Out West Itinerary

Out West Trip Itinerary

Day One 

Mitchell, SD  

Corn Palace 604 N Main St Mitchell – open 8am-9pm

Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village - 3200 Indian Village RoadMitchell, South Dakota 57301 605.996-5473 – open: 8-7 Sunday 10 - 6

$6 adults - $5 children – kids can dig for arrow heads and exchange for real ones in gift shop and learn how to throw arrows

Day Two 

Minuteman Missile Site (3 hours drive) (4^th grade pass)

24545 Cottonwood Road
Philip, SD 57567 

Open daily 8-4 – stop at Visitor Center north of I-90 exit 131. Free unless you do a Delta 1 tour

To the Visitor Center The Minuteman Missile National Historic Site Visitor Center is located on the north side of exit 131 Interstate 90. From the east, via I-90 Follow I-90 west to exit 131. Turn right off the exit and visitor center will be 1/4 mile on the left. From the west, via I-90 Follow I-90 east to exit 131. Turn left off the exit, go across the overpass and the visitor center will be 1/2 mile on the left. To The Delta-09 Missile Silo The Missile Silo Delta-09 is located on the south side of Exit 116, Interstate 90. From the east, via I-90 Follow I-90 west to exit 116. Turn left off the exit and go under the underpass. The road will soon turn to gravel. The missile silo will be 1/2 mile on the right. From the west, via I-90 Follow I-90 west to exit 116. Turn right off the exit. The road will soon turn to gravel. The missile silo will be 1/2 mile on the right. To The Delta-01 Launch Control Facility Launch Control Facility Delta-01 is located on the north side of Exit 127, Interstate 90. No facilities presently exist at Delta-01 except for the ticketed, ranger-led tour; no entry to the facility is allowed without tour reservations. From the east, via I-90 Follow I-90 east to exit 127. Turn right off the exit. The road will soon turn to gravel. The launch control facility will be 1/2 mile on the left. From the west, via I-90 Follow I-90 west to exit 127. Turn left off the exit and go under the underpass. The road will soon turn to gravel. The launch control facility will be 1/2 mile on the left.

Badlands (11 min)- open 7-7 (4th grade pass) exit 110 at Wall

Badlands Loop Scenic Byway (30 miles long)

Visitor Center to get maps/scavenger hunt for kids

Big Badlands Overlook to see The Wall

Big Foot pass overlook (bring packed lunch)

Big Pig Dig – active dig site – Fossil Exhibit Trail - .25 miles reproductions of extinct animals

Robert’s Prairie Dog Town- can watch tons of prairie dogs and bring peanuts to feed them (5 miles down Sage Creek Rim Road)

Trail:  Notch Trail – can do in under an hour, bring water, ladder climbing.  Cliff Shelf Trail – boardwalk trail with lots of stairs, some shade, and short trail

Option: Prairie Homestead – admission fee – sod home and prairie life- 21070 SD-240, Philip SD

Wall Drugs Store (20 minute drive)

510 Main St Wall SD 57790 – pick up food***

Option:  Illumination of Mt Rushmore

Day Three 

Mt. Rushmore–(4^th grade pass) $10 to park 

Visitor Center – exhibits and 14 minute film open 8am-9pm

Presidential Tail - .6 miles long brings you closer to monument

9:30-11pm illumination

Crazy Horse Memorial (22 minute drive)

Laughing Water Restaurant – Native American Tacos

Indian Museum of North America

Custer State Park (15 minute drive)

Entrance fee of $20

18 mile Wildlife loop – counter-clockwise.

Sylvan Lake – can swim or rent kayaks

Needles Highway – 14 miles passes Sylvan Lake and Needles Eye 40-60 minute drive

Hike: Harney Peak aka Black Elk Peak- highest peak east of Rockies – Trail 9 – shortest to peak 3.1 miles starts at Sylvan lake- there is a fire tower lookout

Cathedral Spires- off Needles highway 1.5 miles

Badger Clark Historic trail- 1 mile loop behind badger hole

Options: Buffalo Safari Tour 8-6 1 ½ hours to 2 hours long $53 adult, $48 kids

Hayride/chuck wagon – arrives back at 8pm has cowboy hat and bandana $56/$49 veggie option available

Buffalo Safari and Cookout Combo $91/$84

Trail Rids 1 hr $50/$43-2 hr $72/$52

The Stables at Palmer Gulch – Hill City KOA Mount Rushmore – $51/$41/$25 5pm-7:30pm

Day Four 

Wades Gold Mill – 12401 Deerfield Rd Hill City, SD  57745 pan for gold 9-6 tours at 10 and 2 tour of gold extractor

Reptile Gardens: 8955 S Highway 16 Rapid City, SD 57702

Open: 8-6 cost: 17.50/11.50

Rapid City Options:

President sculptures – sculptures of 42 presidents within 3 blocks- can download an app for a description of them

WaTiki Waterpark – tied to hotels

Journey Museum – 9-6 $10/$7

Dinosaur Park

Keystone Options:

Tramway Adventures- open 10-7

203 Cemetery Road Keystone, SD 57751

Ride a chair lift up and Alpine Slide down ($12 a person)

Cosmo Mystery Area

Hill City Options:

Prairie Berry Winery/Naked Winery/Stone Faces Winery/Twisted Pine

High Country Ranch - @4 and 7pm M-R have food and Native American show – have trail rides 6 yrs and up

Dakota Stone Shop

1880 Train – 20 mile ride – 2 hours Hill City to Keystone – round trip

Deadwood (from Hill City: 54min, from Rapid City: 45 min, from Keystone: 1 hour)

Shootouts Daily except Sundays;  2:00 p.m. in front of Tin Lizzie, 4:00 p.m. in front of the Celebrity Hotel, and 6:00 p.m. in front of the Franklin Hotel. Shooting of Wild Bill is held daily inside Saloon No.10 at 1:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m., 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

Mt Moriah Cemetery

Saloon 10 – historic memorabilia and where Wild Bill was shot

Broken Boot Gold Mine – tour of mine every 30 minutes and extra cost for gold panning- upper main street 8-6

Day Five

Devil’s Tower (1 hr 14 min from Deadwood)

Tower Trail 1.3 mile loop – paved

Circle of Sacred Smoke Sculpture –in the picnic area

Jayner Ridge Trail – 1.5 mile loop

Travel to Cody WY (5 hours from Devil’s Tower)

Day Six 

Cody, WY

Shooting and Gun Safety at K3 Ranch 

Buffalo Bill Center of the West- 720 Sheridan Ave, Cody, WY 82414-3428+1 307-587-4771 8am-6pm $19/$12

Very large museum has six museums in one.  Can spend more than 4 hours here – art, Buffalo Bill, Plains Indians, Firearms, natural history – have horseback riding

Old Trail Town - 1831 Demaris Dr, Cody, WY 82414-8736 +1 307-587-5302 8am-7pm $8/$5

Authentic Buildings from the Wild West, gravesites

Cody Trolley Tour

The Cody Cattle Company – live country western music show and buffet – doors open at 5 – dinner 5:30-7:30 show 6:30-7:30 1910 Demaris Dr, Cody, WY 82414 - has a trifecta ticket for a discount to the rodeo

Cody Rodeo 421 W Yellowstone Ave, Cody, WY 82414-8729 +1 307-587-5155

2 hours $20 per person gates at 7 and rodeo starts at 8pm – go early for face painting, picture with rodeo bull, learn to rope like cowboys, kids can join the calf scramble – order tickets in advance online or buy in town

Day Seven 

Travel to Yellowstone (2 hours 17 min to Canyon Lodge) – pick up some snacks/food along the way

*sign up for Jr Ranger Program

Can do

Canyon Area: 

South Rim Trail

Tower Junction

Tower Falls (between Tower-Roosevelt Junction and Canyon Village – 100 yards from parking area

Day Eight

Mammoth Hot Springs

Boiling River – 2 miles north of Mammoth and 2.9 miles south of North Entrance (could be closed if water is too high) parking on east side just south of 45^th parallel – walk upstream about a half mile

Go to General Store – can get lunch and other food for fast meal

Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone – Keeper Kids

Mud Pots and Dragon Breath Springs

Old West Cookout Wagon ride in Yellowstone

Day Nine 

Old Faithful Area:

Old Faithful Geyser

Old Faithful Inn

Observation point Trail – 2 miles for view of Old Faithful

Walk on Geyser Hill Trail behind Old Faithful

Madison Campground – warm springs meet Madison River. Can park and walk down river to find the hot spot

Dinner at Old Faithful Inn

Day Ten 

Mid-Way Geyser Basin

Grand Prismatic Spring

Fairy Trail – see fairy falls and then to Imperial Geyser (mud pots around too)

Travel to Jackson WY

Day Eleven 

Whitewater Rafting

Mad River Boat Trips – 8 mile round trip 3.5 hours – 10:30-1:30 – Be there at 10.  http://mad-river.com/whitewater-rafting-in-jackson-hole-wyoming/classic-snake-river-whitewater

1255 South US Highway 89, Jackson, WY 83001 (800) 458-7238

Day Twelve 

Grand Teton National Park

Jenny Lake Scenic Drive – 4 mile loop

Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center

-drive north on Teton Park Road – Teton Glacier

-20 minute boat ride on Jenny Lake to Hike to Hidden Falls or Inspiration Point (need snacks and water – long hike)

-North Teton Park Road to Signal MT Road- great views

Swim in Jackson Lake

Signal Mountain – drive up and take pictures

Teton Village’s Piste Mountain Bistro– ride gondola to get to it

Saloons:

Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, Wort Hotel, Silver Dollar bar, Stagecoach Bar

Rodeo at night

Day Thirteen 

Explore Jackson Hole:

Horseback riding??

Mormon Row – lots of Bison and beautiful

Menor’s Ferry – historical buildings – Church of Transfiguration

Moose-Wilson Road to see Moose (very early in the morning)

Geocaching around Jackson Hole and Spring Creek Ranch

Sage Overlook: Western BBQ Wagon ride, 3 course meal with smores bar, guitar and nature chat. 6pm Tuesday Thursday and Sunday $75/$45 https://www.springcreekranch.com/dining/sage-overlook/ concierge@springcreekranch.com

Options:

Jackson Hole Adventure Park: Ride the Tram – 12 minutes to get to summit, rock wall, bungee jump, disc golf

Snow King Mountain- summer cowboy coaster, mini golf, Alpine Slide, scenic chairlift, bungee trampoline

Bridger and Teton Nation Forests – Continental Divide with water from Atlantic and Pacific – Can put one foot in Pacific Creek and the other in the Atlantic Creek to feel two oceans at once!

Day Fourteen 

Cheyenne – Luxury Diner – trolley turned dinner/breakfast and lunch

Travel to: Des Moines Iowa 16.5 hours

West Des Moines 
6905 Lake Drive 
West Des Moines, Iowa 
United States   50266 
Hotel Front Desk: 1-515-2230000 

Horseback Riding in Jackson

Swiftcreek Outfitters - $45 no reservations required. 6 years and up – cross a creak and forest trails, 8am first ride out to 3:45 – 1 hour ride http://www.horsebackadv.com/ Visit us at Teton Horseback Adventures, located on Pacific Creek Road, north of Jackson Hole,  just outside of Grand Teton National Park for your Jackson Hole Horseback Riding experience of a lifetime!   

A-OK Corral - $35 one hour ride- kids 6 and up – located 15 minutes south of Jackson

Scenic Drives near Jackson WY:

• Moose Wilson Road. Wildlife spotting is a given on this narrow and winding, 8-mile road that runs between the Grand Teton National park entrace just outside of Teton Village to Moose.

• Inner Park Loop Road. Travel for 20 unforgettable miles through Grand Teton National Park underneath the watchful eyes of the towering Tetons.

• Jenny Lake Scenic Loop. This one-way, three-mile road off the main park roadway is a less traveled gem.

• Kelly Loop. The Kelly herd of bison comes out and plays in force just before sunset on this 16-mile loop that starts and ends at Gros Ventre Junction. Other sights include Mormon Row, Mouton Barn and Shadow Mountain.

• Teton Pass. This high mountain pass starts in Wilson and connects the valleys of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and Teton Valley, Idaho.

Sunset:

Curtis Canyon. Located close to the town of Jackson and reachable via the National Elk Refuge Road, this gem of a sunset viewing spot is part the Bridger-Teton National Forest.

Mormon Row. The Mormon Row Historical District is home to the Moulton Barn, the most photographed barn in Wyoming. Sunsets there usually include bison from the Kelly herd, and only add to the jaw-dropping scenery. Drive north from Jackson on Hwy 191 past Moose Junction and turn right onto Antelope Flats Road.

Dornan’s. Whether you’re inside Dornan’s Pizza, Pasta Company or sitting on its upstairs deck, or enjoying a chuck wagon meal on a picnic table, you’ll have a front row seat to watch the sun’s final hurrah of the today.

Jenny Lake and the top of Signal Mountain in Grand Teton National Park are two other places to see a memorable sunset.