We are planning a trip end of August 2018. We are flying into Denver from the UK. We want to drive to Deadwood via Mount Rushmore, we land early evening so want to drive for maybe 3 hours and stop overnight (suggestions of where to stop please) We plan to stay the night in Deadwood drive to Cody for a few nights then on to Yellowstone. We would love some advice on which routes to take and if we should stay in one place in Yellowstone as a base or different locations. We will be in Yellowston for 4 nights before moving on.
Although you have not asked about the trip from Grand Teton National Park to San Francisco you can either go through Austin, Reno or Las Vegas - Austin is shorter but it is still 14 hours of driving. You need to make the reservations at any National Park well in advance- especially the really popular ones like Yosemite National Park.
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I would suggest spending a few more nights in the Black Hills if possible. No reason to travel all that way just to lay your head on a pillow.
Be sure to also devote a few days to the Grand Teton National Park and Jackson (Wyoming). You won't regret it.
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First I would advise you not to plan on driving 3 hours after you get to Denver International Airport By the time you get off the plane and get your luggage and get your car, you will be tired and that is a bad time to start driving on the right side of the road. I think you should eat and spend the night in the area of the Denver airport. Part of the route to Mt Rushmore is a toll road (I-24) so I suppose you could stop in Loveland, or Fort Collins or Cheyenne Cheyenne is about a hour and a half from the airport. From Denver to Mt Rushmore is about a five hour drive and from there to Deadwood is about another hour and a half.
Cody is another 6 hours but the pin on the map is in the wrong place - you go through Bighorn National Forest on the way to Yellowstone National Park (which is about 2 hours from Cody)
For Yellowstone National Park you will need to make the reservations NOW because they sell out a year in advance. And if you can get reservations there, stay in the Old Faithful Inn. If you wanted to move on after 3 days, you could spend one night in Grand Teton National Park
From there back to Denver is about an 8 hour drive depending on how you go. I would go back through Jackson (Wyoming) but other routes are possible.
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Kim
