’ve seen the famous granite sculpture at sunrise in October and covered in snow in April, and it’s an impressive spectacle.
What you need to know:
- You don’t pay to enter but you do pay $10 to park (pass is valid for one year)
- Pick up a ticket as you enter and pay at a machine before leaving
- Your America the Beautiful Pass does not cover entry
- The sculpture is southeast facing so the light is best at sunrise
- We recommend walking the Presidential Trail boardwalk
- You can watch an evening lighting ceremony May-September
- You only need 2-3 hours at the most to see Mt Rushmore
Further Reading: How to visit Mount Rushmore
2. South Dakota’s Black Hills
South Dakota’s Black Hills are beautiful and shouldn’t be missed when you plan your road trip. There’s lots of fun things to do near Mount Rushmore and after two extended trips of our own, we’d go as far as saying the Black Hills region is one of the most underrated places we’ve visited in the US so far.
Here’s just some of the things you can do:
- Custer State Park
- Needles Highway
- Iron Mountain Road
- Sylvan Lake
- Black Elk Peak Trail
- Wind Cave National Park
- Jewel Cave National Monument
- Spearfish Canyon
- Badlands National Park
Further Reading: South Dakota’s Black Hills road trip itinerary
3. Drive From The Black Hills To Cody
Your drive from Mount Rushmore to Yellowstone is actually going to be a drive from Spearfish, SD to Cody, WY via Cloud Peak Skyway (US-16) if you follow our itinerary. It’s a 332-mile drive and it would take around 5 hours 30 minutes without stops, but you will stop a few times on the way.
Here’s the route:
- Devils Tower National Monument
- Buffalo, Wyoming
- Cloud Peak Skyway
- Cody, Wyoming
4. Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park is one of the most unique and extraordinary landscapes in the world. We’ve spent a total of 8 days in Yellowstone across visits in April and October. Both were amazing experiences but each came with its own set of challenges, including weather and logistics.
Here’s a few top tips for visiting Yellowstone:
- May and September are the two best months on balance
- Yellowstone is very expensive and overcrowded in summer
- Hotel rooms book up a long way in advance
- You can see the park in 3-4 days
- It’s more efficient to stay in different areas each night
- The park is bigger than you might imagine
- Weather is unpredictable in spring and fall
- Animals are most active at dawn and dusk
Further Reading: The best things to do in Yellowstone
5. Grand Teton National Park
Grand Teton is one of our favorite US national parks because it’s small, easy to visit and incredibly photogenic. Even if Yellowstone is your top priority, we recommend you plan for at least one full day in Grand Teton. Trust us, you won’t regret it!
Here’s what you need to know:
- Grand Teton is less crowded than Yellowstone
- Mormon Row and Schwabacher Landing are top photo spots
- You can stay in Jackson, Teton Village or Moran
- It’s a very easy going park to visit
- You can see the highlights in 1-2 days
Further Reading: How to spend 2 days in Grand Teton
Important Itinerary Information
The three most important things you need to consider when planning your road trip from Mount Rushmore to Yellowstone are your start and end points, hotels and weather.
1. Start/end – Our itinerary below assumes you begin in Rapid City, SD and end in Jackson, WY with 10 full days available. You might need to add on another day if Jackson doesn’t work for you as an end point, so you can drive to Salt Lake City or back to Rapid City to catch a flight.
2. Hotels – You shouldn’t have any problems booking hotels around the Black Hills or in Jackson, but Yellowstone is a different beast. We recommend you book your Yellowstone hotels as far in advance as possible. We’ll cover the best hotels for each night in the itinerary below, and we’ll give you tips on alternatives for each night after the itinerary.
3. Weather – If you plan this road trip for summer you shouldn’t have any issues with weather. But if you want to avoid the crowds and keep costs down by visiting in late spring or early fall, you might run into some problems with snow and road closures. It’s important to stay on top of live conditions throughout your trip. We’ll cover the best time of year to plan this road trip near the end of the guide.
- Yellowstone – Live conditions
- Grand Teton – Live conditions
Need help planning your road trip? Our popular travel guidebooks are filled with expert advice, tips and information to help you make the most of your time and money.
* Mount Rushmore to Yellowstone road trip itinerary (45+ pages)
* Yellowstone National Park (60+ pages)
Day 1 – Badlands + Keystone
After arriving into Rapid City the evening before, either stay in Rapid City or drive to Wall which is the nearest town to Badlands with food and hotels (here’s our guide to the best hotels near Badlands). On the morning of day 1, enter Badlands via west entrance below Wall and drive the loop road heading east.
Our favorite viewpoints in Badlands include Yellow Mounds, Panorama Point, White River Valley Overlook and Big Badlands Overlook. Door and Notch are the two best hikes in Badlands for you to consider. The Door Trail is easy and picturesque, whereas Notch Trail has a few adventurous elements.
Leave Badlands via east entrance and stop at Minuteman Missile Visitor Center to learn about the Cold War. Honestly, we didn’t expect much but it was a fantastic museum. Once you’re done, drive to Keystone and check into a hotel. Consider going to see the Mount Rushmore evening lighting ceremony if you’ll be visiting between May and September. And keep your parking pass safe so you can use it the next morning.
Top rated Keystone hotels:
- Budget – Comfort Inn + Suites
- Mid range – K Bar S Lodge
- Luxury – Under Canvas
Further Reading: The best places to stay in Keystone SD
Day 2 – Mount Rushmore + Custer State Park
Get an early start from your Keystone hotel and drive 2.5 miles to Mount Rushmore (use the same parking pass as the night before). We recommend arriving for sunrise to beat the crowds and to see the sculpture glow pink and orange, but we know getting up early isn’t for everyone! Walk the Presidential Trail and visit the Sculptor’s Studio.
Head back towards Keystone but turn right onto US-16A, which is better known as Iron Mountain Road. It’s a fun and scenic drive with curves, tunnels, hairpins and even pigtail bends. Turn right at the end to arrive at Custer State Park visitor center and watch the welcome video narrated by Kevin Costner.
You’ll pay $20 to enter Custer State Park and your pass is valid for 7 days. Keep your pass because you’ll need it for Sylvan Lake and Needles Highway later in the week. Next, drive the 18 mile one-way Custer Wildlife Loop to see animals like bison, burros, coyotes and eagles roaming freely in the wilderness. Turn left at the end heading for dinner and your hotel in Custer.
Top rated Custer hotels:
- Budget – Rocket Motel
- Mid range – Bavarian Inn
- Luxury – EO Bungalows
Further Reading: The best places to stay in Custer SD
Day 3 – Custer State Park + Wind Cave
Get another early start and drive back through Custer Wildlife Loop because animals are more active in the morning. But instead of completing the loop, you’ll turn left onto SD-87 for 7.5 miles to Rankin Ridge Trail within Wind Cave National Park boundaries.
Hike the 1 mile roundtrip loop trail for far reaching valley views from an old fire tower. After the hike continue to Wind Cave visitor center. Cave tours can be booked in advance or bought on the day first come first served. We strongly recommend you book any cave tours in advance at this official recreation.gov page. If you can’t get on a tour, try nearby Jewel Cave instead.
After your cave tour, drive back to Custer for a late lunch. Head up SD-89, turn right onto the incredibly picturesque Needles Highway and hike the awesome Cathedral Spires Trail (using your Custer State Park pass for entry). Cathedral Spires Trail a short hike through ponderosa pine forest ending at granite needle-like rocks. Spend a second night in Custer.
Top rated Custer hotels:
- Budget – Rocket Motel
- Mid range – Bavarian Inn
- Luxury – EO Bungalows
Day 4 – Black Elk Peak + Spearfish Canyon
After breakfast, drive up to Sylvan Lake and hike the amazing Black Elk Peak Trail, which we’ve included in our guide to the 50 best US hikes (again, your pass will get you into Sylvan Lake). Black Elk Peak is a moderately difficult 7 mile roundtrip hike with magnificent summit views that should take you around 4-5 hours. We recommend you go up trail #9 and go down trail #4. Add a spur hike to Little Devils Tower near the end. Strong hikers might also want to hike Sunday Gulch Trail on the west side of Sylvan Lake.
Drive west on Needles Highway heading for Hill City and stop at Crazy Horse Memorial. Next, drive north through the Black Hills to Deadwood and spend an hour walking the historic main street to learn about famous wild west gunslingers and cowboys.
At this point you can either take 14-ALT through Lead to Cheyenne Crossing and Spearfish Canyon or you can stay in Deadwood and begin with Spearfish Canyon the next morning. Deadwood is a lively and vibrant casino town, whereas Spearfish is very quiet. You can stop at Roughlock Falls, Eleven Hour Gulch, Devils Bathtub Trail and Bridal Veil Falls on your way down through Spearfish Canyon.
Top rated Spearfish hotels:
- Budget – Best Western Black Hills
- Mid range – Fairfield Inn + Suites
- Luxury – Spearfish Canyon Lodge
Further Reading: The best places to stay in Deadwood SD
Day 5 – Devils Tower + Cloud Peak Skyway
You’ll drive from the northern Black Hills to Yellowstone on day 5. By leaving from Deadwood or Spearfish, you’re already close to Devils Tower and I-90 for the journey west. We recommend taking US-85, SD-34 and WY-24 to Devils Tower because it’s quieter and more scenic than I-90. It should take just over an hour.
Walk the flat paved path leading around the base of Devils Tower, then drive to Joyner Ridge Trailhead for the best views looking back over America’s first national monument. Get on I-90 and stop for lunch in Buffalo, Wyoming. You now have a choice between driving Cloud Peak Skyway or Bighorn Scenic Byway to reach Cody.
Do you want to visit Little Bighorn Battlefield? It’s an hour north of the turn for Bighorn Scenic Byway on I-90, so you can add in a side trip. Otherwise, drive Cloud Peak Skyway from Buffalo to Ten Sleep. It climbs the southern Bighorn Mountains then drops into a dramatic narrow canyon. We’ve driven it twice and it’s a lot of fun, we even got our drone up for a few photos the second time. Arrive into Cody for dinner and check into your hotel.
Top rated Cody hotels:
- Budget – Cody Cowboy Village
- Mid range – The Cody
- Luxury – Chamberlin Inn
Further Reading: The 8 best hotels in Cody Wyoming
Day 6 – East Yellowstone
Grab an early breakfast in Cody and head west to Yellowstone Lake via east entrance. A little known secret is that east entrance has a lot of active wildlife, so keep your eyes peeled. If you’re a very strong hiker, you might want to take on Avalanche Peak on the way in. Otherwise, walk the easy trail to Storm Point for views over Yellowstone Lake.
Turn right onto Grand Loop Road to begin your Yellowstone adventure. Your first stop is Mud Volcano and Dragon’s Mouth Spring. Next, you’ll drive through Hayden Valley, one of the best wildlife spotting areas in the park.
Continue north towards Canyon, but turn right onto S Rim Drive so you can see the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Stop at Upper Falls View and Artist Point at the end of the road. Next, you’ll take N Rim Drive on the other side of the river for more views but from different perspectives. Stop at Canyon Village for lunch.
If you’re into hiking, you should definitely hike Dunraven Pass to Mount Washburn. Afterwards, take a short walk to see Tower Fall and Yellowstone River Overlook. If it’s getting close to dusk, you should definitely head into Lamar Valley for the best chance of seeing wildlife. Drive to Gardiner for dinner and your hotel.
Top rated Gardiner hotels:
- Budget – Yellowstone Big Rock Inn
- Mid range – Yellowstone Riverside Cottages
- Luxury – Yellowstone Gateway Inn
Further Reading: The 8 best hotels in Gardiner MT
Day 7 – North + West Yellowstone
If you didn’t have time for Lamar Valley the evening before or seeing wildlife is your top priority in Yellowstone, you should wake up early and drive into the valley for sunrise or as early as you can. It’s widely accepted as the best place to see wildlife in the park and animals are most active at dawn.
Head back to Mammoth Hot Springs to walk around the lower and upper terraces, potentially stopping to hike Lava Creek to Undine Falls. It’s not ideal driving back on yourself, but it’s part of visiting Yellowstone. Mammoth usually has lots of bison roaming around the roads, and we got stuck in a bison jam nearby.
Next, you’ll head south until reaching Norris Geyser Basin which is split into two distinct sections. Walk around both, and don’t miss Steamboat Geyser and Echinus Geyser. Pass by the beautiful Gibbon Meadows but don’t miss Artists Paintpots Trail, which lead to bubbling mud pots and colorful pools. Stop at Gibbon Falls before leaving the park via west entrance to spend your evening in West Yellowstone.
Top rated West Yellowstone hotels:
- Budget – Elkhorn Cabins
- Mid range – Crosswinds Inn
- Luxury – Explorer Cabins
Further Reading: The 8 best hotels in West Yellowstone
Day 8 – Southwest Yellowstone
Your eighth day is dedicated to enjoying what makes Yellowstone so famous; unique geysers and vibrant hot springs. Start with Lower Geyser Basin and Fountain Paint Pot Trail. Next, make your way down to Midway Geyser Basin to see Excelsior Geyser, Opal Pool, Turquoise Pool and Grand Prismatic Spring.
Drive to Fairy Falls Trail parking lot and hike the first 0.7 miles to reach Grand Prismatic Spring Overlook so you can take the most iconic Yellowstone photo. If you’re into hiking, continue the trail until you reach the stunning Fairy Falls waterfall. Next up is Biscuit Basin (with a potential hike to Mystic Falls) and Black Sand Basin.
Finally, you’ll reach Upper Geyser Basin, which is where you can watch the world famous Old Faithful Geyser blow almost exactly on schedule throughout the day. Don’t miss the short hike to Old Faithful viewing area and make sure you walk around all of Upper Geyser Basin, as far as Morning Glory Pool. Head back to West Yellowstone, but stop on Firehole Lake Drive for a stunning sunset reflecting in Great Fountain Geyser.
Top rated West Yellowstone hotels:
- Budget – Elkhorn Cabins
- Mid range – Crosswinds Inn
- Luxury – Explorer Cabins
Day 9 – South Yellowstone + Grand Teton
After breakfast in West Yellowstone, you’ll drive back through Lower, Midway and Upper Geyser Basins, and you’ll pass over the Continental Divide, before reaching West Thumb Geyser Basin. Spend an hour exploring the colorful pools and geysers around West Thumb, then drive one hour down John D Rockefeller Jr Memorial Parkway to northern Grand Teton.
Turn right onto Teton Park Road and take a sharp left onto Signal Mountain Road. Climb the winding road for 4 miles until you reach Jackson Lake Overlook. Walk a few hundred feet down the trail and soak up special views over the Teton Range.
Back on the loop road, stop at the turnouts and take a right turn after Mountain View Turnout onto Jenny Lake Road. Pull into String Lake for quick walk, then carry on to Jenny Lake Overlook for stunning views. Continue to Chapel of the Transfiguration to see the famous “mountains through the church window” view, then drive 12 miles to Jackson for dinner and your hotel.
Top rated Jackson hotels:
- Budget – Cowboy Village Resort
- Mid range – Inn on the Creek
- Luxury – Huff House Inn
Further Reading: The 8 best hotels in Jackson Wyoming
Day 10 – Grand Teton
If you’re into photography like we are, you simply can’t miss John Moulton and TA Moulton barns on Mormon Row at sunrise (see photo above). It’s one of our favorite photo spots in the US. The problem is that nearby Schwabacher Landing has an equally special sunrise scene with pristine mountain reflections and we saw a moose there at dawn, so you have a decision to make!
Whichever you choose, visit the other one straight after. Next, you can stop at Snake River Overlook and Oxbow Bend before returning to Jenny Lake. You could relax on the shores, take a swim, float on an inflatable or paddle. But we recommend hiking Cascade Canyon Trail instead.
Either walk around Jenny Lake or take a ferry service to west shore boat dock to cut a few miles from the hike. From there it’s a short trail up to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point. Stronger hikers should continue into Cascade Canyon for stunning views and wildlife spotting. Finish the trip with a celebratory beer back in Jackson!
Top rated Jackson hotels:
- Budget – Cowboy Village Resort
- Mid range – Inn on the Creek
- Luxury – Huff House Inn
Hotel Alternatives
When planning your Mount Rushmore to Yellowstone road trip, you’re going to run into issues with hotels. Don’t worry, this is natural. You shouldn’t have any problems getting a good hotel at a reasonable rate anywhere in South Dakota, but that all changes when you start booking in Yellowstone.
We recommend you find and book your Yellowstone hotels first, then book the rest of your trip.
In our 10 day itinerary above, we have you staying at hotels in towns around Yellowstone. But you absolutely don’t have to follow those recommendations. You can instead stay in national park lodges within the park boundaries. They book up fast, they’re expensive and they have limited dining options, but they are more convenient and you’d get a more authentic experience.
Here are alternative places you can stay inside park boundaries if you follow our itinerary:
- Night 5 – Lake Yellowstone (instead of Cody)
- Night 6 – Mammoth (instead of Gardiner)
- Nights 7 + 8 – Old Faithful Inn or Old Faithful Lodge Cabins (instead of West Yellowstone)
- Night 9 – A park lodge (instead of Jackson)
When To Drive This Road Trip
Yellowstone’s roads are fully open between early May and the end of October. If you plan to follow our road trip itinerary from Mount Rushmore to Yellowstone in shoulder seasons, you must make sure the east entrance road and the roads leading to Old Faithful and Grand Teton in the south are open. Here’s the opening and closing dates for the various roads around Yellowstone.
In May, June, September and October you’d benefit from less overcrowding and traffic, more hotel availability and cheaper prices, and higher animal activity. But the weather can be unpredictable, especially earlier and later in the season.
In July and August you’d benefit from warmer temperatures and a better chance of clear weather. But the park is heavily overcrowded and traffic is a problem, hotels are booked up and expensive, and animals are less active.
How Much Will It Cost?
It’s not easy to give an exact figure on how much a road trip like this will cost you because we don’t know if you’ll book cheap or luxury hotels, if you prefer to eat sit down meals three times a day or how many attractions you want to visit in the Black Hills. But from our experiences, we’ll try to give you a ballpark figure based on what we think the average couple will spend.
Hotels will be your biggest expense, especially once you reach Yellowstone and Grand Teton. You should book hotels in advance to get better rooms at cheaper prices, particularly if you plan to stay in park run lodges. We think you should aim for somewhere around $200-250 USD per night on average (depending on seasonality).
Food is harder to break down because it’s so subjective. Let’s say you’ll be eating three meals a day but lunch won’t be a sit down restaurant meal. We think a couple should aim for around $80 per day total. Then you have to factor in attractions (entry prices total $210 without national parks pass) and gas (1,283 miles at an average of $2.90/gallon and 25mpg).
All in, a couple is likely to spend something along the lines of $3,000 – $3,500 total for 10 days, excluding flights and hire cars. That’s for mid range hotels, eating out twice a day and entry to national parks, state parks and monuments. You could book cheaper hotels, eat at fewer restaurants or skip certain attractions to bring that number down.
More Yellowstone + Grand Teton
- Where to stay in Yellowstone
- What to do in Yellowstone
- Best airports near Yellowstone
- Visiting Yellowstone in April
- Mormon Row at sunrise and sunset
- Salt Lake City to Yellowstone road trip
- 2 days Grand Teton itinerary
- 4 days Yellowstone itinerary
- Schwabacher Landing at sunrise
- Visiting Yellowstone in October
More From South Dakota
- What to do in Badlands
- Best hikes in Badlands
- Guide to visiting Mount Rushmore
- Things to do in Custer State Park
- How to hike Black Elk Peak
- Where to stay near Mt Rushmore
Want more Wyoming content? Head over to our Wyoming Travel Guides to explore Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park and beyond.
We hope this Mount Rushmore to Yellowstone and Grand Teton road trip guide helps with planning your itinerary!
Please let us know if you have any questions or need help planning your road trip in the comments below.
Happy Travels,
Mark and Kristen
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Mark and Kristen Morgan are travel, hiking and photography experts. Over the last 6 years traveling full time, they have explored more than 40 countries and 30 US states.
Where Are Those Morgans has been featured in USA Today, Gestalten, Get Your Guide, CityPASS and Condé Nast Traveler along with various other publications. Read more about us.
Hi Guys,
The guide looks great and I am planning to go in May of 2024. I find that it is very difficult to get one way rental car from rapid City to Jackson compared to Jackson to rapid city. So my question is if I plan my trim from Jackson to Rapid city, will it be exactly the opposite of your plan or do I need to modify the route. Appreciate any help you can provide. Thank you.
Hi Sam, glad to hear you’ll be taking this road trip in a few months. We just checked and Rental Cars have one-way hire cars from Rapid City to Jackson available in May. Hopefully you can find a good option for your dates with them. In truth, the route we created was designed to be most efficient going from Rushmore to Yellowstone (ie. being in the right place at the right time of day). You could reverse the route and it wouldn’t be too different, but it would need some slight modifications for things like Wind/Jewel Cave tours or switching the attractions around so you don’t set off on a hike too late in the day. But it’s definitely doable. Let us know how you get on and have a fantastic time!
This guide looks great, and I am just wondering if you have a price range for the trip, not including things like food. I want to do this as a couple’s trip or Honeymoon trip, so just two people. I would like to have a goal for saving up for this trip. Thanks for any help you can give.
Hi Kyle, glad to hear you’ll be driving this road trip and congrats if it’s for a honeymoon. Honestly, the cost will depend mostly on hotels. Without knowing the time of year you’ll do it or your preference for hotels (cheap and cheerful or luxury, especially if honeymooning), you should probably aim for around $150 per night on average. Hotels are cheaper in the Black Hills, more expensive around Yellowstone. Book your hotels in advance (now for this summer or fall would be ideal) to save because there’ll be more availability at park run lodges and in towns near the parks. Add in gas, food and attractions – you’re looking at something in the $2,500 – $3,000 range total for 10 days, excluding flights and hire cars. That would be for mid range hotels and eating out 3 times a day, plus entry to national parks, monuments, state parks etc. You can always go for cheaper hotels, eat at fewer restaurants or skip certain attractions to bring that number down. Hope that helps and remember it’s just a ballpark figure. Have a great trip!
@Mark and Kristen Morgan, Thank you so much; this definitely helps. Your itinerary looks like the vacation of a lifetime for us.
This is am amazing itinerary! Thank you so much. If we have more time, say, closer ti 14 or 15 days, where and how would you recommend spending that time? We love hiking, but are casual, so no summiting mountains for us.
Thanks Katie! To be honest we’ve included the major attractions in both regions, so it could just be a case of slowing things down so it’s not as action packed. Maybe add one extra day in each of the Black Hills, Yellowstone and Grand Teton. There’s loads more you can do in Yellowstone and Teton, we’ve just covered the most unmissable spots for a first visit. You could also potentially include a stop at Little Big Horn Battlefield if that’s of any interest. If you don’t mind the full-on days, maybe consider driving up to Glacier National Park after Yellowstone and Teton to spend 2 or 3 days there. Or there’s always a drive down to Salt Lake City where you can see the Great Salt Lake, Bonneville Salt Flats, Park City or hike loads of amazing trails on S Big Cottonwood Canyon Rd. Hope that helps and have a fantastic trip!
We are driving up from Kansas City the end of April to first week of May.
What do you recommend as the best way to add the Little Big Horn battlefield into this itinerary?
Thank you for your amazing itinerary. It looks to be so helpful with the trip we are planning.
Hi Steve, we’re glad to hear you’ll be driving this road trip next year. The easiest way to include Little Big Horn Battlefield is to drive I-90 directly from Devils Tower and then you can loop around to Cody from Billings. You’d be replacing the drive from Buffalo to Ten Sleep on the Cloud Peak Skyway. One thing to note is your exact dates. The east entrance into Yellowstone from Cody is projected to open May 5 2024 but any adverse weather could push that date back. You might be better off continuing on I-90 from Billings and entering Yellowstone to the north at Gardiner because that entrance is open year round. Have a fantastic trip!
We just returned yesterday from our 11 day trip which we followed as the Morgans suggested and it was truly amazing. I cannot thank you enough for your well-thought-out and easy-to-follow itinerary. I was travelling with my 13 year old twins and my 80 year old parents and we all had such an incredible time. We even stayed in the recommended hotels. It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience! Thank you very much!
Hi Dineen, Thank you so much for taking the time to leave this nice comment. We are happy to hear our itinerary helped you during your amazing road trip! It’s such a beautiful part of the country and your family will always have those wonderful memories! Take care, Mark and Kristen
Your 10 day itinerary from Mount Rushmore to Yellowstone is amazing! We are traveling September 7th. We so appreciate you mapping out our vacation!! What days do you recommend we pack our lunch?
Thank you, Brenda! We are happy to hear you will be following this amazing road trip route and you are doing it at a fantastic time of year. Lunch is a great question (we will update our guide soon to include potential lunch stops because it is helpful). We would suggest packing lunches on days 1 and 2 in South Dakota, as well as days 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 in Yellowstone and Grand Teton. You can find food in Yellowstone at Canyon Village, Mammoth or Old Faithful if you really don’t want to keep eating packed lunches but they will save you a lot of time, effort and money. Eat big breakfasts and dinners if possible, and take snacks into the parks. Hope that helps and have a fantastic trip!
@Mark and Kristen Morgan,
Thank you for sharing your ideas! Do you have any Restaurant recommendations for dinner? We have made our accommodation reservations using your recommendations. We are looking so forward to our trip and you have made planning easy! Thank you again!
You are more than welcome, Brenda. Dinner is a tough one without knowing what your group likes to eat, but what we usually do is look at Google Maps and see which places have high ratings near our hotel then narrow it down to our cuisine preference. There are great places to eat in most of the places you will visit so we are sure you find the right spots each evening!
Hello,
I am trying to plan this trip for my family of 4 (2 adults 2 kids (ages 9 & 7)). This has become almost a full time job but your site has been so helpful! We are coming from MN and hoping to drive the loop up through ND – MT – WY – Yellowstone – WY – SD then back home. I have all the places and things we want to see and do but I just can’t get them straight for what to do on what days…any suggestions would be so helpful! Yellowstone is very intimidating to plan!
Hi Kristi, sounds like an amazing road trip route you have planned! We understand how you feel about planning and wanting to make the most of every day. Without knowing your priorities or how many days you have, we would suggest choosing maybe 5-10 of your top attraction priorities and making sure you allow enough time to properly visit those places. You can easily do Yellowstone in 3 full days if you move around at a reasonable pace (staying at different hotels each night helps with efficiency but it isn’t vital). Grand Teton is amazing and you can see it in one day, especially as you won’t be hiking the longer trails with young kids. The Black Hills in SD you can do quickly enough depending on exactly what you want to see. Mt Rushmore only takes a few hours and with the kids you likely won’t lose a day hiking Black Elk Peak. Judging by how much effort you are putting in to planning, we know you will have it all figured out. Have a great time with your family!
Hello! I love this itinerary as it can be so daunting planning a trip like this. Are any of the “hikes” handicap accessible? We would potentially be traveling with our older parents, some of which use motorized scooters for longer walks. Thanks
Hi Melissa, glad to hear you are planning to see the Black Hills and Yellowstone with your family. Accessibility is a great question – some of the half day adventure hikes such as Black Elk Peak in SD, Avalanche Peak in Yellowstone and Cascade Canyon in Grand Teton are of course not accessible for motorized scooters, but many of the popular stops in this itinerary are accessible via wooden boardwalks or flat paved paths. For instance, you will be able to see behind the Badlands Wall from the Windows Trail in Badlands (and so much more right from the car), you can access the amphitheater in Mt Rushmore (but not the Presidents Trail which has steps), you can circle around the base of Devils Tower WY on a paved trail, almost all of Yellowstone’s most iconic attractions like Old Faithful, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Grand Prismatic Spring, Morning Glory Pool, Lamar Valley and Hayden Valley are all accessible via wooden boardwalks or right from the car. Hope that helps but please let us know if you have any more questions and we can do some more digging. If not, have a fantastic trip!
Hello,
Thank you so much for this itinerary! I was planning a trip Yellowstone on 5/18/23 and I was overwhelmed but your guide is helping a LOT.
One note – I noticed that the road section between canyon and tower fall doesn’t open until May 26 (weather pending), and that the Norris Geyser Basin is closed in 2023 until further notice.
I’m still learning about the layout of Yellowstone, but would I be fine following your itinerary if I am visiting on 5/18, or would I need to make adjustments due to road closures? If adjustments are needed, do you have any recommendations?
Thank you!!
Hi Samuel, we’re happy to hear you are planning a trip to Yellowstone in a few weeks. Yes, Norris Geyser Basin is closed until further notice (these things always happen in Yellowstone!) and the road between Canyon – Tower (Dunraven Pass) does not open until May 26th. Note these dates are “projected” and weather dependent. If you follow our itinerary and decide to visit before Dunraven Pass opens, you can combine days 6 and 7 into one day. So you would enter from Cody, see Lake Yellowstone, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and Hayden Valley in the morning, then drive up to Mammoth, before heading into Lamar Valley around 1-2 hours before sunset at which point wildlife is most active. You can then pick up the remainder of the itinerary. Hope that helps and have a fantastic time!
Can not thank you both enough! My sons and I will be doing this journey and using your suggestions as a guide was incredibly helpful! We are so excited.
You’re very welcome, Audrey. We hope you and your sons have a fantastic time!
This trip sounds fantastic. We are planning this trip now for late August early Sept. Is there anyway we could squeeze in Glacier if we add a couple of days? We want to do it all! We are thinking we can fly into Grand Rapids and out of Bozeman. Any thoughts? Thanks for your help,
.
Hi Tammy-Jo, great to hear you are planning this trip and yes of course you can definitely squeeze in Glacier! Instead of driving from Devils Tower to Cody (and Yellowstone east entrance), you can drive from Devils Tower to Glacier. It is a heck of a drive (maybe 10 hours) and it might be worth spending a night around 1 or 2 hours before reaching Glacier to reduce the long driving day and get a cheap room before waking up early to have a full day in Glacier. After you are done at Glacier, drive down through Bozeman and into Yellowstone north entrance near Mammoth Hot Springs. You can then drive down through one side of Yellowstone (west first for example) and down into Grand Teton, before looping back through Teton and up the other side of Yellowstone before exiting back in the north and flying from Bozeman. Hope that helps but let us know if you have any more questions. If not, we hope you have the best trip!
@Mark and Kristen Morgan,
Thanks! I will take a look at that route!
We are in San Diego, CA. What airport should we flight in and approximately how far from Mt Rushmore or the town? Also if we rent the car to start the adventure that would be arranged separately from your planed trip?
Thank you
Hi Nancy, to begin in South Dakota you will fly into Rapid City. After visiting Badlands, Mt Rushmore etc in the Black Hills, you will drive across to Yellowstone and Grand Teton. It would make more sense to drop off your hire car at either Jackson Hole airport Salt Lake City airport before flying back to San Diego. Our guide is an example itinerary for your to use, but we do not arrange hire cars for this trip. Have a great time!
@Mark and Kristen Morgan,
Thank you for taking to answer my question. I appreciated very much.
You are very welcome Nancy and have a wonderful trip!
Hi! I’m looking into this for April this year (in a month, eek). Do you think this would be good for a fam with an 11 and 13 yr old?
Hi Shan, yes absolutely this road trip is great for families with kids in the low teens. There’s plenty to keep them occupied in the form of Mt Rushmore, Devils Tower, geysers, hot springs and wildlife in Yellowstone, and towering mountain peaks in Grand Teton. However, we only recommend driving this route from May 1 through the end of October. In April, Grand Teton Loop Road is closed, Yellowstone doesn’t begin to open certain roads until half way through the month and there’s a strong chance you will get caught in snow. If we were planning a road trip at the beginning or middle of April with kids, we would do the Utah and Arizona loop instead. Start in Las Vegas, drive to Valley of Fire, Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Arches and Canyonlands, Monument Valley, Horseshoe Bend, Grand Canyon South Rim, back to Vegas. Or a variation of that depending on your timeframe. Hope that helps but let us know if you have any more questions!
Thanks Mark and Kristen for your itinerary ideas. We are looking to plan a similar trip and would follow your itinerary and maybe expand it a day or 2. This would be our first and most likely only trip out west(traveling with teenagers can be a daunting task). We would be traveling late June/early July from Cincy Ohio. We normally just wing it but I hear Yellowstone area isn’t a wing it kind of place and you would want to make reservations.
We’ve thought about getting a roof top tent for our truck and winging it hoping to find camping near your itinerary stops. Or the other option would be to fly into Sioux City and out of Jackson hole and renting a Minivan and finding budget friendly hotels on a whim without reservations near your itinerary stops.
What are your thoughts??
This reminds me of planning for Disney and trying to use all the fast passes 😂
Thanks again
John and family
Hi John, thanks for getting in touch and we’re glad to hear you have a family trip planned from Mount Rushmore to Yellowstone, it’s a great option and you will definitely enjoy the stops. Honestly, in late June / early July we probably wouldn’t wing it. We hear you though – we normally wing it on road trips because we like the flexibility, but we normally travel in April, May, September and October so that is actually possible!
If you do go the flights and minivan it will cost a lot more than the rooftop tent option. You might be able to find camping but we would definitely book some campsites asap. If there are no campgrounds inside Yellowstone, look for campgrounds near Gardiner and better yet West Yellowstone. From there you can day trip into the park. Grand Teton is amazing and you will have a better chance finding camping near Moran maybe.
The obvious downside to driving with the tent is the long days you would lose driving from Cincy to the Black Hills and back from Jackson to Cincy. If we had your options, we would probably try to plan out the trip both ways, add up the costs, driving time, convenience factor and availability to come up with a best case scenario.
Hope that helps but let us know if you have any other questions. If not, have a great family trip!
What would you recommend if we are coming from Ohio wanting to do Rushmore ,Badlands out to Yellowstone. We will be driving and basically just sightseeing due to my husband health. Would you say Badlands and Rushmore in one day and keep moving west? We are going to travel to first point in one long haul from Ohio so we can try and see all the major places. Do you have information to help us with hitting all the spots starting in Ohio to Yellowstone trying to do the whole trip in a week. Wish it could be longer though. Thanks for any help you can advise. Plus if just sightseeing how long would you stay in each spot?
Hi Nikki, sounds like this going to be an incredibly action packed week. Here’s what we would do: DAY 1 – Drive 17 hours from Ohio to Wall SD on I-90, spend the night in Wall. DAY 2 – Wake up and do Badlands first, then Mt Rushmore, drive Spearfish Canyon and see Devils Tower before sunset. You can do all 4 in one day if you are quick and you won’t miss out on anything. Stay somewhere near Devils Tower or even drive to Buffalo WY. DAY 3 – Drive Cloud Peak Skyway to Ten Sleep and continue to Cody WY, before entering Yellowstone east entrance. Look around Lake, turn right onto loop road, spot wildlife in Hayden Valley and drive both rims at Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone to see the waterfalls. Stay in Canyon. DAY 4 – Drive up past Mt Washburn to Tower and head into Lamar Valley for more wildlife, drive across to Mammoth Hot Springs to see the unique springs there, continue down to Norris Geyser Basin and stay in West Yellowstone. DAY 5 – Head back into the park and explore all of Upper, Midway and Lower Geyser Basins which includes Grand Prismatic Spring and Old Faithful. Continue to West Thumb and drive all the way down through Grand Teton including Jenny Lake and Signal Mountain. DAY 6 – If you are interested, watch sunrise at either Mormon Row or Schwabacher Landing in Grand Teton, before exploring any more of the Tetons and southeast Yellowstone before beginning the long drive back to Ohio. We would leave the area via Cody so you will have completed the full loop in Yellowstone and seen Grand Teton. DAY 7 – Continue the drive back, it is around 22 hours from Cody to Ohio. Hope that helps and enjoy your trip!
@Mark and Kristen Morgan,
Thank you for responding. This is very helpful, we may need to add a couple of days. Thanks again for your help!
What would you estimate cost per person for trip if u can breakdown some items. Car/gas/night hotel stays
Hi Helen, tough question and it will have to be a real rough guess here, but you’ll be looking at something like $900 – $1000 for a 10 day hire car pick up in Rapid City airport drop off in SLC airport. Hotels are going to cost anywhere between $80 – $200 per night depending on how much of a budget you are on. You can of course stay in more expensive hotels each night if your budget allows but we’re using an average travel budget for reference. Not sure how much gas is going to be in SD and WY when you travel, but the only long distance drive is from Devils Tower to Cody. Both SD and WY have cheaper than average gas. Maybe plan for around $200 – $250 per person per day for hotel, food, car, gas and misc expenses. Hope that helps and have a great trip!
We used your itinerary for our upcoming trip September 8-19, 2022. With the flood that happened in June just curious what changes you would recommend?
Hi Kimberly, thanks for getting in touch and we’re glad to hear you have this trip planned for next month. You should still be fine to follow the itinerary as normal with entrance to Yellowstone via Cody (east entrance). The northeast entrance Cooke City to Tower road is not currently open to vehicles (nor is North entrance via Gardiner but you won’t need that one anyway). So enter via Cody as per our itinerary and follow day 6 but either stay in Mammoth Hot Springs or Canyon. If there is no availability at either, you will have to stay in West Yellowstone before picking up the itinerary on Day 7. Lamar Valley is not accessible via car at the moment which is a shame, but Hayden Valley is a great alternative for wildlife spotting. In fact, east entrance on your way into the park is another excellent wildlife spotting area. So one option would be to take day 6 more slowly and save Mt Washburn / Tower area for day 7 instead. Then you can pick up day 8 without any more disruptions. Hope that helps but let us know if you need any more help. Have a great trip!
Thank you for this itinerary it was spot on! We stayed at the J Bar and S Lodge, the Chamberlin Inn and the Parkway Inn on your recommendations and they were wonderful! I look forward to copying more itineraries by you!
Hi Sandy, we’re so glad you found the itinerary and hotel recommendations helpful! This is one of our favorite routes in the US and we’re happy to hear you had a great time. Now it’s time to start planning your next road trip…!
Hi! Awesome post, I’m looking to possibly book a trip for 6 days to see Mt Rushmore and end in Yellowstone. My boyfriend is a huge history buff and has always wanted to explore here. How would you condense this? We’re also looking to rent an RV to make overnights easier. I’d appreciate any and all thoughts. Thank you!
Thanks Cara! Great to hear you’re thinking about this trip and you can easily condense the best of both areas into 6 days with an emphasis on history. Renting an RV would make sense if you wanted to travel between places at night and be closer to each attraction by first light the next day. We would suggest cutting all hikes in our guide, don’t do Wind Cave NP or even the Custer wildlife loop. You’ll want to do Mt Rushmore and Crazy Horse. If you do Badlands we highly recommend you visit the Minuteman Missile Museum about the cold war – it’s really interesting. Then on the way over to Yellowstone you could potentially spur off to stop at Little Bighorn Battlefield. Then try to squeeze in as much of Yellowstone as you can. Hope that helps but let us know if you have any more questions!
I love this….. I love that you included Buffalo and Ten Sleep!! Several years ago I moved from central Illinois to Cody, WY. I’ve made the drive between the two places many times and this is the route I take. I actually lived (past tense – I’ve now moved back to Illinois) along the Chief Joseph Highway, not too far from Cooke City. I HIGHLY recommend driving the Chief Joseph from Cody up to the NE entrance of the park! The scenery is just amazing. The view from Dead Indian Pass is not to be missed – especially if you’re coming to it from the East side (from Cody). The drive from the pass to the end of the Chief Joseph, where it meets 212, the Beartooth Highway, is gorgeous! The closer you get to 212, the better your view of Pilot and Index Peaks…. It’s just awe-inspiring!!
Hi Michelle, thanks for getting in touch! We couldn’t miss the Buffalo to Ten Sleep drive, we’ve done it twice and loved it both times. You’re absolutely right, the Chief Joseph Highway is amazing, we drove it in October 2019 when it was covered in fresh snow and it was stunning. Anyone following this itinerary could definitely drive the scenic highway and enter Yellowstone to the NE, starting with Lamar Valley instead of Lake Yellowstone via Cody and East entrance. There are so many options for Yellowstone! Best of luck back in Illinois!
I took this trip last year! It was amazing! We used your blog as a guide and followed it pretty closely. I was amazed at the wildlife we saw and the beauty of the landscape. I would take this trip again and again. I cannot thank you enough for sharing your ideas. I’ve had both my knees replaced, so I wasn’t able to do all of the long rugged hikes and I appreciate that you took the time to score them. I have sent this article on to 2 of my cousins that are interested in this trip also. I almost forgot…we drove my soft top Jeep which also made the trip even more fantastic!
Hi Kim, thank you for getting in touch and letting us know about your trip 🙂 we’re glad to hear you found the itinerary helpful! The soft top Jeep sounds amazing – we might have to give that a go next time. Hope your cousins can also make the trip and have as much fun as you did!
Mark and Kristen, I love your itinerary; we are going to do it in reverse the first week and a half in October this fall. On October 4th, we’ll be going from Cody to Gillette and would like to travel on the Cloud Peak Skyway you mentioned and visit Little Big Horn Battlefield before we get to Gillette. Can you recommend the highways we should take to do this? Any idea if we could run into bad road conditions on our route?
Hi Tim, thanks for getting in touch and it’s great to hear you’ll be visiting Yellowstone / Grand Teton and the Black Hills. You’ll be doing the Wyoming parks at a great time without the crowds and the Black Hills are spectacular the first few weeks of October. You can easily do Ten Sleep to Buffalo on Cloud Peak Skyway from Cody to Gillette. If you want to do Little Bighorn Monument, your best bet is to take I-90 W once you reach Buffalo. It’s quite a way up (100 miles), and then you’ll be going back on yourself to get into Gillette. We did Cloud Peak later in October and the road was plowed so there should be no issues on your trip. Let us know if you have any other questions and have a great trip!
@Mark and Kristen Morgan, thanks for your response. Have you ever been on Highway 212 over to Broadus or Highway 14 to Spotted Horse, dropping down to Gillette from the north?
Hi Tim, no we haven’t done either of those two routes. We would have preferred to stay off I-90 the entire time between Black Hills and Yellowstone but we didn’t have enough time. Enjoy the trip!
It seems one-way rental car options from Mount Rushmore to Yellow Stone to Sale Lake City are pretty limited or unavailable for the May-June period. If you are flying in from the east coast (Washington DC) and want to take this trip (or reverse) what other options (coach, public transport, flights) are there if one-way car rentals are not available.
Hi Roger, yes right car rentals have been limited, unavailable or even unaffordable for quite some time now. The only way to guarantee a car at a reasonable price is to book a long way in advance. There are tour options available if you google Mt Rushmore Yellowstone bus tours, but ideally you would have your own car to drive between attractions within each region. Maybe leave it until next year but book it all up as far in advance as you can? Good luck!
We did a very similar 10 Day Itinerary, but in reverse order. We started with Grand Teton, Jackson and Yellowstone. Then traveled to Little Bighorn via the Beartooth Path/Highway. Next we visited Devils Tower and Spearfish. Followed by a drive through Blackhills to Deadwood, Crazy Horse and Mount Rushmore. Last, a visited Badlands National Park. It was a dream road trip.
I highly recommend this.
Sounds awesome, David. This exact route (or in reverse as you did it) is about as good as it gets for visiting both Mount Rushmore and Yellowstone regions.
This is the exact trip my husband and myself along with son and daughter in law want to take but they cannot take a 10 day vacation, both still working , we would be flying in from Florida and want to see alot of things around Rapid City but also Yellowstone a couple of days and fly home, probably 5 or 6 days, is that possible and still see alot, just happened on to your information about travel and really love it.
Hi Linda, glad to hear your plans of doing both Rapid City and Yellowstone! You can do both places in a short period, you’ll just have to drive a lot and we would suggest flying into Rapid City – then out of Bozeman back to Florida. You could try this: Day 1 – Morning explore Badlands, afternoon see Mt Rushmore; Day 2 – Drive Iron Mountain and Needles Highway, do Custer Wildlife Loop or hike Black Elk Peak; Day 3 – Drive Spearfish Canyon to Devils Tower and across to Cody; Day 4 – Enter Yellowstone east entrance, turn left and do West Thumb Basin morning, Old Faithful, Grand Prismatic etc afternoon stay in West Yellowstone; Day 5 – Norris Basin, Yellowstone Falls and Hayden Valley morning, Mammoth Hot Springs and Lamar Valley afternoon. Either stay in Gardiner then fly out of Bozeman or fly out on the fifth day. It will be action packed but it hits all the major highlights. Have a great trip!
I love the itinerary you have planned, but know the group I am going with can’t hike (only walks that are not too steep or uneven). What adjustments to the trip would you recommend. Also we will be driving in from Kirksville, MO, so starting at the Mount Rushmore side and will make it roundtrip.There is so much information, I’m finding it difficult to adjust. Any help you could provide would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Susan, thanks for getting in touch and we’re glad to hear you’re planning this amazing route. If your group isn’t big into hiking, we’d suggest taking things more slowly in each area. Our itinerary is very action packed and won’t suit every group doing this trip. Spend more time driving in the Black Hills, visit more local coffee shops, restaurants and bars in towns along the way. Grand Teton is beautiful so maybe include an extra day staying in Jackson in place of a long hike that we mention in the itinerary. Feel free to email us with any specific questions if you need a hand getting plans finalized but if not, enjoy your road trip!