The Custer Trail

Click the (city) on the map for a detaliled daily itinerary.

1. Medora, ND
2. Billings
3. Red Lodge
4. Yellowstone National Park
5. Yellowstone National Park
6. Bozeman
7. Bismark, ND

Day One

Start the day with a tour of the North Dakota State Skyscraper Capitol and Heritage Center on the capitol grounds. Enjoy a riverboat ride on the Missouri River aboard the Lewis and Clark Riverboat, followed by a trolley ride to Fort Lincoln State Park. Tour a museum, take an authentic wagon ride, and tour the On-A-Slant Indian Village, Fort McKeen infantry blockhouses on the river bluffs, and the Custer House. Return to Bismarck via the trolley and riverboat ride. Depart in the late afternoon via I-94 to Medora, the south entrance to Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Stop along the way at Painted Canyon Overlook for a spectacular panoramic view of the Badlands.

Overnight in Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

Day Two

Following breakfast, tour the visitor center and then see the park via a circle tour drive. Finish with a tour of the elegant 26-room Chateau de Mores, home of a French nobleman. After a chuckwagon lunch, depart for Montana on I-94. The first stop in Montana is the Range Riders Museum and Memorial Hall in Miles City, which houses one of the finest collections of cattle and cowboy lore. Continue on I-94 to Billings for dinner.

Overnight in Billings.

Day Three

Start the day with a tour of downtown Billings, then depart for the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. The monument memorializes one of the last armed efforts of the Northern Plains Indians to preserve their ancestral way of life. Return to Billings for lunch, then head west on I-94 to US 212 to Red Lodge, a charming alpine town nestled in the foothills of the Beartooth Mountains.

Overnight in Red Lodge.

Day Four

Begin the day with a drive over the Beartooth Highway and enjoy some of the world's most breathtaking and magnificent mountain scenery. This stretch of highway has been described as the most beautiful drive in America by former CBS news correspondent Charles Kuralt. Arrive in Yellowstone National Park at the Cooke City entrance. Finish the day touring Yellowstone.

Overnight in Yellowstone National Park.

Day Five

Continue the tour of Yellowstone. Enjoy dramatic scenery, abundant wildlife, rushing water, and natural thermal wonders.

Overnight in West Yellowstone.

Day Six

Depart from Yellowstone by the West Yellowstone entrance. Before leaving West Yellowstone, visit the Yellowstone IMAX Theatre and Grizzly Discovery Center. Then travel US 191 through the Gallatin Valley to Bozeman. Tour the Museum of the Rockies, which includes dinosaur, Plains Indian and pioneer artifacts, and Western art exhibits.

Overnight in Bozeman.

Day Seven

Bozeman to Bismarck via I-94.

Home | Additional Vacation Info |