Yellowstone trip on a budget, no camping.

[clanhanson]

I guess I am in the minority on Mt. Rushmore. After about an hour there, seen it all and done it all. It was packed and really not enjoyable. Been there twice, once with the wife and another time on a hunting trip with my dad. Glad I went but wasn't the highlight of either trip. Hotel in the area was very reasonable in late September which was when my dad and I were there. We stayed at one of the 3-star chain hotels and it was around $100 for a room with two queens. If it were me and I was in the area of western SD, I would be putting all my time towards Badlands National Park instead.

Devil's Tower is amazing, been twice and would go again but was another location where after a couple hours you have seen/done it and you move on.

Badlands National Park is absolutely stunning. I thought we could do it in a day since it just seemed like a lot of driving, I was wrong. I didn't plan for how breathtaking and amazing the park would be. Yes there were people but nowhere close to what I would call packed. Pull outs would have 4-6 cars in the smaller ones, some we were the only vehicle. The SW portion of the park we had all to ourselves which was a 4x4 recommended section of the park and this was 100% true the last 1/2 mile of the road.

Cody is another great place to stay at a more reasonable rate either coming or going to Yellowstone. There is also the Buffalo Bill Center of the West Museum which is a must see. I couldn't tell you about the 4 other museums because it took me the entire day to get through the firearms museum but my wife said the other museums were great.

I think Devil's Tower is miles more interesting than Mt. Rushmore. I also would recommend heading up to Medora, ND. There's a reason Teddy loved it there.

 

[kmk1012]

I guess I am in the minority on Mt. Rushmore. After about an hour there, seen it all and done it all. It was packed and really not enjoyable. Been there twice, once with the wife and another time on a hunting trip with my dad. Glad I went but wasn't the highlight of either trip. Hotel in the area was very reasonable in late September which was when my dad and I were there. We stayed at one of the 3-star chain hotels and it was around $100 for a room with two queens. If it were me and I was in the area of western SD, I would be putting all my time towards Badlands National Park instead.

Devil's Tower is amazing, been twice and would go again but was another location where after a couple hours you have seen/done it and you move on.

Badlands National Park is absolutely stunning. I thought we could do it in a day since it just seemed like a lot of driving, I was wrong. I didn't plan for how breathtaking and amazing the park would be. Yes there were people but nowhere close to what I would call packed. Pull outs would have 4-6 cars in the smaller ones, some we were the only vehicle. The SW portion of the park we had all to ourselves which was a 4x4 recommended section of the park and this was 100% true the last 1/2 mile of the road.

Cody is another great place to stay at a more reasonable rate either coming or going to Yellowstone. There is also the Buffalo Bill Center of the West Museum which is a must see. I couldn't tell you about the 4 other museums because it took me the entire day to get through the firearms museum but my wife said the other museums were great.

I agree about Mt Rushmore, didn't take long to see it. I forgot about Cody, we even stayed there, what a cool cool town! All this talk make me want to do another road trip. We have a new 30' trailer to pull but we normally stay in a campground and use it as our home base.

 

[kmk1012]

I think Devil's Tower is miles more interesting than Mt. Rushmore. I also would recommend heading up to Medora, ND. There's a reason Teddy loved it there.

I've never heard of Medora, it's not too far from my brother. We will definitely check it out later this summer!

 

[clanhanson]

I've never heard of Medora, it's not too far from my brother. We will definitely check it out later this summer!

Part of it was lost to brush fires last year but it's still beautiful. The grand canyon of the midwest. If they still have the "pitchfork fondue" make sure to check that out too, if you like steak.

 

[albin25]

He's an extremely grumpy, tightwad but,
My brother-in-law likes to say, "I'll wait for thet thar Yellowstone volcano to blow, and it'll come to me!"
So then, no hotel needed?

 

[kmk1012]

Part of it was lost to brush fires last year but it's still beautiful. The grand canyon of the midwest. If they still have the "pitchfork fondue" make sure to check that out too, if you like steak.

Wait, are you talking about the Grasslands Park? I went there and it reminded me of the Grand Canyon, beautiful place for sure!

 

[clanhanson]

Wait, are you talking about the Grasslands Park? I went there and it reminded me of the Grand Canyon, beautiful place for sure!

Teddy Roosevelt National Park!

 

[Lazyfaire]

Looking for advice on planning a budget late September Yellowstone trip. We won't have the cash for $300 a night lodging in the park. We would also like to see Mt Rushmore and maybe Devils Tower, while we are there.

https://www.yellowstonenationalparklodges.com/lodgings/cabin/old-faithful-lodge-cabins/

These cabins are right near Old Faithful Lodge and the geyser itself. Sept rates are $116/night. These are 1 room plus a bath. Bare bones but stayable. We took a small Weber and cooked outside next to the van. But they are about sold out. And it is cool at night at that time of the year. When we went we left Roosevelt Lodge (North end of Park) mid month. It snowed on our way out of the Park.

 

[Tony617]

I think Devil's Tower is miles more interesting than Mt. Rushmore. I also would recommend heading up to Medora, ND. There's a reason Teddy loved it there.

We walked the trail around Devils Tower and it was a very nice hike. I did take few pictures with my 300mm telephoto lens of mountain climbers scaling Devils Tower. Oh and, surprise there is no UFO landing pad.

 

[Xaevian]

We walked the trail around Devils Tower and it was a very nice hike. I did take few pictures with my 300mm telephoto lens of mountain climbers scaling Devils Tower. Oh and, surprise there is no UFO landing pad.

Devil's tower...Mother Earth's butt plug...

 

[Mattzilla]

We stayed at Mammoth Hot Springs (1995) in the north end of the park. We had a cabin. No TV, radio or cell phone service. Had a blast. Ate dinner each night at the lodge and the elk would come in to the grassy area right outside the lodge like clockwork. 100's of them. We went early September.

 

[Bam]

Prepare for long waits and hunting for parking spots.

I visited Yellowstone in September and the amount of people was insane. I lucked out and happened upon parking spots each place I visited, but saw people fighting over spots. Going early helps, but if it is too cold, some of the springs will be hidden by steam.

Keep the traffic in mind, it can be nuts, plan on being delayed by buffalo and stupid people jamming up the road getting dangerously close to the wildlife. And if you leave the park at sundown, it will take 2-3 hours to get out of the park.

 

[arakboss]

Prepare for long waits and hunting for parking spots.

I visited Yellowstone in September and the amount of people was insane. I lucked out and happened upon parking spots each place I visited, but saw people fighting over spots. Going early helps, but if it is too cold, some of the springs will be hidden by steam.

Keep the traffic in mind, it can be nuts, plan on being delayed by buffalo and stupid people jamming up the road getting dangerously close to the wildlife. And if you leave the park at sundown, it will take 2-3 hours to get out of the park.

What part of September?

 

[Defense Minister]

We did 10 days, 9 nights in a (very good) tent in August 5 years ago. Got down near freezing at night and rained at least some half the days we were there, but only heavily once. Wife does not love tent camping, but a cot and Buddy heater made her and the teenage kids happy as long as I was the first one up in the AM to start the heater.

We tent-camped for the money reason, and us and the kids all agreed it was an amazing family vacation and wouldn't have done it differently. We prepared all of our own meals as well, and cooked and froze dinners and a few breakfasts ahead of time to minimize campsite prep which worked AWESOME! One frozen cooler with dry ice, and one 'refrigerated' one. Just keep in mind that dry ice is not made from H2O, and literally evaporates at high elevation. I learned that on that trip…

One thing you will discover quickly is that Yellowstone is HUGE with lots of traffic on low-speed roads, so it takes much more time to get from A to B than on a typical highway. For that reason, staying outside the park means you will spend a LOT more time on the road, not necessarily enjoying the destination, so that is something else to consider. In fact, we moved campsites halfway through our trip in order to stay in the southern portion of the park for the first half, and the northern portion the second half, so we could spend less time traveling.

Enjoy the trip. It is absolutely UNFORGETTABLE!