Exploring the Wild West & Big Sky Country by Car (Two Week Itinerary Sample)

(Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota, Colorado, Utah)

My husband and I take at least one big U.S. road trip each year which focuses on a theme and specific region. We are working our way through America one major geographic section at a time.

Last May (2021), we traveled from our home in Southern California on the West Coast and drove east and north through the states of Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, and Montana. The focus of this road trip was to see the “Wild West” and experience the “Big Sky” of the northern plains.

Since we live in Southern California, our itinerary begins and ends from there. However, you can use this as a boilerplate and tweak it to fit your own geographic staring point.

If you plan to fly and rent a car rather than drive from your hometown, I suggest selecting a city that makes the most sense for you to fly into, depending on where you live. You can then do a loop, beginning and ending in one destination, or start in Utah in the west and move east to South Dakota or start in South Dakota and work your way west. (We included South Dakota in this trip because Mt. Rushmore was on our bucket list of places to see and shares a border with Wyoming, one of our key states to visit.)

Whatever you choose, I recommend you visit the places I’m including on the itinerary to get a full sense of the upper, Western United States. You can add or subtract nights depending on your priorities and allotted time. If we had more time, we would have spent more days in Montana, including a drive north to Glacier National Park, as well as visiting Missoula and Great Falls. (Goals for our next visit.)

When planning road trips, I generally try to limit our driving time between destinations to an average of six hours (or less) because it is easy to do in a day without getting tired. It also allows for stops along the way. If you are just trying to get from Point A to Point B, by all means cover more miles. (Also, some stretches may be longer to get to a town that has overnight accommodations.)

As far as accommodations go, unless we are trying to stay in a local hotel or inn that is unique to the area or has historical significance, we most often stay at Marriott properties. Because we are Marriott Bonvoy Rewards members and use our Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Chase credit card for most of our purchases year-round, we earn a lot of points to use on trips for free nights and/or room upgrades. Using points not only cuts down on hotel expenses, but enables us to splurge at other properties.

For one-night stays, when we basically just need a place to sleep, I most often opt for a Courtyard Marriott (or Fairfield Inn or Springhill Suites). These are minimum service properties that provide the basics. For longer stays, I most often choose a Residence Inn or a Marriott resort depending on our needs. For instance, we like that Residence Inn rooms always have a kitchen, outdoor BBQ area, and laundry facilities, which is good around the midpoint in our trip when we are wanting some homecooked food and need to wash clothes. If we are looking for some R & R or want the extra amenities a larger property offers, we may opt for a J.W. Marriott, Westin, Sheraton, Autograph Collection (boutique hotels) or even a Ritz Carlton (all part of Bonvoy’s portfolio of properties). Plus, whether you use points or cash, members earn 6x the points for every dollar to use for future stays.

I’m partial to the Marriott brand, but you can also do this with other property chains that offer membership benefits and credit cards.

As you may have gathered, I am not a fan of camping or “roughing it.” My husband and I are at an age and stage in life where a nice, comfortable hotel room is key to us getting a good night’s sleep. Plus, we like having amenities such as a hot tub to soak in after a long day of sightseeing.

If you like to camp or want to spend less on accommodations, you can still use the itinerary as a rough guide of destinations and ignore my recommendations for places to stay.

	​Here's a peek at a Two-Week Itinerary for our Wild West/Big Sky Road Trip
DAY 1	Drove from Southern California to ZION NATIONAL PARK in Utah
DAY 2	Drove through ZION NATIONAL PARK and BRYCE CANYON on the way to GRAND JUNCTION, Colorado
DAY 3	Drove through the COLORADO ROCKIES on the way to FORT COLLINS, Colorado
DAY 4	Drove across the plains of south Wyoming to RAPID CITY, South Dakota, visiting CHEYENNE and FORT LARAMIE NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE along the wa
DAY 5	Visited MT. RUSHMORE and drove through the BADLANDS in South Dakota
DAY 6	Drove to CODY, Wyoming, with stops in STURGIS, South Dakota, and SHERIDAN, Wyoming
DAY 7	Drove through parts of YELLOWSTONE on route to PRAY, Montana
DAY 8	Went FLY FISHING in a stream with a local guide
DAY 9	Visited LIVINGSTON, Montana, then relaxed at SAGE LODGE
DAY 10	Drove through parts of YELLOWSTONE on route to JACKSON HOLE, Wyoming, with a stop at GRIZZLY & WOLF DISCOVERY CENTER near the western entrance of YELLOWSTONE
DAY 11	Visited GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK
DAY 12	Drove to DUBOIS, WY, and toured the NATIONAL MUSEUM OF MILITARY VEHICLES
DAY 13	Explored JACKSON HOLE
​DAY 14	Drove through Idaho on the way to CEDAR CITY, Utah (HALFWAY HOME)
DAY 15	Drove home to Southern California through Nevada
	Be sure to check out my more detailed itinerary, including points of interest, tips, and accommodation recommendations.

Our Road Trip By the Numbers:

• Drove 3,500 miles through 8 states

• Visited 7 national parks

• Crossed the Continental Divide 4 times

• Went as high as 11,990 feet

• Experienced 1 snowstorm (with temps as cold as 31 degrees) and 1 major rainstorm with thunder and lightning

• Saw 20+ rainbows in the span of 1 hour

• Learned 1 new skill: flyfishing

• Checked 2 items off our Bucket list (flyfishing and Mt. Rushmore)

• Encountered 10 different species of wildlife, including wolves, elk, bison, bears and bald eagles

• Counted 37 different state license plates

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The Good

• Most Unique Experience: Flyfishing in a Montana

• Most Surprising: Mt. Rushmore (our expectations were low)

• Most Patriotic: National Museum of Military Vehicles in Dubois, Wyoming

• Most Dramatic Scenery: Zion National Park & Bryce Canyon

• Most Unique National Park: Badlands (truly other-worldly)

• Most Interesting Dining Experience: Saloon in Chugwater, WY

• Most Historic Accommodations: Chamberlin Inn in Cody, WY

• Favorite Town: Jackson Hole, Wyoming

• Favorite Accommodations: Sage Lodge in Pray, Montana

• Favorite National Park: Grand Teton

• Favorite Stretch of Highway: Between Rapid City, SD and Cody, WY

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The Bad

• Most Stressful: almost running out of gas on a long stretch on I-70 East between Hwy 72 and the Colorado border (which was also the most boring scenery)

• Most Stressful Runner Up: getting lost on a reservation

• Most Disappointing: Not getting to see “Old Faithful” due to large crowds in Yellowstone

• Least Favorite Town: Grand Junction, Colorado