sky23

I have been to Tetons and Yellowstone. I have 9 days to get to Minneapolis, and I scheduled 3 nights in Custer, SD. I don't like driving more than 5 hours a day, but I will if I have to.

I'd like to stop somewhere wonderful in Idaho for one night then push on to somewhere great in Montana for one night, then on to Badlands and finish in Minneapolis.

So:
*Where should I stop in Idaho? I am trying Coeur D'Alene but all the good hotels don't seem to have space for the 5 of us (including 3 young to old teenagers).
*Where should I stop in Montana? Do I need more than one stop?
*Do you think I can reasonably make it all the way from Custer or Mt Rushmore to Minneapolis in one day?
*Where might I stop after Custer/Mt Rushmore before Minneapolis for one night, if necessary?

Thank you!!

WhereAreWe

What time of year is this trip?

Mt. Rushmore to Minneapolis is at least 9.5 hours. It's doable in a day but not a fun drive.

Since you mentioned Badlands, I have to ask if you are planning on visiting as a day trip from Custer, or as a drive-thru on the way to Minneapolis? I would incorporate the trip to Badlands into your drive to Minneapolis.

Most people only spend 2-3 hours on Badlands, driving and stopping at some viewpoints, maybe a short hike or two. Unless you plan on spending a lot more time there, it doesn't make sense to drive roundtrip from Custer.

So, either you spend about half of day 3 in Custer/Black Hills, then go to Badlands for the rest of the day and continue on to somewhere east that night OR spend most of day 3 in Custer/Black Hills then drive to Wall for the night, get up early to drive thru Badlands and then continue on to Minneapolis in the same day.

I've only stayed in Sioux Falls and Mitchell on my way to/from the Badlands (I live in Minneapolis). There are some towns west of there that you could stay overnight in (Chamberlain?) but I have no personal experience with them.

kureiff

If you're staying in Couer d'Alene, then I'd look at Bozeman for your MT stop. It will take you about 6 hours to get to Bozeman from Couer d'Alene.

tomfuller

You might want to stop in Mitchell SD to see the Corn Palace.
Depending on how late in the day you exit the Corn Palace, you could stay there or someplace farther east.

Katzgar

I frankly wouldn't look for answers to your question. You will find the usual freeway off ramp motels and restaurants except they will be further apart. Look at the blue signs along the road to locate services and pull off when you need sleep, gas or food.

boom_boom

IMO Butte and the mining history offers more than Bozeman as a MT stop. The next day press on to Sheridan, WY, with a stop at the Little Big Horn Battlefield.

sky23

Thank you! I am going to think about your suggestions. Before I read your replies, I came up with this so far:
Leave Seattle WA
Coeur dAlene, ID for 1 night
Missoula MT for lunch
Bozeman, MT to look around
Livingston MT for 1 night (and look around?)
Broadus MT for 1 night?
On to Custer SD, stop at Crazy Horse for afternoon
Stay in Custer SD 1st night
Custer State Park—most of the day
Mount Rushmore in afternoon?
Stay in Custer SD 2nd night
On to Badlands
Spend day at Badlands, including night sky tour on weekend evening
Spend 1 night at Badlands lodging
Head out to Mitchell or Sioux City SD to spend 1 night
End in Minneapolis

To ignorant me, it looks like I have 2 extra nights to play with the 9 I’ve allotted.
I feel like I missed good stuff in Montana, or maybe I’m not being realistic re how I’ve played this out.
Husband is considering skipping Broadus and heading for Custer, so that would give me a 3rd extra night.

Now I am wondering: where should I spend the extra two nights?
What am I missing in MT?

I am going to consider your MT suggestions and would appreciate any others.

And if you would: what distinguishes Mitchell from Sioux City? I heard from someone else Sioux City is better. Do you agree or are they just different?

tomfuller

Mitchell has the Corn Palace that your kids might like better.
As for Montana, I think you would like Whitefish better than Butte or Bozeman.
You and the kids would never forget if you drove over the Going to the Sun road in Glacier NP.

WhereAreWe

I think there are far better things to do in the Black Hills than spend an afternoon at Crazy Horse. Personally, I think of it as a tourist trap - charge admission to get a distant view of a very-unfinished sculpture?

Are you stopping at Devils Tower on your way? Driving through Spearfish Canyon?

Sioux Falls, not Sioux City. Sioux City is in Iowa about 1.5 hours south of Sioux Falls.

Mitchell is a small town, Sioux Falls is a small city. There is more to do in Sioux Falls. They have a nice city park by the falls.
http://visitsiouxfalls.com/visitors/...do/falls-park/

Mitchell has the Corn Palace and that's about it. It's a building with murals on the outside made of different colored corn...not a place to linger and spend the night unless it works out to be a convenient stopping point.

If you are not going to drive from Badlands to Minneapolis in a day (and it is a doable drive), then you could stop off at Minuteman Missile National Historic Site just outside Badlands. There's also a nice state park (Palisades) a little ways east and north of Sioux Falls.

http://gfp.sd.gov/state-parks/directory/palisades/

kureiff

Whitefish is nice, but it's not exactly on the way without adding a lot of extra miles.

Look at Lewis and Clark Caverns between Butte and Bozeman. They are worth a stop. Plan on three or four hours. The caverns are great and full of a variety of formations. Tours take two hours and you need to be able to walk two miles and do a lot of steps.

The Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman is also pretty great. They have a wonderful dinosaur exhibit...all about finding the T-Rex in Eastern MT.

The Mining Museum is Butte is also a great museum. Butte has a fascinating history and the mining museum is very comprehensive with respect to Butte's history and under-ground mining in general.

Side-trips: Virginia City and Nevada City.

In MIssoula, get downtown. Check out Caras Park and the carousel and the kayaking wave on the river right next to the carousel.

Livingston, Missoula and Bozeman have the best food options. Missoula is my favorite for food.

Katzgar

I am frankly amazed. I have driven Seattle to MN many times over the years and never once planned an itinerary. You do realize the vagaries and uncertainties of a road trip completely void your itinerary don't you?

sky23

Wow, guys! THIS IS GREAT. Keep 'em coming, if you have more! My route is taking good shape.

ALF

We just did this trip a few weeks ago (https://www.facebook.com/albert.frie...5000001&type=3), although we continued on to NYC.

We drove through Oregon to Idaho in order to stop at Craters of the Moon, which I think is pretty darn cool. Lots of lava tube caves to explore and lava flows that look like they just formed yesterday.

We then carried on through the Tetons and Yellowstone, then up to Devil's Tower, which I think is very worthwhile.

In the Black Hills, check out the Needles area. I agree with others that Crazy Horse is unimpressive. Instead, I'd go to Wind or Jewel Cave.

Lastly, it would only be a little out of your way to visit the Spam Museum in Austin before heading up to Mpls. This was a surprisingly good time and a lot of fun.

yestravel

Custer State park is lovely - lots of nice hikes and several very scenic drives. The Badlands is fascinating and don't miss the night sky deal they do -- it was fun and interesting. It is certainly doable to go there as a day trip from Custer State Park, but I would spend the night at the Badlands, esp if you plan on seeing the Night sky deal.
Agree with other that Crazy HOrse is more tourist hype than anything else.

Thought Corn Palace was not much of anything. Unfortunately we got to the Spam Museum after its 5 pm closing so missed it, but it sounded like fun.

I wasnt in love with Devil's Tower and would skip it unless its on your route.

sky23

Hey, guys: I am a little overwhelmed with all the good advice!

Given the timing of hotel stops along the route, I think I need a great suggestion for stops between Missoula and Custer.

Which is better: Butte, Bozeman, Livingston, or Billings? I think Livingston might be better but I need to break up my next ride and so Billings might be better but some people said it wasn't such a great town. Plus, I saw described casinos near the good hotels in Billings and I don't want to my family to be near a casino.

In our quest for the 50 states, I'm thinking of buzzing up to ND so I need a stop, I think, between Butte, etc, and Bowman. But in the stops I considered, such as Hardin and Miles City, I saw described depressed towns and oil boom hopefuls who are drunk and rowdy.

I am ignorant and don't mean to pre-judge any town, that's why I'm asking!

tomfuller

Have you checked Miles City? Stay on I-94 into western North Dakota and then stop at Teddy Roosevelt NP. Drive south on US 85 to get to Spearfish, Sturgis and Rapid City.

kureiff

The casinos are not large casinos like in NV; it's all video-gaming machines, but they are in every town in Montana. Liquor licenses are quite expensive in MT, and so many bars have casinos to offset the cost of acquiring their liquor licenses.

Butte is an hour and a half drive from Missoula. It's an ugly town with a very interesting history.

Bozeman is larger than Butte and is a college town. It has better restaurants than Butte. The downtown area is very nice. It's a three hour drive from Missoula to Bozeman.

Livingston is 20 minutes past Bozeman. It's smaller than both Butte and Bozeman. It does have a couple of great restaurants. There is not as much to do in Livingston as in Butte or Bozeman.

Billings is about five hours from Missoula. It's the largest town in Montana. I prefer Bozeman to Billings.

Miles City is fairly small but it's a nice town. I wouldn't be too concerned about the oil field crowds. I've never stayed there...always driving through it.

(I grew up in a small town between Butte and Bozeman and live in Great Falls, MT now.)

sky23

thank you!!!