Cross country adventure...stopping in RC

Driving from LaCrosse, WI to Rapid City in 1 day(about 630 miles) and need advice where to stay and best use of our time for 1 day of sightseeing. We will be driving I90 through the Bad Lands and thought to stop for quick hike and check the Tourist Center as we head towards Rapid City.This means we probably would arrive around Rapid City at 9pm-ish. We plan on staying 2 nights, giving us only that 1 full day of sightseeing. If that%26#39;s the case, where would you stay...Rapid City or Keystone? We were thinking of visiting Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse Memorial for sure. Then wondered whether to see Devil%26#39;s Tower or Custer%26#39;s State Park or another great site. What are your recommendations for a full day adventure?

This is part of a cross country Road Trip...coast to coast. Gulp, I know...the gas prices! We do have a time schedule we have to keep to, so we want to see as much as we can. We%26#39;re excited about our trip! Any advice is really appreciated.

Cross country adventure...stopping in RC

I would stay in Keystone and do Mt. Rushmore in the morning, Custer State Park, then Crazy Horse and back to Mt. Rushmore after dinner for night light show at 8:30. Devil%26#39;s Tower is north and west of Mt. Rushmore on the way to Sheridan and Cody Wyoming. Where are you off to next?

Cross country adventure...stopping in RC

I also was wondering where you are off to next?

If yellowstone could hit a brief stop in Devil%26#39;s tower.

Also was thinking if you are going to through Utah later, I *might* be tempted to skip the badlands to make your drive to the area more reasonable. You can get a lot of the same type of scenery in Utah (but if you aren%26#39;t going through similar scenery later, would try to stop there). Although then again it is nice to finally *see* something after that drive from Wisconsin. So just something to think about.

I also would focus most of your day on Custer St. park. we have easily done (with a few stops, but no major hiking or anything) Keystone over toward hill city (244 west), then entered by sylvan lake, did needles down to wildlife loop and then back up to Iron mountain road back to keystone and were back to Keystone by about 3 PM that day. But we didn%26#39;t do Rushmore in morning, only at night. And that was without Crazy horse.

So I think it is doable to fit in Crazy horse maybe first thing in morning, do Custer, then do keystone early evening and see the lighting ceremony.

I would definitely stay in Keystone over Rapid City. It%26#39;s more centrally located to the sights. Depending on your route, you could do Devil%26#39;s Tower as you leave the Black Hills area as mentioned by CeCe.

I would also focus some of your day on Custer SP as Izzy said. The Sylvan Lake area is beautiful. If you can swing this around lunch, bring a picnic! If you enjoy wildlife viewing, the wildlife loop is a must at dusk or early am. Dusk might be tough to fit in if you want to see the lighting ceremony at Rushmore (highly recommended!) The Needles Hwy is also very memorable. Iron Mountain Road is the one with tunnels that frame Mt Rushmore and pigtail bridges.

Some people just do a drive-by of Crazy Horse, so you could do this if you find you run short of time. I was grateful to have had time to see the museum, however. I found the story behind Crazy Horse just as fascinating as the story behind Rushmore, possibly even more so.

Enjoy your trip from coast to coast!

I wouldn%26#39;t stay in Rapid City both nights--but you might consider it for the first night if you think the day is going to run really long.

I%26#39;d recommend Hill City instead of Keystone. If you have kids that like tourist attractions, Keystone is great, but Hill City is more authentic of the Black Hills and the West and Keystone is more of a tourist town--lots of t-shirt shops, cotton candy, etc.

With your one full day, I%26#39;d recommend a morning stop of Mount Rushmore, a mid-day stop at Crazy Horse, then enter Custer State Park and start on the Needles Highway at Sylvan Lake and take Iron Mountain Road back to Mount Rushmore. That will be a full day. If you%26#39;re going to Devils Tower the next morning, go via Spearfish Canyon. That is a whirlwind tour of the area but you%26#39;ll see the basics.

I am zeroing in on our SD itinerary thanks to all of you!

Accomodator, is the drive from Hill City to Rushmore and other sights as easy as driving from Keystone? Since we will be out most to all day, I don%26#39;t know if it matters where we sleep. We would definitely like to do some hiking as well as drive to see all the sights...if you have any suggestions for best short hikes. Also does your itinerary include the wildlife loop? Sounds like a ';not to be missed'; scenic route. So no doubt it will be a very looooong day :-)

Initially thought to bypass Yellowstone Nat%26#39;l Park but realize our last visit there was in %26#39;94 with the kids! We want to see it again with our adult daughter! So now heading to Yellowstone from the Black Hills. Driving to Devil%26#39;s Tower via Spearfish Canyon per your suggestions...thank you! So can anyone tell me 1.approx how long of a drive it is to get to East Entrance of Yellowston and 2.should we go West at Sheradon or Ranchester?

Have another quick question for anyone who knows ...this trip is taking place the first week in June. Our final destination is Seattle and after hearing about the amount of snow in your area this past Winter, wondered if we will run into difficulty over the passes going from Black Hills to Yellowstone to Couer D%26#39;Alene then to Seattle? If anyone has other recommendations I am open and listening! Many thanks for your help! We are really looking forward to this part of our Road Trip!

With your tight schedule, you should just view Crazy Horse from the road. This project will never be finished, just a money maker for the carver%26#39;s family. It hardly changes so you won%26#39;t see much progress if it is another 14 years before you see it again. There is a small free Sioux Indian Museum at St Joseph School in Chamberlain, SD. Also, a dome covers a dig of a pre-historic Indian village and a museum with Indian exhibits are in Mitchell, SD.

Keystone is closer to Mount Rushmore--it will probably take you an extra 10 minutes to get to Hill City. However, Hill City is a couple minutes closer on the route in the morning you head north to Spearfish Canyon. So if you%26#39;re just looking for a place to sleep, I%26#39;d go with whatever you think is the best/cheapest hotel.

I left the Wildlife Loop out because I%26#39;m not sure that you can fit it in in a day. You%26#39;ll be able to see a lot of the wildlife in Yellowstone. But if you have time, by all means do it. Dusk is a great time to see the wildlife.

For a short hike I%26#39;d highly recommend the Cathedral Spires trail on the Needles Highway. I%26#39;d say it will take you an hour to two hours to get the spires and back. Look for the Cathedral Spires trail head just east of the Needle Eye. You could also try one of the Harney Peak trails or Little Devils Tower in the same area but for the time spent, Cathedral Spires is good. Another great hike in the area is the Sunday Gulch loop trail by Sylvan Lake. Unfortunately, in early June it will be too icy to hike without some ice equipment. The outfall of the Sylvan Lake dam runs down the trail and since it is in a deep canyon, ice stays there into June on years with wet, cool springs like this one.

If I had to choose between the hike and the wildlife loop knowing that you%26#39;re continuing on to Yellowstone, I%26#39;d do the hike.

You can either go west at Buffalo or Ranchester. Both routes through the Bighorn Mountains are beautiful. I think the shortest is the Ranchester route over the Bighorns and back down through Shell Canyon. But the other route doesn%26#39;t take much longer. I%26#39;m going to say a straight through drive from Devils Tower to the east gate of Yellowstone is going to be 6 hours non-stop. I always end up seeing more moose in the Bighorns than I do in Yellowstone so take a look.

By the first week in June, you won%26#39;t have a problem getting across Wyoming unless there is a storm. It can snow in any month if you%26#39;re high enough but usually you%26#39;re safe by then. There may be a road or two in Yellowstone that is still closed but you won%26#39;t have a problem passing through. You might take a look at www.safetravelusa.com and the Yellowstone website somewhere along the line on your trip to check out Wyoming road conditions as you%26#39;re approaching.

By then I%26#39;d say you have a 95% chance of not having any snow problems on the I-90 passes in Montana all the way to Coeur D%26#39;Alene.

I would spend the 2 nights in Hill City.

Hill City only about a 30 minute drive from Rapid City.Even though it will be later,it will be worth it when you get up in the morning.Checking in for only 1 day is a pain especially 2 days in a row.

To do the Black Hills of SD and to try and squeeze in some hiking in 1 day is going to be a ';BLUR';.

But as some of the posters said it is doable,anything is doable but....

Coast to Coast and only allowing 1 day for the magical ';Black Hills'; big mistake..imo

Mt Rushmore evening lighting ceremony a must

Custer State park need a few hrs here

Needles Highway and Iron Mountain road (must drives)

but very time consuming...

Crazy Horse IMO from the highway agree with tourist2 here on his opinion of Crazy Horse

We also are doing another Coast to Coast trip In Sep

stopping here for a few days, then on to Yellowstone/Grand Tetons and the West.

Accommodator,

Great advice and much appreciated!!! Will be driving 10 hours just to get to Keystone (decided even 10 minutes was worth saving and that%26#39;s not taking into account the extra time for a quick hike/walk in the Bad Lands). Lots of mixed reviews on Keystone hotels, so on return I will post our experience to perhaps help others decide.

Have definitely decided to bag the Wildlife Loop to take advantage of hiking the Cathedral Spires trail. After all that driving/riding, we HAVE to get out of the car and get on the trails...can%26#39;t wait!

Thanks also for the recommended routes to Yellowstone...luckily able to just get accommodations in the Park. So as of now our itinerary in the Black Hills include; Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse from the road, Custer State Park seeing Lake Sylvan, driving Needles Highway, taking the Cathedral Spires hike, driving Iron Mountain Road,stopping at visitor center, then back to Rushmore at night. We want to see Devil%26#39;s Tower and perhaps Deadwood or Spearfish Canyon on the way out...your thoughts? Probably can%26#39;t get to Wind Cave or Jewel Caves this trip. Does this seem do-able?

joeman, We realize that 1 full day in the Black Hills or Yellowstone for that matter is not enough, but the reason for these quick stopovers is that our daughter is moving from Boston to Seattle and we are racing to beat the moving van...But we want to see as much as we can :-)

Thanks again for all the advice, suggestions and recommendations. The TA forums and experts have NEVER let me down. Still listening to any other ideas.

Gemini,

Have you chosen a hotel in Keystone yet? If not, I would highly recommend the Roosevelt Inn. I have a review on this site. We really enjoyed it, although not everyone has. I guess you can%26#39;t please everyone. There are lots of choices in Keystone, and I%26#39;m sure you can find something to suit your needs. Since it will be a quick stay, I%26#39;m sure basic lodging will be fine.

I think your schedule is fine the way it is. Unfortunately, I don%26#39;t think you can add a cave at this point, although both are very worthwhile. See how time goes; you can always save them for a trip when you are not racing a moving van. :)