Big Trip Planning Ohio to NE, SD, MT, WY, ID, UT, CO, KS, MO back to OH.

[Steven@147]

First thanks to everyone that has posted their trip information out west, routing, places to stay, sites to see etc. It has really helped us in our planning. We were going to do this last year but put it off, we just decided not to put it off any longer. Time frame May-August 2022. about 4500 miles in 4 months. The wife and I have been spending a lot of time on the computer and with trip wizard the last few days!

Using RV Trip Wizard leaving from Ohio through Indy going west (avoiding Chicago) over I74 - I80 Des Moines, Omaha, I29 Sioux City, Sioux Falls in route to I90 Rapid City / Hermosa SD spending 14 days here 1880 Train, Badlands, Rushmore, Deadwood, Crazy Horse, Custer and maybe an ICBM site. Then Devils Tower and the Little Big Horn.

From there I90 Billings - Belgrade MT then south to hwy 85/84/287/87 into West Yellowstone staying in Island Park ID for 15 days. Then using Grand Loop Road and hwy 89 down to Colter Bay Grand Tetons for 7 days.
From the Tetons down hwy 26/89 and back up 26 going around Teton Pass to Idaho Falls and I15 down through Salt Lake on the way to Nephi UT and down toward Hatch UT and Bryce Canyon for 14 days.

From there back up hwy 89 to I70 and down 191 to Blanding UT Canyon Lands, Arches, Monument Valley and Glen Canyon staying 14 days. From there I70 eastward to I25 to Colorado Springs and Cheyenne Mountain, Garden of the Gods for 3 days. On the way back east I25 to hwy 50 to Dodge City KS 3 days resting up. Then up toward I70 then east stopping over for 3 days in St Louis to rest up, back when we lived in Southern Indiana we used to visit St Louis zoo, botanical gardens and union station a lot.

Then back where we started from in Ohio. There are some over nighters mixed in just to get us where we are going. Traveling not more than 350 miles in a day, some much shorter.

We'll be staying at Private, State Parks, Harvest Hosts or National Park campgrounds. We have some reservations already confirmed up to the Tetons, the wife is working on the rest. We are really looking forward to this trip. I spent a few hours looking through past posts about routes, roads and campgrounds. Thanks again for Ya'lls postings on the forum. Of course any advice is welcome.

[TheHulk]

If you have time, Omaha has the largest Zoo in the country (Henry Doorly Zoo). Bring your walking shoes.

[coastn]

Spent a couple days at Little Big Horn last September, staying at nearby 7th Ranch RV Park. At that time we knew there wouldn't be any ranger tours or lectures so prior to the trip I read The Last Stand by Nathaniel Philbrick. So glad I did! Taking the driving tour around the area brought history to life that no group lecture could ever do. Philbrick narrates from both sides of the equation. Still "feel" the area. Just a suggestion.

[Najataagihe]

Be aware that you will have to drop your trailer in a parking lot near the entrance to Devil's Tower.

No trailers allowed at the Visitor's Center and there are no campgrounds nearby.

I don't know if they will allow you to boondock for a night.

You might want to check before you get in there.

[coastn]

Puzzled by the above post. Devil's Tower KOA is on the road to the Visitor's Center. Stayed there and hiked the perimeter trail around the Tower. Check out the map on RVPark Reviews for Devil's Tower KOA. Campground is on one side of Tower, Visitor's Center on the other side.

[Steven@147]

If you have time, Omaha has the largest Zoo in the country (Henry Doorly Zoo). Bring your walking shoes.

that might be doable, we will be staying at a Harvest Host site Windmill Acres in Neola IA just over the line from Omaha.

[Steven@147]

For Devils Tower and Little Big Horn -
Our first stop over on the way to South Dakota is a Harvest Host site in Colona IL Lavender Crest Winery, second stop HH Windmill Acres Farm in Neola IA, third stop HH site Pioneer Auto Museum Murdo SD. Fourth stop we should be at the Heartland RV Park in Hermosa SD. After that we will be staying at the Devils Tower KOA in WY, then up to the Little Big Horn KOA in Hardin MT.

We nearly have all our camping stops confirmed for the whole trip. We had to make a change in our itinerary, we had to switch to the KOA in Moab UT to get the camping amenities we wanted. That's pretty far from Monument Valley, but closer to the Moab area for its sites. but maybe we can make it work. We'll be in the area of Moab for 2 weeks. All in all we just have a couple we can't book yet, they only allow 6 months in advance.

Got all our fuel stops planned as well but we'll be carrying a little extra fuel just in case.

The wife and I in 43 years have lived, traveled and vacationed in a lot of places in the US, but never in the northern western states, or anywhere close to Yellowstone, Tetons and the like. We are really looking forward to this trip.
True when we lived in California in the San Joaquin valley back in the 70s we spent a lot of time at the Sequoia Natl Park. That was a beautiful area, but this trip I think will be spectacular!

[traveldawg]

First thanks to everyone that has posted their trip information out west, routing, places to stay, sites to see etc. It has really helped us in our planning. We were going to do this last year but put it off, we just decided not to put it off any longer. Time frame May-August 2022. about 4500 miles in 4 months. The wife and I have been spending a lot of time on the computer and with trip wizard the last few days!

Using RV Trip Wizard leaving from Ohio through Indy going west (avoiding Chicago) over I74 - I80 Des Moines, Omaha, I29 Sioux City, Sioux Falls in route to I90 Rapid City / Hermosa SD spending 14 days here 1880 Train, Badlands, Rushmore, Deadwood, Crazy Horse, Custer and maybe an ICBM site. Then Devils Tower and the Little Big Horn.

From there I90 Billings - Belgrade MT then south to hwy 85/84/287/87 into West Yellowstone staying in Island Park ID for 15 days. Then using Grand Loop Road and hwy 89 down to Colter Bay Grand Tetons for 7 days.
From the Tetons down hwy 26/89 and back up 26 going around Teton Pass to Idaho Falls and I15 down through Salt Lake on the way to Nephi UT and down toward Hatch UT and Bryce Canyon for 14 days.
I'm thinking 14 days may be a bit much. But from Hatch you can cover Bryce, Cedar Breaks, Kodachrome, and drive around Fish Lake. Maybe consider Ruby's campground or something closer to Bryce. Then you can trek up UT12 too for a few nice hikes (Lower Calf Creek Falls comes to mind) to take up the time there.

From there back up hwy 89 to I70 and down 191 to Blanding UT Canyon Lands, Arches, Monument Valley and Glen Canyon staying 14 days. From there I70 eastward to I25 that sounds like a lot of backtracking and reversing routes...... maybe consider from Hatch going down to Kanab, over to Page, AZ (Glen Canyon), then Monument Valley, up to/through Blanding to Arches and Canyon Lands then on toward I-70. That may alleviate some backtracking. btw - we stayed 10 days once at Page and still had things to do...to Colorado Springs and Cheyenne Mountain, Garden of the Gods for 3 days. On the way back east I25 to hwy 50 to Dodge City KS 3 days resting up. Then up toward I70 then east stopping over for 3 days in St Louis to rest up, back when we lived in Southern Indiana we used to visit St Louis zoo, botanical gardens and union station a lot.

Then back where we started from in Ohio. There are some over nighters mixed in just to get us where we are going. Traveling not more than 350 miles in a day, some much shorter.

We'll be staying at Private, State Parks, Harvest Hosts or National Park campgrounds. We have some reservations already confirmed up to the Tetons, the wife is working on the rest. We are really looking forward to this trip. I spent a few hours looking through past posts about routes, roads and campgrounds. Thanks again for Ya'lls postings on the forum. Of course any advice is welcome.

We've done that whole DS to Devils Tower, Billings, Yellowstone, etc. all the way through what you've mentioned. And we've gone back and done many of those again and again. We've spent a month just between Bryce, Escalante, torrey and back to Kodachrome. You'll love that trip you are planning.

[Johnww]

My wife and I just returned this November from a 3 month trip visiting many of the same places you mentioned. I have a few suggestions regarding your visits. 1) check the operating hours for the ICBM sites in the Badlands area. They are only open certain days. 2) The Wahweap campground at Glen Canyon near Page, AZ is pretty nice, we spent a week there. 3) there is a ranger led program at the Little Bighorn NP. The ranger was very knowledgeable and spent about 30-45 minutes speaking of the battle at Little Big Horn. Have a great trip.

[ajg617]

Using RV Trip Wizard leaving from Ohio through Indy going west (avoiding Chicago) over I74 - I80 Des Moines, Omaha, I29 Sioux City, Sioux Falls in route to I90 Rapid City / Hermosa SD spending 14 days here 1880 Train, Badlands, Rushmore, Deadwood, Crazy Horse, Custer and maybe an ICBM site. Then Devils Tower and the Little Big Horn.

This is a very timely post. We also have never done the northern tier though we visited our boy when he lived in ID. Our first major trip in decades will be to Sioux Falls for a late May wedding. Back to Rapid City for an early September wedding. Both will probably be a month long and we haven't set an itinerary yet for what we will do on each one (some will be family time I'm sure and 310 just arrived at dealership so we don't 'own' it just yet). Return from one trip will be through NC to visit daughter for a bit. Would love to get back to ID (especially Treasure Valley wine country up north to Coeur d'Alene ) and down through UT and WY on one of the trips. Some great planning suggestions in this thread.