Hi there!
So you want to go to Mount Rushmore and Grand Teton National Park!
It’s a South Dakota to Wyoming road trip!
In September and October 2021, I did a road trip from Mount Rushmore to Grand Teton National Park, and beyond.
It took me 6 days to drive from Mount Rushmore to Grand Teton National Park.
That is one way, from leaving Mount Rushmore to the day of entering Grand Teton National Park for the first time.
No, it doesn’t need to take you 6 days to drive from Mount Rushmore to Grand Teton National Park!
How long is the drive from Mount Rushmore to Grand Teton National Park?
Driving directly, it might take around 7.5 hours of driving time from Mount Rushmore to Grand Teton National Park.
Explore the map.
So, for many people, it would be considered doable to drive from Mount Rushmore to Grand Teton National Park in one day.
But of course, there are many different ways you can do this drive depending on your time and interests!
In which case, you may want to at least take a few days to drive from Mount Rushmore to Grand Teton National Park.
Below will show you one driving route to start to give you some ideas… the way I did it… if you want to break up the drive and spend more time along the way!
Download offline maps before you go!
It’s quite possible that you will have minimal data in some places as you are driving to Grand Teton National Park.
It will be best to download offline google maps before you go.
If you’ll be doing some day hikes in Wyoming, see the best apps for hiking in Wyoming.
More below for ideas on driving from Mount Rushmore to Grand Teton!
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Now…
What is there to see between Mount Rushmore and Grand Teton National Park?
Explore the map.
1. Mount Rushmore National Memorial
On a perfect road trip, you would start your drive along Iron Mountain Road just to the (south)east of Mount Rushmore National Memorial. (map)
This way you drive through the Iron Mountain Road tunnels that frame the Mount Rushmore president faces off in the distance! It’s a tunnel view of Mount Rushmore!
And then you will drive into Mount Rushmore National Memorial. You can actually see the Mount Rushmore presidents from the road while you’re driving, but to get even closer to the presidents, you’ll want to go to the Mount Rushmore parking lot for $10 a car.
Then you can walk the Avenue of the Flags and Presidential Trail to get a closer look at the presidents than you would from the car.
Then, after you’ve gotten your fill of Mount Rushmore presidents, you will be driving west out of Mount Rushmore to get to Wyoming.
Be on the lookout for the George Washington face as you are driving for one last look at a Mount Rushmore president!
And then you’ll really be on your way to leave Mount Rushmore behind.
You’ll be driving through Black Hills National Forest.
If you are looking for a picnic spot, you will pass by the Breezy Point picnic area in Black Hills National Forest shortly after leaving Mount Rushmore National Memorial.
See more about planning your Mount Rushmore to Grand Teton road trip: Things to do in Mount Rushmore National Memorial
Day trips from Mount Rushmore area
If you will be staying in the Black Hills and Mount Rushmore area for a few days before you start driving to Grand Teton National Park, then here are some possible half day or day trips from the Mount Rushmore area:
- Custer State Park
- Wind Cave National Park
- Jewel Cave National Monument
- Things to do in the Black Hills for views
For places to stay in the Black Hills, you can also stay in South Dakota state park camping cabins.
2. Spearfish Canyon
Driving directions: Mount Rushmore to Savoy SD to Spearfish SD
There are 2 main scenic routes that you can take to get from Mount Rushmore to Devils Tower. (Devil’s Tower is next on the list!)
On this particular road trip from Mount Rushmore to Grand Teton National Park that started in September, I chose to drive through Spearfish Canyon. (On a previous trip to South Dakota in August I had driven the alternate road, when I had yet to drive Spearfish Canyon!)
The Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway is one of the popular scenic drives in South Dakota.
You can stop by Spearfish Canyon waterfalls along the way.
For reference on a map, you can think of the Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway as being from Savoy SD to Spearfish SD.
Savoy is to the south, Spearfish is to the north.
So if you’re coming from Mount Rushmore, you can do the drive from south (Savoy) to north (Spearfish). (map)
Once you are in Savoy, you may also want to make a little detour to drive Roughlock Falls Road.
This is another nice scenic drive. Along Roughlock Falls Road, you can also access a nature trail that will take you to some waterfalls and a stream.
You may also be interested in hiking to Spearfish Falls. (Although parking is not very good for that. It will be best to park at the first trailhead parking lot you come across on Roughlock Falls Road, and then walk back to the Spearfish Falls trailhead.)
The Spearfish Canyon drive can be just about the drive, or there are small pullover areas as you are driving along for you to stop off at.
See more options on your driving route from Mount Rushmore to Grand Teton: Driving from Mount Rushmore to Devils Tower
3. Devils Tower National Monument
Driving directions: Spearfish SD to Devils Tower National Monument
Devils Tower is famous for its iconic towering rock formation.
Many people make it a day trip to Devils Tower from South Dakota, and it can also be a perfect stop to make when driving from Mount Rushmore to Grand Teton.
If you only want to dedicate 1-2 hours to Devils Tower, that’s completely reasonable.
There are some quick things to do at Devils Tower.
I did an overnight at a hotel near Devils Tower. (Best Western Devils Tower Inn in Hulett WY – reviews)
Then I did 1 night at the Devils Tower campground.
Mount Rushmore to Devils Tower is around a 2.5 hour drive. (map)
Devils Tower to Grand Teton National Park is around a 7 hour drive. (map)
See more about planning your Mount Rushmore to Grand Teton road trip:
4. Driving through Bighorn National Forest on the Cloud Peak Skyway (Wyoming)
Driving directions: Buffalo WY to Tensleep WY
Along with being along the way to Grand Teton National Park, the Cloud Peak Skyway is along the way to Yellowstone National Park.
And it’s said to be the scenic route for the drive from Devils Tower to Yellowstone, and it’s also said to be the route with the least grade.
The Cloud Peak Skyway is a drive from Buffalo WY to Tensleep WY, and it will take you through Bighorn National Forest. You will also end up driving through the Tensleep Canyon.
The highest point you will get by driving the Cloud Peak Skyway is 9,666 feet as you are driving the Powder River Pass.
Driving from Buffalo to Tensleep without stops will take you less than 1.5 hours.
You can also take it even more slowly along the Cloud Peak Skyway by spending the night in Bighorn National Forest if you can manage to book a Wyoming national forest cabin!
There are chain hotels in Buffalo WY.
If you’re up for a solid day hike in Wyoming, the road to the West Tensleep trailhead is off of the Cloud Peak Skyway.
Mount Rushmore to Buffalo WY is around a 3.5 hour drive. (map)
Buffalo WY to Grand Teton National Park is around a 5.5 hour drive. (map)
See more about planning your Mount Rushmore to Grand Teton road trip:
5. Wind River Canyon Scenic Byway (Wyoming)
Driving directions: Thermopolis WY to Shoshoni WY
If you will be driving the Cloud Peak Scenic Byway then you will next naturally end up on the Wind River Canyon Scenic Byway to get to Grand Teton.
Yes, this is a scenic drive along a river through a canyon!
Next up, shortly after Shoshoni WY, you will pass through Riverton WY, which is a “major” city in Wyoming.
There are chain hotels in Riverton WY… and there’s also a Walmart if you need to load up on food and/or supplies!
Mount Rushmore to Riverton WY is around a 5.5 hour drive. (map)
Riverton WY to Grand Teton National Park is around a 2.5 hour drive. (map) You will drive through 2 national forests (listed below!) in order to get the remaining way to Grand Teton National Park with no detour necessary!
6. Driving through Shoshone National Forest (Wyoming)
No detour necessary to drive through Shoshone National Forest if you have been following the driving route above!
But, again, if you’d like to make a stop, then you might be interested in driving to Brooks Lake!
Aside from seeing Brooks Lake, which you can drive right up to (there is also a small campground along the lake), you can also hike in Shoshone National Forest to Jade Lake.
The Jade Lakes Trail goes to 2 lakes. Going to both of them is around a 5.5 mile hike. You might want to give yourself around 3 hours for the hike.
7. Driving through Bridger-Teton National Forest (Wyoming)
And then Shoshone National Forest connects to Bridger-Teton National Forest, so once again no detour necessary.
You can drive with distant views of the Teton mountain range for your first glimpse of the Tetons!
8. Moran WY
Now, this is not exactly a “stop” to make (I did not do anything notable in the town of Moran itself, besides sleep), but Moran WY can be a reference point on a map as a gateway town of Grand Teton National Park when you are driving through the Wyoming national forests mentioned above.
The main gateway town of Grand Teton National Park is Jackson WY or Jackson Hole. The hotels there are quite expensive though.
So I was happy to find a budget room at the Hatchet Resort* located in Moran WY.
*Partner website to read the reviews and look at cost.
It was also a perfect location to stay in terms of this driving route to get to Grand Teton. (map)
It was located on the main road right outside of Bridger Teton National Forest, and it’s about a 10 minute drive to the Moran entrance and the Grand Teton Scenic Loop Drive. (More on that next!)
9. Grand Teton National Park (Wyoming)
You’ve made it to Grand Teton National Park!!
The 42-mile Grand Teton Scenic Loop Drive is the scenic drive of Grand Teton National Park.
Along the way you will also pass by the turn-off for Jenny Lake Scenic Drive.
And then hiking in Grand Teton National Park is also a thing.
There are shorter hikes (hiking from the Taggart Lake trailhead for example), and there are longer hikes (hiking from the Lupine Meadows trailhead for example).
For Grand Teton National Park, the most popular gateway town is Jackson WY or Jackson Hole.
See more about planning your Mount Rushmore to Grand Teton road trip:
- Best things to do in Grand Teton National Park
- Driving through Grand Teton National Park
- How to spend one day in Grand Teton National Park
Driving from Grand Teton National Park
Grand Teton and Yellowstone are connected.
So moving on from Grand Teton National Park, it can be perfect to drive to Yellowstone National Park next!
You can make your first major stop in Yellowstone the West Thumb Geyser Basin.
This is a Yellowstone geyser basin where you can see many thermal features with a lakeside walk along Yellowstone Lake.
👆 It can be perfect to drive from Mount Rushmore to Grand Teton National Park to Yellowstone! There are over 10,000 hydrothermal features in Yellowstone National Park! This includes more than 500 geysers! This means that there are truly so many things to do in Yellowstone National Park!
See more about planning your Mount Rushmore to Grand Teton to Yellowstone road trip:
- Driving from Grand Teton to Yellowstone
- Best things to do in Yellowstone National Park
- How to spend one day in Yellowstone National Park
And that’s one way you can drive from Mount Rushmore to Grand Teton National Park!
More for your Mount Rushmore to Grand Teton road trip planning:
- Best places to visit in Wyoming
- Wyoming national forest cabins
- Best places to visit in South Dakota
- Campgrounds in South Dakota
And, after Grand Teton National Park, maybe you want to keep heading west to Idaho and Craters of the Moon National Monument! And then you can make the return trip back east along southern Wyoming and drive through Medicine Bow National Forest and the Snowy Range Scenic Byway!
Or, after Grand Teton National Park maybe you want to loop back around and make the return trip to the east with a detour through North Dakota to go to another national park! (map) In which case…
HAPPY DRIVING FROM MOUNT RUSHMORE TO GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK!
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