West - Yellowstone in winter.

I am flying into Rapid City on a Sat afternoon in the last week of Dec. I would like to see Mt. Rushmore and then drive to Yellowstone. I leave from Jackson Hole on Wednesday evening.

I am trying to know how to allocate these days. Would Sat evening be enough to see Mt. Rushmore? I am thinking of driving on Sunday to Yellowstone and Grand Teton. What are some things to do/not to do in Yellowstone/Teton?

I was looking at road closure and winter timings in the foll link:

http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Does anyone know what "oversnow travel " travel is? I'm thinking of taking a rental car from Hertz, can I get snow tires/chains for rent from them?

For me, a few hours at Mt. Rushmore was enough. The only Sat. afternoon in the last week of Dec. is Xmas, so you might want to check to make sure it will be open.

YNP is beautiful in winter. AFAIK, Hertz does not rent the equipment you need for oversnow travel, e.g. snowmobiles or snow coaches (or cross country skis). The east entrance of YNP to Old Faithful to the south entrance is closed to other vehicular traffic that time of year. I did a snowmobile trip from the S. entrance to the E. entrance through the park and only such as snowmobiles (and bison) were moving on the roads.

For your trip, you probably do want 4WD and snow tires, even though you probably won't be using them inside YNP. Barring major winter weather, you should be able to reach Jackson or Moran in a day from SDak., possibly even with a detour to Devils Tower if open and the weather is decent. To the best of my knowledge, Flagg Ranch is the closest lodging to YNP, and it may be open that time of year. A little further away is where I would stay again, Togwotee Lodge (east of Moran Junction). I think they run snowmobile tours into YNP as well as Gros Ventre.

Around Jackson, the downtown area is an interesting mix of shops, restaurants, bars, etc. The area near skiing is several miles out of town.

Lots of opportunities for snowshoeing or cross country skiing; Jackson Hole is a well known ski area, generally for more experienced skiers so I'm told. A short trip through the National Elk Refuge was interesting, as was the museum across the highway from it.

Thanks, TRRED. May I know if the entrance to the park is fenced? The reason I ask is that it looks like the visitor's center is closed on Christmas, however there does not seem to be an entrance fee:

http://www.nps.gov/moru/planyourvisit/things2know.htm

http://www.nps.gov/moru/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Yellowstone is closed to cars in the winter. The only way through the park is Snowmobile or Snowcoach, so if you have a car you will have to drive around the park to Jackson.

Thanks, TRRED. May I know if the entrance to the park is fenced? The reason I ask is that it looks like the visitor's center is closed on Christmas, however there does not seem to be an entrance fee:

http://www.nps.gov/moru/planyourvisit/things2know.htm

http://www.nps.gov/moru/planyourvisit/hours.htm


I can't help you definitively on Mt. Rushmore, as I have only been there in the summer. As I recall, the parking lot was a fenced area, but one walked between the buildings to the main viewing area, so it was not necessary to go through any building. Maybe call or e-mail the park and ask?

Parking lot was fenced?

I went in 2009, and they had multi-level parking garages there.

Correct. There is a multi-level parking garage, but you have to pay to get into the garage. I can't remember how much.

The question becomes... will the parking garage be open that day.