Illinois to South Dakota

[jemz]

We are planning a trip to see Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone and whatever else is out that way.  We will hopefully have two weeks roundtrip.  We've never travelled that way and definitely want to see the main tourist areas at least.  Can you suggest an itinerary (where to visit and how many days to spend there) as well as recommendations on where to camp.

love recommendations on restaurants or other hidden gems along the way too.

We're thinking of going late May or early June (we homeschool.)  Is that a good time to go?

We are a family of seven (5 kids 9 and under) but they are good travelers and used to long drives and busy itineraries.  I definitely prefer full hookups as we use a lot of water and have a relatively small grey and black tank.
Thanks for the help!

 

[BinaryBob]

Hard to predict the weather, but you may find The Rushmore area more enjoyable a few weeks later. Late May / early June can be wet and cold with fog typically obscuring the monument. Plenty to see and do there, especially for the little ones.

 

[chaperall lite]

:-\ We were just out across South Dakota last fall,  and we stopped at Mitchell Corn Palace... don't bother ...
they no longer decorate the Palace with real corn, so there  is nothing much interesting there.  Wall Drug is close to the road and interesting, especially for children. 
  we did not camp, so have no info on campgrounds.  The city of Deadwood is cool,  but it is mostly gambling.not much there for children.  I've heard that Custer state park is very nice, it does take quite a while to drive thru it...but there is lots of info on the Web about the whole area.

 

[ArdraF]

I suggest you have the children plan the route.  Use it as a geography lesson first and foremost, then it can be a history lesson if there are battlefields for example.  We finally saw the location of the Battle at Little Bighorn (Custer's Last Stand) last summer.  It's a neat place and a great learning opportunity.  The National Monument is small enough that it can be done in one day and big enough that the kids can explore and have some small hikes.  Be sure to take food and water because there isn't any on premises.  At nine the oldest child can certainly lead the younger ones in finding things that will interest them all.  I have a different take on the Corn Palace.  Whether they use real corn is irrelevant.  I think the kids will be amazed to see both the outside covered with corn and the inside exhibits about corn.  Kids love stuff like that!  There are museums where they can learn about all kinds of things ranging from what life was like on the prairie when it was settled to farming.  Kids like to eat and ought to have fun learning about how their food is grown in real farming country (other than Illinois corn that is).  There are all kinds of old closed and newer still operating mines where they can see the gigantic trucks bringing ore up out of open pit mines one mile deep and two miles across.  Wall Drug is an old fashioned drug store like you don't see anymore and it's full of all kinds of objects you can have fun deciding how they were used.  Pioneer Village in Minden NE is an amazing place the kids should enjoy.  The founder started collecting "Americana" objects and it just kept growing.  There is collection after collection, including toys, cooking items, etc.  A bit north of it is the Great Platte River Road Archway Monument at Kearney NE.  It's built across the I-80 freeway and is a wonderful exhibit about the plains.  They have special programs for children.

The Platte River was important in many respects and there are some good viewpoints.  The Missouri River also goes through the plains.  For geology there are places like Agate Fossil Beds and the Badlands of South Dakota.  North Dakota's "badlands" are at Theodore Roosevelt National Park where you can see bison (buffalo) roaming freely.  We also saw wild horses there.  Deadwood has some neat old buildings and of course a lot of Wild West history was there.  Wild Bill Hickok was killed there (the one time he chose not to sit with his back to the wall).  "Cowboys and Indians" always seem to fascinate children.

Then there are the various Indian tribes.  In Mandan ND there is the On-A-Slant Indian Village which is 400 years old.  This is Sacagawea country which means it's also the Lewis and Clark trail.  Now that would be a wonderful history lesson because they walked all the way across the country and back.  They wore out hundreds of pairs of moccasins!  If you get to Montana, there's a wonderful Lewis and Clark museum at Great Falls.  These are just a few of the things you can see.  Perhaps you can use these ideas to get the children started on the trip plan that will make it most memorable for them.

ArdraF

 

[Jeff]

<$1alt="" title="" onresizestart="return false;" id="smiley__$2" style="padding: 0 3px 0 3px;" /> We were just out across South Dakota last fall,  and we stopped at Mitchell Corn Palace... don't bother ...
they no longer decorate the Palace with real corn, so there  is nothing much interesting there.  Wall Drug is close to the road and interesting, especially for children. 

We were at the Corn Palace around August 1st when the city festival was going on and the cover on the Palace sure looked like corn stalks to us.


The Badlands should make an interesting stop for a family as well as Custer State Park's bison herds and the Mamouth site at Hot Springs. There is The Natural Museum of Woodworking in Custer that fascinated us older kids!

 

[Trailer traveler]

Lots of good suggestions. As mentioned, you will have to watch the weather. You will definitely have some cool nights in Yellowstone. If you haven't already found it, here is a  link to the park facility opening dates. The chuck wagon cookout from Roosevelt  Lodge is very popular with families. If you go through Thermopolis, there is the Wyoming Dinosaur Museum, Hot Springs State Park and Legend Rock. In Cody there is the Buffalo Bill Center, Old Trail Town and the nightly rodeo.

Hope you have a Great Trip!!!

 

[MN Cake Eater]

My thoughts are with kids in mind!

Some great stops... L.A.R.K. Toys in Kellogg, MN (Top 10 Independent Toy Store & Free), Spam Museum in Austin, MN (Free), Jolly Green Giant statue in Blue Earth, MN (Right off I90, next to Dairy Queen and Free!), Rest Area in Chamberlain, SD (awesome view & Free), Wall Drug in Wall, SD (free).

Some great campgrounds...Mount Rushmore KOA in Hill City (close to Mount Rushmore), Spearfish City Campground in Spearfish, SD (check out the trout hatchery next door), Whistler Gulch in Deadwood, SD (next to amusement park and on the trolley line to see Deadwood).

Tourist stops...Mount Rushmore (SD), Custer State Park (SD), Devils Tower (WY).

If you're going to Yellowstone and Grand Tetons, book early as I think there's only one campground in each park with full hookups.

You'll have a fun trip! 

 

[jemz]

Great info everybody, thank you!
I guess we'll plan early June for probably better weather.  We'll want to be back home for my sons' birthdays though in mid June.

My oldest really will like helping plan the trip.  We'll read some good relevant stories before we leave too.  Any recommendations on books to set the mood?

 

[Trailer traveler]

They may be a little dry for the kids, but The Journals of Lewis and Clark and/or Tenting on the Plains with General Custer by Elizabeth Custer might make interesting history lessons for the kids.

 

[ArdraF]

I loved the Laura Ingalls books when I was a kid.  Each one is about a different cultural family (Swedish for example) and their hardships living in sod huts on the Plains.

ArdraF

 

[Mikeh449]

devils tower, deadwood,wall drugs(ha ha),crazy horse,

 

[samanthahhi]

In a few words: PRAIRIE DOGS (see picture)!!!!

That's what my son and niece loved the most. We stopped everywhere we saw prairie dogs and watched fascinated for hours. In the Badlands, the kids could walk out into the Bison field (see picture) - so long as the Bison were off in the distance - and they would wait quietly for the heads to begin popping out and listen to the chuck calls. There is a place near where you sign up for the Minutemen Missile Silo that allows you to go out and feed the prairie dogs and they are all rather tame. I thought it was gimmicky, but their eyes just shined with the marvel and cuteness of it all!

On way there, we stayed at a great campground in Oacomo, SD - Oasis Campground - overlooks MO river. Liked it so much we stayed there on the way back!

My mother took my niece (we hadn't arrived yet) to an Old West Town on a very hot day, but she was ecstatic and thought it was the coolest thing ever. We met up and had lunch in the old train car and it was fine. The whole setup seemed pretty cool.

Loved the Badlands Nat' Park. Slim pickings for accommodations, but a jewel in the dirt is the Badlands/White River KOA - great for kids, absolutely loved it! They had these low to the ground bike rentals that burned out the excess energy that the 95 degrees heat couldn't manage on its own. Loads of hills to climb, simply fascinating. Prairie dogs will steal your hearts and they, along with the Mtn goats, are everywhere! My niece kept calling back to a male Mtn Goat and he wended his way from several hilltops and steep incline all the way over to her within 20 ft. Everyone as aghast! How cool for a kid! (see picture)

Hill City, SD Here, I could go on and on. The Black Hills are simply sumptuously amazing!!! We stayed at the High Country Guest Ranch as my mother had a cabin and they have spots for rvs. They have a huge stage where an Amer. Indian troupe perform almost every night, horseback riding and more. Centrally located for 5 days of road trips covering every sightseeing "loop". Fell in love with Custer Nat'l Park where the Bison and Buffalo roam around your cars (see picture of my mother taking pics of Bison at arms reach). It's just breath taking.

Crazy Horse Monument is outstanding. It is a must see. Go to Rushmore first and you will fully appreciate what they are doing at Crazy Horse. The Gift Shop might pinch your wallets, but we let the kids get a little something as we totally wanted to support the efforts. They are building more than a monument. It's just amazing.

We allowed for 2 days in Badlands (though my mother was there for 4 and loved it) and 5 days for Black Hills. If you do the Northern Loop to Deadwood, make an early start of it and go on out to Devil's Tower Nat'l Monument in WY - absolutely fascinating! OH!!

On your way towards Devil's tower, while you are still in the mountains, there is a itty bitty sign at an intersection on which stands the Spearfish Canyon Lodge  stating that parts of Dances with Wolves was filmed up the ravine. Take that road to the left and drive up the passage. There is the neatest little picnic area amidst towering rocks with a wide stream that the kids just about froze their tootsies off as they would have contests to see who could last the longest (see picture). We really didn't think they would make much of it, but they have talked about that one little stop just about more than anything else.

Oh! One more must see with kids - Mammoth Site @ Hot Springs, SD on the southern end of the southern loop. Absolutely fascinating! (see picture). They have a great exhibit and if you arrange ahead of time, your kids can get involved in the dig.

If you want more recommendations, let me know. I fell in love with SD. So, I am willing to see what ND has to offer on this next trip.

Samantha

 

[jemz]

Thanks for all the great info and pictures too!  My kids loved the pictures.  Previously when we talked about visiting the Mammoth site, my oldest said it sounded boring, but now with the picture, my boys are all about it!

 

[Bill N]

Lots of good information in this thread.  We lived at Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota (near Rapid City) for nine wonderful years and most of what has been mentioned is good for your planning purposes.  I was a missile launch officer with the Minuteman missile wing at Ellsworth and, as was briefly mentioned in an earlier post, one of the great sites for your kids to visit is the Minuteman National Historic Site - link:  http://tinyurl.com/28bugqj  It is located a few miles east of Wall, SD and is composed of two different sites, one a launch control center from which 10 missiles were monitored and up to 50 could be launched and the second is an actual missile silo itself, a few miles down the interstate closer to Wall.  Make reservations to tour these sites (free) as they are run by the National Park Service.  As an aside, these are the only two missile facilities left of the 165 that were originally in the western South Dakota area.  By chance, my launch crew was the first crew to pull duty at Delta One - the site that is now the NPS historic site.  We accepted the site from Boeing just after July 4th in 1963 and had many alert tours there until our own home sites were completed about 50 miles north of the air force base.  The Minuteman missiles were in western South Dakota from 1963 until deactivated in 1994 after which all but the two sites mentioned above were destroyed as part of the treaty with the Russians.  If you visit you will note that the missile launch tube has a glass enclosure over the top.  This was a demand of the Russians so that their satellites could monitor the inside of the launch tube and determine that a real missile had not replaced the dummy one that is currently installed.  I guess you could say this was their version of Trust But Verify.  Sorry for the history lesson but I tend to get carried away when western South Dakota is mentioned.  Hope you enjoy your trip.  Rushmore is the highlight but the area is loaded with many more interesting sites.

 

[therealsimpsons]

We have made the trip you are talking about 3 times since 2008. In two weeks, you won't have nearly enough time to see the Black Hills area, AND Yellowstone. Last year, we spent two weeks in Yellowstone alone, and then another 8 days in the Grand Tetons.

Save those two for another trip is my advice. When you take the second trip, a side trip to Devils Tower and Little Bighorn are well worth it.

We live in Illinois (Rockford) and we take the I-39/I-90 route out. If you  have never been there, notice when you cross the Missouri River in Chamberlain, how the landscape changes, almost immediately!

Do stop at Wall Drug. So you can say you did, and the kids will like it.

Custer State Park is a must...a must, especially if you have children. The Wildlife Loop is about 40 miles or so, and at 20 miles an hour, it will take awhile. Start it about 4:30 pm local time and you will be rewarded if you are patient and observe. Bison, pronghorn antelope, prairie dogs, wild burrows, mule deer, will fascinate all! It will be a great game to see who can spot the wildlife first!

Mt Rushmore, Crazyhorse, Jewel Cave, Wind Cave National Park, Badlands National Park, the Mammoth Site, and a scenic drive down the Deadwood/Spearfish Canyon...are all awesome.

If you leave the Mammoth site until last, you can come home through Nebraska and Iowa. Between Lincoln and Omaha is the Strategic Air Command Museum. Kids will love it. They can ride in a helicopter simulator! Don't miss the Big Boy in Omaha...google it.

Have fun!

Stan

 

[jemz]

Whew!  When you mentioned the Big Boy, I thought you were talking about the restaurant!  We stopped at a Big Boy restaurant last year on our trip to Niagara Falls for nostalgia sake.  It was pretty gross food.  Won't make that mistake again.  The Big Boy in Omaha looks cool.  Good to know about!

We have drafted an itinerary, I'll post it soon.  We plan to take I-80 to Omaha, then Cheyenne, then Jackson Hole on the way to Yellowstone and I-90 to Rapid City area and on the way home.  Our last stop is going to be in Warrens WI to camp at our favorite Jellystone Park for a couple nights.  I wish we had more time, but I don't think we'll make it out West again for a long time so we want to do it all!  There is just so much to see in this beautiful country (including taking the motorhome to Alaska in the future) and we also want to travel abroad with all our kids before they go to college.

 

[samanthahhi]

Bill > Thank you sooooo much for that history lesson! It is fascinating to meet someone who actually worked there. Wow! Wasn't able to get a tour time, so we missed out. Our kids just have no idea what it was like when times were so intense with Russia.

Jemz > One highlight I had planned for my son to break the monotony of the grueling trip out west was a stay over in Omaha so that we could visit the Doorly zoo. It was beyond all expectations. We simply loved it! Funny, we saw some Prairie Dogs that seemed like they were on display but out in the open and the zoo keeper said they were just a renegade bunch that set up housing in an elevated piece of land bordered by a stone wall. It was cool as they were at eye level for my son. Anyway, we just loved it.

Oh, I miss SD! May change my plans and drive through the Black Hills again on way out to Glacier. But then again, I would want to stay...lol!

 

[eliallen]

as Custer State Park's bison herds

Remember that they roam wherever they want.

 

[jemz]

Here's the current plan:
I appreciate recommendations for more things to do/see and roadside attractions as well as places to camp at the various stops.  We have our reservations for Yellowstone but nowhere else yet.

Day 1:
Drive to Omaha NE

Day 2:
Omaha Zoo
Drive to Cheyenne WY
(arrive late and probably camp at rest stop or Walmart)

Day 3:
Drive to Jackson Hole

Day 4:
Downtown Jackson Hole
Jackson Hole Rodeo or Bar J Chuckwagon
(Also laundry and grocery shopping)

Day 5:
Grand Teton NP
Old Faithful
Camp at Madison campground in Yellowstone

Day 6:
Full day in Yellowstone
Camp at Fishing Bridge

Day 7:
Drive North out of Yellowstone (if roads are open)
Stop at Buffalo Bill Historical Center
Drive as far as we can toward Rapid City SD and camp

Day 8:
Drive
Stop at Devils Tower
Deadwood
Camp at Mt Rushmore KOA

Day 9/ 10/ 11:
Mount Rushmore (incl. light show)
Crazy Horse
Custer State Park
Keystone
1880 train
Wind Cave
etc.

Day 12:
Wall Drug
Corn Palace
Drive to Sioux City

Day 13/14:
Drive to Warrens WI
Camp at Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park

Day 15:
Drive home

 

[samanthahhi]

Looks fantastic!

If you are going to the Zoo...get there when they open. Many of the exhibits are, thankfully, indoors! The desert dome was fabulous! We walked to the back of the zoo and worked or way forward and it was if we had it all to ourselves. Bring lots of water!!!