Trip planning - IL to Yellowstone

[mspontiac]

We're hoping to plan a trip next September from Champaign, IL (Central region) to Yellowstone. Mapping sites route us through Iowa/lower Michigan and westward through South Dakota and into Wyoming.

The trip is in the ballpark of 23 hrs. We'd like to travel over 3 days and split the trip into about 7-ish hr increments. My concern is how much traffic/terrain may hold us up in some places and delay travel. Has anyone ever traveled this route and if so do you have any suggestions about good stopping points to overnight?

Thanks!

[TCNashville]

Originally Posted by mspontiac

lower Michigan

I think you meant lower Minnesota. If you're going through any part of Michigan, you're going the wrong way. When we went [from central Indiana], we took I-74 west through your home town to I-80, west on I-80 to Omaha, then took I-29 north to I-90, then west to the park. We weren't towing so I can't give you any help on finding spots to camp [overnight] along the way. Plenty of Walmarts on that route. There are some Cabelas [sporting goods stores] also along the route and some even have dump stations. By the way, we went the week after Labor Day and had the park to ourselves.

[Flapper]

There is a similar thread going in the truck camper area also. I think you mean lower Minnesota, not Michigan. This past summer and in many prior years, it took us 3 days to do it from Minneapolis. It will be a stretch from Champaign! You're looking at almost 24 hrs of driving, plus rest stop/meal time - so some pretty long days. Do not plan sightseeing stops for the Badlands/Wall Drug. Go around the Black Hills, not through. Red Lodge and the Beartooth Hwy. is a bit shorter than the Bighorn Mtns and Cody Wyo.
Do anything you can to add travel days - you'll be missing some fantastic areas in the push to get to Yellowstone.
Generally if you stick to Interstate, traffic will not be any issue. Places to stop for gas are pretty far apart in some areas of the Dakotas, Wyoming, Montana - so fill when you can. Goes double if on state hwys rather than Interstate! The Beartooth will be slower, but it is well worth it! Ask for advice if you are pulling anything even moderately sized, though - it is not super trailer/big rig friendly! The alternative is going through the Bighorn Mountains to Cody, Wyoming and on to Yellowstone. They are slower too, but also very scenic.
We liked the Badlands KOA near Wall SD - but it is a ways off the highway, through the Badlands, so will increase travel time. Eastern SD and Minn. camping is not full of numerous options that are right off the highway, so you'll have to plan it out ahead, and they will generally be places to sleep and that's all...You may want to consider leaving in the wee hours of the morning of the first day, and planning a heavy drive for as long as you can - say to Mitchell or Chamberlain or even Wall, SD Then you can ease up some for the last two drive days and actually enjoy the trip.

[WIBLAZER]

We have traveled the Mn, SD route 3 times to go to Yellowstone. Twice arriving through the east entrance, and one through the north entrance. Hands down the Bighorn Mountains and Cody is a must travel route, either in or out. Also stop at the Buffalo Bill Dam outside Cody on your way in. If you have the time on the way back, consider going further north and see Teddy Roosevelt Park in North Dakota. Besides the normal wildlife of the badlands, herds of wild horses live in the par,.

[mspontiac]

Originally Posted by TCNASHVILLE

I think you meant lower Minnesota.

Yikes! Yes, you're right! Sorry about the typo.

[Roadwarrior]

Try to see Custer Battlefield in SE Montana if you can fit it in.

[mspontiac]

Great advice here! Thanks to all....yes I did mean Minnesota, not Michigan. Gah, smack my head....


We're planning on taking two weeks for the trip. We discussed possibly traveling at night for part of the trip...traffic is lighter and we are night shifters, so it's kind of second nature to be wide awake late into the wee hours.

[mspontiac]

Originally Posted by Flapper

There is a similar thread going in the truck camper area also. I think you mean lower Minnesota, not Michigan. This past summer and in many prior years, it took us 3 days to do it from Minneapolis. It will be a stretch from Champaign! You're looking at almost 24 hrs of driving, plus rest stop/meal time - so some pretty long days. Do not plan sightseeing stops for the Badlands/Wall Drug. Go around the Black Hills, not through. Red Lodge and the Beartooth Hwy. is a bit shorter than the Bighorn Mtns and Cody Wyo.
Do anything you can to add travel days - you'll be missing some fantastic areas in the push to get to Yellowstone.
Generally if you stick to Interstate, traffic will not be any issue. Places to stop for gas are pretty far apart in some areas of the Dakotas, Wyoming, Montana - so fill when you can. Goes double if on state hwys rather than Interstate! The Beartooth will be slower, but it is well worth it! Ask for advice if you are pulling anything even moderately sized, though - it is not super trailer/big rig friendly! The alternative is going through the Bighorn Mountains to Cody, Wyoming and on to Yellowstone. They are slower too, but also very scenic.
We liked the Badlands KOA near Wall SD - but it is a ways off the highway, through the Badlands, so will increase travel time. Eastern SD and Minn. camping is not full of numerous options that are right off the highway, so you'll have to plan it out ahead, and they will generally be places to sleep and that's all...You may want to consider leaving in the wee hours of the morning of the first day, and planning a heavy drive for as long as you can - say to Mitchell or Chamberlain or even Wall, SD Then you can ease up some for the last two drive days and actually enjoy the trip.

Thanks so much! We'll be taking the trip over two weeks, I think. Our TT is pretty big....35 feet. We pull with a 2500 HD Chevy but are thinking of a diesel. Doubt that will happen anytime soon though. I'd be nervous to try Beartooth after reading a little about it.

[SBL9A]

Wife and I did Yellowstone in 2012. If we go again we want to spend a couple days in Cody WY. Looks like a fun place.

[Roadwarrior]

Fun Fact: Wyoming has a lot of red road surfaces....lots of iron in the roadbed mat'l I guess. This is a pic of an overlook in the Bighorn Mt's.

[kvangil]

We went that direction from the Chicago area to as far as Mount Rushmore. Pretty uneventful drive and barely any traffic, but lower MN and all through SD, we had to battle wind, so you may want to just prepare yourself for that. Aside from tanking our gas mileage, it was manageable for us. We were able to call up local campgrounds for one-night stops while we were on the road. At least through MN and SD, we felt there was an ample number of gas stations fairly well-spaced, but still give yourself enough gas cushion just in case...

[MadDad]

If you end up on I90 in SD near Chamberlain at sunset, the view of the Mississippi River is one of the prettiest sights from an interstate I have ever seen. Good restaurant just on the other side of the river also. One warning. My sis-in-law did a non-RV trip to Yellowstone in Sept this year and half of the park was closed due to snow.

[Flapper]

We did Hwy 14 over the Bighorns this past summer, pulling our 26.5 fifth wheel. It's a many mile 6% grade up, and the same down. Lots of hairpin turns with a max speed of 20 mph. Not frightening, but slow, demands good braking skills, and attention to the road. I'd call it very do-able and a good introduction to mountain driving! Do NOT take 14A from where it splits from 14 in the Bighorns. That one is reportedly a real hair raiser, even if not towing.
Hwy 16 is an alternative - haven't driven it lately, but seem to remember it as about the same as 14. Many forest service campgrounds in the Bighorns, as well as off road camping.

There is a more southerly route, going to the Tetons first, by way of I80 through Nebraska and Southern Wyoming that looks like it may be pretty fast. We haven't done that in many years, so can't give much of an opinion about it. It will be very flat country, though, all the way from home until you actually reach the Tetons. And even then, the road up to Yellowstone is a pretty easy drive. Might be the best route if you plan on putting the hammer down and driving well into the night!