Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 

Go Back   Keystone RV Forums > Keystone Community Forums > Campgrounds & Destinations
Click Here to Login

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 12-30-2018, 10:47 AM   #1
wadecool
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2018
Location: elizabethtown
Posts: 10
2019 trip from KY to Yellowstone/Tetons

I am planning a trip from Kentucky to Yellowstone and would like to run my itinerary by the experts to see how it looks. Some background and parameters: It will be me, wife, and 2 12 year old girls. and we have 2 weeks. We are driving a 2018 Ford F-350 dually towing a Premier 34BHPR 38 ft travel trailer. In order to maximize vacation, make good time, and keep girls from going stir crazy in the truck the trip out will be driving at night. I work third shift and mostly 12 hour shifts so driving at night isn't an issue for me. I have cousins in Rapid City and Gillette, WY who will be joining us in a convoy to Yellowstone and the Tetons.

7/17 - Leave Kentucky 8pm, arrive Rock Port Rivers Edge Campground in Rock Port, MO around 8am 7/18. Girls will swim and hang out in camper while i sleep.

7/18 - leave Rock Port, MO around 4pm, arrive Rapid City 4am 7/19 staying at Rapid City KOA. After I get a nap, tour Badlands, Mt Rushmore and hang out with family.

7/20 - leave Rapid City 8am and head to Hardin, MT KOA via Gillette WY and arrive at Little Bighorn Battlefield 2pm.

7/21 - leave Hardin, MT 9am to West Yellowstone, MT KOA via I-90, arriving 2pm

7/21 through 7/26 - tour Yellowstone NP

7/26 - leave West Yellowstone KOA 9am via US 191, arrive Virginian RV park in Jackson, WY 12pm. Drive through Grand Teton NP and see a few sights.

7/27 - Leave Jackson, WY 9am, arrive Cody, WY KOA 2pm. Tour Buffalo Bill Museum and drive the Beartooth/Chief Joseph Highway.

7/29 - Leave Cody, WY 9am, arrive Kennebec, SD KOA 8pm.

7/29 - Leave Kennebec, SD 3am, arrive Kansas City KOA 1pm on 7/30.

730 - leave KC KOA 8pm, arrive home at 6am.

To those in the know, how does this trip look? Any advice? Any other forums or threads I should be posting this on?

Thanks in advance,

Adam
wadecool is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-30-2018, 02:17 PM   #2
ChuckS
Senior Member
 
ChuckS's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Mountain Home, Idaho
Posts: 2,977
2019 trip from KY to Yellowstone/Tetons

Why not drive from West Yellowstone thru the park and exit out south entrance of Yellowstone into Tetons. Then drive out south entrance right into Jackson Hole.

Very easy drive with your setup... we spend at least 4 weeks every year at Yellowstone and Grand Teton NP
__________________


2007 GMC Classic club cab 4x4 Duramax LBZ
2014 Alpine 3010 RE. 34 foot fifth wheel
ChuckS is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-30-2018, 03:28 PM   #3
SummitPond
Senior Member
 
SummitPond's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Northeast Florida/Southeast Maine
Posts: 784
Quote:
Originally Posted by wadecool View Post
I am planning a trip from Kentucky to Yellowstone ...
As you are touring the Badlands there's a Minuteman Missile Silo (I believe it is a National Monument) that is worth a tour. Check their web site for making arrangements - you need at least 24 hours notice.

Also consider stopping in Mitchell, SD at the Corn Palace.

Cody State Park provides some views of Mount Rushmore that are breathtaking, plus as an added benefit you might see some of the wildlife. There are also National Park caves in the area.

Happy trails. That is quite an ambitious trip!
__________________

Now: 2019 Winnebago 2500FL w/e2 WDH;Sold: 2015 Bullet Premier 19FBPR (shown)
2012 Ford F-250 Lariat Super Duty Crew Cab (gas 6.2 L, 3.73 gear ratio 2WD, 172" WB)
SummitPond is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-31-2018, 05:28 AM   #4
notanlines
Senior Member
 
notanlines's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Germantown, TN
Posts: 6,308
"Tour Buffalo Bill Museum and drive the Beartooth/Chief Joseph Highway." Good plan, and also take in the youth rodeo , held every evening in the summer. Your girls and you will enjoy this.
__________________
Jim in Memphis, Wife of 51 years is Brenda
2019 F450 6.7 Powerstroke
2018 Mobile Suites 40RSSA
2021 40' Jayco Eagle
2001 Road king w/matching Harley sidecar
2021 Yamaha X2 Wolverine 1000
notanlines is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-31-2018, 07:16 AM   #5
Racebug
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Petersburg, KY
Posts: 276
we are doing a similar trip in June this year. Cody to Jackson hole to west Yellowstone and then down to escalante for a week.
__________________

2017 Fuzion 417
2018 Ram 3500 Longhorn
Racebug is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-31-2018, 07:33 AM   #6
captcolour
Senior Member
 
captcolour's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Verona, KY
Posts: 320
Make sure you take into account the time zone changes going and coming when factoring in driving. I remember when we made our "out west" trip years ago, got near the KOA in SD and was only going to be 2pm local time, so called ahead and found another one an hour farther to make the next day to the Badlands shorter and give us more time there. At Yellowstone, we stayed at Coulter Bay near the Tetons which was really nice. Better make reservations soon!
__________________
New: 2021 Solitude 380FL
Old: 2016 Alpine 3600RS
Tow: 2017 F-350 DRW diesel
captcolour is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-31-2018, 08:54 AM   #7
mace14638
Junior Member
 
mace14638's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: Riverton
Posts: 14
Sounds like a great trip! We spend a week every summer in our 5th wheel at Bridge Bay campground on Yellowstone Lake. A night or so there is a good base for exploring the park. Have a great trip!
mace14638 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-31-2018, 11:39 AM   #8
bfam5
Junior Member
 
bfam5's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Hillsboro
Posts: 27
Mt Rushmore and Badlands on the same day from Rapid City KOA is a lot of driving.

We did a 7 week cross country trip during the summer of 2018. We could have always used more time at each place we visited.

If you know your dates, I would attempt to get reservations inside Yellowstone vs West Yellowstone. We stayed 5 nights at West Yellowstone and that drive in and out of the park each day got old and tiring.

We have 3 boys and kept them entertained with audio books during the drive.

Have a great trip!
__________________

2017 Springdale 260TBWE
2009 Rockwood HW276 (sold)
2006 Ford F150 SCrew 4x4 6.5' bed
bfam5 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-31-2018, 03:16 PM   #9
notanlines
Senior Member
 
notanlines's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Germantown, TN
Posts: 6,308
Bfam, I concur with your comment concerning the travel from Rapid City to the bad lands, etc. Too far to make both in the same day. However, remember he's towing 38' of 5th wheel. Too long for Yellowstone parks.
__________________
Jim in Memphis, Wife of 51 years is Brenda
2019 F450 6.7 Powerstroke
2018 Mobile Suites 40RSSA
2021 40' Jayco Eagle
2001 Road king w/matching Harley sidecar
2021 Yamaha X2 Wolverine 1000
notanlines is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-01-2019, 10:32 AM   #10
ChuckS
Senior Member
 
ChuckS's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Mountain Home, Idaho
Posts: 2,977
There is really no nice place inside YNP to camp with that size RV. They are rebuilding Fishing Bridge RV campground on east side of YNP but no info on what the length allowance will be.

However, towing inside YNP will be nonissue
__________________


2007 GMC Classic club cab 4x4 Duramax LBZ
2014 Alpine 3010 RE. 34 foot fifth wheel
ChuckS is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-01-2019, 10:54 AM   #11
Wyldfire
Senior Member
 
Wyldfire's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Middleton
Posts: 252
I would add https://www.nps.gov/mimi/index.htm
to the trip. Schedule a tour down to launch command. Kids will love it and very historical. Just off the interstate between Wall and Rapid City
Wyldfire is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-01-2019, 12:56 PM   #12
koko
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Southwest Wyoming
Posts: 497
The idea of driving through from West Yellowstone, exiting by the south entrance and into Teton National Park, touring TNP then on to Jackson might be a good idea - then you won't be backtracking back into Teton National Park from Jackson. The road from Jackson to TNP can be really crowded. Your trip sounds awesome no matter which way you go.
__________________

2017 Jayco Melbourne 24k-Jeep Wrangler
2013 Bullet Premier 19FBPR-Dodge Durango V8 Hemi
2013 Rpod 177HRE-Jeep Liberty
2011 Aliner Sport-Jeep Cherokee
2008 Little Guy 5^Wide-Toyota Avalon
1980 Shasta 21-GMC Suburban
1981 Coleman Tent Camper-1981 Dodge Ramcharger
1978 VW Westfalia
Lots of tents
koko is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-01-2019, 05:26 PM   #13
mace14638
Junior Member
 
mace14638's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: Riverton
Posts: 14
I take my 38’ 5er to Yellowstone every summer.
mace14638 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-01-2019, 11:27 PM   #14
bfam5
Junior Member
 
bfam5's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Hillsboro
Posts: 27
Scratch Fishing Bridge RV Park. Just saw that it is closed for all of 2019 due to construction.
__________________

2017 Springdale 260TBWE
2009 Rockwood HW276 (sold)
2006 Ford F150 SCrew 4x4 6.5' bed
bfam5 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-02-2019, 07:58 AM   #15
JRTJH
Site Team
 
JRTJH's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Gaylord
Posts: 26,836
Quote:
Originally Posted by bfam5 View Post
Scratch Fishing Bridge RV Park. Just saw that it is closed for all of 2019 due to construction.
Fishing Bridge RV Park is closed for renovations and the park rangers I talked to 2 years ago told me that the remaining park campgrounds, many of which do not have reservations, will be absorbing that camper traffic, so their suggestion was to either reserve a campsite or don't plan on being able to stay inside the park.

Fishing Bridge is the only RV campground inside Yellowstone that has full hookups. All the remaining sites are "primitive camping" with access to showers and fresh water in some, but not all. Where showers are available, they are "pay as you go" and some campgrounds include 2 "shower tokens" daily with each site.

If I were planning a trip with a "longer than about 25' camper" I would not expect to find a suitable campsite inside the park on a "hit and miss" venture. Most campers tend to look for the most level and largest site available, even if they are tent camping or have a small trailer, so the larger sites usually fill up first. I would definitely make reservations. Either inside the park if no hookups are needed or in West Yellowstone, Cody (a long drive to the park) or one of several campgrounds near the north entrances to the park in Montana.
__________________
John



2015 F250 6.7l 4x4
2014 Cougar X Lite 27RKS
JRTJH is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-02-2019, 02:28 PM   #16
Canonman
Senior Member
 
Canonman's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2016
Location: South Jordan, Utah
Posts: 2,221
We travel to Teton NP as often as we can. Our favorite place to stay is Gros Ventre campground which is inside the park and easily accommodates rigs of your size. Lots of animals and beautiful scenery close by.
We avoid the town of Jackson Hole like the plague. Way overcrowded and the roads are a challenge with any RV. Your plan to stay in West Yellowstone in spot on. Access to RV camping in the park is severely limited. Teton will be much less crowded and the scenery locations there are some of my favorites.
Happy to help with suggestions of places to see in either park
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	_MG_1495.jpg
Views:	179
Size:	333.1 KB
ID:	19764   Click image for larger version

Name:	_MG_1570.jpg
Views:	148
Size:	329.6 KB
ID:	19765   Click image for larger version

Name:	Prismatic Springs (1 of 1).jpg
Views:	170
Size:	91.6 KB
ID:	19766   Click image for larger version

Name:	Guyeser Sunset1 (1 of 1).jpg
Views:	155
Size:	58.7 KB
ID:	19767  
__________________
2017 Cougar 279RKSWE
2007.5 Dodge Ram 2500 6.7 Cummins
Retirement Training Completed
I think the little voices in my head have started a chat group.
Canonman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-02-2019, 03:14 PM   #17
wadecool
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2018
Location: elizabethtown
Posts: 10
I should add that I have some experience towing campers. Specifically, after Hurricane Katrina, i hauled over 50 campers (30ft avg) from Northern Indiana factories to locations in Southern Miss, Louisiana, and Florida. Our hard dates (reservations currently set in stone) are West Yellowstone KOA 7/21-7/26, Virginian RV Park 7/26-7/27. I haven't booked anything else.

I want to take my family's interests into account and Badlands and Mt Rushmore are on their list.

Coming from Rapid City heading to West Yellowstone, we will have to spend the night somewhere along the way. Although my current Itinerary includes stopping at Little Bighorn Battlefield, I initially thought of spending a night in Cody but want to see the Museum and drive the Beartooth and can't get that accomplished in one night. (random thought was to spend a night in Cody, see the museum, then just drive from West Yellowstone to the Beartooth and make that one of our 5 Yellowstone tour days).

This plan is still very fluid...
I want to thank everyone for the advise thus far. It is much appreciated!
wadecool is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-02-2019, 03:41 PM   #18
travelin texans
Senior Member
 
travelin texans's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: Picacho, Az
Posts: 6,809
If you're going to Mt Rushmore then Crazy Horse is also a must see. We enjoyed Crazy Horse more, less commercialized, less crowds & an up close view plus the how it all started video was great.
__________________
Full-timed 10+ years
Sold '13 Redwood FB
Traded '13 GMC Denali DRW D/A
Replacement undetermined
travelin texans is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-02-2019, 06:47 PM   #19
ChuckS
Senior Member
 
ChuckS's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Mountain Home, Idaho
Posts: 2,977
I’d consider a different route than Beartooth Hiway. The road is under major construction just east of “Top of the world” due to road washout ....

We were at Top of the world last Sept and no way I’d tow on that stretch in its current condition.
__________________


2007 GMC Classic club cab 4x4 Duramax LBZ
2014 Alpine 3010 RE. 34 foot fifth wheel
ChuckS is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-04-2019, 02:33 PM   #20
wadecool
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2018
Location: elizabethtown
Posts: 10
Taking into account the girls needing burn energy after driving long days and shortening the days somewhat as well as all of us being on same sleep schedule, i have updated the itinerary:

With u getting another day off here’s my updated itinerary:

7/17 - leave home at 3am arrive KC KOA 2pm

7/18 - KC KOA to Kennebec, SD KOA 8am to 6pm

7/19 - Kennebec KOA to Rapid City driving through Badlands and Wall Drug on way 8am to 2pm. Tour Mt Rushmore after setting up camp

7/20 - rapid city to Hardin, MT via Gillette, WY 9am to 3pm. Go to Little Bighorn battlefield in afternoon

7/21 - Hardin, MT to West Yellowstone KOA 9am to 3pm

7/26 - West Yellowstone to Jackson WY 7am to 1pm. Tour Tetons in afternoon

7/27 - Jackson to Cody 7am to 3pm. Tour museum and beartooth highway in 2 days

7/29 - Cody to Ft Collins KOA 6am to 2pm. Drive through RMNP.

7/30 - FT Collins KOA to Topeka KOA 8am to 6pm

7/31 - Topeka KOA to home 8am to 6pm
wadecool is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Keystone RV Company or any of its affiliates in any way. Keystone RV® is a registered trademark of the Keystone RV Company.


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 06:07 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.