Yet another "Help us plan a roadtrip" question
April 20, 2023 1:38 PM Subscribe
In mid-May, we'll be driving from essentially Minneapolis to Denver, with four or maybe five days to get there. By my calculations, that leaves time for visiting/exploring along the way even if we don't drive more than about eight hours a day. So where should we go, what should we do?
We are interested in quirky places (e.g., we loved Dr. Evermor's Forevertron that we learned about here), thriving little towns with craft/art galleries and other independent shops, nice walks (think Riverwalk in San Antonio) to or through pretty scenery, mustn't miss attractions, etc. Our taste in restaurants trends toward Triple D type places and breweries/wineries. Ideas? And any other advice for our trip?
We are interested in quirky places (e.g., we loved Dr. Evermor's Forevertron that we learned about here), thriving little towns with craft/art galleries and other independent shops, nice walks (think Riverwalk in San Antonio) to or through pretty scenery, mustn't miss attractions, etc. Our taste in restaurants trends toward Triple D type places and breweries/wineries. Ideas? And any other advice for our trip?
Agree about Wall Drug, Badlands and Rapid City. Don't miss the Dinosaur Park in Rapid City. Downtown Rapid City has sculptures of all the US Presidents.
If you leave on or after May 15th don't miss Porter Sculpture Park just off I-90 about 30 miles west of Sioux Falls. Metal sculptures giant and small on the prairie overlooking the highway and Wayne Porter the sculptor is on site to explain it all.
Carhenge is just outside of Alliance, Nebraska.
posted by plastic_animals at 2:37 PM on April 20, 2023
If you leave on or after May 15th don't miss Porter Sculpture Park just off I-90 about 30 miles west of Sioux Falls. Metal sculptures giant and small on the prairie overlooking the highway and Wayne Porter the sculptor is on site to explain it all.
Carhenge is just outside of Alliance, Nebraska.
posted by plastic_animals at 2:37 PM on April 20, 2023
The I-90 to I-25 route will take you through Fort Collins, where you can hit up the New Belgium and Odell breweries. Downtown Fort Collins is nice to walk around in; I think it has some Riverwalk vibes, especially if there's live music going. Penrose Taphouse & Eatery and Mountain Avenue Market are pretty good. The Gardens on Spring Creek are absolutely lovely and their butterfly house is super cool.
posted by neushoorn at 2:50 PM on April 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by neushoorn at 2:50 PM on April 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
If you want to take a northern route, Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota is very scenic and you'll see bison and possibly wild horses. Then you turn south and go past Devil's Tower. You will be close to Sturgis and the Black Hills at that point.
posted by soelo at 6:47 PM on April 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by soelo at 6:47 PM on April 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
Is New Ulm too close to home? We liked it as our morning stop coming out of Minneapolis on our Great American Road Trip to Yellowstone last year. Jeffers Petroglyphs was nice on the way to the falls at Sioux Falls, which is a nice if easily missed road trip destination. (I mean, there's actual falls there! Who knew?) And if you're on that stretch, you may as well stop at the Corn Palace in Mitchell SD. I think we made it to Oacoma, SD for the night before going to the Badlands and Wall Drug the next day.
I agree that the Badlands is absolutely worth the stop if you've never been.
Wall Drug is.. I mean, you're like 5 miles from it once you're at the Badlands, you may as well stop, but it's nothing that special. On the other hand, you're already basically there, so stop and take the pictures and get the bumper sticker.
If you go as far as I-25 before heading south, then Crazy Horse and Mount Rushmore are basically on the route and well, I think you can probably see the majority of it from the road? Maybe not Crazy Horse, but it doesn't have to be a long stop unless you take the tour anyway. But you can see the bulk of Mount Rushmore from 244 as you drive around it if you're pressed for time.
And if you're going that far, Devil's Tower is a nice stop, but it's a bit of a trip off of I-90. On the other hand if you picked up an annual national parks pass at the Badlands, it's free?
Yellowstone is probably off the table - it's about 2 hours from Cody to the park proper and you'll need a full day for it on its own and there wasn't much between Hulett WY and Cody WY. On the other hand, if your timetable is flexible, it really is unmissable.
Then maybe the Tetons on the way down to Denver? But now I'm really blowing your timetable. :) We managed to average about 300-400 miles per day even with tourist stops and taking it easy, even in short October days. For all the "we will leave the hotel by 8am" we had planned, we never seemed to get on the road before 10 but your milage may vary.
For reference, we did home to Minneapolis on day 1, to Oacoma, SD on the 2nd day, to Hulett WY on the 3rd day, to Cody on the 4th day, spent the 5th day in Yellowstone, then got to Dickinson, ND on the 6th day, to Sartell, MN on the 7th day, and home on the 8th day. The last 3 days weren't even particularly long road days, we just started running out of things to do and see, so we took it easier on the way back.
posted by Kyol at 12:31 PM on April 21, 2023
I agree that the Badlands is absolutely worth the stop if you've never been.
Wall Drug is.. I mean, you're like 5 miles from it once you're at the Badlands, you may as well stop, but it's nothing that special. On the other hand, you're already basically there, so stop and take the pictures and get the bumper sticker.
If you go as far as I-25 before heading south, then Crazy Horse and Mount Rushmore are basically on the route and well, I think you can probably see the majority of it from the road? Maybe not Crazy Horse, but it doesn't have to be a long stop unless you take the tour anyway. But you can see the bulk of Mount Rushmore from 244 as you drive around it if you're pressed for time.
And if you're going that far, Devil's Tower is a nice stop, but it's a bit of a trip off of I-90. On the other hand if you picked up an annual national parks pass at the Badlands, it's free?
Yellowstone is probably off the table - it's about 2 hours from Cody to the park proper and you'll need a full day for it on its own and there wasn't much between Hulett WY and Cody WY. On the other hand, if your timetable is flexible, it really is unmissable.
Then maybe the Tetons on the way down to Denver? But now I'm really blowing your timetable. :) We managed to average about 300-400 miles per day even with tourist stops and taking it easy, even in short October days. For all the "we will leave the hotel by 8am" we had planned, we never seemed to get on the road before 10 but your milage may vary.
For reference, we did home to Minneapolis on day 1, to Oacoma, SD on the 2nd day, to Hulett WY on the 3rd day, to Cody on the 4th day, spent the 5th day in Yellowstone, then got to Dickinson, ND on the 6th day, to Sartell, MN on the 7th day, and home on the 8th day. The last 3 days weren't even particularly long road days, we just started running out of things to do and see, so we took it easier on the way back.
posted by Kyol at 12:31 PM on April 21, 2023
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posted by tinymojo at 2:02 PM on April 20, 2023 [1 favorite]