AZ_MISMAN

The annual district competition for my Barbershop chorus will be held in Cheyenne, WY this year. In keeping with the past, we’ll use this excuse as a launching point for a vacation… this time 2-weeks from 9/25 – 10/10. I’ve never been in the area and am rather overwhelmed by all of the info on the web about things to do. So, I turn to my FT friends for advice.

This is the current route, with few restrictions.

If you’ve looked at the link, the general highlights are:(We do Colorado rather regularly being so close, so haven’t scheduled anything there.)

The primary restriction is that I have to be in Cheyenne on 9/25 & 9/26, and will probably be in a coma on 9/27. From there, we’d like to start the journey.

9/28 Cheyenne to Mount Rushmore appears to be about a 5-hour drive according to the current route; does that seem about right? Anything to “not miss” on the way? How long does one need in the Mount Rushmore area?

9/29 – 9/30 Mount Rushmore to Big Horn National Park is about 4-hours drive; does that seem about right? Anything to “not miss” on the way? How long does one need in the Big Horn National Park area?

10/1 – 10/5 Big Horn National Park to Yellowstone North Entrance is about 5-hours drive; does that seem about right? Anything to “not miss” on the way? How much of Yellowstone will be open during the time period? I know that weather starts to get sketchy and things may be closing/closed. My current thought is to budget the most time here, but what are your thoughts?

10/6 – 10/7 Yellowstone to the Grand Tetons is about 3-hours; does that seem about right? Anything to “not miss” on the way? How long does one need in the Grand Tetons area?

10/8 – 10/10 Grand Tetons to Albuquerque is the longest drive with no real scheduled stops. OK, we’re going to go to the Burger Bar is Roy, UT, but that’s because it is along the way. We’ll probably break the drive into 2-3 days.

Is the time alloted for each spot reasonable? What am I missing that I should see while in the area?

Opinions, suggestions, and general criticisms are welcome.

annerj

I'm not sure about drive times but if I were in the area for the first time:

There is a place called "bear country" near rushmore. You drive you car along a path and get to see plenty of bears, mountain lions, ect. There is also a place to watch all the bear cubs. If your into that kind of thing its pretty fun.

Crazy horse is also worth a stop (I assume if you want to see rushmore you'll want to see crazy horse). The won't finish it in our lifetime but its cool to watch and if they are doing blasting its even better.

If you like monuments and the like then Devils tower also is worth the drive. Country's first national monument?

Deadwood isn't too far from rapid. Neat little gambling town. If you don't gamble then skip it.

Yellowstone/tetons are great. Try to talk to people at the info center/lodges when you go into yellowstone as they usually know where the animals are hanging out. That time of year you should see about everthing driving through.

If your that close you might as well spend some time in Jackson Hole. Maybe the million dollar bar or something else like that. If you do the teton park loop make sure you go all the way to "the bend"....IMO its the most scenic part of the loop.

Cheyenne isn't a bad town. It all depends on what you are use to....its big for Wyoming but not big anywhere else.

I have no clue what you are into or how many of you there will be but we have a place just south of Jackson (near boundrant) and we would be more then happy to take you guys for a nice hike, four wheeler ride (we have 4 machines), fishing or whatever if we are up there.

GoBucks

Is this also true for Utah? IMO, Southeast Utah has some of the most amazing scenery in the US. I would bet that once you see it you will want to do more than a quick drive-through. I see that you are already planning to drive through Moab; I would recommend spending at least one full day there. It is close to Arches and Canyonlands National Parks and full services are available in town. It will be crowded that time of year (weekends especially), so be sure to make reservations if you go.

If you are campers, the San Raphael Swell area (the area along I-70 and W of US 191) is very beautiful, but there are no services whatsoever. You would be living out of your car / tent / RV while there. Towns are few and far between and you'll be hard pressed to find even a McDonald's when you do go into town. It is as close to a backcounty experience as you can have in your car. It is definitely worth it, though.

I presume you are already familiar with Monument Valley and Mesa Verde. If not, those are also worth looking into.

GBeckman

I'd say it's less than 5 hours from Cheyenne to Mt Rushmore. Are you actually staying near Mt Rushmore or in Rapid City? I drove from Denver to Rapid City in right around 6 hours this fall.

I second the vote for Bear Country USA. I thought it might be kind of lame, but it was really pretty cool. Personally, I wasn't all that impressed by Crazy Horse. Kind of disappointing, plus you have to pay just to get to the visitor's center and then pay again if you want to get up to the base. Mt Rushmore was VERY cool, IMO. There's a nice and fairly low-key (although lots of steps) hike that takes you right up along the base. You can rent an audioguide that talks you through the "points of interest" along the way. I loved Mt Rushmore! On our way home, we stopped in Hot Springs, SD at the Mammoth Site, which was really interesting. There's a free park overlooking Rapid City called Dinosaur Park that was worth a quick trip to. It has huge statues of different dinosaurs and was built during the Works Progress Administration. The view from the park was pretty cool, too. And if you have time, a drive to the Badlands at either sunrise or sunset is definitely worth it! We also did a chuckwagon dinner show at a place that has a lot of the set buildings from Dances with Wolves, which was kind of fun.

Hope that helps a little!

TRRed

From Mt. Rushmore to Yellowstone, I agree that Devil's Tower would be a good stop if the weather is relatively clear.

Yellowstone roads will probably still be open, but an early snow might cause the park service to close things for the season, so stay flexible. There is no direct way from the East and NE entrances to the south side of the park if the park is closed. Even if some of the interior roads close early, the road from the NE entrance to the N entrance (Mammoth) is a road they try to keep open, IIRC. If all roads are fully open and you want to walk some trails, etc., 4 days might not give you enough time, but it should be a good time of year to be there.

If facilities in YNP are going to be closed when you arrive but roads are open, I would probably try for 2 nights around Mammoth/Gardiner and 2 nights at Flagg Ranch (just south of the park).

YNP almost touches GTNP. From the South Entrance of YNP to Jackson Lake (GTNP) is probably less than 30 minutes. East of GTNP (less than 10 miles) was a great lodge we stayed at last time we were in the area, Togwotee (I think I spelled correctly). From either Togwotee or Flagg Ranch you could cover GTNP without much difficulty.

There are several other threads about YNP and GTNP and Jackson, so unless you have difficulty finding them, I won't repeat a lot of what is in them.

Your map routes you to the West side of GTNP. You really want to approach from the east side (Jackson Lake, Jenny Lake, Snake River, etc.). I am not even sure there is a road entrance on the west side.

From Jackson heading south, it would be fairly easy to go by Dinosaur National Monument (and avoid SLC).

Good luck.