Beatle

Thank you Fodorites for making our Europe trip so memorable! We'll be flying into Denver, the first leg of our 3 week trip will be to Rapid City, Badlands area so I'll start with questions there.... Suggestions for some sites to see to break up the trip betwn Denver and Rapid City? Thinking about Scott's Bluff and Custer Park...maybe a hike around Sylvan Lake. Undecided on where to stay, want to visit the usual sites...Badlands, Rushmore, Deadwood, Crazy Horse etc. We're thinking about lodging in Rapid City, but also like scenic villages, not a necessity but maybe access to hiking (easy to medium), moderate pricing.

tomfuller

Here is your guide to hotels in the Rapid City/ Mt. Rushmore area. https://www.travelocity.com/Mount-Ru...l-Guide-Hotels
Try to see Wind River Cave NP.

Beatle

Thanks Tom!

Beatle

Have looked at several posts but still undecided where to stay....Rapid City, Keystone, Hill City, Custer Park (possibly Blue Bell)... any suggestions?

HotWheels

I recommend staying in either Hill City, Custer or Keystone,SD for small towns or one of the lodges in Custer State Park (State Game Lodge, Sylvan Lake Lodge, Bluebell Lodge). The lodges would be older, traditional lodging within the park with scenic views/animals/easy hiking trails, dining at each lodge available. The small towns have numerous lodging/eateries/local shops to explore. Each option is centralized to all the area attractions, so either choice would be perfectly fine.
Hill City has a winery/brewery, if you like to sit & watch the world go by, as well as local artisan shops. Sylvan Lake has an easy walking path around the small lake; rental kayaks/paddleboats, I think. State Game Lodge is near some of the bison herds/offers jeep tours within the herd/has a good buffet in their dining area. Blue Bell Lodge has riding stable/chuckwagon dining excursions.
For attractions, I would not miss Jewel Cave (descend in elevator; view caverns/nice colors/lots of steps, but they take time to accommodate different levels of visitors' climbing steps). Wind Cave also good. Mammoth Dig Site near Hot Springs (near Custer State Park) is an ancient sinkhole full of Mammoth bones, in an enclosed building/museum. Mt Rushmore, of course - be sure to view the short movie while there on how it was built. Crazy Horse Monument is also in the process of being carved into a hillside - interesting to see; Native American museum on site. Drive thru Custer State Park/Needles Hwy/Iron Mountain Road will give you scenic views/animal viewing.
Deadwood is also in the Black Hills, but further North. It used to be a Wild West town, but now is filled with casinos/tourist shops. If you have time it may be worth a look, but a lot of the old charm is gone.
Badlands are about an hour East of Rapid City area on I-94.
You can easily drive the loop within the Badlands & return to your Black Hills "base" in a day. Stop at the small town of Wall, SD at the entrance to the park/5 minute drive to Main Street Wall Drug shops/eateries. (In the days before air-conditioned cars, it was a much-appreciated stop for water, lunch, restrooms, etc).

Beatle

Many thanks for the great info hot wheels. I've looked into some cabins in Hill City and Keystone on vrbo. May spend 3-4 days in that area. We'll be headed to Little big horn after that...would appreciate any suggestions on where to stay around there. Thanks!

HotWheels

If you stay in the Hill City/Keystone area, the morning of your departure you could make your way to I-90 by way of passing thru Deadwood, if you wish. You could visit Buffalo Bill/Calamity Jane's gravesites, look around a bit, then continue onto I-90 towards Little Bighorn. Another option could be to take a slight detour to see Devil's Tower(WY). Not much to do there, but seeing climbers scaling the walls of the tower is interesting (there's a walking path around the tower).
Little Bighorn Battlefield/Museum can be seen in a couple hours, depending on your interest level. After leaving there, make your way on I-90 to Billings, MT (short drive) for best lodging options, assuming that you're traveling West.
Also in the area, just East of Billings, is Pompey's Pillar (about 3/4 mile off I-94/very easy on/off Hwy access). Museum/site of where Lewis & Clark passed by/carved their names in the cliffs on their way exploring the West. If I may ask, when/where else are you traveling to?

Beatle

Hot wheels....When we leave I think we'll stop at Devil's Tower, then to Little Big Horn. Thanks for mentioning it would be doable in a couple of hours, from there maybe we'll head to Billings.
After that we're heading to Yellowstone for 3 nights, then to Grand Tetons for about 3 nights....undecided after that, open for suggestions! Many thanks!

Beatle

We booked a cabin near Hill City for 4 nights.
Any suggestions on what is the best/scenic route to enter Yellowstone...will be coming from Little Big Horn. Thanks!

Beatle

Re my previous question on entering Yellowstone, after leaving Little Big Horn I'm considering going to Red Lodge, Mt and spending the night, then Beartooth into Yellowstone. Would welcome any suggestions on where to stay if coming in on Beartooth. Thanks!

HotWheels

After leaving Little Bighorn, depending on what time of the day you think it will be, you could stay in Billings, MT or proceed on to Red Lodge. It doesn't make any difference as far as the route - that's the way to go to enter the park thru Beartooth Pass (highly recommend going in this route for scenic views - be advised it's high up in the mountains, slower speeds with multiple turnoffs).
Red Lodge is a small village with limited lodging; Billings is a city with multiple lodging/eateries. We stayed at Best Western Kelly Inn (basic rooms in a lodge décor/restaurants nearby). It really depends how far you want to drive for the day or the "feel" of where you want to stay. You will connect with the road leading to Red Lodge at Billings, so either choice would not put you off of your route.

Beatle

Great, thanks hotwheels. Any suggestions on where to stay in Yellowstone if coming in on Beartooth. Thinking about spending 3 nights in Yellowstone.

Patty

When is your trip? If this summer, then wherever you can get a reservation at this point http://travelyellowstone.com/ You don't need to stay at the same place all 3 nights. Yellowstone is quite big so moving accommodations is fine. If you can't find anything inside the park, look at the gateway cities of Gardiner, West Yellowstone or even Cooke City. You can always keep checking back for in park cancellations.

Beatle

Thanks Patty! I'll be in Yellowstone Sept 12, 13 and 14. I'll check out that website..

Patty

Have a back up route for the day you drive into Yellowstone as an early snow storm can temporarily close the Beartooth at that time of year. Dunraven Pass between Tower and Canyon is also susceptible to weather closures and be aware that the road between Mammoth and Norris will fully close for construction from September 10th to October 6th this year https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/parkroads.htm

Beatle

That was a great site for Yellowstone lodging Patty. The only one with vacancy for sept 12 and 13 was mammoth....had mixed reviews, but that time of year guess I can't be picky. I may check Cooke City, and it's a longer drive but maybe Cody also.

Beatle

I booked 2 nights at Mammoth, will have 2 nights/3days in Yellowstone, then heading to Grand Teton NP. Appreciate any suggestions for lodging in GTNP. Thanks!

Patty

You can check availability for several Grand Teton lodges here http://www.gtlc.com/

Signal Mountain Lodge is operated by a different concessionaire and has a good location http://www.signalmountainlodge.com/

If those aren't available, there are some cabins in Moose https://dornans.com/

The town of Jackson isn't too far to base for a Teton visit (the park is much smaller than Yellowstone) and has a lot more accommodation options. Teton Village at the base of Jackson Hole ski resort does as well.

Beatle

Thanks again Patty. I found Yellowstone lodging from the website you gave me, will check the site for Teton lodging. Someone mentioned Dubois, a western flair and about 45 mins to GTNP.

HotWheels

If you're still looking, try West Yellowstone for your Yellowstone portion of the trip. Nice, small town at west entrance to park. We've come in over Beartooth, stayed in West the entire time and didn't have a problem traveling the park. The advice about the pass is good; never know what sort of weather you're going to get up in the mountains. Last time entering late June, we encountered a little snow/hail mix at the highest elevation; before & after were fine.