Phoenix to Rushmore - route ?s

[Cannonball]

Summer trip this year is Black Hills SD / Mt. Rushmore. Anyone have any tips for things to see or do along the way from Phx? We will be in Hill City for a week and will have the SxS.

Also thoughts on route are appreciated. Is the Ike that bad? 2019 GMC 3500 dually towing 381M with a CanAm X3 max in it (so pretty heavy). Looks like there might be another option veering off the 70 at Rifle and going through Craig/Rawlins/Casper. Thanks!

[Kevin2282]

Summer trip this year is Black Hills SD / Mt. Rushmore. Anyone have any tips for things to see or do along the way from Phx? We will be in Hill City for a week and will have the SxS.

Also thoughts on route are appreciated. Is the Ike that bad? 2019 GMC 3500 dually towing 381M with a CanAm X3 max in it (so pretty heavy). Looks like there might be another option veering off the 70 at Rifle and going through Craig/Rawlins/Casper. Thanks!

We did that trip in 2019 and spent two weeks in Custer. We did the most direct route so it was three days each way. It was all good road back then. It was a great trip and I really want to go back. The Needles Highway and US 16A (Iron Mountain Rd/Custer State Park) are amazing.

Our route was:

Day 1: Mesa/SR 87 to SR 260 to SR 277 to SR 377 to SR 77 and then onto I-40 in Holbrook and then to American RV Resort in Albuquerque.
https://americanrvpark.com/

Day 2: I-40 to I-25 to the Colorado Springs KOA Holiday just north of Fountain, CO.
https://koa.com/campgrounds/colorado-springs/

Day 3: I-25 to Orin, Wy then east onto US 18 (Also called US 20) to Lusk, US 85 (also called US 18) north out of Lusk to the Lusk Rest Area (turn right (east) to stay on US 18)
At an area called Minnekahta turn left (north) on South Dakota Highway 89, this will take you to Custer
Take US 16 north out of Custer to Hill City

I mapped the route in my Garmin RV760LMT so it was an easy route to follow.

US 16 between Newcastle and Custer looks like a good route but there are some stiff grades. The southern route into Custer is an easier drive.

If you can, stay longer than a week as there is a lot to do and see there.

Kevin

[Kevin2282]

This is a list of some of some of the things we did during the very busy two weeks we were in Custer.

Drive every road around Mt Rushmore as the scenery is truly amazing.

Custer State Park https://gfp.sd.gov/parks/detail/custer-state-park/

Train Ride:
https://www.1880train.com/
https://www.sdrm.shop/

Mammoth Dig Site:
https://mammothsite.org/

Dinosaur Stuff:
Black Hills Institute Museum https://bhigr.com/museum/

Cave & Mine Tours:
Wind Cave https://www.nps.gov/wica/index.htm
Jewel Cave https://www.nps.gov/jeca/index.htm
Rushmore Cave https://www.rushmtn.com/
Big Thunder Gold Mine https://www.bigthundermine.com/

All Day Side Trips (can combine multiple locations in one day based on route):
Devils Tower (WY) https://www.nps.gov/deto/index.htm
SD Air & Space Museum (Rapid City) https://www.sdairandspacemuseum.com/
Minute Man Missile Museum and Field Silo https://www.nps.gov/mimi/index.htm
Badlands National Park https://www.nps.gov/badl/index.htm

Rapid City Walmart (for some reason we always have to find a Walmart)
https://www.walmart.com/store/3872-rapid-city-sd

Kevin

[orbiker]

Make sure and do Mt Rushmore for an evening show. Get there a hour or so before dusk to see the monument in the daylight and find a seat to watch the show.

There is so much to see in the area, you will have to plan a return trip.

Have fun, KEN

[ajg617]

Make sure and do Mt Rushmore for an evening show. Get there a hour or so before dusk to see the monument in the daylight and find a seat to watch the show.

There is so much to see in the area, you will have to plan a return trip.

Have fun, KEN

Spent 2 weeks in Custer/Hot Springs this year and it wasn't long enough - Mt Rushmore show at night was wonderful. Second the Mammoth site - live dig with over 60 mammoths found so far, and 1880 train. Needles Hwy, Iron Mountain Road, and Wildlife Loop Road were great - did the Wildlife loop twice surrounded by Bison. The drive by Mt Coolidge Lookout Tower doesn't get much press but is also beautiful. Spent two nights at Devils Tower KOA - really not bad and you can't get closer to DT. The KOA is located on the staging site in the Close Encounters film - pretty cool. We definitely want to go back to Custer - just beautiful.

I would plan on Jewel Cave and Wind Cave on separate days. One of them had restrictions on clothing/shoes/personal devices that had been in the other to prevent the spread of White Nose Syndrome that impacts bats. Not sure if that is still in place - we were there in Sep/Oct.

US16 from Newcastle to Custer is a scenic drive which takes you right past Jewel Cave. Newcastle was the way we headed up to Devil's Tower - some steep grades and it was 106F when we got there.

[jjbbrewer]

I have not been from Rifle to Craig - maybe someone else can chime in on that part of CO13. But I've been Craig north quite a bit.

In Craig, the KOA east of town is a decent park with full hookups. If you want to exercise the SXS while you're there, head west to Sand Wash Basin, which is a BLM SVRA with tons of 2 track very suitable for SXS and good boondocking locations. It's also adjacent to a wild horse management area and you'll definitely see some there. They're very used to seeing vehicles and will seemingly pose for pictures. Here's a pointer to Sand Wash - https://goo.gl/maps/WTgWBrLRWNEvNWr16

Going northward, I can say CO13 from Craig to Baggs is good road. There was some construction along that section last August, but it was very well handled.

Once you get to Baggs, the route to Encampment over WY70 is an official scenic byway. It deserves that title - it's very scenic, really good road, and very little traffic and a few Points of Interest along the way. You'll exercise your exhaust brake as you'll be going through the Sierra Madres, but you'll probably have the road all to yourself. It's certainly much mellower than I70 up through the Eisenhower/Johnson tunnels.

Encampment has a free RV park in town - sponsored by the town. It has 9 sites, is first come, first served with no on-site host. There are hookups for about 4 sites and some pretty decent bathrooms. Donations are suggested. http://www.townofencampment.com/visiting_RVPark.html

While you're there, the Grand Encampment Museum is worth your time. It's well done and very interesting. https://gemuseum.com/

Going north, the highway from Encampment through Saratoga up to I80, then west Rawlins is also good road, although not that scenic.

North from Rawlins I would take 287 up to Muddy Gap, then 220 through Alcova to Casper - all easily navigated. You could stop at Martin's Cove or Independence Rock for some history! I would not take CCR351 north from Sinclair since, although quite scenic, it turns to dirt road with big overhanging trees north of Seminoe Reservoir.

Another option from Saratoga would be to go west on I80 to Walcott, through Hanna, then at Medicine Bow go north on WY487. There's not much to see north of Medicine Bow, but it's a little shorter than going through Rawlins.

I've driven all of those roads with my rig and I did a series of recreation maps for Carbon County WY, so I know that area pretty well.

That's all if you want to go that way ..