I am in full gear on the summer trip. We are a family of 4 with 2 boys that are 9 and 6.
I made some changes to my lodging in Yellowstone and needed a bit of help filling in the blanks. . . .

Day 1 - Fly into JAC
Day 1-3- GTNP - need a lodging rec - Signal Mountain or Jackson Lake or other??
Day 4-6 Old Faithful Inn
Day 7-8 Canyon
Day 9 travel towards SD - stay overnight in??? Sheridan, Ucross - not sure yet. Will hit Devils Tower before hitting SD
Day 10-12 SD - Not sure where to stay, we want to do Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse, 1 Cavern . . .
Day 12 - Fly home from Rapid City

My biggest problem is - and I WAS warned (but these are the dates that work best for us) - we are hitting the Sturgis Rally in SD at the end of our trip. While we all love bikes - I don't want to get stuck paying 250 a night at the Comfort Inn - so any recs on where we can stay and not pay the exorbitant rates for the Rally is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!!

Well, I'm not sure how the Sturgis Rally will affect this, but I always recommend staying in Custer State Park at one of their four "resorts".

We stayed in one of the cabins at Sylvan Lake in '02 with our then 16 year old and 12 year old. We really enjoyed it. Last summer my brother stayed at Legion Lake Lodge with his then 11 year old and 9 year old. They loved it! Especially being able to swim in the lake.

Make reservations as early as possible though. They fill up fast.

http://www.custerresorts.com/

If you don't already have one, get an America the Beautiful pass at your first stop at a national park or monument. Cost is $80 for calendar year and good for entrance fees for four adults. This is good for entrance fees at all federal areas. They now allow you to share the pass with someone else.

It sounds like a great trip.

During the Sturgis Rally you may have better luck with lodging in the southern hills, check Custer (city & state park), or Hot Springs.

Be prewarned that the America the Beautiful pass isn't good for Custer State Park (state not federal), Crazy Horse (privately owned) or Mount Rushmore, Mt. Rushmore has a $10 "parking fee", not an entrance fee.

I agree with Caph to stay in Custer State Park. It is a special and beautiful place and you are not far from everything you want to see and do. I recommend Sylvan Lake.

As fae as your first question, we stayed at Jackson Lake and enjoyed it, especially the river raft trip down the
Snake River. However, We had lunch at Signal Mountain and it was beautiful, hard decisions. Please write a report when you return.

Is Custer State Park really remote?? Or is it easy to get to sites and restaurants or a market?

Has anyone heard of Rock Crest lodge?

Also any other opinions on Jackson Lake vs. Signal Mountain?

Any ideas where to stop over between Yellowstone and SD?

Custer State Park is very large. And it can take a long time to get through it. But it's something you're going to want to see anyway if you're in the area. And there are several restaurants in the park. Personally, I think it's a very convenient place to stay for sightseeing in the area.

We stayed at Signal Mountain a couple of years ago and have put them on our agenda for this summer. The rooms are ok, but the views are stupendous. Dinner in the restaurant was good. We also stayed a night at Custer State Park at the State Park Lodge. Definitely old fashioned, but certainly worth staying in. We drove all around and saw lots of wildlife. I told one of the Park Rangers that we had seen the antelopes playing and was wondering where the buffalo were roaming. She saw the humor in it, but didn't know where to direct us. We stopped at a park store (sorry, not sure where it was), and they told us where the buffalo herd was and sure enough we drove right to them. They were everywhere. The National Guard was doing some kind of training during the day too. We opted to stay in Custer SD this trip to save a bit of $$. We're staying at the Comfort Inn in Custer for $128 per night. The Flintstones Bedrock City is right across the road - YIPPEE!!!

I don't think this has been mentioned yet. If so, forgive the repeat.

But, with boys the ages of yours, be sure you don't miss the Mammoth Site in Hot Springs:

www.mammothsite.com

Our kids loved it as did my brother's.

Custer State Park is fabulous and if you stay near the State Game Lodge or Legion Lake, it's fairly easy to get in and out to other destinations. The other 2 locations are more remote as I recall and I wouldn't want to drive the roads to them after dark. We saw so much wildlife there--amazing!

It seems there is so much to do in the area - should I shorten my Yellowstone stay from 5 to 4 nights?? Or should we not stop on the way from Yellowstone to SD and just drive the 8 hours straight to gain another day in the area?

That's a tough one! I haven't been in Yellowstone since I went with my parents when I was in grade school (in other words, about the time Old Faithful started erupting! ). So I have no idea how much time you'd want there.

I can tell you that we made a detour to Devil's Tower in '02. It was a long day and definitely out of our way. But so worth it!

Yes, there's a lot to see in the Black Hills. But I'm very reluctant to tell you to skip Devil's Tower. We just found it an amazing experience. But who's to say you'd feel the same way about it? As I said, it's a tough call.

I don't know your exact dates, but the motorcycles from the Rally will make travel through the Black Hills slow, especially in the afternoon & early evening. I don't know if adding a day of Rally-time would make your trip more enjoyable.

I love living in the Black Hills, but the motorcycles are a huge presence for 10 days.

LHS,
A presence that would disturb our trip? Now I am torn about coming that week, but I don't know if I can find another set of dates that have availability in Yellowstone.
TIA

MiamiBeachMomma, You definitely will see bikers.

Have you checked availability of lodging in Custer State Park or around Custer? Being able to find lodging may answer your question as to whether the Black Hills portion of your trip will work out during Rally dates. It is possible the Rally may be smaller this year as people cut back on travel. I checked the airfare out of Rapid and it has not tripled as it usually does.

The concentration of bikers is heaviest in Sturgis and circles out to Deadwood, Keystone, Hill City, Rapid City. We camped at Center Lake in Custer Park last year during the Rally, very few bikers in that area. We ate breakfast at Legion Lake, & went to Sylvan the next day, and it was fine until early afternoon, but the biker traffic was constant on the way back to Rapid City.

I don't want to discourage you, but just give you a little more information. When 500,000 bikers come into a mountainous area that only has a population of 80-90,000, it makes an impact on services.

LHS -
Thanks for your input. We are heading out west for a relaxing trip with peaceful surroundings!! I was able to move my dates in Yellowstone - so that works out really nice!!

Everyone -
We are for sure staying at Custer State Park - I am just not sure where yet. As my dates have moved I am sure the options will be more plentiful. I am thinking at Sylvan Lake as it is the closets to Rushmore and I think we wanted to go at night. Otherwise State looks looks very central and the new Creekside Lodge rooms sound nice - but I cant find one picture anywhere!!

Now that my dates are firm I will be finishing all the plans, YEAH!!

Good luck, MBM! And have a wonderful trip! The Black Hills are among my favorite US destinations.