Getting There

Yellowstone

Yes, you can fly into Jackson or Bozeman and rent a car, which saves the long road trip cross country. But we think at least for your first trip here, and perhaps once a decade after that if you come often, you should consider driving it. If you drive north to the Wisconsin Dells, then take I-90 west across South Dakota and Wyoming, you'll pass some of the most dramatic scenery in the U.S., some of the most historic sites, and some fascinating Native American cultural sites. Plus the long haul across South Dakota reminds you of just how big this country really is and how wide open much of it remains.

If you're coming from back in the Ohio Valley we recommend taking I-70 to Indianapolis, I-74 to Bloomington, and I-39 north to The Wisconsin Dells. From New England you can take I-80 through Chicago and west to I-39. From the South take I-65 north through Louisville to Indianapolis, then I-74 west to Bloomington and I-39 north to the Dells. The Dells is a great overnight stop. You might even stay a extra night here and take one or two of the boat trips through the scenic islands and rock formations. Then take I-90 west into South Dakota.

It will be a day's drive from The Dells to Wall, S.D. Near the end of that drive you'll come to this spectacular 50 feet stainless steel statue honoring Indigenous women. It's along I-90 near Chamberlain. Look for it and be sure to stop. It's worth a few minutes of your time.

There is no lodge at Badlands National Park so your best lodging option is the Best Western in Wall. It's within walking distance of several downtown restaurants. You can also drop by the infamous Wall Drug, one of those overhyped, kitschy Americana stops popular back in the 20th Century and still hanging on.

Just outside Wall is Badlands National Park. This is a grotesque landscape of eroded, twisted rocks. It's also home to Bison, Desert Goats, Antelope, Prairie Dogs and other wildlife. The entrance to the park is a few miles due south of Wall, and leads you to a long, winding two lane road which winds through the park. Allot two and a half to three hours for the drive, as you'll want to stop often at overlooks for photos and to read the scientific displays, and you may find Bison blocking the road on occasion. Once in the park, there's nowhere to get gas or water, so fill up in Wall before you start. At the Northeastern Entrance, which is where you'll finish the drive if you begin at the Pinnacles Entrance, there is a Visitor Center, gift shop and snack bar. Grab a drink here but hold off on lunch. You're 90 minutes from Mt. Rushmore and you'll want to eat lunch in the restaurant there.

Our photographer, Abby, poses with Margaret at Mt. Rushmore. You need to allot at least half a day here, especially on your first visit, and you could easily justify a whole day. There are several hiking trails leading to various viewpoints of the faces, a film you need to watch, a cave tour, the sculptor's cabin, and Heritage Village. You can eat lunch here in the cafeteria, with windows looking up at the faces.

The ice cream shop at Mt. Rushmore is famous for serving vanilla ice cream made from the original ice cream recipe Thomas Jefferson brought back from Paris. It's very good (and very rich; you need to hike the trails here if you're going to eat it) and it does taste a bit different from other ice creams.

You should absolutely hike the Presidential Trail, and we highly recommend the Blackberry, Centennial and Horsethief Trails. But be aware there are lots of stairs. You won't believe how quickly you disappear into forest and rock gardens, away from the crowds at the Visitor Center. But the Presidential Trail included 422 stairs, and the other trails have their share of stairs or steep grades. After two days in the car these trails offer a good workout.

Heritage Village is an attempt to tell the story of the Lakota Sioux. The village is located at the far end of the Presidential Trail.

The Sculptor's Cabin is where you learn about the tools and techniques they used to carve Rushmore. They have the model they built first, and you'll learn the mountain as we see it today was not the final sculpture intended.

Many visitors think the evening light show is the best experience Mt. Rushmore offers. To enjoy it you need to leave, eat dinner, and come back to the amphitheater. In June, July and August it begins at 9 p.m.

We recommend spending the night at the Baymont Inn in Keystone, just down the hill a few miles from Mt. Rushmore. You can see the faces from the Baymont parking lot. We also recommend eating dinner at Ruby's, on Main Street in Keystone. Ruby's is a vintage restaurant left over from the old mining era in Keystone. It's still a good restaurant. The Rainbow Trout is particularly good.

Do not leave the Black Hills without also stopping at the Crazy Horse Memorial. This is the Lakota Sioux answer to Mt. Rushmore. Work has already been going on for 50 years and estimates are it will take 100. You can actually put on a hardhat and take a tour of the work site. But with the sculpture incomplete, the real reason to stop here is the magnificent museum, featuring Sioux history and culture with a few mentions of other tribes. You can spend half a day in this museum. There is beautiful Native American art on display and out in the courtyard tribal dances are performed. There's a film, an outstanding gift shop, and a lunchtime restaurant.

Devil's Tower rises from the Wyoming ranchland like a manmade monument, but it's actually the core of a long ago volcano with the surrounding cone eroded away. The site of the movie Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, Devil's Tower holds religious significance for Native Americans and is a famous rock climbing location. You can usually sit on a bench with a pair of binoculars and watch climbers in action, but in June they're forbidden as Sioux and Crow natives perform religious ceremonies at the base. There's no lodge within park grounds but we recommend the Best Western in nearby Hulett, itself a beautiful ranching town surrounded by some of the most scenic ranch land in the world, with Devil's Tower rising above it all. Several movies have been filmed in and around Hulett and several novels set here. The 77 Saloon & Steakhouse with its famous 1880 bar is an outstanding restaurant. Its eight steaks plus three Bison entrees are all worth ordering.

Cody is a wonderful town, created by Buffalo Bill Cody to serve as the eastern entrance to Yellowstone. You should stay at the historic Irma Hotel, named for Cody's daughter, and eat at the restaurant, lined with photos of all the world celebrities who have eaten here over 150 years. It's still an outstanding restaurant. The bar shown at right was shipped in pieces from England as a gift from Queen Victoria. The cluster of museums is worth staying over an extra day. There's the Center of The West, the finest museum of the American West in the world. But there's also the Whitney Museum of Western Art, the Cody Firearms Museum and the Buffalo Bill Cody Museum, a study of Cody's life. The Whitney is the finest collection of America West art in existence, including the key works of Charlie Russell, Thomas Moran, Frederic Remington, Albert Bierstadt and others. These museums were developed jointly with Yale University and today are affiliated with the Smithsonian.

Figure on a three hour drive from Cody to Old Faithful Village.