West on I90

[WoodsWalker270]

My brother and I are planning a 30 hour road trip from Indiana to Washington along I70 and I90. I'm also hoping to head back this fall for a hunt in Wyoming. For those who have made this trip west, what are some good places to stop and break up the drive? Any good unique places to eat? I think we are planning on stopping at Rushmore and Yellowstone.

 

[RCR]

Black Hills and Rushmore, Devils Tower WY, and Custer's Battlefield are all good stops. Great donuts at Wall Drug SD..

 

[kpk]

RCR nailed it. Once your a couple hours west of me, get ready to settle in. It's a long boring drive through south dakota until you're on the west side. We've always left in the afternoon so we're going through SD at night, not much to see.

 

[IanF.]

Look of flavortownusa.com it's a diners drive ins and drives fan site that shows all the spots there been to. Whenever we travel we check for spots and have yet to be to one that wasn't excellent.

Enjoy the journey

 

[BroodBuster]

+1 on Custers Battlefield.

Once you hit the Cascades head north a few miles to Roslyn and The Brick from Northern Exposure fame. Great food. Also check out the cemetery there. Really old and a great place to stretch the legs with a good chance of seeing elk.

 

[sodaksooner]

Sturgis in the black hills just to say you did. Not much there when the rally isn't going on.

Spearfish is cool. Has a lot of trendy shops, small town college atmosphere. The crow peak brewery serves good beer. If you are a mountain biker, there are some good trails in the area too.

Badlands national park, by Wall is a must see.

I agree with Custer battlefield. Devils tower, Rushmore, or if you want to take a bit more of a diversion, crazy horse between hill city and custer is cool.

Deadwood is kind of fun. It is 13 or 14 miles off the interstate up in the Hills....Black Hills

 

[WoodsWalker270]

Good stuff guys. Will definitely have to stop at Devils Tower and Little Bighorn Battlefield. Thanks for the website IanF!

 

[tstowater]

Bring your varmint guns and stop in the Murdo and Wall areas and try your luck on some prairie dogs. Rumor has it that there are a few in Wyoming and Montana also. I wouldn't make it to Bozeman until the ammo ran out.

 

[nflesher]

You will probably start to see signs for wall drug in Illinois, but I think Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Sturgis, Deadwood, and maybe the Badlands are a worth seeing. The black hills are beautiful. I think Spearfish Canyon is a nice drive as well.

 

[mtluckydan]

Are you taking the same route on return. If not, consider going north from Missoula, MT to Glacier and crossing the continental divide there. You can cross MT on either rt 2 or 200 and hooking up with I94 on the east side of MT. From there it's a straight shot to just west of Chicago with clear sailing. Nice country if you have never seen it. Also, well worth the side trip to see Glacier National Park. It is actually a faster and shorter route than I90.

 

[Take-a-knee]

RCR nailed it. Once your a couple hours west of me, get ready to settle in. It's a long boring drive through south dakota until you're on the west side. We've always left in the afternoon so we're going through SD at night, not much to see.

After the Badlands (must see) not much to look at headed east. Nebraska is a lot prettier to drive across than S. Dakota. Never saw so many whitetails. HERDS of whitetails. Be advised, motels are (or maybe were with the oil slowdown) often booked up and relatively expensive, like $75 for Motel 6.

 

[jmez]

If you come through Sturgis around noon I'll take you to lunch!

Mt. Rushmore and Crazy horse are close, see both.

Devils Tower is neat but is in Hulett which is north of the interstate a ways. Pretty drive over there through the hills. Stop a Bob Coronados art studio, Rouge Gallery, if you go through Hulett. Very prominent western artist and worth the stop.

I'd skip Wall Drug. Typical tourist trap.

Big Al's Oasis just west across the river from Chamberlain is a historic SD place to eat. Recently changed ownership not sure how that may have changed things. Would be worth the stop if near a meal time.

If you are into Western/Cowboy history at all the Don King Museum in Sheridan is a great place to see.

 

[Darren Best]

Crazy Horse puts on a laser show when it gets dark.

10,000 Silver Dollar Bar in Montana.

 

[sodaksooner]

The only reason I'd hit wall drug itself is if it is early am. Breakfast used to be decent there. My dad worked out of wall for many years.

JMEZ got it right on Al's oasis. Used to be our lunch stop on the many trips we took across state as a kid. Haven't been there for a few years now, but the food used to be really good.

 

[Flying Squirrel]

When you hit Billings, MT, look for the exit to Red Lodge. Take the Beartooth Highway (considered the most beautiful highway in America) down to Cooke City and enter Yellowstone that way, head west through Mammoth and stop at the Boiling River for a soak among elk and bison just before hitting the town of Gardiner. Head north back to 90 through the paradise valley, but stop at Chico Hot Springs (half hour north of Gardiner and a 5 miles east of Emigrant) for another soak. Chico is awesome. Great bar, great food, great big hot spring fed pool. Really good brewery/barbecue in Belgrade, MT, just west of Bozeman. Lots to do in Missoula - and an especially fun place in the summer.
Have fun.

 

[WoodsWalker270]

Awesome info guys! Thank you!

 

[WoodsWalker270]

Made it back from the trip west. It sure is hard to drive 55 here in Indiana after driving 80mph for a couple of days. Haha. I figured I owed you guys a couple of pics from the trip!

I90 in South Dakota


Badlands


Devil's Tower


Beartooth Highway


Yellowstone!

 

[sodaksooner]

Nice. Will be in Yellowstone/Grand Teton in 16 days, then back through the Black Hills July 4th weekend.

Looks like you enjoyed the trip.