Austin, TX to Black Hills, South Dakota

[cgaskins]

Hello all. I have finished my summer trip planning our trip from Austin, Texas to the Black Hills area of South Dakota.


We make the run from Austin to Colorado almost every year so my wife wants a couple of days in Estes Park, CO before we head up to the Black Hills.

The part of the trip I would like input on is from Estes Park to Black Hills (4th Leg of the trip). The plan at this is to take I25 North to Cheyenne and then take US 85 North to US 18. Then take US 18 east into South Dakota. Near Hot Springs, SD take SD 89 North to US 385. Then take US 385 North all the way to Hill City.

For the return trip to Texas (5th Leg) of the trip, I was planning on taking US 385 South from Hill City down to Hot Springs, SD, then to Chadron, Nebraska then continue on US 385 South to Alliance, Bridgeport, then to Sidney, NE. From Sidney, take 19/113 to Serling, Colorado. From Sterling take Colorado 63 to US 36 East to CO 59 South down to US 287 in Kit Carson. Then take US 287 into Lamar, CO.

Any thoughts on input on this?

Regards,
Chris

 

[jmgratz]

Take a look at www.mobilerving.com for your trip planning. It will show you a great route as well as great RV Parks along the way. It is free and works great.

 

[Gary521]

Try I-25 all the way to US 18 and then US 18 to Lusk on the way up to the Black Hills.

 

[mayflower]

Chris, Last spring we made the trip from Lubbock to the Black Hills, SD by way of hwy. 385 all the way up. We wanted to avoid Colorado's mountains. Traveled I-90 east across SD to Sioux Falls with many things to see along that trail. On return trip from Sioux Falls down on hwy. 81, which turned into I-35 around Salina, Kansas. We started scooting over to Liberal, KS from there to hwy. 87/I-27 back to Lubbock.
Great trip...recommend it highly!
Also, you should check out Hart Ranch RV Resort in Rapid City, SD...wonderful place to camp.

 

[TravelTiger]

Ft Worth to Austin on I-35 is a mess of construction, just be aware the finished parts are great, but what's not can be white knuckle.


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[cgaskins]

Thanks everyone. I appreciate the comments and help.

-Chris

 

[scottyb]

Chris, I avoid I-35 like the plague. If your are going through Wichita Falls, I strongly suggest US 281, unless you have to be in DFW for some reason. Coffee Creek RV Park is on the right just past I-20, and is a nice place to stay, and a HOC host park as well. We only live a few miles from 281, but there are several means of accessing it as you head north. Good luck and enjoy your trip. The Black Hills is on my short list of places to visit.

 

[cgaskins]

Scotty. Hey. Unfortunately, I have to go to Denton, TX first to pick up my daughter from UNT Orientation. I am contemplating taking 281 up instead of I35. I appreciate the advice.

-Chris

 

[BLHFUN]

Hello all. I have finished my summer trip planning our trip from Austin, Texas to the Black Hills area of South Dakota.
View attachment 35047

We make the run from Austin to Colorado almost every year so my wife wants a couple of days in Estes Park, CO before we head up to the Black Hills.

The part of the trip I would like input on is from Estes Park to Black Hills (4th Leg of the trip). The plan at this is to take I25 North to Cheyenne and then take US 85 North to US 18. Then take US 18 east into South Dakota. Near Hot Springs, SD take SD 89 North to US 385. Then take US 385 North all the way to Hill City.

For the return trip to Texas (5th Leg) of the trip, I was planning on taking US 385 South from Hill City down to Hot Springs, SD, then to Chadron, Nebraska then continue on US 385 South to Alliance, Bridgeport, then to Sidney, NE. From Sidney, take 19/113 to Serling, Colorado. From Sterling take Colorado 63 to US 36 East to CO 59 South down to US 287 in Kit Carson. Then take US 287 into Lamar, CO.

Any thoughts on input on this?

Regards,
Chris

Chris, what program are you using in this picture?

 

[cgaskins]

Chris, what program are you using in this picture?

Hi. I put the route in Google Maps (using the multiple destinations feature). Then I do a screen capture of the map to an image file. After that I just placed the image in PowerPoint and used the callouts to insert the comments. Once that was done, I just exported the PPT slide to a JPG. You don't have to use PowerPoint, you can use LibreOffice, Keynote, or even Google Drive's Slides feature.

-Chris

 

[rjr6150]

Chris
I see your planning on staying at the Rafter in Hill City, SD. I might suppest asking for the Island area. All the sites are back-in and have FHU. They are large and private.

 

[Kbvols]

Chris
I see your planning on staying at the Rafter in Hill City, SD. I might suppest asking for the Island area. All the sites are back-in and have FHU. They are large and private.

We are going to Rafter J's this summer and have a site reserved in I believe the line camp area. It is approx 100 yds from pool. Are you familiar with this area? Site is back in FHU supposed to be shaded?


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[rjr6150]

We are going to Rafter J's this summer and have a site reserved in I believe the line camp area. It is approx 100 yds from pool. Are you familiar with this area? Site is back in FHU supposed to be shaded?


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Keith
i believe Line Camp is below the Island area and yes is shaded. Evidently Rafter no longer has the site map showing. Our unit is in storage and if I remember correctly I have a brochure showing the different areas. Will try and get over there this week to check. If so I'll scan and send it to you.

Really not a bad site in the place. We just prefer the Island due to larger sites though it is a good walk to the pool.

 

[avvidclif]

Chris, you didn't say when you are making the trip. If it's the first part of August during the Sturgis Rally you might be surprised to find there are no vacancies around the Sturgis, Rapid City area. At least that's the way it was when I made my pilgrimage to Sturgis several years ago. I rode BTW.

 

[cgaskins]

Chris, you didn't say when you are making the trip. If it's the first part of August during the Sturgis Rally you might be surprised to find there are no vacancies around the Sturgis, Rapid City area. At least that's the way it was when I made my pilgrimage to Sturgis several years ago. I rode BTW.

We will be there the first 2 weeks of July - definitely avoiding the bikers.

-Chrfis

 

[BLHFUN]

Hi. I put the route in Google Maps (using the multiple destinations feature). Then I do a screen capture of the map to an image file. After that I just placed the image in PowerPoint and used the callouts to insert the comments. Once that was done, I just exported the PPT slide to a JPG. You don't have to use PowerPoint, you can use LibreOffice, Keynote, or even Google Drive's Slides feature.

-Chris

Ok. That make sense! So. Pretty sure we just found a new APP idea. It would be nice to have that ability without all the work. I'm on it!!!! Have fun on your trip!

 

[JohnD]

We were in South Dakota the week before the Sturgis Rally 2013 and headed home the day (Saturday) before it started.

Our route back to Colorado was exactly the same route you have planned . . . at least to Sterling and I-76 in Colorado!

Make sure you stop in Chadron and fill up, as there are NO gas stations until you get to Alliance, Nebraska!

We know this as we skipped the gas stop in Chadron as there were 100 bikers and RV's in line at the one and only gas station we saw, so we figured we'd stop at the next town!

NOT!

Let me put it this way . . . we were driving into a serious thunder and hail storm with massively strong winds coming from the south and had 3/4 of a tank, but ran out of gas 17 miles short of making Alliance . . . where the next gas station was!

About 80 miles . . .

That was the day our Good Sam's Roadside Assistance Card paid for itself . . .

We had a nice lunch in the trailer while waiting 2-hours for our gas to arrive.

That being said, we stayed in Custer, SD for eight nights and checked out Mt. Rushmoore, Crazy Horse, Deadwood, Sturgis, Custer State Park, Jewel Cave, Flintstones Bedrock Park, Devil's Tower, Wall Drug and the Badlands . . . and much more!

The route you have chosen to take home is mostly 2-lane roads, not 4-lane highway, so will make the trip longer!

But when you pass through Sidney, Nebraska, you'll drive right by the main store (and headquarters for Cabela's) . . . and they have an RV park there in case you want to stay overnight!

We know about that as my Rand McNally GPS unit put us in their parking lot instead of on the highway toward home!

Here are some shots from that trip (last shot is us out of gas out in middle of Nowheresville, Nebraska):



We plan on going back up there in the next couple of years . . .

I'm just happy that my new truck has a much larger gas tank!

 

[cgaskins]

We were in South Dakota the week before the Sturgis Rally 2013 and headed home the day (Saturday) before it started.

Our route back to Colorado was exactly the same route you have planned . . . at least to Sterling and I-76 in Colorado!

Make sure you stop in Chadron and fill up, as there are NO gas stations until you get to Alliance, Nebraska!

We know this as we skipped the gas stop in Chadron as there were 100 bikers and RV's in line at the one and only gas station we saw, so we figured we'd stop at the next town!

NOT!

Let me put it this way . . . we were driving into a serious thunder and hail storm with massively strong winds coming from the south and had 3/4 of a tank, but ran out of gas 17 miles short of making Alliance . . . where the next gas station was!

About 80 miles . . .

That was the day our Good Sam's Roadside Assistance Card paid for itself . . .

We had a nice lunch in the trailer while waiting 2-hours for our gas to arrive.

That being said, we stayed in Custer, SD for eight nights and checked out Mt. Rushmoore, Crazy Horse, Deadwood, Sturgis, Custer State Park, Jewel Cave, Flintstones Bedrock Park, Devil's Tower, Wall Drug and the Badlands . . . and much more!

The route you have chosen to take home is mostly 2-lane roads, not 4-lane highway, so will make the trip longer!

But when you pass through Sidney, Nebraska, you'll drive right by the main store (and headquarters for Cabela's) . . . and they have an RV park there in case you want to stay overnight!

We know about that as my Rand McNally GPS unit put us in their parking lot instead of on the highway toward home!

John,

Thanks for the info, tips and photos. I am not worried about fuel so much as I replaced the OEM fuel tank on my Ford Super Duty with a 50 gallon Titan tank. I typically average between 10 and 11 MPG so it is easily a 450 to 500 mile range - basically the maximum amount I would ever drive in a day. However, I will make sure that when I go through Nebraska I have plenty of fuel.

Where did you stay in Custer? We are staying at Rafter J Bar in Hill City.

We are excited about the trip.

-Chris

 

[cookie]

John,


Where did you stay in Custer? We are staying at Rafter J Bar in Hill City.

We are excited about the trip.

-Chris

We have stayed at Rafter J Bar several times. Like it.
They have a tent by the office that serves sausage and pancakes every morning.
If you make the trip to the Badlands, and have the time, check out the Minuteman Missile site.
Tickets are required and can be picked up near the entrance to the Badlands.

Peace
Dave

Peace
Dave

 

[JohnD]

John,

Thanks for the info, tips and photos. I am not worried about fuel so much as I replaced the OEM fuel tank on my Ford Super Duty with a 50 gallon Titan tank. I typically average between 10 and 11 MPG so it is easily a 450 to 500 mile range - basically the maximum amount I would ever drive in a day. However, I will make sure that when I go through Nebraska I have plenty of fuel.

Where did you stay in Custer? We are staying at Rafter J Bar in Hill City.

We are excited about the trip.

-Chris

We stayed at Big Pine Campground about a mile west of downtown Custer, SD.

It was a great place to stay with lots of shade and close enough to town that when you needed something it was just five minutes away!

http://www.bigpinecampground.com/index.html