My husband and I will be travelling from Australia to Yellowstone next October to explore the north west of the US. Our trip commences with a 4 day tour of Yellowstone and then we start on the road trip. We're thinking Wyoming, Montana and the Dakotas. We know there are some special National parks in that area that we want to see, but we're also interested in history - cowboy and Indian history. Taking secondary roads if possible. We would welcome any help in planning this road trip. (2 - 3 weeks?)

Welcome back after a 15 month absence. Which Port of Entry would you choose to enter the US from Australia?
My plan would be to spend a day or two in Portland or Seattle and then board the Amtrak Empire Builder east overnight to Whitefish Montana. Rent a car in Whitefish or Kalispell and go to see Glacier NP, Yellowstone and maybe Grand Teton National Parks. Return the car in Whitefish and take the train east to Minot North Dakota. Rent a car from there to see The Missouri Breaks, the Three Tribes Museum, Theodore Roosevelt NP (north & south units), Mount Rushmore, Badlands NP, Custer State Park and Wind Cave National Park. Return the car back to Minot ND following a different route than you took to get as far south as Wind Cave.
Take the Empire Builder back to Portland or Seattle. If you want to see more of Oregon or Washington, rent a car and go to see Crater Lake (Oregon) or Mt. Rainier or Olympic National Parks Washington.
I'm guessing that if you visited all the spots I mentioned, it would be closer to 3 weeks from Port of Entry to Port of Departure.
The advantage to taking the train and renting a car to make a loop is that the train is moving toward your destination during the night and you are not paying for a motel room the nights you are on the train.

Not far from the eastern boundary of Glacier National Park is the Museum of the Plains Indians ( https://www.doi.gov/iacb/museum-plains-indian ) in Browning, MT.

Between Helena and Missoula there is the ghost town of Garnet:

https://flic.kr/p/7sfrJv

October is getting very late for Glacier. Here are past closing dates for the Going to the Sun Rd Logan-Pass-Open-Close-Dates_Press-Kit-6-26-2017.pdfI don't think they've announced an anticipated closing date for 2020 yet but keep in mind that's the last day the road can possibly be open. We've been to Glacier the first week of October where we hiked in 70 degree weather one day and later in the week it snowed. During our stay there were temporary closures and the road ended up closing for the season earlier than scheduled. There's an alternate route outside of the park to go from the east side to the west side or vice versa when the GTTS Rd is closed and you can still visit other parts of the park but it's one of the highlights. If you decide to go in October you have to be flexible and accept that you may or may not be able to drive it. All in park accommodations are closed by October.

Same goes for roads in Yellowstone and Grand Teton. The official closing date for most roads within Yellowstone is November 2nd this year but again can close earlier https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/parkroads.htm We were in Yellowstone in late October/early November 2018 and several roads were already temporarily closed and never ended up re-opening. We were in Yellowstone mid-October last year and were stuck at Old Faithful for 2 days. We couldn't leave the Old Faithful area but were quite happy to walk the boardwalks and hike the trails there but anyone staying outside of the park had no access during those two days. Here are the closing dates for in park accommodations https://www.yellowstonenationalparkl...summer-lodges/

In Grand Teton the main highway through the park is maintained year round and all other roads close on November 1st https://www.nps.gov/grte/planyourvisit/roads.htm Some side roads such as the road up Signal Mountain can close much earlier. As far as accommodations, most close in late September/early October but Signal Mountain Lodge stays open through mid-October and the cabins at Dornans are open through late October. The town of Jackson is also close enough to use as a base and has year round accommodations.

Do you have experience driving in winter conditions? You'll need to be flexible and wait out possible storms. I would also carry emergency supplies in case you get stuck. We drive our own 4WD with snow tires and carry tire chains, extra food/water, blankets, shovel, ice scraper, etc. when we travel at that time of year. Yellowstone boardwalks can get very slick when there's snow/ice. I've found wearing traction devices over my hiking shoes or snow boots very helpful in that situation. October is our favorite time of year and can be blissfully quiet but you need to be prepared for volatile weather. You can have beautiful sunny fall weather or snow storms, sometimes both in the same week.

Gosh you guys - thanks for that. We actually fly directly to Jackson Hole on Sept 30 and our 4 day tour of YSNP and the Tetons commences on Oct 2. We hope it's not going to be too cold at that time: we've always liked travelling in the US in October for many reasons. Fingers crossed! Thank you for those links to closure dates, Patty. We'll have to work through those. We'd not considered train travel - and that could be fun. We'll look into that as well.

That ghost town looks great - will definitely be going to Browning and Helena.

Looks like we've got a lot of homework to do. Oh dear.

Thanks again

Archie

I posted a report with photos of our trip from this past October A Wine Festival, a Sheep Festival and Stuck in a Snowstorm at Old FaithfulMight give you a idea of how variable the weather can be at that time of year. You should be prepared for the possibility of below freezing temps in the evening. There were a few days where it didn't get above freezing during the daytime. We left California on October 5th and returned home on October 25th. If you're looking for warmer weather, I'd head south into Utah after your time in Yellowstone/Tetons. That's a very nice time of year for the parks there. There are a few busy days around fall recess at UT schools to be aware of and you'll need to book accommodations earlier over those dates. I don't know if 2020 dates are available yet but you can use last year as a guide https://www.schools.utah.gov/schoolcalendars

What are you doing on Thursday October 1? I try to avoid flying on those small commuter airplanes into small airports like Jackson Hole. The choice of rental cars might not be very good either.
We did also enjoy the Museum of the Plains Indian on the western side of Browning. Going north on US 89 from Browning toward St. Mary, we had to stop for a few minutes for wild horses licking salt from the highway.
September (after labor Day) is more of a sure bet that you will not get snowed out of places you wanted to see in Montana and northern Wyoming.
As for the Dakota's you can trace a part of the "Corps of Discovery" path followed by Lewis & Clark with the rest of the crew including Charbonneau and Sacagawea. Sacagawea was of the Mandan tribe but could speak other Indian languages which was helpful. The youngest member of the Corps of Discovery was Jean Baptiste Charbonneau (Sacagawea's infant son).
Jean Baptiste Charbonneau was the only member to return to Oregon where he died of pneumonia after falling in a river in SE Oregon in the wintertime. He was trying to travel from the gold country of California to a new discovery in Montana. In 2006 I saw his grave and left a Sacagawea dollar in the geocache hidden there.

Dear Tom, Michael and Patty

Thank you for the time you've put into this. You've got us thinking: we're able to bring this trip forward by a month which might help avoid that extreme weather in October. We're inexperienced in driving in snow (we know much more about fires than snow) - and we really don't want to take any chances.

So - onwards and upwards! Still plenty of homework to do.

Archie

Not trying to be pedantic, but what you've described is the Rocky Mountain region, not the Northwest. But it raises a question - is this the whole of your plans for this visit, or are the 2-3 weeks described just a part of the whole thing? If so, what does the rest of the trip look like? Where do you plan to fly in and out from?

I really do think moving the "high country" portion of the trip forward is the best bet. I've been snowed on in Yellowstone in August, and while of course no one can promise anything about the weather, it comes down to playing the odds. The chances are significantly greater that you'll encounter wintry conditions at higher elevations the farther you go into the autumn, and even if it isn't snowing you can well hit clouds, fog, overcast and other conditions that hamper the view.

One thing that would apply, however, is that you're unlikely to encounter any accommodation shortages (at least for those places that are open - many will be shut for the season) so you COULD play it more by ear than you'd have to with an earlier visit. You could even leave a big part of the itinerary unplanned, as it were, and modify things according to real time conditions.

On the western history front, if you could move the holiday forward to a September start, I'd heartily recommend spending a couple of days in Pendleton, Oregon. Starting in the second week of September, the Pendleton Round-Up rodeo and Native American encampment is one of the premier rodeo events in North America. https://www.pendletonroundup.com/ . Pendleton's location would make continuing the trip east to Yellowstone easy. You could also visit the stunning (and, outside the Northwest, the little-known) Wallowa Mountain area, with its lovely main town, Joseph, Oregon, named for Chief Joseph, the historically significant head of the Nez Perce.

Google the places on this map, which begins and ends in Portland. https://goo.gl/maps/YsLDmgbqT6GV9LWa7 This includes Pendleton and Joseph, then out to Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, east to Sheridan Wyoming (the picturesque home of Buffalo Bill) and up to the (melancholy and lovely) Little Bighorn Battlefield and the Crow Reservation, then back to Portland via Lewiston and Clarkston, the Walla Walla wine region, and the Columbia River Gorge. The whole of the Columbia Valley/Gorge between Walla Walla and Hood River is full of vineyards and orchards that will be in full harvest mode, overlooked by a couple of looming volcanoes in Mounts Adams and Hood.

This could make for a splendid driving holiday. Some pictures (not mine) to illustrate the various areas:

Joseph



Wallowa Valley



Downtown Sheridan WY



Little Bighorn battlefield



Land of Magic, Logan Montana (shameless plug for my favorite steakhouse in the US.)



Columbia River vineyards



Columbia River Gorge

Heck, Gardyloo beat me to it, I was going to suggest taking in a rodeo (usually last several days) and there is almost nothing going on in October other than something in Butte, MT but if you come in August or even early September there should be events going on, even if it is just a local small town event rather than the big stuff like Cody or Cheyenne.

Yes - of course, Gardyloo - we'll change the name of this trip to 'Rocky Mountain Road Trip! It even sounds so much better!

It's official: we're commencing our road trip on 31 August out of Jackson Hole. We feel so much better about this - thank you all for pointing us in the right direction.

There are some excellent suggestions there. It would be great to see a rodeo - and the American Indian Encampment. Little Big Horn is a must. Looks like a lot more homework. You're right, Gardyloo, - I think we'll play-it-by-ear with the accommodation. The children are back in school then, so it shouldn't be a problem. Those photos are fabulous and we're getting excited.

Jaimie - we love your small towns so much more than your large towns. It would be great to find a little rodeo in our travels. We'll have to do a 'google'.

Thanks again

Archie

Moving the trip to September is a good idea. Snow is still a possibility but the odds are lower. You'll want to prebook accommodations over Labor Day weekend which is September 4-7 this year or come after that.

Are you flying out of JAC or are you planning a one-way road trip? One-way car hire can get very expensive, and not all car rental companies will allow it out of small stations like Jackson Hole.

I'm glad you brought up the car rental. We were thinking of collecting the car in Jackson Hole and dropping off at a different place. I just did a quick check, and none of the car hire companies will let us drop off in - say - Butte. Our trip might have to be a circuit which might work. We'll see.

Thanks, Gardyloo

Starting on August 31 - Do you still have at least 17 days in the US? Do you have to start in Jackson Hole or could you fly to Kalispell Montana? Making a big loop starting and ending in Kalispell would work OK with a train trip from Whitefish to Portland or Seattle on the Amtrak Empire Builder. I was allowed to leave the rental car that I rented at the Kalispell airport at the Whitefish Amtrak station at no charge.

Thanks, Gardyloo

I'll have to look into trains on this trip - which could be fun.

Archie