LeslieC

Husband and I (in our 60's) are just starting to plan a trip in late August, 2015. Have never been to any of these places. Planning to fly LA to Jackson, WY and return home roughly 10 days later from Rapid City, SD, renting a car:
2 nights Jackson Lake Lodge in Grand Teton NP
2 nights Old Faithful Inn, Yellowstone
2 nights Mammoth Hot Springs Cabin, Yellowstone

Have secured reservations for the 4 nights in Yellowstone. Too early to book flights. We definitely want to see the Geyser's and the Lamar Valley wildlife in Yellowstone. Somewhere during this trip, we'd like a 1/2 day of whitewater rafting, maybe horseback riding and some kind of a fun "chuckwagon" dinner experience. How is the Stagecoach / Chuckwagon dinner in Roosevelt? I've also read about the Hells-a-Roarin' ranch in Gardiner for scenic horseback riding followed by a meal. Or are their SD options we should consider. How is the rafting in GTNP (Snake River) versus the Gardiner, MT options?

After Yellowstone, the number one goal is to see Mt. Rushmore. But I'd like advice on:
1) best and most scenic driving route from north end of Yellowstone to Mt. Rushmore. I read great things about hwy 212 Beartooth Mountain scenic route, but also about Cody WY - not sure we could do both. Is Buffalo WY interesting? We love history and historic towns and would love to "soak up some of that western atmosphere" but we are not museum people.

2) What else is a priority to see near Mt. Rushmore if we only have 2 to 3 days in that area? Crazyhorse? Custer National Park? Caves? Deadwood? I think the Badlands might be just a bit too far for us.

3) Any highly recommended lodging for the post-Yellowstone segment of our trip?

longhorn55

Here's the link to a Top Question from the South Dakota forum on Trip Advisor entitled: "Can I Do both Yellowstone and the Black Hills in One Trip?" It should provide some useful information from a long-time South Dakota resident.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic...th_Dakota.html

spirobulldog

Any chance you could change Mammoth Reservation to Roosevelt Lodge? Mammoth is worth doing, but to me is my least favorite part of the park.

barney25

Last August, my wife and I (in our late 60's)took our 2 kids and 5 grandkids (ages 7-12) on this trip - except we started in Rapid City. You would want to see Mt. Rushmore(Sw of Rapid City), the Badlands(which are east of Rapid City), Crazy Horse, Sylvan Lake, Custer State Park and Needles Highway.

From there we went to Tatanka(Kevin Costner's tribute to the Lakota Indians),did panning for gold, and took Rt 90 to Sheridan, stopping at Devil's Tower prior and Fort Kearny.

From there we went to Cody, driving over the Bighorn Mountains, stopping at Shell falls. Spent time in Buffalo Bill Historical Center, went to Rodeo. Had stage coach cookout. Kids went horseback riding the next day.

Arrived at Gardiner where we spent 1 nite (big mistake-town is
very low class). Spent 2 nites in West Yellowstone(very nice town). Spent 2 1/2 full days in Yellowstone, did soup to nuts.

Drove to Jackson where we spent 3 nites. Went to Grand Tetons
1st day. Did white water rafting on Snake River in Jackson and kids went horseback riding again

LeslieC

I have already changed our Mammoth Hot Springs reservation to Canyon Lodge Cabin due to feedback about that location and this will put us closer to the Lamar Valley which I really want to see for the wildlife. Since it is called the Serengeti of the US, we thought it would be fun to compare to our actual Serengeti experience of last year! Roosevelt had been my first choice but no cabins with running water are available, even this far in advance.

The link provided by longhorn55 tends to discourage one from doing both Yellowstone/GT and the Mt. Rushmore area on one trip of 10 days. But then again that writer seems to feel ones must spend two weeks at Yellowstone to do it justice. We are both working and have to be strategic about using vacation time, so I'd rather have a sampling and see Mt. Rushmore which I probably won't ever see in my lifetime if I don't do it on this trip. However, I do recognize the drive from Yellowstone to Mt. Rushmore is long (especially if we also go by way of highway 212) so that is why I'm hoping for one or two experiences enroute to make it worthwhile.

Hi Barney - I just answered your post on the Hawaii site. Funny. Thanks for sharing your trip report on SD, Yellowstone and GT. Now I know to miss Gardiner,MT. Do you recall what outfit you used for the Snake River whitewater trip in Grand Teton?