So we've decided to rent an RV and drive to Yellowstone from Dallas but I'm not so sure I want to use the mountain roads. Any suggestions on a route? An added bonus would be a route that has neat stops along the way that would amuse teenagers (like Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo). Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated!
driving from dallas to yellowstone and need a route
- Thread starter owens601
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
AStravelers
Well-known member
US-287 to Amarillo and on to Dalhart. US-87 to Raton then I-25 to Casper, WY. From Casper take US-20 to US-14 to Cody, WY. From Cody head into Yellowstone.
There is a bit of a climb on I-25 from Raton to the CO border but it is not bad. If you want to visit Grand Tetons, when you get to Cheyenne take I-80 to Rock Springs and then US-191 to Grand Tetons.
Assuming you are talking about a 3 week or so trip, don't worry about interesting sites along the way. Just get to Yellowstone quickly and then take your time enjoying the park. With our children we always traveled that way. Get to the place you are going to visit quickly and then enjoy where you are.
There is a bit of a climb on I-25 from Raton to the CO border but it is not bad. If you want to visit Grand Tetons, when you get to Cheyenne take I-80 to Rock Springs and then US-191 to Grand Tetons.
Assuming you are talking about a 3 week or so trip, don't worry about interesting sites along the way. Just get to Yellowstone quickly and then take your time enjoying the park. With our children we always traveled that way. Get to the place you are going to visit quickly and then enjoy where you are.
Isaac-1
Well-known member
I will be taking a similar trip in a couple of months, starting in SW Louisiana, just passing around the DFW area on the way, I am also going to try to bypass much of the mess that is Denver. In my case I will be driving the motorhome up, and my wife will be flying up to meet me in Laramie, then flying home once we are done with Yellowstone leaving me to make the big drive back by myself. I made a similar drive a couple of years ago helping an old friend move back to Montana. Our route then, and likely my route for this summer will go up 287 through Whicita Falls, Amarillo, and on through to Limon CO, probably then up to Brush CO and across through Greeley up to Wellington and back to 287 into Laramie, WY. I drove this road from Fort Collins, CO to Laramie CO last year in a van, and it was overall a good road with fairly light traffic. Just be aware that 287 from just past Amarillo through Limon CO consists of vast expanses of nothing, you have 350+ miles where you don't drive through a single town of over 8,000 people, and most towns are in the 1,000-2,000 range even these are few and far between, Limon itself only has a Population of 1,880.
LarsMac
Well-known member
AStravelers said:
When coming on US-20/287 from Dubois, over Togwotee Pass, you come down to Moran at the north end of Tetons Park. Jackson Lake Lodge and Coulter Bay are right there. And as an added bonus, you get the best view of the Teton Range in the bargain.
LarsMac
Well-known member
Isaac-1 said:
Dumas, TX, and Lamar, CO are decent size towns. There is a decent RV park on south side of Dumas that a friend reports as very friendly. Though shade is at a minimum.
Isaac-1
Well-known member
True, but Dumas at just under 15,000 is only about 45 miles north of Amarillo, so is the actual starting point of the 350+ miles of nothing, and Lamar CO which is the largest other town on the route has a population of only 7,800. I will check out the RV park if timing works out to stop there going or coming.
LarsMac
Well-known member
Isaac-1 said:
true. I was more thinking about stops on the stretch. not about starting in Amarillo. Lamar is a good snack break. they have a couple of decent dining spots. and the Sportsman RV park just west of town is a decent place to stay if you don't want to go all the way to Limon the first day.
I like Dumas because I prefer to get through Amarillo, rather than stop there.
Isaac-1
Well-known member
Funny that you should say that, when I was helping an old friend drive a u-haul truck to Montana along that route a couple of years ago, we stopped and at a truck stop just NW of Lamar. Google says it is the Port to Plains travel center, looks to be in the right place, and street view is as I remember it.
