September 2017 Road Trip: Chicago to Whitefish, MT

[07V8]

My wife and I are taking a road trip from Chicago to Whitefish, MT in the middle of September next year. We're going to a friends wedding.

I'm looking to put a preliminary itinerary together since we'll be staying in hotels and AirBnBs the entire way.

We're thinking of taking 4-5 days on the way there, staying in Whitefish for 3 days then ripping it home in 2 days. All in I'm looking at a week of vacation (Monday-Friday) and the weekends on both ends. The reality of it is we're going to want to get home ASAP after the wedding so I'm not planning any stops - just two big days of driving.

If we make the trip in 4 or 5 days, that's about 5-6 hours of driving and half a day for activities in the various spots.

Some of the things that I want to check out on the way are follows.Any half day activities at each location that you could recommend would be appreciated!

Mount Rushmore
Badlands
Beartooth Highway
Northern Part of Yellowstone
Jackson Hole (if we have time)
Glacier NP

I drove around the country when I graduated college (in my 4R) and have seen lots of places but did not make it to Montana at all other than Yellowstone. I'd like to make it back to the Grand Tetons because they were incredible.

Have any of you made a similar drive? What scenery do you recommend stopping and seeing? Any killer roads similar to Beartooth Highway?

One of my all time favorite pictures from last time..

Thanks in advance!

 

[olegrad]

I live in the Twin Cities and did a trip to Glacier NP this summer (been to Yellowstone and Grand Teton the previous two summers). My advice...completing your ititnary in 9 days is doable, but you'll be rushing everything. But that also depends on what you plan to do (hike to some of the hidden gems or just simply drive through main attractions). I'm like you when it comes to returning home...we drove 18 hours straight from Glacier to Minneapolis.

 

[07V8]

I live in the Twin Cities and did a trip to Glacier NP this summer (been to Yellowstone and Grand Teton the previous two summers). My advice...completing your ititnary in 9 days is doable, but you'll be rushing everything. But that also depends on what you plan to do (hike to some of the hidden gems or just simply drive through main attractions). I'm like you when it comes to returning home...we drove 18 hours straight from Glacier to Minneapolis.

I thought about it more last night....I'm thinking we get to Jackson in 2 days of hard driving then spend 2-3 nights in Jackson walking around the Tetons and Yellowstone. From there, we can head to GNP and spend 1-2 nights. Lastly, 2 nights in Whitefish for the wedding and then 2 days home.

 

[blackfc3s]

Just move to Whitefish. Gods country. Big Sky country. Canada very close. :canada: :usa:

As you can tell, I miss whitefish very much. Good luck and enjoy your time.

 

[RonJR]

Jackson, Wyo is a long way from Yellowstone - it'll take you the better part of 2 hours to get from Jackson to the interesting parts of Yellowstone. I'd recommend camping up at Colter Bay in Teton NP for a more central location.

Plus, Jackson is Wyoming's answer to Aspen, CO. A bit expensive and snooty for my tastes. YMMV.

If it was me I'd spend one night at the Tetons and then move up to Grant Village or West Thumb in Yellowstone for the 2nd night. That way you can roll out at 6:00 a.m. and see the park before the rest of the tourists wake up. Watching the mist rise over the Yellowstone River with elk bugling on the hillside just after sun-up is special!