Advice for Denver - Yellowstone - Black Hills Aug 9-20

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.
See posts with no answers
B

bbbzzz

Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2017
Posts
8
Hello. I previously posted for some advice (http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_forum/index.php/topic,108769.msg985437.html) and am very thankful for feedback as it as helped in planning our trip.

As we get closer, as a few more questions I feel you guys might be knowledgeable about.

First off, we ended up reserving an Airstream 190 Campervan which I hope will be maneuverable enough to get around, yet provide the simple accommodations we need. We'll bring along a tent and camp alongside when possible as I know it will be tight with 4 of us in the van (2 adults, 2 kids - 7 and 10). But also give us flexibility in where we can set up at night - RV site, car camping or tent site.

Below is our tentative itinerary. A couple questions/comments -
The only accommodations I have booked so far are 3 nights in YS (we're meeting a relative there and wanted to be in same area). We're still building out our day-to-day activities here so we'll make sure and see the sites/hikes.

Which other areas/nights should I book ahead of time - I noted which ones I thought were important to do that for

Black Hills days feel packed, don't know that I can squeeze in more time, so wondering which would make sense to cut or best places to visit in the days we are around there.

Looking for recommendation on where to stay on final two nights.

National/state parks - do you pay when you visit or can you buy passes ahead of time? Does our YS reservation get us entry into the park? Is there a pass that would cover us for all of them or we just need to purchase each individually as we visit?

------PLAN--------

Aug 9 Thurs/night ? drive ? way to Jackson
Land at 1130am. Pick up Campervan downtown. Drive to Rock Springs - overnight at Walmart

Aug 10 Fri ? drive to Jackson hole in AM
Visit Snow King Mtn - chairlift/alpine slide/cowboy coaster
Dinner/show at Bar J Chuckwagon Suppers
Stay in Jackson ? http://jacksonholecampground.com/ (should reserve ahead)

Aug 11 Sat ?
AM - go find campsite in Grand Teton - Colter Bay or Gros Ventre
Day - hiking around park
Evening - Triangle X evening float trip

Aug 12 Sun ? Yellowstone (Canyon Campground)

Aug 13 Mon ? Yellowstone (Canyon Campground)
3:45pm - Cookout Wagon Ride - Roosevelt

Aug 14 Tues ? Yellowstone (Canyon Campground)
11:15am - 2hr fishing on lake - Bridge Bay Marina

Aug 15 Wed ?Yellowstone during AM
Head to Cody -
8pm - Cody Rodeo
Overnight at Ponderosa Campground (should reserve ahead)

Aug 16 Thurs  -
Drive to Devils Tower - visit/hike
Pizza Ranch dinner!
Stay in Rapid City (where?)

Aug 17 Fri ?
AM Rapid City - Storybook Island, Dinosaur Park
PM - head to Wall
2pm - Minuteman Missile Site Tour
Badlands
Stay at Sage Creek Campground

Aug 18 Sat ?
Mt Rushmore
Crazy Horse
Custer State Park wildlife loop
645pm - 1880 train?

Aug 19 Sun ?
Jewel Cave Tour (which one?)
Sylvan lake?
Hot Springs?
Head back to Denver

Aug 20 Mon -
Return Campervan around 9am
Flt at 12:15pm

Thanks in advance for any replies.
 
That looks a lot better than the first itinerary. I would suggest doing at least one more day at the Tetons. I actually prefer it over Yellowstone. A zoo without bars.
 
bbbzzz said:
National/state parks - do you pay when you visit or can you buy passes ahead of time? Does our YS reservation get us entry into the park? Is there a pass that would cover us for all of them or we just need to purchase each individually as we visit?

Reservation will NOT allow you into park.  Buy the America the Beautiful Pass, it will allow you into all of the parks for $80 and lasts for 1 calendar year.  This will get you into most of the places you are going to.

------PLAN--------

Aug 9 Thurs/night ? drive ? way to Jackson
Land at 1130am. Pick up Campervan downtown. Drive to Rock Springs - overnight at Walmart

Aug 10 Fri ? drive to Jackson hole in AM 
Visit Snow King Mtn - chairlift/alpine slide/cowboy coaster
Dinner/show at Bar J Chuckwagon Suppers
Stay in Jackson ? http://jacksonholecampground.com/ (should reserve ahead)

I suggest you get up early and drive straight to Gros Ventre Campground - it is only 20 minutes from Jackson secure your site, then go exploring.  That gives you more time next day to spend exploring. Haven't heard about that other campground.

Aug 11 Sat ?
AM - go find campsite in Grand Teton - Colter Bay or Gros Ventre
Day - hiking around park
Evening - Triangle X evening float trip

Aug 12 Sun ? Yellowstone (Canyon Campground)

Aug 13 Mon ? Yellowstone (Canyon Campground)
3:45pm - Cookout Wagon Ride - Roosevelt

Aug 14 Tues ? Yellowstone (Canyon Campground)
11:15am - 2hr fishing on lake - Bridge Bay Marina

Aug 15 Wed ?Yellowstone during AM
Head to Cody -
8pm - Cody Rodeo
Overnight at Ponderosa Campground (should reserve ahead)

Aug 16 Thurs  -
Drive to Devils Tower - visit/hike
Pizza Ranch dinner!
Stay in Rapid City (where?)

Watch for the prairie dogs and burrowing owls at Devil's Tower entrance.  Kids will love them.

Aug 17 Fri ?
AM Rapid City - Storybook Island, Dinosaur Park
PM - head to Wall
2pm - Minuteman Missile Site Tour
Badlands
Stay at Sage Creek Campground

Badlands & Devil's Tower  - look out for the prairie dogs, watch for burrowing owls at the old burrows.  Badlands is pretty big to drive around so you might want to check it out in advance and select your spots to explore.

Aug 18 Sat ?
Mt Rushmore
Crazy Horse
Custer State Park wildlife loop
645pm - 1880 train?

I will get shot down for this but Mt Rushmore is nice to see but  Crazyhorse is better than Rushmore in my opinion with much more to see and do in the visitor centre, especially for the kids. I would take more time in Custer and if you can you could try to get into Sylvan Lake Campground and stay the night there or at one of the other park campsites.  It is very nice there.

Aug 19 Sun ?
Jewel Cave Tour (which one?)
Sylvan lake?
Hot Springs?
Head back to Denver

Aug 20 Mon -
Return Campervan around 9am
Flt at 12:15pm

Thanks in advance for any replies.
Click to expand...
 
I suggest you get up early and drive straight to Gros Ventre Campground - it is only 20 minutes from Jackson secure your site, then go exploring.  That gives you more time next day to spend exploring. Haven't heard about that other campground.
Click to expand...

Colter Bay is quite a bit north from Gros Ventre, and you need to get there early for a space there, too, oftentimes. It's much more centrally located for Yellowstone, while Gros Ventre is good for the Tetons.

Actually, there are two adjacent campgrounds at Colter Bay. The one with full hookups requires reservations well in advance, while the one with no hookups, some electric only, is much like Gros Ventre, and is first come first served.
 
Thanks for the tips so far. All good stuff. Any suggestions on a nice place to stay around Rapid City and/or Mt Rushmore? Does Sylvan Lake Campground take reservations?
thanks!
 
https://travel.campsd.com/campgrounds-and-rv-parks/all/custer-state-park/reservations

Custer State Parks reservation page
 
Unless you want some totally rustic camping experience, I think I would look for something different than Sage Creek,

Bison often wander through this primitive campground, located on the west side of the park's North Unit, near the Badlands Wilderness Area. Access is located off of the Sage Creek Rim Road, an unpaved road that may temporarily close after winter storms and spring rains. The road provides limited turnarounds for large recreational vehicles. Camping is free of charge. Pit toilets and covered picnic tables are available, but no water is available on-site. Potable water is available near the Pinnacles Entrance Station. Sites at the Sage Creek Campground are available on a first-come, first-served basis and rarely fill to capacity. A portion of the Sage Creek Campground is designated for horse use.

Everyone has a different viewpoint, but I found that a couple of hours in the Badlands was more than enough for me. I used my America the Beautiful Senior pass and saved the $20 entrance fee at the Badlands and drove thru, stopping several times to get out and look and video and take pics. By all means get the America the Beautiful Pass, it will get you into Devils Tower and Badlands, both are $20 each, and a whole bunch of other places (Rushmore is free, parking is $10) Motorhomes and camper vans under 28 ft get to park in the open to the left as you get to the parking garage, which is on the right.

I got bored at Rushmore before the two hour point and when I got to the parking garage I found it was emptying out, so apparently everyone that had arrived about the same time as I did also left about the same time I did. We all showed up at Crazy Horse about the same time also. And like BBBZZZ I spent probably 2? to 3 hours at Crazy Horse.

If you get to Rapid City at a time of the day where you have a couple of hours, by all means visit the Journey Museum, it closes at 6 pm and 5 pm on Sundays. You will learn about the geologic history of the area also the history and settlement of Rapid City and the Black Hills.

Wall is a huge tourist trap but kinda neat and the kids will probably like it. I spent about 30 minutes in the town walking thru a couple of the shops, get a t-shirt and a bumper sticker if you do go. Badlands and Wall is an easy day trip from the Blackhills.

Hot Springs, yes, for the Mammoth Site. I think the kids will enjoy it, most of the ones I saw there seemed to be having a good time.

You have a very tight schedule, more so than you probably should, but it will prime you to return and visit some areas again in later years.

Charles
 
http://sturgismotorcyclerally.com/ 

Keep in mind that there will be 500,000 bikers in the Sturgis area from Aug 3 to Aug 12. Campgrounds are PACKED during those dates.
 
Arch Hoagland said:
http://sturgismotorcyclerally.com/ 

Keep in mind that there will be 500,000 bikers in the Sturgis area from Aug 3 to Aug 12. Campgrounds are PACKED during those dates.
Click to expand...
Stay far, far away. When Arch notes things are packed, he means there will be no camping for maybe 100 miles, really! Besides crowded campgrounds, everything else will also be packed - roads, restaurants, shops, gas stations, all tourist locations. Also note the bikers are around in still significant numbers both before and after the rally, though not in the half million numbers they are during the rally. I don?t have anything against the bikers themselves, but I really don?t like crowds.
 
For the Minuteman Missile Site Tour be sure to call ahead and make reservations to go down into the below ground launch control center.  Otherwise you will see only the facilities above ground.

Bill
 
There is a nice hiking trail behind Sylvan Lake.  You will climb (there are steps) down hill around some big rocks.  As soon as you get to the bottom you can turn around and go back up or complete the hike. 
There is a nighttime show at Rushmore that we really like.  We've seen it twice and I don't think it would ever get old.  They call up all the Veterans at the end of the show and everyone stands and applauds.

Robin
 
I would suggest when you leave Devils Tower to stay in the Spearfish area vs Rapid City. There are several nice campgrounds around there, such as Elkhorn Ridge at the intersection of I-90 and highway 85. There is a nice Pizza Ranch in Spearfish close to the campground.
  The next day, if you had to drop something, I would skip Dinosaur Park and Storybook Island and head to Wall and the Badlands. If the kids are interested in the Dinosaur thing, in Hill City is a small but very nice museum they can get closeup and personal with dinosaur fossils. (Black Hills Institute of Geologic Research)
  The day you are wanting to go to Mt Rushmore-Crazy Horse-Hill City I would move the Custer wildlife loop to the next day. Doing that will keep the other sites you are hoping to see (Jewel Cave, Sylvan Lake, etc) in the same general location and reduce some of the back and forth driving.
  Sounds like a great trip for you guys. ??
 
Boonieman said:
I would suggest when you leave Devils Tower to stay in the Spearfish area vs Rapid City. There are several nice campgrounds around there, such as Elkhorn Ridge at the intersection of I-90 and highway 85. There is a nice Pizza Ranch in Spearfish close to the campground.
  The next day, if you had to drop something, I would skip Dinosaur Park and Storybook Island and head to Wall and the Badlands. If the kids are interested in the Dinosaur thing, in Hill City is a small but very nice museum they can get closeup and personal with dinosaur fossils. (Black Hills Institute of Geologic Research)
  The day you are wanting to go to Mt Rushmore-Crazy Horse-Hill City I would move the Custer wildlife loop to the next day. Doing that will keep the other sites you are hoping to see (Jewel Cave, Sylvan Lake, etc) in the same general location and reduce some of the back and forth driving.
  Sounds like a great trip for you guys. ??
Click to expand...

Spoken like a man who knows the area.  We lived in Rapid City and at the Air Force base for 9 years and got started RVing in that area.  Back in that day 1965-1974, camping in the Black Hills was absolutely the best.  Sturgis had not grown to huge proportions and while tourism was heavy it did not crowd out all the good spots.  The huge flood of 1972 had not yet occurred but we were even camped at Sheridan Lake for that event.  Wish we could go back to those early days of RVing (known then as camping) and enjoy the old ice box and our first propane refrigerator that we had to take out and turn upside down once or twice a season just to get it working again.

Bill
 
you all are awesome. thanks very much for sharing your thoughts. it is extremely helpful in planning this and is all great as we look into the final details now as best we can (knowing we'll freelance a good amt, still happy to have tentative targets of where we want to be and what we want to do). This will no doubt save us a ton of hassle during the actual vacation.
 
Rent the handheld "wand" that will guide you through Mt Rushmore with an audio tour. Definitely recommend the evening show.
 
UTTransplant said:
Stay far, far away. When Arch notes things are packed, he means there will be no camping for maybe 100 miles, really! Besides crowded campgrounds, everything else will also be packed - roads, restaurants, shops, gas stations, all tourist locations. Also note the bikers are around in still significant numbers both before and after the rally, though not in the half million numbers they are during the rally. I don?t have anything against the bikers themselves, but I really don?t like crowds.
Click to expand...

This I can disagree with. Last summer I planned a Black Hills/Eclipse trip and made inquires on discussion forums, (RV.NET or iRV2.com most likely) and received a response from someone who had lived in Sturgis all their life. The bikers arrive one to two weeks early, but by the last sunday of the "rally" they are clearing out 'en mass. On my drive from Sioux Falls west on I-90 on Monday and Tuesday after Sturgis ended on Sunday, I saw dozens of motor homes and trucks hauling cargo trailers (full of bikes?) eastbound. I also had called Spearfish City Campground where I planned to stay and was told they would all be gone by Tuesday. Indeed I arrived on Tuesday at Spearfish and I think only one biker was left in the campground and I saw only a few during the next four days in the Black Hills.

Also, I stayed at Spearfish City Campground and thoroughly enjoyed the stay. A few of the spaces are a little cramped but there is lots of shade, a nice creek flowing thru the campground, the city park is at the main entrance and is very, very nice, and the National Fish Hatchery is also adjacent to the campground. Excellent laundrymat down the street about four or five blocks (cleanest, neatest I have ever encountered) and Pizza Hut, and Dough Trader Pizza and a few other eating places all within reasonable walking distance. The campground is $40 per day full hookup.

Do NOT follow a GPS to get to it, you must approach from the North on North Canyon street (come thru town) as South Canyon street DOES NOT pass on thru the park as Google Maps depicts. (well it does pass thru, but is permanently barricaded at the south edge of the park).

Everyone is afraid to go to the area the week after Sturgis so the campgrounds are mostly empty, the best time to find a site!!!

If you ride the 1880's train (Keystone/Hill City) do not take the first trip of the day, as this is a diesel locomotive and not as much fun. The remainder of the trips is done with the steam loco.

My Black Hills and Eclipse trip report, you might get something out of it.

http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_forum/index.php/topic,110023.0.html

Charles
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Members online

Total: 1,262 (members: 34, guests: 1,228)

Forum statistics

Threads
131,969
Posts
1,388,419
Members
137,721
Latest member
Dmac3003
Back
Top Bottom