Summer (June) trip to Yellowstone from Central Illinois | |
Travel from central Illinois through Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, South Dakota, Montana, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Spend five nights in Yellowstone National Park. Briefly visit also Devils Tower, Mount Rushmore, and the Badlands. |
Short Summary. |
Day 1 | Leave Illinois and drive to Lincoln, NE | Lincoln, NE | |
Day 2 | Drive across Nebraska. | Laramie, WY | |
Day 3 | Drive across Wyoming, and relax in hot springs in Thermopolis, WY | Thermopolis, WY | |
Day 4 | Drive from Thermopolis to Yellowstone Lake | Lake Yellowstone, WY | |
Day 5 | Southern Yellowstone National Park | Old Faithful, WY | |
Day 6 | Day around Old Faithful. Hike among geysers | Old Faithful, WY | |
Day 7 | Go to Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone | Canyon Village, WY | |
Day 8 | Go to Mammoth Hot Springs | Mammoth Hot Springs, WY | |
Day 9 | Mammoth Hot springs, then drive across Montana | Hulett, WY | |
Day 10 | See Devils Tower and Mt Rushmore | Wall, SD | |
Day 11 | See Badlands, and drive across SD and MN | St Paul, MN | |
Day 12 | See St. Paul, MN, and spend an afternoon in Wisconsin Dells, then drive home | Home |
See our list of trips. |
Full Description |
Day 1 | Friday | Depart on a Friday morning. Stay for the night at New Victorian Suites (reviews) or Comfort Suites East (reviews) |
Lincoln, NE | |
Day 2 | Saturday | On Saturday, depart Lincoln after lunch, at about 12:30 p.m. Stay for the night at the Motel 8 Laramie (reviews) or the Fairfield Inn & Suites (reviews). |
Laramie, WY | |
Day 3 | Sunday | On Sunday hang out in Laramie until about 1:30 p.m. Stay at a cabin at the Fountain of Youth RV Park (reviews) or the Best Western Plaza Hotel (reviews) in Thermopolis. |
Thermopolis, WY | |
Day 4 | Monday | On Monday, play in hot springs and hang out until after lunch. Perhaps see the Wyoming Dinosaur Center. Buy gas in Thermopolis, and then leave at 1:30 p.m. Drive to Cody, arriving at 3:00 p.m. stop briefly to buy gas again, and get food for a picnic dinner in Yellowstone, and then drive west to Yellowstone National Park. Stay Monday night at the Lake Yellowstone Hotel (or a Lake Yellowstone Western Cabin with two queen beds). |
Lake Yellowstone Hotel. | |
Day 5 | Tuesday | Morning hike around Yellowstone Lake. Go up to see Mud Volcano. Then back down to West Thumb. Finally get to Old Faithful. Stay Tuesday and Wednesday night at Old Faithful. Either at the Inn or in a Lodge Frontier Cabin. |
Old Faithful Inn | |
Day 6 | Wednesday | Day around Old Faithful |
2nd night at Old Faithful Inn | |
Day 7 | Thursday | Thursday, drive up to Monument Geyser basin, Steamboat Geyser, Norris Geyser basin, and then over to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Spend Thursday night at Grand Canyon Lodge (possibly at a frontier cabin). |
Grand Canyon Lodge in Canyon Village, WY. | |
Day 8 | Friday | Grand Canyon and the northern part of the park in the morning, and then drive to Mammoth Hot Springs in the afternoon. |
Mammoth Hot Springs. |
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Day 9 | Saturday | Saturday Depart Mammoth Hot Springs at 1:00 p.m. Stop in Big Timber, MT for gas and lunch at 2:30 p.m. Depart Big Timber at 3:00 p.m. Stop for gas and a stay for the night at Hulett, WY at 8:30 p.m. Stay at the Best Western Devils Tower Inn (reviews) or the Hulett Motel (review) |
Hulett, WY | |
Day 10 | Sunday | Morning to visit Devils Tower. Depart Devils Tower at noon. Stay at the Sunshine Inn (reviews) or the Days Inn in Wall (reviews). |
Wall, SD | |
Day 11 | Monday | Morning in Badlands National Park. Stay at the Holiday Inn St Paul Downtown (reviews) |
Saint Paul, MN | |
Day 12 | Tuesday | See something in St. Paul until 10:30 a.m. Depart Saint Paul around 10:30 a.m., and get to Wisconsin Dells at 1:45 p.m. Play in Wisconsin Dells until 6:00 p.m. buy gas, and depart Wisconsin Dells at 6:30 p.m. Arrive home in Springfield at 11:45 p.m. |
Late night arrival home |
Costs. (Day, expense, Cost in 2011 U.S. Dollars, Cost in percent of median year-round full-time income) |
Days 1-12 | Gas for the trip. The total distance is 3,400 miles. I'll say that is $660 (car getting 20 mpg and gas costing $3.88 per gallon) | 2 persons $660 |
2 persons 163 4 persons 163 |
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Days 1-12 | Wear and tear on a car and depreciation of a car. By my calculations, the non-gas costs in loss of value or wear and tear on a vehicle is about 20.5¢ per mile in 2011. Much of this cost is not realized until one sells the car or takes it in for maintenance at a date long after the trip. | 2 persons $700 |
2 persons 173 4 persons 173 |
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Days 1-11 | Eleven Nights in hotels and cabins | Higher costs: Lower costs: |
Higher costs: Lower costs: |
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Days 1-12 | Food for 12 days eating mostly in restaurants At the high end, the meal budget is about $35-$39 per person per day. At the low end, the meal budget is $26-$29 per person per day. |
Higher costs: Lower costs: |
Higher costs: Lower costs: |
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Days 1-12 | Costs for admissions and fees, and also shopping | 2 persons $400 |
2 persons 81 Myrfti |
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Total | Total Costs For four persons, this trip would cost between 7.9% and 9.7% of the median year-round full-time income. For two persons the costs would be between 5.8% and 7.4%. |
Higher costs: Lower costs: |
Higher costs: Lower costs: |
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To afford a vacation like this every year, a typical family budget for a family earning 120% of the median year-round full-time income ($59,400 would be 120% of about the median income of $49,500 in 2011), close to the median household income) might allocate money in this way each month: Housing and utilities: 26.7% ($1320 per month) |