The drive from Cody to Rapid City (or vice versa) is often part of road trips in the Great American West since there are many miles that separate Yellowstone, the Grand Teton, the Black Hills, and Mount Rushmore, which are the most visited parks in this region.
We are talking about more than 373 miles of driving between the two cities, requiring at least one overnight stay and too often they become mere stops between one area and another (with the sole exception of Devils Tower, another must see in the region). Is this really the case? Should we resign ourselves to experiencing this long commute as just a section of a trip? Or are there stops or attractions that can embellish the travel experience and are worth incorporating into the route, perhaps including an overnight stay along the way?
In this article, I will not lay out an itinerary for you to follow. Rather we will look at the possible routes to travel from Cody to Rapid City and the stops that await you on each route, so that you can choose for yourself which route to take and where to stop.
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Cody to Rapid City: Routes and distances
There are notable attractions between Cody and Rapid City, and there are multiple ways to get from one city to another. To better explain all the possibilities that are available to you, I created the interactive map above, which I will try to explain in brief. For convenience I have divided the itinerary ideally into two sections:
- Cody to Buffalo
- Buffalo to Rapid City
This way you can easily break the trip in half with an overnight stay. Nothing of course prevents you from stopping to spend the night in another town (e.g. Sheridan or Gillette) depending on your itinerary. As I mentioned above Cody and Rapid City are about 370 miles (6 hours) apart, so I do not recommend doing the whole route in one day, unless you really have no other choice.
Each section of the route is identified by a different color. While the section from Buffalo to Rapid City is fairly straightforward (brown color), the section from Cody to Buffalo has as many as three variations (blue, red and yellow colors) and two of these (the first two) coincide for part of the journey (green color). Finally, I have distinguished the three cities to be used for overnight stays (Cody, Buffalo and Rapid City) in purple since they are obviously common to all three routes.
Cody to Buffalo
To reach Buffalo from Cody you will have to go through the Bighorn National Forest, a nature reserve with beautiful mountain scenery traversed by no less than 3 scenic byways (Medicine Wheel Passage Scenic Byway, Bighorn Scenic Byway, Cloud Peak Skyway) that I have already mentioned in another article. Therefore, there are three possible routes from Cody to Buffalo. Here they are listed in order from north to south:
- Highway 14A + Medicine Wheel Passage Scenic Byway and Bighorn Scenic Byway
- Highway 14 + Bighorn Scenic Byway
- Highway 120 + Cloud Peak Skyway
All three of these routes allow you to enjoy beautiful views of the Bighorn Mountains either from your car or from various scenic spots, but what sets them apart are the attractions you can find along the way. If you are wondering which route is the fastest, know that all routes differ from each other by 5 to 10 minutes, so it doesn’t make much difference. You can choose based on the route that seems most interesting to you. Let’s take a closer look at the three routes and their attractions.
Highway 14A + Medicine Wheel Passage and Bighorn Scenic Byway
Travel time: About 3 hours and 20 minutes without detours.
To travel this route from Cody you will need to head northeast and take Highway 14A. The Medicine Wheel Passage Scenic Byway extends between Lovell and Burgess Junction, and is open from Memorial Day to mid-November, so it is not accessible in the winter. The best overlooks on the byway are Observation Point and Bighorn Basin Overlook.
Along this route, you will encounter historical and natural landmarks, as well as one of the few Native American monuments preserved to this day. Then, if you are in the mood for taking a long detour, you can cross into Montana for a beautiful view of a picturesque canyon.
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- Cody: Located on the eastern slope of Yellowstone National Park, the city named for the famous Buffalo Bill is famous for its rodeo, its historical museum (Buffalo Bill Center of the West) and Old Trail Town (a full immersion in the Wild West), as well as the natural beauty of its surroundings. To find out more, read our guide to Cody.
- Heart Mountain Interpretive Center, Powell: 14,000 Japanese-American citizens were interned at this site after the Pearl Harbor attack. It is now used as a museum so as not to forget this tragic historical fact.
- Pryor Mountain Wild Mustang Center, Lovell: This Mustang horse breeding farm in the Pryor Mountains is the ideal place to see these beautiful horses up close. However, remember that tours for visitors last an entire day and include various activities. Here is the official website for more information.
- Devil’s Canyon Overlook (approximately 1-hour round trip detour): This stunning overlook that offers a view of Bighorn Canyon is definitely among the most scenic in the area, although getting there may force you to extend your drive by no small amount.
- Five Springs Falls Campground (15-minute round trip detour): Here you have the opportunity to see stunning views of the Bighorn, Pryor and Absaroka mountain ranges, with a short 0.4-mile (round trip) trail to a waterfall.
- Bighorn Medicine Wheel (10-minute detour to the trailhead, 3-mile trail round trip to reach the site): The scenic road you are driving along is named after this monument, which is one of the few Native American Indian relics that remain intact. It consists of a series of stones arranged in a concentric shape and it is believed that they were used for predicting the weather. To learn more about how to visit the site read my guide to the Bighorn National Forest.
For the second part of this route (from Burgess Junction to Buffalo) you will travel on Highway 14 and Interstate 90. The next route goes along these two roads as well, since it covers a segment of the Bighorn Scenic Byway. Here is what awaits you on this second leg of the route:
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- Viewpoints of the Bighorn Scenic Byway: The best scenic spots are Steamboat Point, Sand Turn Interpretive Site, and Hogback Interpretive Site, which we also mentioned in the article on the Bighorn Mountains.
- Dayton and environs: This small town can be a nice short stop along the way. For example, you can visit the Connor Battlefield State Historic Site, a memorial to the destruction of an Arapaho village in 1865, or the Dayton Mercantile, a good place to stop, have a bite to eat and breathe in an authentic atmosphere.
- Sheridan: Fully immerse yourself in this historic town and visit the Mint Bar, the legendary cowboy bar that has been open since 1907, the King’s Museum of Western Memorabilia, and the early 20th-century mansion at Trail End State Historic Site.
Highway 14 + Bighorn Scenic Byway
Travel time: About 3 hours and 20 minutes without detours.
This route will take you along Highway 14 from Cody to Sheridan, with more incredible views along the 58-mile scenic stretch of the Bighorn Scenic Byway. You will pass through small towns such as Emblem, Greybull, and Shell, and see amazing natural beauty, traces of ancient history, striking waterfalls, and a place that will be especially interesting for aviation enthusiasts.
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- Museum of Flight & Aerial Firefighting: Open from mid-March to Oct. 1 (but check the official website), this open-air museum in Greybull showcases an interesting collection of airplanes, and many of which can be toured.
- Devil’s Kitchen (15-minute detour round trip): Those who love places where the scenery seems to be from another planet cannot fail to be impressed by Devil’s Kitchen. You can find directions to go to Devil’s Kitchen in this article.
- Red Gulch Dinosaur Tracksite (15-minute detour round trip): Surrounded by a beautiful landscape, the Red Gulch Dinosaur Tracksite is very significant from a paleontological point of view. In fact, here the numerous dinosaur footprints present attest to one of the few sites in the world dating from the Middle Jurassic (between 160 and 180 million years ago).
- Shell Falls Interpretive Site: These spectacular waterfalls are among the most popular attractions in the Bighorn National Forest.
After Burgess Junction, Highway 14 joins Highway 14A. From here, this route overlaps the second part of the previous route.
Hwy 120 + Cloud Peak Skyway
Travel time: About 3 hours and 10 minutes without detours.
This is the southernmost route of the three. You will have to take Highway 120 and then onward to WY-431 and Highway 16, which becomes the Cloud Peak Skyway, Bighorn Mountains’ third scenic route to the highest point in the park. Before joining Cloud Peak Skyway, this route passes through Meeteetse, Worland and Ten Sleep, but also through the fascinating Gooseberry Badlands.
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- Meeteetse: Along the main street of this small town (the 2000 census reported 351 inhabitants) you can make a stop at the informative town museum (Meeteetse Museums), or if you’re in the mood for a snack you can stop and sample the handcrafted chocolate made by Meeteetse Chocolatier or opt for a more substantial lunch at Cowboy Bar and Cafe.
- Gooseberry Badlands: Another destination suitable for those in search of unusual and surreal natural beauty. All the information for visiting Gooseberry Badlands can be found in my article on alien landscapes in Wyoming.
- Washakie Museum & Cultural Center, Worland: The many archaeological artifacts found in the Bighorn Basin are featured in this interesting museum to demonstrate the relationship that the various peoples that inhabited this area had with their surroundings.
- Ten Sleep: On the way, you will drive down the main street of this small town, a community of just over 200 people, where you will find family-owned ranches, some historic buildings (e.g., the Ten Sleep Mercantile town general store) and a famous rodeo. If you are hungry and looking for a place to grab a bite, head to 1 Cow or Sleepy Coyote!
- Viewpoints of the Cloud Peak Skyway: Meadowlark Lake, Tensleep Canyon, where the Leigh Creek Monument is also located, Powder River Pass, the highest point reachable by car, and the James T. Saban Lookout. For more information check out the related entries in my article on Bighorn National Forest.
Buffalo to Rapid City
Travel time: about 3 hours and minutes 15 without detours.
The stretch from Buffalo to Rapid City via Interstate 90 passes through Gillette (Wyoming’s third most populous city) and a series of small towns that offer some interesting sights before crossing into South Dakota, where you will enter the Black Hills and pass through Deadwood and Sturgis, two fascinating towns. Along this route it is definitely worth taking a detour to Devils Tower, one of the symbols of Wyoming.
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- Buffalo: While this city is an overnight stop on this trip, it still has its sights to offer, including the typical western-style main street, some interesting historical museums (The Historic Occidental Hotel Museum and Jim Gatchell Memorial Museum) and hikes in the surrounding area.
- Frontier Relics & Auto Museum, Gillette: Classic cars, neon signs, kitschy gas pumps and various memorabilia, as well as an authentic Drive-In showing old movies and non-stop commercials make this Gillette museum a must-see. Check the hours on the official website. When you arrive at the museum, you will find a bizarre monument on the street dedicated to the famous game of Chinese rock-paper-scissors where you could take a unique selfie.
- Devils Tower (25-minute detour round trip): This mysterious monolith is one of the most famous places to visit in Wyoming, and it also inspired the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Read our guide to Devils Tower to find out more. If you take the Devils Tower detour, rather than returning to the main route I recommend continuing west (you will only lengthen the trip by a few minutes), to pass by the following towns:
- Hulett: A small town of about 300 souls with a few Old West style buildings on main street, including Rogues Gallery, a peculiar cross between antique store, museum and art gallery, and the Ponderosa Cafe and Red Rock Cafe.
- Aladdin: Take a little detour via this town of 15 residents where time seems to stand still. You can stop at the quaint Aladdin General Store, bite into the mammoth burgers at Aladdin Cafe (if you dare) and visit the Aladdin Coal Tipple, a fascinating example of mining technology employed in the late 1800s.
- Belle Fourche: Near this South Dakota town (actually before you get there) you’ll find the Stone House Saloon, a biker joint that will be especially fun for those looking to experience a local establishment. The town, on the other hand, is home to the Center of the Nation Monument. Although in fact the center of the contiguous United States is in Kansas, this monument marks the center if you also include Alaska and Hawaii (although the actual point is actually in a field 20 miles away from the monument itself).
- SundanceKid Museum & Statue, Sundance: It was from this town that the famous outlaw got the name Sundance Kid, and it is here that you will find his statue and can visit the Crook County Museum & 1875 Art Gallery, which also houses a jail (active from 1913 to 1954), as well as the furnishings of the court that handed down the sentence of the Sundance Kid himself.
- Vore Buffalo Jump Foundation: Before waving goodbye to Wyoming and crossing into South Dakota, you will have the opportunity to visit an important prehistoric-era archaeological site, where a significant amount of bison bones have been found. The site is currently only open during the summer.
- Deadwood: This famous western town in South Dakota inspired the television series of the same name and is an excellent opportunity to immerse yourself in the frontier atmosphere typical of the Wild West. Read more about it in our guide to Deadwood.
- Sturgis: a particularly beloved city for bikers and Harley Davidson lovers, in fact an important annual motorcycle rally is held here, but that’s not all: enthusiasts can also visit the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum and Hall of Fame, an entire museum dedicated to the world of motorcycles.
- Rapid City: Here we are finally at our destination. Rapid City is the ideal city to use as a base for exploring the surrounding area (e.g., the Black Hills or Badlands National Park) but it also offers some interesting attractions to its visitors. Here is our guide to Rapid City.
Places to Stay
As I mentioned above, the itinerary includes overnight stays in Cody, Buffalo and Rapid City but there are also other towns with a number of hotels. Here is the complete list of towns where you can find accommodations along the way (west to east):
