Many popular Yellowstone tours start in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, travel through Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park, and end at Mount Rushmore near Rapid City, South Dakota.
The drive from the center of Yellowstone to Mount Rushmore is about 9 hours. Yellowstone Bus tours do this with an overnight in Cody, followed by a 3 hour drive to Little Big Horn, site of Custer’s Last Stand, and from there, a 4 hour drive to Mount Rushmore.
We did a little research and found quite a few kid-friendly and sensory-friendly places to stop and break up the trip.
From Yellowstone East Entrance to the South Dakota State Line
An Evening in Cody, Wyoming
Cody is about two hours from the Yellowstone National Park East entrance, and has enough interesting things to do that you could stay a few days here. We arrived mid-afternoon, checked into the Hampton Inn, and found the pool before going into downtown Cody.
We strolled up and down Main Street, soaking up the Wild West vibe, picked up a few souvenirs, and headed for dinner at the historic Irma hotel, built by Buffalo Bill himself, and named after his daughter, Irma.
Sensory: Just as we arrived for our dinner, a (staged) gunfight broke out right in front of the restaurant! Most kids would love this, but for G, the unexpected gunshot noise was a huge problem. It turns out this happens every Monday to Saturday right at 6 PM.
Once G recovered, we were able to go inside, and had a great meal in what used to be the Saloon.
After dinner, we headed to the Cody Night Rodeo, which performs at 8 PM every night in the summer. G absolutely loved the beginning of the show, and especially enjoyed watching the Queen of the Rodeo riding around the ring with the American flag! After about 20 minutes, the excitement wore off, and G decided the noise wasn’t worth it anymore, so we called it a night. Sensory: Rodeos are loud. Really loud music and really loud cheering.
Before leaving Cody the next morning, we paid a visit to the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, which houses 5 small museums under one roof.
G definitely enjoyed the Raptor Encounter at the Natural History Museum and appreciated the circus oddities from the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show.
The Whitney Western Art exhibit was perfect for grown ups, and small enough to hold G’s interest.
Sensory: The overall museum atmosphere was calm and quiet. We had no issues at the Raptor Encounter, but some children might have trouble when the bird screeches or flaps its wings unexpectedly.
If you want to take a break from driving and linger in Cody for while longer, there’s no shortage of interesting things to do here.
Imagine life as an Outlaw - walk in Butch Cassidy’s footsteps at Old Town Trail
Go horseback riding at a dude ranch
Take a white water rafting trip on the Shoshone River
Enjoy the water slides at the Paul Stock indoor pool complex
You’re back in civilization! Go bowling or take in a movie.
Wild Horses or Dinosaurs?
Knowing that the Little Big Horn history lesson wouldn’t hold much interest for G, we decided to find some kid friendly stops along the way from Cody to South Dakota.
We had two possible routes, and a choice to make, on the way to our next hotel in Buffalo, WY. The northerly route would give us time to do one more activity in Cody, with short stops at the McCullough Wild Horse Reserve and the Red Gulch Dinosaur Track Site. The southerly route would bring us to the Wyoming Dinosaur Center in Thermopolis and through the Bighorn National Forest.
G was more interested in seeing lots of dinosaurs than anything Cody had to offer, so we took the second route!
We arrived in the small town of Thermopolis just in time for lunch, then stopped at the Wyoming Dinosaur Center. Inside, you’ll find about 70 dinosaur skeletons in a wide open, well lit area.
If you make a reservation in advance, you can participate in a real, full-day or half-day dig. Otherwise, you can join the one hour tour tour of the live digs!
Sensory: Just like our dinosaur encounter in Bozeman, this is an extremely sensory friendly experience. It’s such an out of the way location that it’s hard to imagine it could ever get crowded or chaotic.
Rest and Relaxation in Buffalo, Wyoming
After leaving Thermopolis, we drove through the Bighorn National Forest on the Cloud Peak Scenic Byway. We were amazed by the stunning views of the rugged peaks and lush valleys of the Bighorn Mountains. The byway hits elevations over 9,000 feet, winding through alpine meadows and dense forests. We stopped a few times to look for the bighorn sheep, but didn’t meet any on or off the road. We also didn’t meet any restrooms that had running water - so plan accordingly!
Our total driving time for this day was a little bit over 3 hours, all easy driving on scenic roads. Our stop in Thermopolis was long enough that the second part of the drive felt like a second, short trip versus a big long slog.
We finally made it to the the Holiday Inn and Suites in Buffalo in the late afternoon, ready to do absolutely nothing but enjoy a sensory reset in our hotel pool with some pizza and a few cold beverages!
Are We There Yet?
Our route (yellow on the map) kept daily driving to a little over three hours, and included both swimming for sensory regulation and some highly preferred activities for G. The blue routes (which we didn’t take) would bring you to the McCullough wild horses, Red Gulch Dinosaur Tracks, and Devil’s Tower, featured in the 1977 classic movie, Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
The final leg of this trip brought us into South Dakota. The drive was not overly scenic and not terribly interesting, but at least we didn’t have to worry about traffic. We saw cattle ranches, oil rigs, towns whose welcome signs showed total populations under 100 people, and lots of empty highway. When we approached the detour for Devil’s Tower, we decided more driving just wasn’t worth it, and took the shortest route to Mount Rushmore.
Some Baaaad Jokes are Udderly Hilarious
G wasn’t very interested in our observations about life in rural Wyoming. Luckily the cell signal on Route 16 between Buffalo and Mount Rushmore was very strong, so we put G to work, looking up jokes about Bighorn Sheep and Cows. Here are a few good ones:
Where do sheep go on vacation?
To the baaaaaa-hamas
Where do sheep get their wool cut?
The baa-baa-shop
What do you get when you cross an angry sheep with a grumpy cow?
A baaaaaad mooooood
Why did the farmer buy a brown cow?
He wanted chocolate milk
How do farmers count their cows?
With a cow-culator
Some Final Thoughts on an Epic Road Trip
We were lucky to have enough vacation time to spend 10 nights on this trip. Four were in or near Yellowstone, two were on the way from Yellowstone to Mount Rushmore, and four were in South Dakota. If you only have one week (or less), focus on Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.
Is this a hard trip to plan? Not really, as long as you know where you want to start and end your trip. Book your plane flights and rental car, then draw your route on the map. Plan to stay near the airport on your arrival day and the night before you fly home, then fill in with hotel reservations in between.
Follow your route, and enjoy! There’s no need to book any activities before you arrive - unless you want to reserve a half-day dino dig in Thermopolis. Guided tours, rafting trips, horseback rides and chuck wagon dinners can all be booked on short notice, often same-day.
Is this an expensive trip? That’s up to you. The National Parks are free with a disability access pass. Your lodging options include iconic luxury properties, mid range hotels, cabin rentals and camping. Yellowstone has both high end and quick service dining, or you can prepare your own meal at a picnic area. Ranger led activities are usually free, activities with a hired guide are not.
Would we go back? Absolutely. I wish we had more time at Yellowstone Lake! Next time, we’ll travel through Jackson Hole and see Grand Teton National Park on the way to Yellowstone.