2 week Western US trip in late June.

[Stump Jumper]

Hello All! Planning a 2 week trip from Southwestern Pennsylvania to the West in the MH in late June. Asked the wife and 2 kids what one thing each of them would want to see and got Yellowstone, Grand Canyon and Yosemite. I am looking for any and all suggestions concerning route, campgrounds and any other places we could/should see while on our trip. We have a 40' Class A pusher pulling a GMC Acadia.

[rgvtexan]

Holly Cow! Just making the loop will take 13 days, with 8 hour days and reasonable driving speeds. It's 5500 miles.

Myself if I only had 2 weeks I would go to Yellowstone. My 1st visit was in 58 and have returned numerous times. I can easily sped 4-7 days there and Jackson Hole.

Just to YS and back could take 9 long days. You might be able to work Glacier in. 4300 miles.

Good Luck with your trip.

[rk911]

using Pittsburg as a start I plotted the quickest route to Yellowstone NP...~1950-miles. at 500-miles a day that's 4-days...each way. but 500-miles is a killer schedule, at least it would be for me. that's somewhere between 8-10 hours of DRIVING each day but you'll have stops. at 350-miles a day it's a 6-day sked...each way but it drops your DRIVING time to 6-8 hours. we've always assumed an average speed of 50-mph which factors in your stops. the fewer stops the higher your average speed. are you really limited to 2-weeks? Yellowstone is huge and to see it properly you really should have more than a couple of days.

[Stump Jumper]

Thank you, exactly the type of information that I am looking for. I haven't sat down to plot out the trip yet, so maybe I need to rethink how many destinations we can hit. Keep the info coming.

[450Donn]

14 days minus 8 days travel time really leaves too little time for anything. If you could stretch it to three weeks, then you could have a plan. Custer Battlefield, Mt Rushmore, Black Hills are all stops long before you get to Yellowstone.

[followingsea]

Originally Posted by 450Donn

14 days minus 8 days travel time really leaves too little time for anything. If you could stretch it to three weeks, then you could have a plan. Custer Battlefield, Mt Rushmore, Black Hills are all stops long before you get to Yellowstone.

There are also the Badlands, Wall Drugs, and Deadwood which are places that do not take much time and the kids will remember for a long time. First trip was in '57.

There are also some grand canyons in Yellowstone.

The southwest is great too but not in the same 2 week trip.

I would also avoid Chicago because of traffic unless you are going to spend a couple of days visiting museums.

[Stump Jumper]

Unfortunately 2 weeks is the max that I can do because of work. Again, thanks for all of the ideas and comments. Keep it up.

[twogypsies]

Definitely rule out Yosemite. We've been to just about all the national parks and that's our least favorite. It's super crowded because it's near big cities. Traffic is horrendous.

From Michigan and when the kids were young we used our 2-week vacation time to drive with a drive-through of Badlands Nat'l Park then a stay in Custer State Park and could easily do a day trip to Mount Rushmore.

We went on to Yellowstone and the adjoining Grand Teton Nat'l Park. Then high-tailed it home.

The most talked-about things the kids saw were Old Faithful, a horseback ride to a cowboy breakfast and floating down the Snake River in Grand Teton. You might even see a moose in the water with you. We did. Hiking is excellent in Grand Teton - many easy ones to beautiful little lakes.

In Yellowstone we tried to squeeze in as many geysers and bubbling pots as we could. I don't recall how many days at each we stayed but it probably wasn't more than 2 or 3 for Yellowstone/Grand Teton. We put in long driving days. I do know we were exhausted when we got home.

Each national park has a wonderful web site so check them out. It gives things to do, camping info, road information, special alerts, etc.

https://www.nps.gov/yell/index.htm


https://www.nps.gov/grte/index.htm

You didn't mention how old the children are but if possible, give them a list of 'special things' to do in the park and let them choose one. It will be meaningful for them knowing they can't do everything.

When you only have a two-week vacation it's hard to do a long distance trip but it's possible if you know what's in store for you.

Try to stay IN the parks for the best experience and less driving time. Grand Teton we love Gros Ventre campground (dry camping) or Colter Bay campground (dry camping). You don't need hookups for a short stay. You'll just be there for sleeping. They don't accept reservations but with our 40' MH we've always gotten a site. Each campground has 300+ sites. They have a handful of electric sites so ask when you get there if one is available. You may luck out. There's also Colter Bay RV if you want hookups. Fishing Bridge RV in Yellowstone is the only one with hookups and I believe it will be closed for renovation in 2019. If you're planning for 2020 that's the place to stay.

For another year go to Grand Canyon and the southern Utah national parks which are very unique and lovely.

[Rolling Ragu]

You will likely get many saying it isn't worth it in that time frame. However, if the other option is not going, I would do it every time!

You will have to pick one place though, which was said above. I would probably pick Yellowstone/Tetons and spend as many days as I could there. Surprisingly, the Black Hills area ranks as just a hair below Yellowstone for my family. If you chose that area, you would have less driving days and still have a blast!

We use 6-8 weeks each summer, and I remember on each trip I made a mental note of what we had seen if I would have had to return home at the two week point. Every year, the trip would have still been worthwhile at that point.

[rk911]

Originally Posted by followingsea

There are also the Badlands, Wall Drugs, and Deadwood which are places that do not take much time and the kids will remember for a long time. First trip was in '57.

There are also some grand canyons in Yellowstone.

The southwest is great too but not in the same 2 week trip.

I would also avoid Chicago because of traffic unless you are going to spend a couple of days visiting museums.

agree. visiting the Back Hills of SD in and of itself can be a 2-week experience allowing down time in camp to just relax. the last thing we want to do is go...go...go every day. the whole point of vacation is to relax.

if it were me I'd dump just about everything west of the Black Hills except for visiting the Devil's Tower Natl Monument, about 90-120 min west of the Black Hills in Wyoming. there's a nice ~mile long paved hiking path around the base of the tower with exhibits.

the Black Hills is a huge area:

in the north...Belle Fourche, Sturgis, Spearfish (especially the drive thru Spearfish Canyon), Deadwood (wagon tour thru town, Mt. Moriah Cemetery where Wild Bill and Calamity Jane are buried), Lead (pronounced Leed) for the Homestake Gold Mine Tour.

in the south...Custer (home of Custer State Park...an absolute must especially the wild animal loop drive), Keystone (home of Mt. Rushmore), Hot Springs (Mammoth Excavation Site, Wild Horse Sanctuary, Dances With Wolves filming locations), Crazy Horse Memorial (near Custer), Wind Cave Natl Park, Jewel Cave Natl Monument, Hill City (1880s train that runs between Hill City and Keystone)

In Rapid City the kids will love Bear Country USA and the Fort Hays Chuck Wagon Supper & Show.

don't try to do too much in a day. as I said the Hills are huge. for example it's at least a 1hr drive from Deadwood to Custer. but you can see how a couple of weeks are needed to do it right. and a day is needed just to scratch the surface of Custer State Park (wild animal loop, Sylvan Lake, Needles "Highway" and more).

On your way west on I-94 you'll pass the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD, the Minuteman Missile Site (tour), Wall Drugstore in Wall, SD (gotta see it). Be sure to stop at the I-94 rest area just east of the Missouri River at MP 265 ...fantastic views from the bluff and lots of Lewis & Clark exhibits. The Corn Palace makes for a nice lunch stop. allow 30-45 minutes to see it.

lots of places to camp as well both public and private. we really like the Game Lodge Campground (W & 30-50 amp) in Custer State Park. but there are tons of campgrounds with full hookups. if KOA is your thing there are several locations throughout the hills. choosing a park closer to Keystone or Hill City (Horse Thief, Mt. Rushmore KOA) will kinda sorta put you in the middle of the Hills eliminating the long drives from north to south. although Rapid City is not actually in the Black Hills there is a KOA there that gets good reviews and its close enough to make the drives doable. another idea would be to spend X-days in the north (Spearfish or Deadwood KOA..many others) and the X-days in the south (Rafter J Bar, Custer's Gulch, Custer SP).

links for you:

https://www.nps.gov/state/sd/index.htm
http://tinyurl.com/yxcld7cw

going west there are two ways to avoid Chicago.

1) regardless of how you come west sooner or later you'll come to where the I-80/I-90 toll road intersects with the I-94 freeway. take I-94 which will become I-80/I-94 (freeway). that will skirt the southern suburbs of Chicago and will be busy more or less from the I-90 split to I-57 in Illinois. best time is between 10am-2pm. there will be one toll booth at the Illinois border. stay on westbound I-80..do not take I-94 as that will take you into Chicago. do not take I-294 as that will take you through the western burbs. continue west on I-80 (do not take I-355 or I-55) to I-39. then I-39 north to where it merges with I-90. follow I-90 west.

2) (and this is longer)...pick up I-69 south to US 24 near Ft. Wayne. take US 24 west to I-39 near Normal, IL. then I-39 north.

those are the by-passes we're familiar with. I'm sure there are others. me? I'd just time it to run option 1 between 10am-2pm. unless there is a major wreck it will be much quicker than option 2.

good luck and enjoy!

[barko1]

All the NP's will fill that time of year so be prepared by early arrival or reservation. So much to see and so little time. You could take a more interesting route, head N to the Mackinaw bridge, nice SP right under it, then head W through upper MI, WI, MN, to Teddy Roosevelt NPs, Bighorns, Yellowstone can be a traffic mess.

[MTBer]

Originally Posted by rk911

the whole point of vacation is to relax.

I strongly disagree with this, especially if you are still working. You should pack as much as you possibly can into a vacation. There's time to relax when you get home.

[Stump Jumper]

Again, thanks for all of the information. This site is great! I plan on sitting down with the gang this weekend to determine how much daily driving they are willing to put up with and whether we want to try to pack as much in as possible or whether we want a more relaxed trip. I appreciate all of the advice!

[crockdar]

Also destinations on our list in 2020. Thanks all so far for the contributions.