By John Holt
Over a century ago a trail was constructed between Black Hills, SD and Yellowstone National Park called the Black to Yellow Trail. This trail was constructed to make it easier to explore this incredible region of the country. Today this trail follows along Interstate 90 and is an epic road trip with so many places to explore. This is where the first Trip Of A Lifetime adventure began!
Rapid City
Rapid City is a great place to start the journey especially if you are flying and renting a vehicle. It’s a city of almost 70,000 people and has lots of lodging options. We chose to do day trips out of Rapid due to it’s proximity to many of the places we wanted to explore.
Badlands National Park
We met up with our family in Rapid City and drove an hour to the Badlands National Park. What an interesting landscape with walking trails and vista views from many vantage points. The Minuteman Missile National Historic Site is another interesting stop just minutes from the Badlands. You can explore the Delta-09 Missile Silo and Delta-01 Launch Control Facility. I highly recommend it and it’s right off of I90! On your way back to Rapid City you might want to stop at Wall Drug (Tourist Trap) to take in this historic oasis for weary travelers.
Mount Rushmore & Custer State Park
The next day we set out for Mount Rushmore and Custer State Park. When we got to Mount Rushmore it was fogged in and we were fairly disappointed. We decided to hike the trail loop from the visitors center to the base of the monument and back. A helpful park staffer told us that the fog may clear out in the afternoon so we decided to grab lunch in the park’s Carvers' Café and hope for the best. We had just finished lunch and noticed people in the restaurant were getting up and bolting out the door. It was like some kind of Jurassic Park movie scene. The fog had cleared and everyone was running to see The Presidents before the fog decided to roll back in. We quickly made are way up the path where we could start to see the fellas in full view. It was amazing to see Borglum’s creation and learn the history behind the project. After a few selfies we took off to go explore Custer State Park. We entered the park and took in all the natural beauty it had to offer. There are so many things to do like fishing, boating, biking, paddle boarding, and one of our personal personal favorites, buffalo watching. Make sure you stay in the car and don’t provoke them as they will not hesitate to charge you. There are also lots of restaurants, shops, wineries, and more in the area to please everyone in your group.
The Road to Yellowstone
We hit the road from Rapid to Yellowstone and planned a ton of fun stops on the way. We drove through Sturgis, South Dakota just to check it out. It was quiet and nothing like Bike Week but fun to see non the less. Our next stop was Deadwood, South Dakota and what a fun little town filled with tons of old west history. We enjoyed a drink at the saloon where Wild Bill Hickok was gunned down playing poker. There are lots of shops, restaurants, casinos, and historical sites to visit. Back on the road we kicked on the theme song from Close Encounters as we approached Devils Tower Monument in Wyoming. This huge natural monument has easy hiking trails around it and you can even go through an outfitter and rock climb to the top.
Yellowstone National Park
We Arrived in Yellowstone and stayed at the Historic Mammoth Hotel and Old Faithful Snow Lodge. There are many lodging options including camping. We enjoyed staying in multiple locations throughout the park as we hiked and explored over the course of a couple of days. There are so many things to do and much to see. We experienced waterfalls, geysers, hot springs, mudpots, and tons of wildlife. The hiking trails are incredible and you have unlimited options in every corner of the park. Make sure to book way in advance as lodging can fill up over a year in advance.
Grand Tetons and Jackson Hole
After a couple of amazing days in Yellowstone, we headed through the Grand Tetons on our way to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The Grand Teton Mountain Range is breathtaking to say the least. The snow capped mountains, lakes, rivers, and trails were beautiful. We worked are way through and finally made it to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Jackson Hole is another fun town to explore the great outdoors. Whether you hike, bike, golf, kayak & raft, or just want to take in some local wildlife, this is the place. The town is full of great shops, food, and nightlife as well as history to be explored.
Following our time in Jackson Hole, we headed to Denver to finish the trip and fly back to reality. This was by far one of my favorite road trip adventures packed with so many incredible experiences. If you haven’t done the Black to Yellow trail yet, contact TOL Travel and plan this once in a lifetime adventure!
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