4 states in 20 days: is that possible?
 

Hi folks! I am planning a trip for the Spring break. Since I am from Brazil and I don't get the chance to visit the US very often, this is what I want to do: arrive in Rapid City, rent a car and visit the Mount Rushmore in one full day. Next, drive to the Yellowstone Natl' Park. After that, I will drive straight to California, maybe stay one day in Salt Lake City. In California, I plan to go to SF, LA and the all the way down to San Diego. I plan to visit Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure while in LA and the San Diego Zoo and Sea World while in San Diego. I will probably have 20 days to do all that. Is that possible or should I leave some cities off? Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks.

Where are you flying into and out of? I'm not sure what it would cost to rent a car in South Dakota and drop it off in California if they'll even let you do that.
Frankly I'd stick with California -- you've got a lot to do there. But it would be possible to fly round trip from somewhere in California to somewhere to visit Yellowstone and maybe even Mount Rushmore. You've got about 5 or your 20 days just in driving between the places you mention before you get to California. That's a fourth of your whole trip lost.

That's really an interesting arrival location (Rapid City)? But nevertheless if you have 20 days you should be ok. Do you plan to depart from Rapid City also?

If you are planning to depart from the San Diego area you will just be doing a one-way road trip across the Mountain West States. The big issue is going to be your "spring break" time. It can get nasty in that area of the country that time of year for driving and some mountain roads will be closed if you are there before May 15th. Otherwise, you could head south instead of directly west out of Rapid City across the eastern flank of the Rockies through Denver south to Phoenix, Las Vegas then to San Diego, LA SF etc. less likely to have weather related problems that way.

Actually you are going to more than 4 states if you start in South Dakota and end up in California just driving through them. South Dakota, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, California at a minimum. But I do think a southerly route that time of year would be in your best interest, try visiting the Grand Canyon instead of Yellowstone (as much as I love Yellowstone!).

Thanks folks! Yes, I plan to arrive in Rapid City and depart from San Diego. I didn't thought that I could encounter bad weather at this time of the year. 4khansen's suggestion of driving south towards Arizona instead of heading West seems interesting although I think it is a longer route that way. Do you guys hav e any idea about how long I should stay in Yellowstone to make a decent visit? Thanks.

I moved to the US only a few years ago. If I had 20 days and was entering the US from the South, here's what I'd do:
1. San Francisco - 2 days
2. Napa Valley - 1 day
3. Yosemite or Lake tahoe (depending on time) - 3 days
4. Los Angeles (for your Hollywood and Disney stop) - 2 days
5. Las Vegas - 2 day
6. San Diego - 1 day
7. Grand Canyon - 3 days
8. Pick a city depending on budget and time - Salt lake City, Phoenix, Seattle, Denver or maybe even New York. - 3 days (fly out from either Las Vegas or Phoenix)
+ about 3 days just travelling

I've been to all the places you mention wanting to see except Mount Rushmore. Driving from Mount Rushmore to San Diego is definitely further away than driving from San Francisco to the Grand Canyon ( about 500 miles more actually). Its easy to underestimate distances in the US :-) Have fun!

P.S.: 5 and 6, in the above post, should be interchanged. Many hotels in LA offer day trips to San Diego. It gives you a chance to take a break from driving and can be quite pleasant.

Most of the entrances to Yellowstone are closed to cars from November through April, and you can only see parts by snowmobile. Still very beautiful, but you have to plan your trip more. You need to make a reservation, as the number of snowmobiles allowed in the park each day is limited. Also, all of the hotels and campgrounds in the park are closed until late April, May or even June in some cases, so you can only take daytrips from points near the entrance gates. Take a look at http://www.nps.gov/yell/planvisit/services/wintbusn.htm for info on snowmobiles and slowcoaches. The road closures may also mean you will have to go all the way around the park as you cannot drive through it to head west, which may add several hours to a day of driving when heading out of the area..

If you go to Yellowstone, be sure to include a day or two at Grand Teton National Park, south of Yellowstone and in many ways even more beautiful. Take a look at http://www.nps.gov/grte/index.htm

If you are coming from Brazil, I doubt very much that international flights arrive directly at Rapid City. Which means more time/money spent on that flight. Step One is to choose an arrival city that will accommodate a non-stop,direct flight and then plan out your route. Mt. Rushmore may seem like an interesting oddity, but it's really not such-a-much; you might think about eliminating that from your itinerary, which will simplify your routing quite a bit. (And if you're determined about S. Dakota, the Badlands and Black Hills ARE worth seeing (and could easily occupy 2 days driving/exploring) in a way that I would say Mt. R is not. Just my opinion.)

Thanks folks! I forgot to mention that I've got 2 mileage tickets to ANY city in the US which means I'll probably fly directly to Dallas by American Airlines and then I'll get another connection flight to Rapid City. My worry is that whether I will be able to find decent rental cars in Rapid City or Jackson, since the Airport in Rapid City is probably a small airport and Jackson is probably a very small town. The car that I will be renting in the first city will be the car that I will be using for my entire trip so this is a major issue. Another thought is that, if I skip Mt. Rushmore off my itinerary, which is the best city to arrival in and to get into the Yellowstone Natl' Park by CAR? I thought about Butte, MT or Idaho Falls, ID, what are your suggestions? Is the West entrance open during this time of the year? Thank you so much for your advice.

I'll repeat what I said earlier. I'm not sure what a rental car company would charge you to pick up in South Dakota and drop off in California, nor if they will even let you do it. I'd sure check that out first, as I suspect it could start approaching half the cost of your entire vacation!

Yeah Patrick, you're right, I should check that out first. I know some rental car companies charge a one-way rate depending on the pick-up and drop-off location. If that's the case I will probably change my itinerary or my arrival city.

Jackson Hole airport is very convenient for Yellowstone/Grand Tetons. Salt Lake City is another option. Consider flying from Salt lake City to california and getting another car there.

Also, National Car Rental is one of the companies that allow one-way rentals.

Yea, that's true ssachida, National offered to let me rent a one way from Seattle to Medford, Oregon and they were "only" tacking on an extra $500!!!

Ouch Patrick. I didn't realize it was that bad. I've only used their one way rental from Iowa City to Chicago (when I was moving) and it cost me only 20% more than usual. I guess, it depends on the local office ...

I'll second or third or fourth those who are cautioning you about trying to drive from Mt. Rushmore to Yellowstone to California, based on both the possibility of bad weather as well as distance. Sschida has proposed a pretty good itinerary. If your first arrival city is Dallas, you might be able to fly into Phoenix and start your driving tour from there and end up back there. Or Salt Lake City if you're really determined to see Yellowstone and by renting and returning to the same city you can avoid a huge car rental bill.

Yellowstone is fabulous but you might want to remain flexible with your plans so you have something to substitute for it if the weather is a problem.

Mt. Rushmore is nice but I wouldn't put myself through what you're proposing to see it.

Thank you all! I still have a question: what is the worst thing that could happen if I get bad weather? I never drove in snowy weather before, should I have special tires or anything? At this time of the year (early May) are all Yellowstone Park entrances open? Thanks.

I think that you stated you are coming in early May allieviates ALOT of the weather concerns I had, "spring break" in this part of the world is usually around the month of March which can be very iffy regards to weather especially in the mountain areas.

I think in general you will be able to do the trip you had planned but take into account what others have said regarding where you want to start from etc. I really think a midpoint arrival and making a large circle might be the best answer with regards to a rental car -- save lots of money by returning the car to the same spot you started then by doing a one-way.

Consider starting your trip in Salt Lake City drive California for about 8 days then had across Northern California towards Idaho to Yellowstone and Black Hills for another 7 days and then had back to Salt Lake City via Colorado for your trip home the last 5 days of your adventure.

I hve done one way rental cars many times multi-state. They did not charge me anything I found to be pricey at all. The key is to shop around. See who will do one-way drops and then compare.

Could you give us some examples suzmardav? I'd be intersted too.

Time-wise, you're fine. I've driven across country four times, been through every state but five, stopped in every major city I'd ever heard of AND have eaten foods from the region.

I highly suggest stopping into a Automobile Club of America. (AAA). I think its about $50 or less to join, they can map out your travels, give you tour books, and of course there are towing benefits should you need it...

Have fun, lock your doors and...hopefully you are doing the buddy system and/or get a GO PHONE (prepaid at 7-11) and let someone know your itinerary. The world isn't as safe as it used to be!

Since you are not from the US, Amtrak offers cheap fares for foreigners. Last year did a trip up and down the Eastcoast within 30 days and I only paid 270$ for the ticket. I am not sure where the train goes exactly but it might be worth considering since you could a overnight ride and rest during the ride, whereas by car you will probably exhausted after a while.

Hello cchean,
We are from South Dakota and we took basically the smae trip, including the San D. zoo. We did it in 7 days, therefore your 20 days should allow plenty of time to enjoy the trip. we did have to rush some in the seven days. But do not avoid Mount Rushmore or the Yelowstone National Park, or the Salt Flats of Utah - these are in great contrast to the California scenery. And of course you can rent cars in Rapid City.