susie

Help... we are planning a 2-week or so trip out west from Georgia. Some places of interest are Yellowstone, Mt. Rushmore, Little Big Horn, etc. Can't decide whether to fly out and rent a car, or drive from Georgia. Any ideas or suggestions?

Brenda

If you go to Mt. Rushmore, stay at one of the resorts inside Custer State Park. They are the best places. The newer log cabins at Blue Bell Lodge are nice but book soon. There are also two others-Sylvan Lake lodge-ask for the new wing and Legion Lake Lodge.

Paul Rabe

If you drive from Georgia to Yellowstone and back, about half of your two weeks will be spent just getting there. It could be done but would probably leave you frustrated. If you can afford a plane and rent-a-car, that would be the way I'd do it on a two week trip.

Bob Brown

Susie: have you figured how many miles it is from Atlanta to Yellowstone? It is 2100 miles on the most direct route! By the time you detour by Mount Rushmore and Lt. Col. Custer's Last Stand, it will be closer to 2500.
The above poster is correct, it is a lot of driving. I figure if you go to Yellowstone by the most direct route, it would take you 3 days at 700 miles a day to get there. That means you will be spending about 11 - 12 hours a day on the road, because you will be stopping for gas and something to eat.
It can be done, but that sort of driving day in and day out causes even good travelers to get a little short with each other.

Why don't you consider flying to Billings or Sheridan or even Denver and driving from there. Frontier has some budget level flights from Hartsfield, if you don't mind getting to the airport at 5 AM!!

dnorrie

Hi Susie - I agree with Bob - flying is much better - neither Sheridan or Billings are great towns but all around Billings are great places. Small towns with lovely places to stay and the scenery is incredible. Try to take some of the secondary roads around Montana rather than the interstate. The people are friendly and helpful. Cody is quite a town - you would have fun there. I simply love Red Lodge Montana and also Cook City which is right on the edge of Yellowstone. Montana is a very big state with diverse landscapes and quite unpopulated compared to your neck of the woods. Around Little Big Horn it is flat prairie and closer to Red Lodge and Yellowstone, incredible mountain views. You will be quite surprised at the driving distances between Rushmore and Big Horn etc. If you make it to Red Lodge, go to Bear Creek and take in the pig races - it is a blast. Cook City is very small but has a wonderful small motel that is basic but so clean you won't believe it and the owners, Rick and Mick are great. Remember though, depending on the time of year you are going, that often the high passes in Yellowstone are closed due to poor weather conditions. The Bearstooth Hwy. is incredible but can be closed periodically into July.

Diane

Are there just two of you? If you are a family with children, flying will be a major cost. Renting a car will add a lot on top of that, especially with drop-off charges if you don't want to drive back to where you rented the car. If you DO decide to fly, consider flying to Salt Lake City. I believe you could get good rates on Delta from Atlanta to SLC. Then you would have a five hours or so (?) to drive to Jackson/the Tetons and then up to Yellowstone. Flying to the smaller towns costs a lot of money, I believe. Make a circle from there down to Rocky Mountain National Park, just a bit N/NW of Denver, then down to Denver and across Interstate 70--a beautiful drive past Vail and other ski resorts--back into Utah. You could add an extra day or two to drive to Moab and see a bit of southern Utah. Then return to SLC, saving Mt. Rushmore for another trip.

It IS possible to drive. My family (with three children) drove from Maryland to San Diego and back in one month. We drove a southern route going out and a more northern route coming back (including Mt Rushmore), taking the time to do something fun every day. For example, we stopped to spend 6 hours at Opryland, though many of our day's stops were only 3-4 hours. Three times we spent 3-4 nights in one place, visiting relatives. I believe it was on that trip that we drove through Rocky Mt. National Park, though we didn't see many other national parks, most of which are worth a longer stop than we had time for. We had previously been to Yellowstone, and on a later trip we went to the Grand Canyon.

Good luck with your planning--you can get a lot of great advice on this site!

rosie

A month in a car with your kids? How awful! How old were they?

Elaine

My family did a 2 week trip (with 2 children 9 & 11)last July and we travelled from Jackson Hole, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Cody, throughout Utah - all the national parks but Zion (ran out of time). All that I can say is it was an absolutely outstanding vacation. Wyoming and Utah are two of the most spectacular and interesting states. People were extremely friendly everywhere. We flew into Jackson Hole and out of SLC. If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me for more details. Have a fantastic trip!

Kay

A few days ago there was a good air special available ATL-Cody. I don't know if it is still out there, but you could check if it is listed at clarkhoward.com

J T Kirk

I'd fly.
Places to see (but not all in same trip):
Southwestern Utah - Arches, Canyonlands, Monument Valley, Bryce and Zion (and lots in between). This is a part of America that is truly unique -- towering red rock formations. really cool.
Jackson Hole/Yellowstone - real cowboy, Jeremiah Johnson land. Mountains, wildlife, buckin' broncs.
Santa Fe/Taos - high desert. the light in this area is something to see. it is impossible to take a bad photograph there.
Yosemite -- a magical place. In the valley, you look up at Half Dome and zel Capitan. It is awesome. I actually like Yosemite better than Yellowstone (but I absolutely LOVE Jackson.)
You have so many choices, but please consider flying. You will have so much more time to see things when you get to where you're going.

JM

HI. MY HUSBAND AND MY 11 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER AND I DROVE FROM WESTERN PA. TO S. DAKOTA, TOOK IN MT. RUSHMORE, CRAZYHORSE,JEWEL CAVE, CUSTER NAT.PARK, AND THE BADLANDS, THEN ON TO DEVILS TOWER, AND SPENT TIME IN WEST YELLOWSTONE AND YELLOWSTONE NAT. PARK.WY.THEN ON TO THE ROCKYS IN CO. ON OUR WAY HOME. TOOK CLOSE TO 4 WEEKS. SURE IT WAS LOTS OF RIDING,BUT MY IDEA IS NOT TO HURRY UP AND GET THERE BUT TO STOP AND SMELL THE ROSES ALONG THE WAY TOO. REMEMBER ITS THE JOURNEY THATS IMPORTANT.I WOULD DRIVE IT. IT WILL BE SOMETHING YOU WILL NEVER REGRET. THE PLACES YOU SEE, THE PEOPLE YOU WILL MEET, AND THE SCENERY IS WORTH IT. WE CAMPED IN A TENT THE WHOLE WAY OUT AND BACK,WE HIKED,DID HORSEBACK RIDING, & SIGHTSEEING. MY DAUGHTER HAS COLLECTED SO MUCH INSIGHT OF THE REST OF THE COUNTRY, AND MEMORABILIA FROM EACH STATE. I THINK WITH FLYING YOU'D MISS SO MUCH. ON ANOTHER TRIP WE DID THE GRAND CANYON, GREAT SAND DUNES, MESA VERDA, AND THE PAINTED DESERT, PETRIFIED FOREST. GOOD LUCK!