[SoniaCANV]

Hello All,

I am getting ready to take a road trip at the end of May from Las Vegas to Mt Rushmore and back.

Id like to get the most out of my trip so we are going via Utah/Wyoming and back home through Denver.

There is a total of 6 of us, including my husband, children and mother.

It looks like its about 15 hours from Las Vegas so I'm thing of stopping about 10 hours into the drive and spend the night which would probably bring me into Wyoming.....Can anyone suggest best cities/towns for me to stop and spend the night?

Does anyone know of any 'MUST SEES" I should do on this trip?

Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance for you help!

[08grad]

I did Rushmore to Vegas. Decided to go through Yellowstone.

We camped in the Black Hills and saw Mount Rushmore, then drove through the Bighorn National Forest to Cody Wyoming which had a Rodeo and an awesome campground on a reservoir.

From Cody we spent a day in Yellowstone before driving to Jackson Hole for the evening. Jackson Hole was fancy.

You should be able to do Jackson Hole to Vegas in a day. It's about 10 hours.

[SoniaCANV]

Thank you so much for the info!

[calisoccer99]

If you are going back through Denver you should check out Rocky Mt national park

[tadtam]

Don't miss the Mt Rushmore night time lightening ceremony. It will tough at your heart strings. absolutely, awe inspiring. Something you will never forget.
Also if someone in your group is over 62, you can get a National Park Pass which will allow everyone in the car to get in free. They do charge you for parking though.
https://store.usgs.gov/senior-pass

[LVAllen]

Originally Posted by tadtam

Don't miss the Mt Rushmore night time lightening ceremony. It will tough at your heart strings. absolutely, awe inspiring. Something you will never forget.
Also if someone in your group is over 62, you can get a National Park Pass which will allow everyone in the car to get in free. They do charge you for parking though.
https://store.usgs.gov/senior-pass

If one of your group is in the 4th grade, they also get free admittance for everyone in the car. They need their Every Kid in a Park pass, though.

[evening sun]

I would say go twice to Mt Rushmore, once in the day & then at night to see hte lighting ceremony. When we went a few years ago, the day time ticket, also let you back in at night. We also enjoyed Crazy Horse monument. There is a museum in Keystone, which tells the story of the Mountain carvings, & I found that helpful, I am glad we went to the museum, before we went to Mt Rushmore.

If you, or any of your party, like mammal skeletons, there is a really cool mammoth site, with many mammoth skeletons still in the ground. I forget the name of it, but I am sure google can help. If the kids or you, like bears, there is a nice bear rescue place called Bear Country, & they have loads of bears walking around, & so many small ones (cubs) too.

[Sethro80]

When I lived in MN, Mr. Rushmore/black hills was usually our summer getaway as a kid. Explore the whole area, there is so much to do. Obviously it's touristy but it's fun. Devils tower and Deadwood are also cool. Even though Deadwood has turned pretty commercial and gambling is everywhere, there is tons of history there and I think worth the short drive.

[brdd]

Bear Country
Crazy Horse
1880 Train (highly recommend)
Reptile Gardens
Deadwood
Spearfish Canyon
Roughlock Falls
Devils Tower
Needles Highway
Custer State Park (Buffalo herds)
Wall Drug (kids will LOVE it)
Badlands National Park
Wind Cave National Park
Iron Mountain Road
Nemo Road
Vanocker Canyon Road

Find Cheyenne Crossing and eat there.