Mount Rushmore to Yellowstone National Park Road Trips

Exploring the Black Hills and Mount Rushmore to Yellowstone National Park and in between. There’s a lot to see between the great states of South Dakota and Wyoming.

This guide is looking at the areas around the Black Hills of South Dakota, and Northern Wyoming to help you better plan the best things to do and see, and where to maximize your time. The various towns, national park units, and other beautiful sites in the area.

For Those heading from Mt. Rushmore to Yellowstone or from Yellowstone to Mt. Rushmore you can do this road trip in either direction. You can also do it as a loop if you prefer if you are renting a car in one area.

So continue reading to follow along on how best to do this trip.

Distance from Mt Rushmore to Yellowstone NP

It’s pretty far between Mount Rushmore and Yellowstone. From Mount Rushmore to the western entrance of the park its 423 miles (7.5 hours).

From Mt Rushmore to the the Western Entrance (West Yellowstone), it’s about 504 miles (9.5 hours) for those traveling through the park.

Arriving by Air

Unless you are driving to one of the terminals for this road trip from somewhere else, you are likely arriving by air. For those who need it, this will give you information on where best to fly into for this road trip.

Closest Airports to Yellowstone

The following are the airports closest to Yellowstone National Park. Most of them are closer to the western side of the park, except for Cody which is closest to the Eastern entrance.

Cody is actually along the route for this road trip. So in my opinion unless the price is cheaper you are better off with one of the other airports to reduce backtracking.

• Cody Airport (YRA): 55 miles (1 hour)
• Bozeman Airport (BZN): 88 miles (90 minutes)
• Idaho Falls (IDA): 109 miles (2 hours)
• Jackson Hole Airport (JAC): 49 miles (1 hour)
• Billings Airport (BIL): 158 miles (3 hours)
• Missoula Airport (MSO): 271 miles (4 hours)

Closest Airports to Mount Rushmore

There’s far fewer airport options located close to Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills. There are a few really small airports, but the following is the airport with commercial carrier service.

• Rapid City (RAP): 32 miles (40 minutes)

How many Days do I need for the Road Trip

There’s a lot of things you can do on this trip. You can spend extra days in the Black Hills and explore more. And of course if you have time we recommend spending some time in Deadwood, Rapid City, and even more so, heading east towards Badlands National Park, Wall, and Minuteman Missile National Historic Site.

For this trip we recommend at least 7-8 days to take in the time to explore more areas. You can certainly extend either in the beginning and spend more time in the black hills or at the end for more time in Yellowstone.

Recommended Itinerary

The following is an example itinerary to visit all the places in this guide while having enough time to really take in the sights.

• Day 1: Black Hills. Explore areas of the black hills including Mount Rushmore, Custer State Park, and Crazy Horse
• Day 2: Black Hills: Take the morning and see Wind Cave National Park with a cave tour. Spend the afternoon hiking, or head to Jewel Cave for an afternoon cave tour.
• Day 3: Devil’s Tower: Travel from the black hills to Devil’s Tower National Monument. Explore the area around Devil’s tower or continue east to Gillette, Buffalo and/or Bighorn National Forest.
• Day 4: Bighorn National Recreation Area. Explore the recreation area. There’s a lot of hiking and exploring to do including Pryor Horse Sanctuary, several historic ranches, and lots of hiking.
• Day 5: Cody Wyoming: Spend the morning exploring Cody. Visit the Buffalo Bill Museum. Take the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway for a beautiful drive towards Yellowstone. Spend the evening near the north eastern gate of the park.
• Day 6-8: Yellowstone National Park: Explore the park for 3 or more days. There’s so much to do in the National Park that you’ll run out of time before you run out of things to do.

Black Hills (Mount Rushmore & More)

The black hills are one of the most distinct areas of South Dakota to explore. With its beautiful forests, caves, parks, historic towns and more. This guide while from Mount Rushmore and west would do travelers a disserve without providing the various activities folks can and should do in the area.

First we’ll cover some basic logistics on staying and eating. The area is compact enough that you can get to a lot of the areas from towns such as Deadwood, Rapid City, Spearfish if those prices are cheaper (which they often area). As well as closer in towns like Custer especially good for some of the southern sites like Wind and Jewel caves.

Where to Stay

• Keystone: Roosevelt Inn: Great Option close to Mount Rushmore. There’s some stuff to do in the evenings, but not a lot.
• Keystone: Comfort Inn: Another good option in Keystone close to Mount Rushmore. Decent rooms, sometimes good prices.
• Custer: Holiday Inn Express: Great option in Custer that’s centrally located to several of the sites in the Black Hills.
• Custer: Best Western: Another great option in town with clean rooms and reasonable service and prices.
• Rapid City: Holiday Inn: Nice hotel option in Rapid City. Close to lots of activities in the city and restaurants.

Mount Rushmore National Memorial

Completed in 1941, Mount Rushmore National Memorial houses the faces of several of the most prominent and important US presidents. The faces of Washington, Roosevelt, Jefferson, and Lincoln made in 60 feet massive busts sit on the ends of the hill in the black hills.

Overall, there’s not a lot to do at Mount Rushmore. It’s worth and interesting to see something that’s known to every American school children. It’s good that you learn about the presidents, construction, as well as the controversy of the site. The history for the native population, broken treaties, and motivations for construction.

Things to Do

• Go and view the massive faces in of the presidents.
• Go for a hike for closer views of the various faces.
• Stay for the light show that occurs in evenings throughout the year.
• Learn the history of the presidents and the construction of Mount Rushmore. The Lincoln Borglum Visitor Center has a 14 minute film and exhibits.
• Visit the the Sculptor’s Studio and learn about the life and work of the sculptor Gutzon Borglum, how they carved the heads, and the lives of the workers.

Other FAQs

• Entrance to the Park is Free, however, parking is $10.00 per vehicle. Your America the Beautiful pass does not cover parking.
• There are hiking trails to get you “closer” to the heads, however, I don’t think the photos or views are any better than the observation area near the visitor centers. You cannot get up to the heads.
• It’s better to go later in the day if you plan to stay for the lightshow. You can’t easily leave and come back to the facility (and you’ll pay for parking twice).

Wind Cave National Park

Wind Cave is one of the most beautiful cave systems in the world. It is the cave system with the most “boxwork” of any cave system in the world.

These calcite formations have a honeycomb appearance that give it a box-like look with several walls on each side. They have a very different look and feel of the cave system than what most people know with stalactites and stalagmites.

Things to Do

• Take a tour of the Cave System. There are several different tours available. Half of the tickets are reserved ahead of time on Recreation.gov and the rest first-come first-serve in person. For in-person tickets, be sure to line up early (line forms before the visitor center opens)
• Go Hiking. Most people show up to Wind Cave for the caves, but there’s an extensive trail system as well throughout the park.
• Wildlife Viewing. There’s a large amount of wildlife in the park, including one of the most pure bison herd in the country.

Jewel Cave National Monument

The third longest cave system in the world, jewel cave is famous for its beautiful calcite crystals. Visiting the caves is through regular tours that occur through the cave system.

Lately the area has been undergoing various different construction and refurbishment. So be sure to check the official NPS website to make sure tours are running (and running further into the caves).

Jewel Cave tours can be booked online on recreation.gov for various tours that occur throughout the year. Beyond the cave tours there are also hiking trails on the surface.

For those who want to maximize time. It’s possible to do Wind Cave National Park cave tour in the morning and then Jewel Cave tour in the afternoon. You’ll want to reserve both ahead of time if you want to try to do both to guarantee tickets and times.

Other Places in the Black Hills

• Crazy Horse Memorial: The memorial has been under construction for over 60 years. You can see the progress of the head and body, learn the history, and discover what it will look like completed.
• Deadwood: The wild-west town with a lot of history. Famous for its gold rush days, it’s larger than life characters, and historic era buildings.
• Custer State Park: Beautiful state park in the black hills and one with a beautiful Bison herd as well. It’s especially great if you haven’t seen wild bison before.

Devil’s Tower National Monument

The First National Monument in America, Devil’s Tower, established in 1906 protects the 1,267 foot butte of columnar jointing and one of the most sacred places to 20 native tribes from the area.

The tower is also known as bear lodge and see over 500,000 visitors annually.

Things to Do

• Hike the Tower Trail around the Monument. Getting to see the monument from different angles gives you a beautiful view of the rock as well as various plaques provide history.
• Consider Climbing: Or Don’t. I don’t want to convince people either way. But climbing is popular and some folks consider avoiding due to the sacredness of the site. Sometimes climbing is also closed for falcon nesting.
• Enjoy the wildlife: There’s lots of wildlife in the area such as prairie dogs, foxes, falcons and more. Just keep your distance. Plus prairie dogs carry bubonic plague.
• Stargazing: There’s wide open areas with little light pollution. It’s a great place for stargazing with our without telescopes. There are also ranger programs too.
• Explore the Hike the Red Beds: The oldest visible rocks in the area around Devil’s Tower. The red beds of the spearfish foundation also known as the race track. They have a significant history with the local Lakota population and their origin story.

Where to Stay

• Belle Fourche River Campground: 46 sites, first come-first serve. The only campground at Devil’s Tower National Monument
• Best Western Devils Tower: One of the best options for hotels close to Devil’s tower. Can book up quickly.

Devil’s Tower to Cody Wyoming to Yellowstone

The road through Wyoming is full of wonder and lots of places to explore. For most people they don’t realize all the incredible things to see along the way.

Exploring along the way is best done in more than one day. We provide things to see and do along the way to make the most of your trip

Things to Do

• Buffalo Bill Center of the West: Buffalo Bill Museum about his life, his work, his show, the west. Shockingly pretty big with a lot of exhibits on Native Americans and wildlife as well. Although, Buffalo Bill’s gravesite is likely in Colorado.
• Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area: Expansive canyons along the bighorn river. Great hiking trails, views, wildlife, historic ranches. Also the Pryor Mountain wild horse refuge (although can be difficult to actually see the horses).
• Bighorn National Forest: Lots of recreation opportunities and wildlife viewing (I saw lots of moose and elk on my trip through here).
• Chief Joseph Scenic Byway: Beautiful scenic road through the National Forest (open only during the summer). Also some stunning views from high up on Dead Indian’s Pass (a popular stopping point for vehicles).

Where to Stay

• Gillette; La Quinta: Great option in Gillette on the route between Devil’s tower and Cody
• Gillette; Towneplace Suites: Great hotel, very clean, Marriott Branded. Not as close to restaurants, but has a kitchen.
• Buffalo; Hampton Inn: Good hotel with clean rooms and decent service. Good layover point in between Devil’s Tower and Cody.
• Cody; Holiday Inn: Great hotel option close to the downtown and restaurants.
• Cody; Comfort Inn: Great option, very clean rooms, and good location. Close to the Holiday Inn above.

What to Eat

• Cody; Fat Racks BBQ: Shockingly good Barbeque. Definitely the best I had in the state. Only regret was not getting more. Cody, Wyoming
• Cody; Annie Soda Saloon: Cute option with an old-school soda jerk feel. Good breakfast options as well.
• Gillette; The Coop: Latin and Rotisserie Restaurant. Great rotisserie chicken options.
• Gillette; Rail Yard: American Restaurant with burgers, tacos, and more. Worth trying the burgers here.

Yellowstone National Park

The First National Park, Yellowstone is one of the most incredible and diverse places in the world. Named for the Yellowstone Caldera (the super volcano that’s under the park), the area is highly volcanic and active with geysers and hot springs.

Coming from Cody Wyoming, you’ll enter the park from the eastern side of the park. We recommend taking the time to check out the eastern areas, before heading west and seeing many of the other main attractions of the park.

Things to Do

• Lamar Valley: The best wildlife viewing in the park as well as the likely first place you’ll pass on this road trip. Great hiking too, but the wildlife is the highlight.
• Hayden Valley: Another high wildlife area within the park. Located close to the Yellowstone Grand Canyon. Worth visiting if you didn’t see lots of wildlife in Lamar Valley
• Grand Canyon of Yellowstone: The incredible canyon in the park with several stage waterfall. Be sure to also drive to Artist Point, Inspiration Point, Lookout Point, and Uncle Tom’s Trail.
• Mammoth Hot Springs: Amazing set of hot springs and travertine fountains. You can hike up and around the springs and explore the boardwalk and trails around the fountains.
• Artist Paint Pots: Colorful mud pots on a nice hiking trail. Gets you pretty close to various different colored waters and mud pots. There’s also Fountain Paint pots as well.
• Midway Geyser Basin: Some of the other famous features are in Midway, such as Grand Prismatic Spring. Worth walking the boardwalks but for best views check the Overlook Trail.
• Fairy Falls: One of my favorite Trails in the park. It’s also the best way to see Grand Prismatic Spring from the overlook. Continue on after to the waterfall. 
• Midway Geyser Basin: Some of the other famous features are in Midway, such as Grand Prismatic Spring. Worth walking the boardwalks but for best views check the Overlook Trail.
• Old Faithful: It’s a bit touristy for sure. However, it’s the most famous site for a reason. One thing you’ll learn is how rare a regular geyser is. There’s both long and short eruptions that tend to go on slightly different time schedules. I recommend going early in the day to avoid crowds.
• Upper Geyser Basin: Even more impressive is all the other various geysers that are in this high geothermal area. A highlight for me was watching the Lion Geyser group erupt. It’s hard to predict though.
• Tower Falls: 132 foot waterfall on tower creek. Close to lodging and on a good stop en route to other points in the park.

Where to Stay

There’s quite a few places to stay within the park as well as the outskirts. We recommend trying to stay in the park if you can either at the various lodges or campsites.

Hotels

For inside park hotels, you can book up to 13 months ahead of time. We recommend you book asap as places fill up fast! Although occasionally you can find them close to the dates as well.

• Old Faithful Inn: 327 Rooms. Probably the most popular of Yellowstone Accommodations. Historic Inn is a beautiful structure, with historic dining room, shops, bakery, and more. Located next to Old Faithful geyser.
• Old Faithful Snow lodge: 134 Rooms. The newest of the Yellowstone lodges. Located across from the Old Faithful Inn. Has full service dining, bicycle rentals, ski and skate rentals in the winter.
• Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel: 211 Rooms: I like the location of this hotel and it’s quite pretty as well. Good food options in this area too and you are close to Gardiner, MT if you want more.
• Silver Gate lodging: Located close to northeast entrance (Lamar valley). It’s a good location close to the entrance for those exploring Lamar Valley and when entering from the East.
• Gardiner, Yellowstone Gateway Inn: Located close to the north entrance. Has comfortable rooms with full kitchens.

Camping

Camping in the park is magical, with the beautiful stargazing in the clear night sky. Below are campsites in the park and links on how to book them.

• Grant Village Campground: 430 Sites. Located close to Yellowstone Lake. Grant Village Campground offers unpowered-RV and Tent sites, showers, and laundry. Close to Grant Village for restaurants, camp store, and amenities.
• Madison Campground: 278 sites: Located in between West Yellowstone and Old Faithful. Basic facilities but beautiful location.
• Canyon Campground: 273 sites: Very popular campground located near the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Amenities include laundry, showers, dump sites.
• Bridge Bay Campground: 432 sites: Largest campground in Yellowstone, located near Yellowstone lake. Not as many amenities as nearby Grant Village. Popular for boaters.
• Mammoth Campground: 85 Sites: Only year round campground. Currently closed for 2022 due to flood damage.
• Lewis Lake Campground: 85 sites: Located next to Lewis Lake near the South Entrance of Yellowstone NP. Basic campsites and amenities.

What to Eat

• Old Faithful Cafeteria: It’s a pretty good place for quick to-go lunches.
• Grant Village Dining Room: Dining room with breakfast, lunch, and dinner near Grant Lodge. Good selection, and decent breakfast.
• Mammoth Map Room: Beautiful setting for tea, coffee, food and drinks.
• Mammoth Grill: Great quick meal option for burgers and other grill options. Can have long lines during lunch times.

Other Places to Go from Yellowstone National Park

• You should Definite visit Grand Teton’s National Park, if you have more time. It’s worth an extra day or so for any visit. I’m still working on that guide, but check out our Guide to Yellowstone to Salt Lake City for advice on Grand Teton as well. As well as areas south.
• If you are heading north towards Montana, be sure to Check out Guide on Yellowstone to Glacier National Park. Even if you don’t make it to Glacier, there’s still lots of advice on things to do in Montana.

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