Driving across U.S.
 

My husband and I will move from D.C. to Seattle in late August and will drive across the U.S. We'd like to take the northern route so that we can see some places we've never seen. We've never been to Wyoming, Montana or the Dakotas. Any suggestions on routes to take, places to go or things to see on our trip. We'll have about 10 days for the entire journey. thanks

First lets consider the basic logistics of your trip. Without any major deviatons, you have a trip of about 2800 miles of driving.

If you drive it with nightly stops, you will need 5 days of nothing but driving.
You could do it in 4 days, but that means averaging 700 miles a day.

That leaves you about 5 days to see the parks. Of the major attractions on or near you route, there are that I recomend above all others: Yellowstone National Park, the Grand Tetons National Park and Glacier National Park. Yellowstone and the Tetons alone could use up the 5 days. That length of time would give you a chance to see both of them fairly well without rushing at a breakneck pace.

My suggested route is as follows:

I 70 as far as Bloomington, Indiana, then turn north on I 39 to I 80. Follow I 80 all the way to Rawlins, Wyoming.

In Rawlins, turn northwest on US 287 to the Tetons. Then on to Yellowstone after a day or so visiting the Grand Tetons.

After visiting the geysers and water als of Yellowstone, leave from West Yellowstone and take US 191 to I 90 near Bozeman.

Bozeman has a really good museum known of the Museum of the Rockies. It is the home base of one the world's foremost dinosaur paleontologists: Dr.John Horner.

Once there, you can follow I 90 to Seattle.

A deviation from this route would be to go north in Wyoming to Casper and on up to Sheridan and follow US 14 west to Yellowstone. This route takes you over the Bighorn Range, which is the first of several spectacular mountain ranges along your route.

Some people may suggest you turn north sooner and travel via the Black Hills and Mount Rushmore. Doing so will add a day to your trip and cut the time you can spend in Yellowstone and the Tetons.

There are many places you can see on this drive. I think your choices are whether or not you want to pick two or three outstanding places and see them well, or pay a cursory visit to many places.

The possibilities are endless. I selected the route I did because my suggestion is to see Yellowstone well because it is worth it.

After you are in Seattle, you will have time for trips to Mt. Ranier, the North Cascades, Olympic Park, the Oregon Coast, Portland, the Redwoods of California, and several other spectacular attractions.

Wow, that was a quick response. Thanks for your suggestions/advice. We'd rather visit one spectacular place than try to hit several places for a day each. But won't Yellowstone be packed in late August? I'm not into visiting tourist attractions at the height of the season. I'd prefer to go somewhere else, where it won't be so crowded. I know the best places in the U.S.will be crowded in August, but we can see Yellowstone another time. Do you have a suggestion for a northern route that would be a great drive -- maybe through Wyoming or Montana? We know the Seattle area pretty well, as our son lives there and we've been there often. thanks

PS. Another option on the outward trip is to turn north near Omaha and pick up I 90 near Sioux Falls.

That means following I 90 to Sheridan, WY and following the route described ealier that leads over the Bighorns through Cody, WY, to the east gate of Yellowstone.

Once past Pennsylvania, I think you can cruise at 70 to 75 mph without breaking the speed limit and most people will be going faster than that.

From personal experience, doing 700 miles for several days in a row means better than 11 hours in the car each day. I get tired of it and want to do something else. In years past I have tried to keep the driving hours to 10 on a multi day journey.

I do suggest advanced reservations for some of your nights to avoid being forced to drive longer hours than expected. The better places fill up fast, often by 5 pm.

As for Yellowstone, you may not be able to make reservations in the park.
The level of cabin known as Frontier is acceptable; Western cabins are better.
The location known as Canyon is a good place. The accommodations in the Tetons tend to be better. Colter Bay and Signal Mountain Lodge are ok places.

But we can discuss that more after you decided if that is where you want to go.

If the weather is good, Yellowstone is crowded. I just looked at Canyon, and for some of the dates in August, cabins are still available.

West Yellowstone has some good motels and is right on the park border.

You may find something in the Tetons.

I have found that yes Yellowstone is crowded. But you can get away from the crowds by walking away from the attractions like Old Faithful.

You are going to find crowds at all of the National Parks.

Thanks so much for your suggestions. I'm thinking of something other than a national park. I mean, I'd like to see the regions and stay in a great B&B or luxury inn. I'd rather do Yellowstone sometime when we can spend a whole week there. I'm just looking for a neat place to stop along a northern route. Alice

well, I 90 is the northern route.
any thing trans continental farther north is the Trans Canada. And it is slower.

I suppose you could detour by the Badlands and Roosevelt parks.

There just is not much I know of out that way that is really special and uncrowded.

So I yield the floor to others with more detailed knowledge of what to do in Wyoming, the Dakotas, and Montana that does not involve a national park.

OK, I just can't stop myself. I have to put a plug in for my former hometown (I live in MN now) and recommend/mention that if you do end up going through Iowa on I-80, the "bridges of Madison County" in Winterset are only about 15 miles off the Interstate. There are so many things to see in Winterset that you could easily spend a day or two there, but if you just want to see one of the covered bridges, there is one in the city park (not the main one in the movie, though, that one is in the country south of town). But the bridge in the city park (and the city park itself) are very picturesque and IMO worth making a detour for.

When we moved from CT to WA we took the northern route. We did not have much time and so did not get to stop and see as much as we would like. However, we did make a small detour in Ohio to see th Longaberger factory. Even my dh was amazed with the basket shaped building of the main office. Not sure if that would interest you or not, but it was fun.

Another place we stopped, that was really kind of odd, but was fun was the Salem Sue Cow in ND. It is right off the freeway, up on a hill. It is a HUGE steel cow. I know it sounds very strange, but it was a fun pitstop and only took about 15 minutes to stop and see. It is good if you need a break from driving.

Actually I-94 (via N. Dakota to Billings) is the northern route, and IMO (having done both enough to regret it) is that I-90 is way more interesting and worthwhile to the visitor, with apologies to North Dakotans everywhere. South Dakota (Corn Palace in Mitchell, Badlands NP - a major sleeper in the category of most interesting national parks), Black Hills (Deadwood, Lead, the Faces) - all really worth visiting, even if it takes an extra day. Sheridan WY is great, don't miss the Little Big Horn battlefield (it never fails to move me more than I ever expect to be moved); then cut down to Yellowstone if needs be.

In August, sure, Yellowstone will be crowded. Doesn't mean you should skip it. I would look for lodging in Gardiner (MT) - close to I-90 with a number of places; you can take anywhere from one to a bazillion days exploring the park from there.

Seattle is around 10 hrs drive from Bozeman, so a long day or an easy day and a half. If time permits, don't miss Helena and Missoula, two great towns.

The SD/WY/MT portion of this route across the country is like a crash course in western and American history. If you do some homework before you get to it, I'm betting you'll be planning your return before you hit the Idaho line.

Without knowing exactly who you are, it's hard to say what you'll love and what you'll be disinterested in. Personally Winterset entertained me for around 30 minutes, 25 of which I spent in John Wayne's erstwhile home. Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman was ok, Mitchell's Corn Palace is interesting if you like Corn Palaces.

I loved Drummond, Montana; why, I can't really say as it appears to be a normal, small town. I guess that's what makes travel fun for so many people.

All of these are great suggestions for us to consider. Thanks to all of you, and (in advance) to anyone else who has ideas to contribute. Alice

When we've driven XC, we find it good to drive for two hours,either use the loo or eat, switch drivers and then continue. You really do need to stretch your legs that often. Also, switching every two hours alleviates boredom for the passenger, and fatigue for the driver.

since you would "do" national parks on a different trip,

i'd take 70 to colorado, you can see the st. louis arch then

i'd head up 25 in colorado, drive thru rockymountain np on trailridge road, this would give you a feel for the praries to the mountains.

follow colorado 40 west toward dinosaur national monument in Vernal utah, to saltlake city, see the lake and possibly the tabernacle for some utah culture

then 15 upto 90 to get bit of idaho and montana then see mt rainier on your way into seattle. have a great trip and success in seattle