Best drive-through scenery - Spearfish or Custer?

My family will be driving through South Dakota next week on our way to Jackson, Wyoming. We are staying overnight in Chamberlain. My plan is to get on the road by 8:00am and drive through the Badlands and stop in Wall. I also want to stop at Cosmos south of Rapid City later that day. From there our trip can go one of two ways.

1) Take the scenic drive past Mt. Rushmore and then up north to Spearfish and beyond, eventually getting to Jackson via Gillette and Buffalo, WY.

2) Go South through Custer State park and then head to Jackson through Douglas and Casper, WY.

Which route would you take if you had to pick one? They are both about the same (give or take) mileage wise, but I don%26#39;t know which would be enjoyed more.

Any advice appreciated. Thanks.

Best drive-through scenery - Spearfish or Custer?

Personally, I%26#39;d skip the Cosmos, take the time saved and drive both the Needles Highway in Custer State Park and Spearfish Canyon. But with it being a family trip, I can understand your desire to stop at the Cosmos.

I%26#39;d pick the Needles Highway over Spearfish Canyon.

Here are a couple of notes for either way:

1. If you go this way, take 14A through Spearfish Canyon.

2. If you go this way, take Iron Mountain Road (16A) southeast of Mount Rushmore, take Playhouse Road to the Needles Highway to Sylvan Lake and SD89 to Custer. I would still consider going to Buffalo, WY even if you go this route. You%26#39;d go to Newcastle, Moorcroft and Gillette to get to Buffalo. This will give you scenic views as you drive through the Bighorn Mountains and won%26#39;t take a whole lot longer. Going by way of Casper is pretty boring.

You%26#39;ll have to pay an entrance fee in Custer State Park. If you stop at Mount Rushmore, there is a parking fee.

Where are you planning on stopping to stay or are you? Chamberlain to Jackson is a good 11-12 hours without any stops or scenic loops.

Best drive-through scenery - Spearfish or Custer?

We%26#39;re definitely staying overnight somewhere in Eastern Wyoming and finishing the drive to Jackson the next day. Possibly Gillette? I just don%26#39;t know how much I can do in one day from Chamberlain to Gillette. That would be taking in:

1)The Badlands

2)Wall Drug

3)Cosmos

4)Iron Mountain Rd/Needles Highway

5)Custer St. Park

6)Drive through to Gillette

I don%26#39;t want to shortchange anything on the list if I don%26#39;t have to, but I also don%26#39;t want to try to cram in more than i reasonably should. Trying to get a nice mix of tourist cheese and awesome natural sights.

Lets see:

Leave Chamberlain 8 a.m.

Arrive Badlands 10 a.m.

Arrive Wall 11:30 a.m.

Leave Wall 1 p.m.

Arrive Cosmos 2:30 p.m.

Drive by/quick stop at Mount Rushmore 4 p.m.

Arrive town of Custer via Iron Mountain Road, Needles, Sylvan Lake at 6:30 p.m.

Leave Custer after fast food drive-thru 7 p.m.

Arrive Gillette 9-9:30 p.m.

Due to the energy boom, rooms in Gillette are expensive and can be tough to find--check in advance.

I still remember visiting Cosmos ... probably 30 years ago, lol! Have fun.

I would see Badlands, a quick stop at Wall Drug, Cosmos and then Mt Rushmore. This is worth a visit, not a drive by.

Custer State Park will really take too long and since you appear to be headed to Yellowstone, you will see wildlife there!!!

Possibly drive on to Buffalo WY or Sheridan WY .. better lodging options than Gillette in my opinion.

When I was a kid my Dad took us to a place in the Wisconsin Dells called ';The Wonder Spot'; which was just like Cosmos. I still remember it vividly. Neither my wife nor kids have any idea what I%26#39;m talking about so we have to take that in, even if it is hoky.

Ok, here is my tentative plan for the day:

8:00 Leave Chamberlain

10:00 Badlands Loop

12:00 Wall Drug / Lunch

2:00 Cosmos

3:00 Begin scenic drive - how%26#39;s this route:

- Leave cosmos heading west on 16

- Loop around through hill city, entering Mr. Rushmore from the West on 244

- Exiting Mt. Rushmore to the east, turn Right on Iron Mountain Rd. [US16]

- Should I take US16 all the way down into CSP and stay on it until I hit 87North? Google maps wants me to enter CSP on road CR753 as the shorter route but would I miss anything substantial taking that shortcut? Is CR753 considered the ';playhouse rd'; that Accomodator mentioned in the 1st reply??

- Drive 87 Needles highway NW out of the park

- Drive 89 South into Custer

Google puts this route at 1.5 hrs, but i have no idea realistically how long this will take?

6:30?? Dinner in Custer.

9:30 Buffalo, WY - sleep.

Yes, that%26#39;s the Playhouse Road shortcut I mentioned. By taking that shortcut, you%26#39;ll miss the CSP Visitor Center and the Game Lodge but you won%26#39;t really miss any real important scenery. Take the shortcut--you%26#39;ll save a lot of time.

1.5 hours is pretty light for that loop. We%26#39;re talking 5 mph curves, single lane tunnels, etc. The 3.5 hours you budgeted between Cosmos and Custer sounds about right. You could do it faster but that gives you a little time to stop and look around.

It sounds like you don%26#39;t plan on parking at Mount Rushmore. I%26#39;d recommend taking a U-turn and driving through on the highway a couple of times. The best view of the monument from the road is when you%26#39;re southwest-bound out of Keystone. So if you%26#39;re coming from Hill City on 244, you might drive through Mount Rushmore to the edge of Keystone, turn around and drive up and around the monument once again. You%26#39;ll then make another U-turn to get to Iron Mountain Road. This will add only a few minutes and give you better views of the monument.

When driving Iron Mountain Road in the direction you will be taking, you%26#39;ll want to stop at some of the tunnels, get out and look back through the tunnel. The tunnels are aligned for views of Mount Rushmore.

You might need just a little more than three hours to get from Custer to Buffalo. Custer to Newcastle is slow for a while through Hell Canyon by Jewell Cave.

So instead of looping around through Hill City you%26#39;d just go down through Keystone and then do a U-turn at the monument and go back to Iron Mtn Road? Kids would probably enjoy seeing Keystone too, right?

I%26#39;m thinking maybe the best plan is to hole up in Newcastle and just drive a bit longer the next day. That way we can worry less about time and just enjoy the sights.

Not necessarily--looping through around Hill City isn%26#39;t a bad idea. There are views of Harney Peak. You can look at the 1880 Train yard in Hill City. I was just saying that as you drive through Mount Rushmore from west to east, you should go to Keystone, turn around and drive back up through Mount Rushmore once before you continue on Iron Mountain Road. It%26#39;s only an extra couple of miles.

Staying in Newcastle isn%26#39;t a bad idea. If you choose to do that, stop at Mount Rushmore for an hour or so to at least see what it%26#39;s all about. Also a stop at Sylvan Lake is worth it. The Sylvan Lake store has burgers--or better yet, eat a decent dinner at the Sylvan Lake Lodge. The Lodge is not right on the lake. You%26#39;ll come into Sylvan Lake on the Needles Highway from the east. The lake and the store are right there. The lodge is about a 1/2 mile away on the road to Hill City (SD 87).

Just make sure you get to Jackson while it%26#39;s still light. Seeing the Tetons as you approach them from the east is an image you%26#39;ll never forget.

Thanks for all the help. I%26#39;ve booked a room in Gillette for Monday night, so that should give us some leeway for sightseeing while leaving us a manageable drive to Jackson on Tuesday. Looking forward to having a great time!!