Driving my car across the country later this month from Boston to Seattle, wanting to definitely stop by Niagara Falls, Mount Rushmore and Yellowstone for sure, and planning to do it in about 5 days. Do you all have suggestions on how I should plan hotel stops for the nights? Thank you very much!
I will add get your annual National Park's pass for that, as well as if you want to visit Jewel Cave or Wind Cave (also in the NPS)
I can't remember which one, but one of those caves I think is still closed as they are upgrading the elevator.
Spearfish Canyon/Deadwood. Spend a day in Glacier National Park. butte, Montana is kind of a unique town. Awesome Mineral museum there
You’ll go through Sioux Falls so check out the river and falls
2 days in glacier:)
Throw in Couer D’Alene and baby youve got a stew goin
If trying to hit up national parks, there’s cuyahoga near Cleveland and Indiana dunes near Chicago as well and of course Tetons next to Yellowstone on the map
Stop at the world-famous Wall Drug.
Came here to say that... just so OP can say "well, I did it."
AND if you want to take the (20-mile? 40-mile?) drive thru Badlands National Park, it is definitely worth that, too.
Hey, free water!
And a jackalope you can ride!
The world's best "Well, you gotta pee somewhere" stop.
Watch out for the human skeleton walking a T-Rex skeleton out in the middle of a field somewhere in South Dakota. I’d tell you specifically, but I want it to be a surprise like it happened to me.
Since you already are in MA, you probably have E-ZPass. Just understand that New York Thruway bills out-of-state tags the same as Tolls by Mail/Pay by Plate (there is no out-of-state E-ZPass discount). Unless you're bent on a stop near Buffalo or anywhere along the Thruway itself, you can save significant toll by coming down 95 through Connecticut, cross the Tappan Zee Bridge no toll westbound on 87/287, use 287 to get to I-80, and follow 80 from there. Ohio and Indiana do have tiered tolling so you won't get dinged as much as someone using no tag.
I know you asked about stops, but I wanted to mention the tolls because they get ridiculous in New York. I'm not proud of my own state for what they do.
adirondacks, cuyahoga, indiana sand dunes, chicago, badlands, glacier, north cascades
Love seeing my beloved Adirondacks make the list. Now stop telling people.
Don’t even upvote this
House on the rock in Wisconsin is definitely worth the detour. Really neat art installation.
Just one comment, this is a very expensive trip for tolls. Get an EZ Pass to make it a little cheaper and more convenient.
Take the 212 into Yellowstone from Red Lodge, MT. It’s called the Beartooth highway. One of my all time favourite drives.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Absolutely under no circumstances should a person detour towards cleveland. The RnR HoF is a joke anyways.
I liked the Hall enough but yeah prob not worth it on this trip..but would be worth it to grab a beer and watch the boats in the flats for a great lunch break along the way
Also had the basketball, boxing, and toy Hall of Fame along the way.
You can hit the rock n roll hall of fame in Cleveland or Cedar Point in Sandusky
Agreed on Rock n Roll HOF, it is a world class museum.
Indiana Dunes!
Big ball of rubber bands
Ooo! I live in Spokane Washington and I wanna drive to Seattle and watch a mariners game then drive to Boston via I90 and watch a red Sox game!
Both times at mt Rushmore I walk out to see it and then say, “you ready to go?” It’s worth seeing but not a place I’ve lingered. Devils tower is so much more impressive. I just sit and look in awe.
Pennsylvania: - Kinzua Bridge State Park if its bot too far off your route
New York: - If you're passing through the Finger Lakes, Watkins Glenn State Park. - If you're going through the Adirondacks and have any amount of interest in photography or film, visit the movie theater in Old Forge, even if you don't want to watch a movie.
Montana: - Glacier National Park if you want to cut north earlier - Gardiner MT is the north entrance of Yellowstone and a good place for lunch if you take a different entrance.
South Dakota: - The Corn Palace in Mitchell - Porter's Sculpture Park near Montrose - Dignity of the Earth and Sky near Chamberlain (bonus of nice rest stop) - The Giant Prairie Dog statue at the entrance to the Badlands (buy unsalted peanuts in the gift shop and feed the prairie dogs!) - Badlands National Park - Wind Cave National Park ( I havent visited the cave but sat for half an hour watching coyotes hunt prairie dogs.) - The Mammoth Site in Hot Springs - Crazy Horse Memorial is worth going in. Rushmore is worth driving by. - The Needles Highway - the entry fee is worth it''
Wyoming:
- Devils Tower
- Medicine Wheel in Bighorn National Forest (Bighorn N. F, is beautiful)
- Buffalo Bill Cody Center of the West in Cody
- The Dug Up Gun Museum, also in Cody
- Beartooth Pass into Yellowstone (takes a little longer but a nice ride)
- Yellowstone National Park. While old faithful is a must do at least once, I love Grand Prismatic. Plan on spending some time in Lamar Valley.
- Grand Tetons National Park
- Try to not stay in Jackson $$$!!!!
Idaho: - Craters of the Moon National Monument if you want to wait to turn north
Colorado: - If you have time for a day+ detour and no plans to visit later, Drop south and Drive Trail Ridge Rd across Rocky Mountain National Park.
Consider getting a Parks Pass at your first national park stop instead of paying at each park. After about 3 parks its a savings.
Download the parks on the NPS app - there is next to no service in Yellowstone and many others parks. Use the app to check for road collosures an such.
Download the Recreation. gov app for your timed entry passes.
Check the inciweb website for wild fire info before you go.
Download area maps for navigation (and seriously consider a paper atlas backup). You'll run into areas without call service if you get too far off the major highways.
Pack a roll of paper towels and a can of glass cleaner. The bugs out west are built different.
You'll probably want binoculars, especially in the parks.
you can stop in eau Claire Wisconsin looks like you're driving thru on that route
Sokka-Haiku by Gientry:
You can stop in eau
Claire Wisconsin look like you're
Driving thru on that route
Remember that one time Sokka accidentally used an extra syllable in that Haiku Battle in Ba Sing Se? That was a Sokka Haiku and you just made one.
what I said is not a poem it's a sentence
It's not a haiku.. Print it, frame it, be proud.
La Crosse is better
Yellowstone 100%.
Thanks for asking this question. I’m making the. Boise to Boston trip along nearly the same route this week.
Saving as I’m planning similar trip
It looks like you're gonna end up going near or through Buffalo, NY. They have the literal best chicken wings, you should stop and get some wings on your way through! If you can, go to Anchor Bar, the home of the Buffalo Wing.
proud buffalonian here. anchor bar is a classic but i would also recommend bar bills or elmo’s bar (get cajun hot) for some of the best wings of ur life
Those are good places too! Another good spot is Adolfs in the first ward, unfortunate name but great wings
https://crazyhorsememorial.org/ is totally worth seeing.
Mount Rushmore ... less so.
Crazy Horse is absolutely not worth seeing lol. It's not even halfway done and won't be for hundreds of years.
In my opinion, it is absolutely worth seeing it to get a visceral sense of the scope and scale of the project that was started decades ago with the blessing of the local native Americans.
The dudes face is the size of Rushmore. Definitely the coolest thing I saw between badlands and Devils Tower
Skip Mount Rushmore and visit the Crazy Horse monument instead. It is reasonably close to Rushmore, but your entry fee also includes entry to a really cool little Native American museum about the people from Crazy Horse’s tribe.
Absolutely beautiful, even if it isn’t completed yet (and won’t be in our lifetime).
Take Hwy 2 out of spokane instead of I-90, it's a way prettier drive and it only adds about a half hour.
Wisconsin Dells, Badlands National Park, Custer State Park, Yellowstone, ...looks like you're driving right through North Cascades - Winthrop is a cute town with a small but great brewery
If you're going to have to stop somewhere anyways why not make it someplace beautiful?
I plan my nights in advance, I’ve done this drive about 4 times. You should be fine this time of year but one time I had to reschedule reservations because of snow. You could look into Airbnb’s as well but I was with a pet and they charged absurd pet fees. I would also go around Chicago unless you plan on stopping there, traffic is horrible there compared to everywhere else on the trip. Also I would try to stretch it out to 7 days since it’s about 8 hours a day driving and combine with stops and you’re looking at 10-12 hours on the road a day. That’s just my opinion because driving at night is very dangerous along this route with deers crossing and other wildlife.
Assuming you can’t change your route, here’s a few Washington state stops on or near I-90:
Spokane Falls (bigish falls in downtown Spokane), Frenchman’s Coulee (scenic canyon and rock climbing area), Roslyn (cute tourist old town), Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park, plenty of hikes on Snoqualmie Pass.
If you want more Washington or Seattle recommendations I can give them too, but those are all very close to your route.
North Cascades Pass is certainly very very scenic but definitely adds a few hours right at the end of your long trip. Worth it imo but up to you. You could also take Chinook pass and see Mt. Ranier up close (huge glacier covered volcano)
When you get near Boston, detour a little to the north and hit the coast at Halibut Point State Park in Rockport. There is a short walk past an old granite quarry and you will find a beautiful stretch of rocky New England coast.
Following this! Been thinking of doing a road trip and this was I had in mind (before making a trip back).
Custer state park is great in SD. Rushmore is probably the worst part of that general area. Though I understand the feeling of having to see it.
I've done this same route, but Manhattan to Seattle. It's a fabulous drive and you're going to have a blast. If time isn't an issue, then see all you can and don't hesitate to take the occasional detour. If I recall, we had to make a slight detour to see Deadwood in SD. Deadwood is so worth it. Lot of cool "Wild West" history there.
little America is a cool place in Wyoming if you are in 1950's stuff.
Just appreciate the fact that you’re on I-90 from beginning to end, the longest freeway in America
Yellowstone and grand teton
Glacier national park Upper Grinnel trail
Some call this route the Frasier
Stop in Wallace, ID! It’s a cute little town right off the freeway that designated itself as the center of the universe a few years back. Since the center of the universe is wherever the observer happens to be, it’s not entirely untrue either.
The bakery here in Nappanee Indiana called Rise'n Roll Bakery.The local nickname for their powdered donuts is Amish Crack. They are the best donuts, hands down.
Outta here Fraiser.
la crosse, wi is a great stop!
Bear tooth pass
Stop at Notre Dame
I would go north a bit and go through Minneapolis/St. Paul and the Wisconsin Dells. Stop at Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis and get a bite to eat. Check out Circus World in Baraboo, WI, a giant roadside museum dedicated to the history of the circus in America. The whole town is like the off season home for carnies.
I did US 20 from Boston to Oregon, and then took interstate 90 from Seattle all the way back a couple years ago. I didn't take it slow at all on 90, I drove as far as I could each day and it took 5 days, you will not have much time to spare if you want to be properly rested and avoid night driving. I'll assume you are moving or something and aren't willing/able to take extra time. Probably dedicate what time you have to Badlands, Black Hills, and Devil's Tower.
My itinerary was like this (opposite direction from your trip, of course):
Westport, WA through Seattle to Butte, MT
Butte, MA to Wall, SD with time spent at Devil's Tower
Wall, SD to Wisconsin Dells, WI with time spent at Badlands NP
W. Dells, WI to Ashtabula, OH, shortest driving day but was still over 9 hours
Ashtabula, OH to Boston, MA
When you get to Spokane, WA get off of I90 and take state route 2. Will take you through some fruit farms along the Columbia river and then takes you through Leavenworth, which is a gorgeous little bavarian village/town.
The Spam Museum in Minnesota... You're Welcome
Would be pretty kick ass to go north to Montreal first and then west around the north side of Great Lakes and over through UP of Michigan and Duluth before cutting further West. That drive from Boston to Montreal is so pretty in Sumemr and the UP is also very cool. It only adds a few hours to total trip.
Would suggest hopping on 88 in Albany to 79 and taking the southern route across NY, SO beautiful, you'll get to pop into few towns and see the Finger Lakes, you can hit a winery if you'd like, or definitely should hit Watkins Glen State Park, it is a National Monumen/NP tier natural place, the "state park" label doesn't do it justice, truly incredible Lord of the Rings Rivendell type place..and then take 86 across Western NY/PA before catching 90 around Erie as you head into Cleveland. It's SUCH a calmer and more beautiful drive than 90, less semis, almost no need for passing and dealing with road blocks..
Don’t take I-90 into Seattle. Take State Highway 20. It’s a beautiful drive. I-90 is a bit faster but it’s dull. Check out photos of SR20 if you need motivation.
Madison WI and get cheese curds
I guess I’d ask, what are your interests? Do you like architecture? Cultural icons? National park/geographic beauty? Got time for short hikes? Will you be hoteling exclusively or maybe camping a bit along the way?
The architecture along Chicago’s magnificent mile is pretty cool. “The Bean” in Millennium Park and the nearby Chicago art institute definitely worth the stop. If you were into the book or movie “time travelers wife”, The Berghoff German restaurant is cool stop. Downside - you have to go into the city with all of its associated traffic, parking etc.
When my son moved to Seattle, he wanted to see mt Rushmore (never a big draw for me but it was in team America tv show he liked). Nearby is Devils Tower national monument featured in close encounters movie.
Glacier National Park is spectacular with the road to the Sun cutting east to west through the park over the continental divide. Also very slow with rvs poking along winding mountain roads with cliffs on either side.
Less well known known are the channeled scablands of eastern Washington, the remains of an outflow from collapsed glacial dam that let a lake the size of Lake Ontario plow through the landscape 10,000 years ago. In 14 days it ripped away all the soil and eroded the landscape down to bedrock with scattered patches of untouched forest left behind. Various locations but one most well known is Dry Falls, a site of massive waterfalls.
The Columbia River gorge is a great place to see. There is incredible windsurfing and kit surfing on the high winds along the river. Cool tourist towns (hood river) and Japanese gardens. You can also then drive up to Mount St. Helens and see how the mountain is growing back after the big 1980 explosion that took off its top.
Drive up to paradise on Mr Rainer. Great views of the surrounding volcanoes and easy access to hike a little bit out on the glaciers coming down from the mountain top
when you go through mitchell Sd go see the corn Palace and the rest stop in chamberlin sd and you can see the overlook of the river
You are gonna be BORED
I drove from Portland to Tampa a couple years ago. It went Laramie > Kansas City > Atlanta > Tampa.
Granted, I drove until I couldn’t. Left Portland at 5:30 am and arrived in Laramie at 3:00 the next morning.
Cut up to the 90 after South Dakota. It’s a more scenic trip
You're kind of driving right around the Driftless area which is one of the most underrated areas of beauty in the U.S. (Southeast Wisconsin, Northeast Iowa, and Northwest Illinois). Consider tweaking your route from Chicago to South Dakota slightly.
Madison Wisconsin farmers market. Stella's cheesy bread. Route 35 up the Mississippi. Stop at a lock. Nelson Creamery in Nelson WI.
When you're in Wisconsin, drive around the Driftless Area, especially around the Mississippi River. Very beautiful over there.
My suggestion is to go through Canada most of the way. There’s a ton of national parks along the Great Lakes and in the Rockies, including Banff, Glacier, and even Jasper if you go north enough.
On days I'm not planning on seeing anything, I'll use maps to see how far I can get in 8 hours and book hotels there. For days I'm seeing things obviously that's gonna be less.
There are some beautiful rolling hills right before black hills park. definitely something unique looking
Riverfront Park in Spokane, WA. Chelan & Leavenworth are both great towns in central Washington as well.
Ok, Frasier.
Red Fish Lake in Idaho.
Having done that (round trip) probably a dozen times my best suggestion is to take about 7 to 9 days instead of five. That way you can actually SEE the places you are going to visit. .
If you find yourself in BFE Wyoming, don’t drive beyond a reasonable amount over the speed limit. I’m looking at you, Rock Springs!
Here's a better idea: Lake Shore Limited + Empire Builder
First stop-Logan Airport …Alaska Airlines will get you to SeaTac in 6hrs 5 min.
Wall Drug, Badlands NP, and Devil's Tower in addition to what you've already listed.