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We have 5 days to get to Bellingham before we take the Alaskan ferry. After two days in Badlands National Park we still have 5 days before getting to the ferry. Any suggestions what routes to take with stunning scenery and maybe places to stop for a hike or two, visit a museum or historical sights? Thanks

susannewc

Have you considered The Black Hills National Forest? It has beautiful scenery plus Mt Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Monument as well as the town of Deadwood(lots of old west history here).
Also, near Medora,ND is the Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

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Thank you for your recommendation. Should we drop Badlands and just go for two days to Black Hills NF?

Can you recommend places to stay in Black Hills? Don't want to spend more than $150 per night.

Aren't Badlands NP and Theodore Roosevelt NP similar in regard to geology? I don't know either of them but eager to find out more.

Gardyloo

One of my favorite parts of the country.

IMO you don't need to stray too far off I-90. After the Badlands, make for the Black Hills (a short drive) and spend a day or two exploring - see Mt.Rushmore, of course, and Crazy Horse (you can ignore, or not, the commercial "attractions" nearby - snake displays, stories of Borglum's life, etc.) and visit Deadwood and Lead ("leed"). Plenty of hikes and diversions thereabouts.

Then into Wyoming and Devil's Tower - see if the "nice" aliens are still around, then maybe a stop in Sheridan for Buffalo Bill associations.

In Montana, be sure to visit the Little Big Horn battlefield - a very moving place, then if you want a taste of Yellowstone, you can head down from Livingston Mammoth Hot Springs for a quick look at one of the best parts of the park for small geyser and hot spring action (look for Minerva's Terrace for instance.)

Then back up to Bozeman, and east to the Manhattan turnoff for a steak at the Land of Magic steakhouse.

Visit the big hole in the ground in Butte, cut up to Helena to see the fabulous architecture and explore Last Chance Gulch, then to Missoula, a very pleasant college town amidst wonderful scenery.

If you like water sports, there are numerous possibilities on Lake Coeur d'Alene in Idaho, or cut off from I-90 to US 2 in Spokane and head for Grand Coulee Dam - really quite spectacular.

From Grand Coulee cut through the Colville res to SR 20 for an easy and wonderfully scenic drive through the North Cascades National Park to the junction with I-5 at Burlington, about 20 min. south of the turnoff to the Alaska ferry terminal in Fairhaven (S. Bellingham.)

You'll need to pick and choose from these offerings - an embarrassment of riches.

Gardyloo

Correction - Manhattan and the Land of Magic steakhouse is west of Bozeman. More details in a trip report I did recently for Flyertalk - http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=685006

utahtea

If you want stunning scenery, then I'd drive though Yellowstone National Park and spend a couple days there.

Badlands and Theodore Roosevelt National Parks are similar. Theodore is out of your way to Bellingham.

Utahtea

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Great ideas. Thank you. Maybe driving through Yellowstone and spending two nights there is not a bad idea. Actually I like it a lot. Never visited this park. maybe we should just drop a visit to Badlands NP this time. But how often we are going to be in that area. I want spectacular scenery but also no crowds if possible. We could drive Yellowstone but is it possible to add Devil's Tower, Little Big Horn Battlefield and Helena? In what order? We can dedicate 3 nights for visiting Yellowstone NP and theses places. What to do? Where to go? What to see? Maybe spending another night to visit the North Cascades National Park before we get on the ferry? Our trip is getting longer and longer. I thought it would take us a week to drive from NC, now I am not sure if we can make it to the ferry in 10 days. Any suggestions where to spend one night before getting on the ferry in Bellingham?