Self drive from Mt Rushmore to Denver
 

I live in the UK. We are thinking of doing a self drive from Mt Rushmore to Denver.
The trip is for 16 days.
We would like to fly into an airport near Mt Rushmore via Denver. Which airport would be the nearest?
From Mt Rushmore plan is to drive to Yellowstone and Grand Teton Parks and then south towards Denver.
Any suggestions for itinerary after Grand Teton would be very much appreciated.
Time permitting would like to Arches and Zion National Parks.
Any input on distances and time involved would be appreciated

When are you planning to take this trip? If it is next summer, then the first thing you need to do is to find lodging in/near Yellowstone and Grand Teton. Then you can think about the other places you want to visit and in which order to see things.

That said you will find it hard to fit in all the places you want to see without spending many hours in the car. It can be done if you don't mind spending more than half your time getting from place to place.

If this is a summer trip, I would suggest that for the northern part of the trip you look to flying into Jackson, WY and visiting Grand Teton (at least 2 days), Yellowstone (at least 3 fdays) and Mt. Rushmore (one day). It would take most of a day to drive to Zion from there where you would want to spend 2 days and I would want to see Bryce for a day while so close, then a day to drive to Arches for at least 2 days ( I would want to do a day in Canyonlands while in Moab). Plan on a long day to drive from Moab back to Denver. That is a very rushed trip IMHO, but it can be done, if you have lodging in all those busy places.

Of course the trip could be done in the reverse order, Denver to Arches to Bryce to Zion, to Mt. Rushmore, to Yellowstone, to Grand Teton/Jackson.

Go to one of the mapping sites like bingmaps, or mapsgoogle, or mapquest and put in the places you want to visit to see the times/distances involved and decide what to cut.

Have fun, this is a beautiful part of the country.

I would venture to say that Mt. Rushmore, in spite of being the OP's desired spot, is the outlier. Part of emalloy's itinerary is such a wonderful one for that part of the country. Do it sort of in reverse and then see if you want to go to Mt. Rushmore.
I find that site to be pretty underwhelming.

The Black Hills/Yellowstone/Tetons itinerary if often asked about on Trip Advisor. Here's a link to one of the Top Questions on the South Dakota forum which addresses the feasibility of that itinerary:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic...th_Dakota.html

Having been to the Black Hills many times, I can say that there is a LOT more to see and do there besides Mount Rushmore. You could (and I have) easily spend a full week there and not see it all.

I think you need to prioritize what you want to get out of this vacation and plan your destinations carefully. That may mean dropping some of the places you'd like to visit.

Also, FWIW, Rapid City (South Dakota) is the closest airport to Mount Rushmore.

Be sure to check the price of renting a car one-way. Sometimes the drop fees are horrendous.

>>Be sure to check the price of renting a car one-way. Sometimes the drop fees are horrendous.<<

Not usually for foreign visitors. There are broker sites that bundle all-inc. unlimited mileage, insurance, and no drop off fees. carhire3000 is just one but there are others (just like we can rent cheaper in the UK than locals can)

One of the easiest ways to get distances is to use www.mapquest.com Some say it is more accurate than using Google Maps. There is no reason you cannot research this aspect of things on your own.

Thank You very much to those who have taken the time to post a reply.