This trip will take you through lower and upper peninsulas of Michigan and through the northern states of WI, MN, ND, MT and WY to Yellowstone National Park. The route home takes the southern states of SD, NE, IL and IN back to Michigan. Here is a link for up-to-date state by state restrictions. https://ballotpedia.org/Travelrestrictionsissuedbystatesinresponsetothecoronavirus(COVID-19)pandemic,2020 I highly recommend skimming through my blog for tips and ideas. Housey trip to Yellowstone: https://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Housey5/Trips/31767
Birmingham, MI US
Tuesday 28th-It is a 5hr 42 min.drive to T. Falls.
Tuesday 28th, Wednesday 29, Thursday 30- TF to McLain 4 hrs 31 min. Set up camp and explore campground. Looks like here is some exploring to do on the point like the Whitefish Point Lighthouse (40 min). If you decide to head into sault St. Marie (1 hr. 30 min). Antlers restaurant is a kooky little place that we’ve been to.
Mcclain State Park Road, Hancock, Michigan, United States
Thursday 30, Friday 31, Saturday 1, Sunday 2- McClain to Burnsville is 6 hrs 50 min.
Burnsville, Minnesota, United States
Sunday 2, Monday 3- You could pop into the Mall of America. It is pretty cool. It has a Nickelodeon Amusement Park inside with big rides. Neat to see. For lunch?
10410 Brockton Lane North, Maple Grove, MN, US
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Big Chief Road, Fergus Falls, Minnesota, United States
Possible gas stop. The Fergus Falls Continental Divide Marker. Found it by accident. It is on Roadside America. It is where the water on one side flows one way, the water on the other side flows the other way. Kind of cool. https://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/12824
Monday 3- Bismarck ND to Medora is 2 hrs. Camp in Medora for a couple of nights.
Medora, North Dakota, United States
Monday 3, Tuesday 4- It is a cool town in the Teddy Roosevelt National Park. Things to do. https://medora.com/trnp/ Campground: https://medora.com/stay/camping/medora-campground/ I put these things on here because I think if you are interested, you need to keep an eye and book before its sold out. It is very popular.
Medora to Gardiner- 6.5 hours.
https://medora.com/stay/camping/medora-campground/
Tuesday 4-5 hrs 21 min. To Livingston. Fonda’s, Margot kidder, Arnold Sch., john mayor all have houses there. The night before we got there, john mayor played a free concert in town.
Side trip from Gardiner, MT. Bozeman is a great town in MT. Great restaurants. If you like sushi, eat at Dave’s Sushi. Best we ever had. Recommended by a waitress at another restaurant. We didn’t spend a ton of time there.
Tuesday 4, Wednesday 5, Thursday 6, Friday 7- 6.5 hours to Gardiner from Medora. You should stay in Gardiner so you are close to the North Gate. It is a huge drive to just see Yellowstone. YOu want less driving. Cool little town where locals who work at Yellowtone live.
There is a campground on Yellowstone lake but it appears to be closed until 2021.
Friday 7, Saturday 8-Medora to Cody is 6 hrs. 21 min. I would camp on the way or within Yellowstone. It is 1 hr from Cody to Yellowstone Lake. When we went to Grand Canyon, we stayed halfway between GC and Sedona, about an hour each way. We spent a day in GC and a day in Sedona. You could drive in a couple times to YS and spend time in Cody. I will share things to do there. Reserve your campground: https://www.recreation.gov/search?lat=42.54174041748047&lng=-83.25309753417969&latsw=44.147818552321894&lngsw=-110.18930998940532&latne=44.75657371019665&lngne=-109.31853453191977&inventorytype=camping&inventorytype=dayuse
Banner Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Dean Franklin
VanGogh50States- Amber Housey
Wife, mother of three, author and family road trip expert. Let me plan your next family road trip with personalized attention to detail.