Our Family South Dakota and Yellowstone Trip Recap

AI is becoming more and more prominent. I have experimented with it here and there. So when I was having trouble this summer finding time to sit down and plan out how to get to Yellowstone, I figured I may as well give it a shot! Yes. I absolutely used AI to plan our family roadtrip. And you know what? It worked really well! There were some tweaks we made to the dates and what we saw each day. But, it was a fabulous start to our planning and it saved me so much time. In fact, I’m planning on doing another post on how YOU can use AI to help you save time in your daily life with some tips to help personalize your results. In the meantime, here is a break down of our travel days and what we saw on our family Yellowstone trip:

Sioux Falls, SD (7/29)

Our first day was a long day in the car with an 8 hour drive from Naperville to Sioux Falls, SD. We made one planned stop at the Jolly Green Giant Statue in Blue Earth Minnesota. It took about an hour and the kids loved it!

That night we ate at Sickies Garage Burgers & Brews. Originally I had thought eating in the historic district would be fun, but this menu looked too good to pass up. The burgers were delicious and there were so many to choose from.

South Dakota

wall drug, south dakota family trip

7/30-
- Wall Drug- We were on the road nice and early headed to Wall, South Dakota. We arrived at the iconic Wall Drug. Besides some free water, we all had lunch and did some browsing before we were back in the car and headed to the Badlands National Park.

- Badlands- At the park, we drove through to the visitor’s center which was about an hour drive from the entrance. It’s the perfect drive to really see the park. There are quite a few scenic lookouts that we took advantage of to get out and take some photos. At the Visitor’s Center, we went through the interactive museum so the girls could earn Junior Ranger badges and saw some paleontologists at work. Afterwards we did a short hike since it was the hottest day of our vacation.

Our Family South Dakota and Yellowstone Trip Recap mount rushmore

- Mt. Rushmore- Although we had been planning to see Mt. Rushmore the next day, we actually still had time and Matt thought it would be neat to see it while it is lit up. Instead of going to our hotel, we headed straight to the memorial. It worked out really well since it is open until 11pm. Once there we did some hiking to get closer to the Memorial, heard a brief talk, and got some photos. The kids worked on completing their Ranger badge then we were able to get dinner at the Memorial. We ate outside and had a fabulous view.

7/31-
- Rapid City, SD- After staying in Rapid City the night before, we were up in the morning and headed to Devil’s Tower. Parking is extremely limited so I’m glad we went in the morning because the line was probably an hour long for parking. We did a short hike around the tower and the girls earned another Junior Ranger badge. Afterwards it was off to Cody, Wyoming.

Cody, WY

Buffalo bill center of the west for kids

8/1- Cody is a really cute town and I wish we had a little more time to explore. That morning we went to the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. It’s a huge museum that houses 5 different wings. They have a fantastic children’s scavenger hunt for each wing. The girls loved earning their stickers and learning about the west. There is a chuck wagon out front with a cook that makes recipes similar to the food the pioneers would have been cooking while traveling. Matt said the cowboy cookie was pretty tasty! After a quick lunch we were headed to Yellowstone.

Yellowstone

8/1 continued-
- We arrived in Yellowstone at the East entrance. After about an hour’s drive of incredible scenery, we arrived at the Visitor’s Center by the Fishing Bridge. The girls had a nice walk down by Yellowstone Lake and along the Fishing Bridge. Afterwards, we checked into our hotel at Canyon Village. The rooms were pretty nice since the entire complex was recently redone. This is a case of paying for location though! That night we had dinner at the nearby cafe in Canyon Village and then drive to Lower Brink Falls to walk around. It was stunning! On the way home we even saw a mama moose and baby!

8/2-
- This day was a full day for us. We woke up bright and early to drive through Lamar Valley. We saw so many bison. The girls loved every minute. Finally, we arrived to hike around Trout Lake. Although we had hopes of seeing wolves and otters, no such luck. But the lake was so beautiful and serene. The water was like glass so the reflections were amazing.
- After that we drove back to the hotel and hiked from there to see some views of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. We even saw some elk on the way!
- That afternoon once we had some lunch, we headed over to Mammoth Hot Springs. What a stunning area! It is right by Fort Yellowstone which was the first establishment of the park. It was originally was a U.S. Army fort, established in 1891 at Mammoth Hot Springs to help the government effectively manage the park. We did a lot of walking around Mammoth Hot Springs. The features created by the hot springs are so interesting!
- The girls picked up their Junior Ranger badges in Fort Yellowstone (that makes 4!) then we went through the Roosevelt Arch to have dinner in Gardiner, Montana. What a day!

8/3-
- For our final day for our family Yellowstone trip, we headed over to Old Faithful in the morning. I’m so glad we got there around 9. We had front row seats for the next eruption. While we waited, I took the girls to the interactive exhibit about the geothermal features of the park. After the eruption, we ate a brunch at the Old Faithful Inn. The inside is so neat!
- After walking around Old Faithful and seeing it erupt again, we headed over to Grand Prismatic Springs. This was probably my favorite spot because of all the incredible colors. It is STUNNING!
- That afternoon we stopped to see Gibbon Falls. Then the girls really wanted to go back to Lake Yellowstone so we did the Pelican Trail hike (about 1.5 miles) and spent time learning how to skip stones and make cairns near the lake.
And that is a wrap for our family Yellowstone trip! The next two days were spent making our way back home. I’m so glad we were able to take this trip. I am sure we will cherish these memories for a lifetime.

A few ways we saved a bit of money:

We always stay at Hilton brand hotels. By sticking with the same brand, we earn loyalty points and often get free stays.
When possible, we choose hotels with included breakfasts.
Instead of 2 children’s meals, we will get 1 adult meal and either the girls will split it or I will split it with one of the girls. Overall, the cost is less.
We brought snacks and water flavoring so we weren’t always stopping for a soda or snacks.
We set a limit on souvenir money for the girls. If they want to buy something they have to tell us why it helps them remember the trip. It helps eliminate unnecessary purchases.
The girls earned 4 Junior Ranger badges at the National Parks and Monuments that we visited. These are free programs and the kids get a collectible badge by completing them. They make great souvenirs!