South Dakota/Wyoming
On the Road: Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone and Grand Tetons
Program No. 20297RJ
Explore iconic monuments and national parks of South Dakota and Wyoming. From Mount Rushmore to Old Faithful, from the Mammoth Site to Little Bighorn Battlefield — it’s a big adventure!
Itinerary
While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date.
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While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date. As a result, some program activities, schedules, accommodations, personnel, and other logistics occasionally change due to local conditions or circumstances. Should a major change occur, we will make every effort to alert you. For less significant changes, we will update you during orientation. Thank you for your understanding.
Duration
10 days
9 nights
What's Included
22 meals (
9B, 7L, 6D
)
6 expert-led lectures
19 expert-led field trips
1 performance
An experienced Group Leader
9 nights of accommodations
Taxes and customary gratuity
Road Scholar Assurance Plan
Day
1
Check-in, Orientation, Welcome Dinner
Location:
Rapid City, South Dakota
Meals:
D
Stay:
Doubletree by Hilton Rapid City Downtown Convention Center
Activity Note
Please bring your nametag/lanyard (sent previously by RS to your mailing address on file). If you have a National Park Pass, please bring the card with you to Orientation.
Afternoon:
5 p.m. Program Check in and Orientation followed by dinner. After you check in to the hotel and have your room assignment, join us in the designated hotel meeting room for registration and orientation. If you arrive late, please ask for your Road Scholar schedule at the hotel front desk.
Dinner:
At our designated hotel meeting/dining room, following orientation.
Evening:
Orientation. In our private meeting/dining room, the Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions. This is a Road Scholar On The Road (OTR) program. OTR journeys take participants to multiple study sites within a region number of overnight stays. Lectures, talks, discussions, field trips, and on-board commentary enhance the program theme. Some journeys involve great distances and may take hours, others are much shorter. Long or short, On the Road journeys are learning experiences that make the most of our time together. There will be numerous opportunities for self-directed exploration to see and do what interests each of us most. Participants are responsible for carrying their luggage to/from the motorcoach. Periods in the schedule designated as “Free time” and “At leisure” offer opportunities to do what you like and make your experience even more meaningful and memorable according to your personal preferences. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may change due to local circumstances/conditions. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding. Continue getting to know your fellow Road Scholars, settle in, and get a good night’s rest for the day ahead.
Day
2
Rock Talk, Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial, Custer Park
Location:
Rapid City, South Dakota
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Doubletree by Hilton Rapid City Downtown Convention Center
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach with several steps up/down; driving approximately 4 hours. Walking up to 2 miles; sidewalks, mostly even ground, slight inclines, boardwalks, 425 steps on elective 1/2 mile Presidential Trail at Mount Rushmore.
Breakfast:
Enjoy breakfast at the hotel.
Morning:
We will be joined at the hotel by a local geologist who will give us a "rock talk" lecture on areas we will explore. Next, we will board a motorcoach for our field trip to iconic sites. At the Mount Rushmore National Memorial, the majestic 60-foot faces of four U.S. presidents gaze out over South Dakota's Black Hills. Recognized worldwide, they stand as a symbol of American democracy. This national treasure tells the story of the United States' rich history, rugged determination, and lasting achievement. From the Grandview Terrace, the views of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln are spectacular. We'll learn why these four presidents were selected, see how the mountain was carved, and learn about sculptor Gutzon Borglum and the workers who brought Mount Rushmore to life. There will be opportunities to walk the half-mile Presidential Trail that loops along the base of the mountain and to learn more about history and see videos at the Information Center. We will continue to ride through the Black Hills to the Crazy Horse Memorial, where a fifth granite face has emerged in the Black Hills. In 1939, Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear invited sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski to carve an Indian memorial in the Black Hills. Though Korczak died in 1982, the sculptor's family continues the nonprofit project where the colossal mountain carving is now in progress. Crazy Horse is the largest sculptural undertaking ever, on a scale with the Egyptian pyramids. When completed, it will tower 563 feet high and 641 feet long. We'll also have an expert-led exploration of the complex with some time to have a look around on our own.
Lunch:
Lunch at the historic Custer State Game Lodge
Afternoon:
For our next field trip, we'll ride to the Mammoth Site Museum in Hot Springs and explore with a museum expert. This 36,000 square foot site is a one-of-a-kind "in situ" (in the original place) Ice Age museum containing the largest concentration of Columbian and Woolly Mammoths found in their primary context in the world. We will get a close up view of the 26,000-year-old sinkhole where mammoths, bears, mountain lions, and wolves once walked. The Exhibit Hall features fascinating exhibits including a full-sized Columbian mammoth replica, a walk-in bone shelter, and skeletons of now-extinct carnivores such as a giant short-faced bear. We'll also get a glimpse of scientific work being conducted in the state of the art lab. The Mammoth Site has been featured on the CBS and NBC evening newscasts, the Discovery Channel, the Today Show, BBC Television programs, and in many magazines including National Geographic. The site has co-hosted international symposiums and conferences, as well as published scientific Quaternary research books. En route back to the hotel, we'll take a scenic drive through a portion of Custer State Park that covers 71,000 acres, making it one of the largest state parks in the nation. We'll be on the lookout for some of the wildlife that may be resident here such as bison, pronghorn antelope, mule and whitetail deer, burros, coyotes, wild turkeys, elk, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, and golden eagles. Our Group Leader will provide commentary as we ride.
Dinner:
Enjoy a group dinner at the hotel in our private dining room.
Evening:
At leisure. You might like to use the fitness center, take a dip in the indoor swimming pool, soak in the hot tub, spend time with fellow Road Scholars, or just relax.
Day
3
Minuteman Missile, Badlands & Visitors Center, Wall Drug
Location:
Rapid City, South Dakota
Meals:
B,L
Stay:
Doubletree by Hilton Rapid City Downtown Convention Center
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach with several steps up/down; driving approximately 3 hours. Walking approximately 2+ miles; sidewalks, boardwalks, overlooks, mostly even ground, slight inclines.
Breakfast:
Enjoy breakfast at the hotel.
Morning:
We will board our motorcoach for our first field trip of the day to the Visitor Center at the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site. With our Group Leader, we'll learn about the Intercontinental Ballistics system and the role it played in the Cold War — the period of geopolitical rivalry between the U.S. and the Soviet Union that lasted for decades. Moving on, we'll ride into Badlands National Park. The scenic drive through Badlands National Park is a mixture of rugged natural beauty, striking multicolored geologic deposits, and one of the world's richest fossil beds. Some ancient mammals found within the Park include rhino, horse, saber-toothed cat, and pig-like creatures. The Lakota Indians knew the place as "mako sica" while early French trappers called the area "les mauvaises terres a traverser"; both mean "bad lands." Architect Frank Lloyd Wright said this: "I've been about the world a lot, and pretty much over our own country, but I was totally unprepared for that revelation called the Dakota Bad Lands...What I saw gave me an indescribable sense of mysterious elsewhere-a distant architecture, ethereal..., an endless supernatural world more spiritual than earth but created out of it." We will make several stops along the way at points of interest.
Lunch:
Lunch at a local restaurant.
Afternoon:
We will continue to journey through the beautiful Badlands National Park. We'll then visit Wall Drug Store, which became famous during the Depression for its free ice water, a tradition that continues to this day. We'll have some time to view the extensive Western Art collection that includes actual brands of local ranchers embedded in the wooden walls.
Dinner:
Choose from several area restaurants in Rapid City and enjoy local cuisine while supporting small businesses, or dine at the hotel restaurant. Enjoy a short walk downtown, UBER or LYFT or check with the hotel for availability of their limited complimentary shuttle. for transportation.
Evening:
Enjoy your evening out with a stroll and people watching, explore the "City of Presidents" in downtown Rapid City or just relax and the hotel and prepare for check-out and transfer in the morning.
Day
4
Sanford Research Facility, Deadwood, Devil's Tower
Location:
Sheridan WY
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Comfort Inn & Suites Sheridan WY
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving approximately 5 hours including stops. Walking approximately 2 miles; paved path, one steep incline at Devils Tower followed by several gentle inclines.
Breakfast:
Enjoy breakfast at the hotel.
Morning:
We'll check out of the hotel early morning, board our motorcoach, and depart Rapid City on our way to Deadwood/Lead, SD where we will visit the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) and here from a local expert about America’s underground science laboratory—the deepest in the United States at 4,850 feet, and among the deepest in the world.SURF is indelibly linked to the history of the Homestake Mine, which operated from 1876 until 2001 at this site. While gold mining created wealth and jobs in the Black Hills for over a century, SURF has shifted the focus of the mine from profit to scientific discovery. We also recognize the culture significance of the land and work includes outreach and relationship building with South Dakota’s nine Tribes. We will also enjoy commentary and learn about Deadwood. The discovery of gold in the southern Black Hills in 1874 set off one of the great gold rushes in America. In 1876, miners moved into the northern Black Hills. That’s where they came across a gulch full of dead trees and a creek full of gold and Deadwood was born. Practically overnight, the tiny gold camp boomed into a town that played by its own rules that attracted outlaws, gamblers and gunslingers along with the gold seekers.
Lunch:
Enjoy a box lunch picnic style
Afternoon:
Continuing our drive we'll cross into Wyoming and reach Devils Tower National Monument. The National Park Service website states: "The Tower is an astounding geologic feature that protrudes out of the prairie surrounding the Black Hills. It is considered sacred by Northern Plains Indians and indigenous people." About 60 million years ago, molten magma was forced into sedimentary rocks above it and cooled underground. As it cooled, it contracted and fractured into columns. President Theodore Roosevelt designated Devils Tower as America's first national monument in 1906. It was a key feature in the 1977 movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." We'll take a walk around the base of Devils Tower on a paved path with medium to steep incline the first 1/8 of a mile, followed by a combination of flat and gentle inclines the rest of the 1.6-mile paved trail.
Dinner:
We will enjoy dinner at a local restaurant
Evening:
Prepare for check out and transfer in the morning.
Day
5
Big Horn Mts., Heart Mt. Internment Camp, Cowboy Music Show
Location:
Cody, WY
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Holiday Inn Buffalo Bill Village Cody
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach with several steps up/down; driving approximately 3-4 hours not including stops. Walking short distances.
Breakfast:
In the hotel hospitality room, enjoy a self-serve breakfast.
Morning:
We'll check out of the hotel early morning, board our motorcoach, and depart Sheridan on our way to Cody, Wyoming, founded in 1901 by Colonel William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody. Continuing our drive, we'll cross the Big Horn Mountains and wind our way through beautiful countryside before arriving in Cody, Wyoming. The Bighorn Mountains and the Bighorn National Forest in north-central Wyoming have been explored by some of America's most famous pioneers, including Jim Bridger and Buffalo Bill Cody. It is land held sacred by the Cheyenne, Crow, Sioux, Arapaho, and Eastern Cheyenne Indians — a land of much spilled blood where Native Americans fought some of their most desperate battles with the U.S. military.
Lunch:
Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant in Cody, WY
Afternoon:
We will visit Heart Mountain Interpretive Center and learn about the works to preserve what remains of the World War II Japanese American confinement site in Park County, Wyoming, and to tell the stories of the more than 14,000 people unjustly incarcerated at the site. In August of 2011, the Foundation opened the Heart Mountain Interpretive Center, a world-class museum dedicated to teaching this story to future generations. Following our visit to Heart Mountain, we will make our way to the Dan Miller Cowboy Music Revue – where we will enjoy a live show of authentic cowboy music in the heart of downtown Cody, Wyoming! After the show, we will check into our hotel.
Dinner:
Dinner on your own, choose from a variety of local restaurants, a meal voucher will be provided. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions.
Evening:
At leisure. You might like to watch the free Cody Gunfight performance in front of Buffalo Bill's historic Irma Hotel, attend the Cody Nite Rodeo, or just experience Main Street's sights and sounds that harken back to the Old West.
Day
6
Buffalo Bill Museum & Dam, Yellowstone National Park
Location:
West Yellowstone
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Clubhouse Inn
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach with several steps up/down; driving approximately 4 hours with stops throughout the day. Self-paced walking up approximately 2-3 miles; level surfaces, boardwalks, some inclines, up to 30 steps in places.
Breakfast:
Breakfast in hotel hospitality room
Morning:
We will board the motorcoach and ride to the Buffalo Bill Center of the West for a self-directed exploration. The museum was founded in 1917 to preserve the legacy and vision of Col. William F. Cody. The BBHC is the oldest and most comprehensive museum of the West with collections containing more than 34,977 artifacts, 20,000 books, and 260,000 photo archives. The Center consists of the Harold McCracken Research Library, dedicated in 1980, and five separate museums: The Whitney Western Art Museum, established in 1958 and dedicated in 1959; the Buffalo Bill Museum, established in 1927, dedicated in 1969; the Plains Indian Museum, 1969; Cody Firearms Museum, dedicated in 1976; the Draper Museum of Natural History, dedicated in 2002. Next, we'll make a short stop at the Buffalo Bill Dam and Visitor Center where a local expert will give us a talk. It was originally called the Shoshone Dam. Drilling to find bedrock for the foundation began in the spring of 1904. More than 82,900 cubic yards of concrete were used to build the dam, and seven men were killed during construction. When completed in 1910, it was the tallest dam in the world with a final cost of $929,658. The dam is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, has been documented by the Bureau of Reclamation, and included in the National Park Service's Historic American Engineering Survey. Moving on to Yellowstone National Park, we'll enter via the East Entrance.
Lunch:
We will stop at Buffalo Bill Cody's old hunting lodge, now known as Pahaska Tepee, and enjoy a sack lunch.
Afternoon:
We will continue driving along the Yellowstone River to Hayden Valley: a favorite place to watch for animals such as bison, elk, deer, once-in-a-while bear, and birds such as osprey, eagles, Canada Geese, and pelicans. We'll also look for thermal features such as mud pots and steamy "dragon" springs as well as colors of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone with its spectacular Upper and Lower waterfalls. Yellowstone National Park is known for the most geysers in the world. About 2 million years ago, huge volcanic eruptions occurred here and the park's present central portion collapsed, forming a 30-by-45 mile caldera, or basin. The magmatic heat powering those eruptions still today powers the park's geysers, hot springs, fumaroles, and mud pots, all of which we will have opportunities to see. Waterfalls at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone highlight the boundaries of lava flows and thermal areas. One 19th century visitor, Nathaniel Lanford, wrote: "As I took in the scene, I realized my own littleness, my helplessness, my dread exposure to destruction, my inability to cope with or even comprehend the mighty architecture of nature." We expect to check in to the hotel late afternoon.
Dinner:
Dinner at a local restaurant
Evening:
At leisure. Enjoy the rest of your evening strolling West Yellowstone or just relaxing at the hotel.
Day
7
Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces &Travertines, Visitors Center
Location:
West Yellowstone
Meals:
B,L
Stay:
Clubhouse Inn
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving approximately 3 hours. Walking up to 3 miles; sidewalks, paved areas. Extent and duration of free time activities according to personal choice.
Breakfast:
Breakfast in hotel hospitality room
Morning:
Travel to the North Unit of Yellowstone National Park and explore the Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces. It was created over thousands of years as hot water from the spring cooled and deposited calcium carbonate (over two tons flow into Mammoth each day. Because of the huge amount of geothermal vents, travertine flourishes.Although these springs lie outside the caldera boundary, their energy has been attributed to the same magmatic system that fuels other Yellowstone geothermal areas. Walk on boardwalks above the steaming hydrothermal features and view the vibrant travertine terraces.
Lunch:
Lunch at a cafeteria in Yellowstone National Park
Afternoon:
Learn about Fort Yellowstone which was built to help Yellowstone's first superintendents struggled with poaching, vandalism, squatting and other problems. In 1886, US Army soldiers marched into Mammoth Hot Springs at the request of the Secretary of the Interior and took charge of Yellowstone. Soldiers oversaw Fort Yellowstone's construction—sturdy red-roofed buildings still in use today as the Albright Visitor Center, offices, and employee housing. Visit the Albright Visitors Center, this historic structure was built by the United States Army in 1909 as bachelor officers' quarters for the cavalry troops who protected the park before the creation of the National Park Service.
Dinner:
This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to enjoy what you like. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. There are numerous dining choices in walking distance of the hotel.
Evening:
At leisure. Enjoy the rest of your evening strolling West Yellowstone, see a show at the IMAX, check out the Wolf and Grizzly Discovery Center or just relax at the hotel. Prepare for check-out and transfer in the morning
Day
8
Yellowstone Park, Fountain Paint Pots, Old Faithful Geyser
Location:
Grand Teton National Park and Jackson Hole Valley Wyoming
Meals:
B,L
Stay:
Jackson Lake Lodge
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach with several steps up/down several times throughout the day; driving approximately 3-4 hours. Walking from approximately 1/4 mile to 1 mile at several sites; sidewalks, boardwalks, and indoors.
Breakfast:
Breakfast in hotel hospitality room
Morning:
After checking out of the hotel, we will board a motorcoach and drive from West Yellowstone to Old Faithful area along the Gibbon and Firehole Rivers to the Fountain Paint pots. With our Group Leader, we will follow the boardwalk to observe several types of thermal features including mud pots, hot springs, geysers, fumaroles, steam vents, and bacteria mat — all within one half-mile. We'll then ride to Old Faithful, the world's best-known geyser. Its eruptions vary at intervals from 40 to 126 minutes. Park Rangers will be available during our self-directed exploration. There are many boardwalks to explore the geyser basin around Old Faithful. During your self-directed exploration, you might like to visit the Old Faithful Visitor Education Center and see exhibits on hydrothermal features, life in extreme environments, and the Greater Yellowstone region's volcanic geology. The center has information and maps regarding Ranger programs, Ranger led walks, and talks. Field trips: 1
Lunch:
Lunch in Yellowstone National Park
Afternoon:
Continuing our self-directed exploration, you might like to hear some of the Ranger presentations and/or walk through the Historic Old Faithful Inn on your own and hear from a hotel expert. Built during the winter of 1903-04, the Inn was designed by Robert Reamer and is a designated National Historic Landmark. It is a masterpiece of rustic architecture reflecting the chaos of nature. The building is a rustic log and wood-frame structure with gigantic proportions. The lobby features a 65-foot ceiling, a massive rhyolite fireplace, and railings made of contorted Lodgepole pine. Mid to late afternoon, we will reboard our motorcoach and ride through the south gate to Grand Teton National Park along the Rockefeller Parkway that connects Yellowstone and Grand Teton at the heart of the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem. The late conservationist and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, Jr. made significant contributions to several national parks including Grand Teton, Acadia, Great Smoky Mountains, and Virgin Islands. We expect to check in to the lodge late afternoon.
Dinner:
On your own to explore dining choices at Jackson Lake Lodge.
Evening:
At leisure. Check the lobby information board for special evening presentations or activities.
Day
9
Grand Tetons Scenic Drive, Visitors Center, Town of Jackson
Location:
Grand Teton National Park and Jackson Hole Valley Wyoming
Meals:
B,D
Stay:
Jackson Lake Lodge
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving approximately 2 hours. Walking up to 1 mile; sidewalks, paved areas. Extent and duration of free time activities according to personal choice.
Breakfast:
Enjoy breakfast at the historic Jackson Lake Lodge
Morning:
We will board a motorcoach and travel along the scenic loop road of the Tetons. As we ride, there will be opportunities to enjoy the breathtaking beauty of the mountains at several picture stops and Jenny Lake. We'll then arrive at Craig Thomas Visitor Discovery Center for a self-directed overview of the history, culture and geology of the Tetons. Next, we'll ride to the town of Jackson.
Lunch:
On your own to have what you like in the town of Jackson. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions.
Afternoon:
We expect to return to the lodge by approximately 2:30 p.m. The remainder of the afternoon is free to go for a walk and watch for animals and birds, take in the majestic view of the Teton Mountains, or just relax. Grand Teton National Park is located in northwestern Wyoming and comprises more than 310,000 acres of unique landscapes rich with breathtaking lakes, majestic mountains, alpine terrain, and extraordinary wildlife. The infamous Jackson Hole sits at the foothills of the Tetons Mountain range and is a popular destination for millions of visitors each year with its Western character and small town charm.
Dinner:
Dinner at private hotel dining room. Share favorite experiences with new Road Scholar friends during our farewell dinner.
Evening:
At leisure. Prepare for check-out and departure tomorrow.
Day
10
Program Concludes
Location:
Grand Teton National Park and Jackson Hole Valley Wyoming
Meals:
B
Activity Note
Hotel check-out 11am
Breakfast:
Enjoy breakfast at the historic Jackson Lake Lodge or arrange for a grab and go breakfast.
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Please Note:
This program has itinerary variations on certain dates.
Aug 17 - Aug 26, 2025 Itinerary Differences:
This date is a one-way itinerary beginning in Rapid City, SD and ending in Jackson, WY: includes highlights such as Sanford Underground Research Facility, Historic Deadwood, Heart Mountain Japanese Internment WWII site, Cowboy Music Show, and an additional day in Yellowstone National Park. This itinerary reduces driving distance by 500 miles.
Unfortunately, the National Park service has recently notified Road Scholar that The Battle of the Little Big Horn National Monument will be closed due to two large construction projects on the date we had scheduled to visit. We have added a visit to the Big Horn County Historical Museum in its place.