Ideas for Yellowstone/Black Hills Area

ETA:
After reading some of the other responses I realized I didn't say anything about Yellowstone! Old Faithful definitely. The lodge there is incredible and they have a nice ice cream shop. There are easy to walk trails there and throughout the Park. We love the paint pots and mud pots. The Falls is spectacular and there are some trails to hike, but they are steep and loose rock. Don't hike it in sandals. We loved throwing rocks in Yellowstone Lake when I was a kid. It was always our first stop in the park. Hayden Valley is a great place to see animals. If you can be there in the early morning or late afternoon you will increase your changes of seeing more. I like Mammoth Village, too. Pick up information about the Jr. Ranger program. You get an activity book for kids to complete as they go through the park. There are also ranger programs for kids at various places around the Park.

I know one person mentioned that she didn't feel safe in Yellowstone. The Park is just as safe as any outdoor place you would go. There are very few deaths that occur in Yellowstone and probably 90% of them are people who were stupid. Going into the back country unprepared, ignoring warnings about grizzly bears, wandering off of marked paths, trying to take pictures on the very edges of cliffs, crossing safety wires, ignoring warning signs, hiking without the proper equipment, driving too fast, trying to get as close as they can to wild animals to get the best picture possible. When you go into the Park, you will get a packet of information. Be sure to read the safety information and follow the safety guidelines. Accidents can happen, just like anywhere, but if you are smart you will be a lot safer. Also remember that you are at a pretty high altitude. Drink lots of water and don't push yourself too hard. Altitude sickness and dehydration are pretty common if you don't take precautions. Also use lots of sunscreen! You are a lot closer to the sun and sunburn can happen pretty quick.

I also forgot to mention at least a drive through Teton Park. Unless you are going to fish or hike, driving through and stopping for pictures is probably enough for your kids. Look for the little chapel in Grand Teton Park. It is beautiful. You can white water raft down the Snake River. I don't know if they have age limits or not. With all of the snow melt and rain they have had this year the river might be running really high and won't be an easy float down the river.

Oh my! I used to live in the Yellowstone area, have family in the Cheyenne area, family on the edge of the Black Hills, and used to drive through the Black Hills 8-10 times a year! Let's see what I can think of that you maybe haven't come up with. This will probably be really long!!!

What route are you taking from Denver to Yellowstone? (There are several different routes that you can take.) Be sure you have hotel reservations in place now!! We tried back in May to get reservations for a place inside of Yellowstone in mid-July and couldn't get anything without staying outside of the park (Jackson, West Yellowstone, MT). Also, if you will be traveling during the Sturgis Bike Rally in mid-August, finding hotel rooms anywhere between Yellowstone and the Black Hills can be impossible!!

Definitely when you are in the Cheyenne area take a little side trip to the Fort Laramie/Lingle/Guernsey area. Fort Laramie is a lot of fun for kids. People dressed up in period costumes and they can do lots of hands-on things. I think they still do a field display that includes firing cannons. It is also fun to stop for a cold drink in the "saloon". You can also find wagon wheel ruts in the rock from the Oregon Trail and visit Independence Rock and Register Cliff. Guernsey State Park has a Million Dollar Outhouse and other structures that were built by the CCC in the 1930s. There is also a little museum in Guernsey.

If you take I-25 out of Denver and up to Casper (the route I would take) you can stop in Douglas to see the World's Largest Jackalope (and the Former World's Largest Jackalope).

Casper has the Fort Caspar Museum built of the site of an old fort. The National Historic Trails Interpretive Center is also really nice and fun for kids.

If you are going into Yellowstone through the South Entrance, you will be taking US Hwy 287 through Dubois. You can stop and ride a big stuffed jackalope there. Dubois is a little town that is fun to walk around.

On Hwy 287 you can take a side trip to Ft. Washakie (about 14 miles from Lander) and see the graves of Chief Washakie and Sacajawea.

Jackson is just a fun town to walk around in. The Antler Arch is a big photo op for most visitors. There is the World's Largest Ball of Barbed Wire at the Ripley's Museum in town. Grab breakfast at the Bunnery if you are in town in the morning.

If you are going into Yellowstone through the East Entrance you will take US 20 north out of Shoshone. Thermopolis is known as the World's Largest Hot Springs. Hot Springs State Park is there. You can walk through the hot springs terraces and there are hot thermal pools to swim in. There is also a small dinosaur museum in town.

When you leave Yellowstone, I assume you will leave through the East Entrance towards Cody. Between the East Entrance and Cody there is Pahaska Teepee which was a retreat built by Buffalo Bill. Mostly a place to stop and grab a bite to eat. Near there is also a monument to a group of firefighters who were killed fighting a forest fire.

Cody is a very fun town. The Buffalo Bill Museum is a must see! But it is not a quick stop. There is also a Ghost Town that your kids would love. Cody is home of the longest running night rodeo and I think they still have a shoot out on the streets near the Irma Hotel (also built by Buffalo Bill).

A definite can't miss is the Heart Mountain Relocation Center between Cody and Powell. The museum is located where a Japanese Interment Camp was located during WWII. During that time, the Heart Mountain Camp was the 2nd largest city in the state. The museum might be a little over your kids' heads, but if you introduce the idea to them before hand, I think they would get a lot out of it. Find the book Baseball Saved Us. It is about a different interment camp, but very similar to Heart Mountain. If I could only make one stop in Wyoming, this would be it!

I suggest taking Hwy 14 over the Big Horn Mountains. Avoid Hwy 14A!! It is a pretty challenging drive. You can also take Hwy 16, but I personally like Hwy 14 better. They both take about the same amount of time to drive.

Greybull is a little town that makes a nice stop. Just before coming into Greybull from Cody there is a rest stop that is near the airport. At the airport you can walk out to see some old B52 bombers and other old airplanes. They have plans for a museum, but I don't know where they are in those plans. In downtown Greybull there is a little Western store on the corner where the stop light is. Fun little store to visit. Next to that is the Greybull Branch of the Dino Museum that is in Thermop. There you can arrange guided tours out to the Red Gulch Dinosaur Track Site. You can also do self-guided tours out there. There is a small museum at the Public Library too. Be sure to fill up with gas in Greybull. There is only one place to stop between Greybull and the mountain. Once you hit the mountain there are only about two places to get fuel and it is more expensive (and sometimes they don't have any). You will also want to eat lunch or have picnic things with you. There aren't many place to get a bite to eat until you get over the mountain.

Headed east out of Greybull on Hwy 14 you can stop at the Red Gulch Dinosaur Track Site. It is a pretty cool place to stop. I was out there shortly after the tracks were discovered. Now I think there is a small visitor center or at least signs up that tell you about the site.

Once you start up the mountain you can stop at Shell Falls. There are some nice walking trails to both Shell Falls and Bridal Veil Falls. Also a nice visitor's center.

When you get to Burgess Junction you can take a short trip down Hwy 14A to the Medicine Wheel. It is a hike up a steep hill, but then there is an ancient wheel shape laid out on the ground that was built out of rocks.

Coming off the mountain there is a little T-Rex Museum in Ranchester. There are a couple of little museums in Buffalo. The Brinton Museum in Sheridan is a nice stop. There is also the Trail's End State Historic Site that is in an old mansion. On I-90 outside of Sheridan is the Fetterman Massacre Site. There is a monument and some trails and signs that tell the events of the Massacre.

The Rockpile Museum in Gillette is probably a good stop for kids. It has a lot of information about the coal mining in the area, but also has some good hands-on things for kids. I don't know if it would be worth the trip into downtown Gillette, but they have a Rock, Paper, Scissors sculpture. You can take tours of the coal mines. The AVA Art Center has a mural on the outside that my uncle painted.

In Sundance you can visit the Crook County Courthouse Museum and see where The Sundance Kid was jailed.

Definitely drive out to Devil's Tour. It is an unbelievable site. There is a huge prairie dog town out there.

Along I-90 before you hit the South Dakota border is the Vore Buffalo Jump Site. There is an excavation building and you can actually go down into the excavation pit where they estimate there could be the bones of over 20,000 buffalo.

Once in South Dakota, I don't know if there is much that I can think of that you probably haven't already found. The fish hatchery in Spearfish is a fun tour. Mount Rushmore at night is pretty cool. I really like Crazy Horse Monument. I remember enjoying a gold mine tour in Lead when I was a kid. With kids your age you can probably skip Deadwood. My kids loved Reptile Gardens and Bear Country when we were there last summer. Storybook Island in Rapid City is a fun park for kids to play in. In downtown Rapid City they have statues of all of the Presidents. I love the Prairie Edge store in downtown Rapid! Dinosaur Park in Rapid is kind of cheesy, but my kids liked it. Especially their gift shop. I've never been to Cosmos Mystery Area, but a lot of my friends have taken their kids there and loved it. Same with The Journey Museum. Flintstone Village in Custer would be fun for your kids (although I haven't been there since the 70s or 80s). There is a motorcycle museum in Sturgis.

Definitely check out tourism web sites for both Wyoming and South Dakota. At this time of year you could possibly find some Powwows or other Western Festivals going on. I know in just a couple of weeks they are having Longmire days in Buffalo, Wyoming which includes some of the actors from the television series.

It sounds like a great trip! I'm just a little jealous! PM me if you want more details or more information.

You will have so much fun. There is so much to do. I can't remember much of the unusual sites along the way, but one thing to do to keep the kids busy in the car is by getting them a wildlife book of animals in North America. As you start driving, start having them go through the book. As you get closer explain to them and show them the pictures of what wildlife is in the area you will visit. This turns it into a wild zoo kind of trip. As you get in the more desolate areas, you will see the Pronghorn Antelope, and depending on where you are, Moose, Elk, Mountain Goats, Deer, Rabbits, Prairie Dogs and so much more. Once they have established what to look for in the book, they will spend their time looking for the animals out the window. Once they spot the first one, they will be constantly on the lookout for more, or bigger herds!

On your way from Denver to Wyoming you can stop at the Swetsville Zoo, a 'zoo' full of animals made from old cars built by a retired farmer named Billy Swets. http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/10787

Close by is the truck stop cafe Johnson's Corner, home of The Best Cinnamon Rolls in the World. According to the Food Network, and the Travel Channel, and the locals, anyway. :) http://johnsonscorner.com/

Hope you have fun!

When my son was a preschooler, we drove same trip. We stopped in Custer, SD and went to Flintstone Village (Bedrock City), I'm sure it is probably a much larger theme park by now. Crazy Horse Mountain is a great stop, not far from Mt. Rushmore. I found Crazy Horse to be more interesting than Mt. Rushmore.

Beautiful scenic drive from there to Yellowstone through the Big Horn Mountains. In Cody, Wyoming is the Buffalo Bill Museum, which is well worth the stop.

Other than the scenery, I found those stops more memorable than some other things we did. Old Faithful was having on "off" day of gushing when I was there. Knowing that a child had fallen into a geyser put a big damper on enjoying that part of the trip. It was very disturbing how dangerous the area is with small children when surrounded by boiling hot cauldron's in the ground.

Hope you have a fabulous trip, I have always wanted to go back.

Thanks, Erica! I plan to do the trip next year!

Erica laid out a whole lot of stuff I know a little about in the Rapid City area -- but there is this place outside of town not too far from the Reptile Garden called Old MacDonald's Farm - the 8 yo might not like it as much as the 5 yo - but it could be a good afternoon visit.