8-Day Road Trip Itinerary: Niagara Falls to Badlands National Park & Mount Rushmore

We took it back to the states this year and set out on an 8-day road trip to Niagara Falls, the Badlands, and Mount Rushmore. We loved the idea of driving to Mount Rushmore and since we like to travel in the “Go Big or Go Home Fashion,” we figured we may as well tackle 8 states in just as many days, with a road trip that took us to Niagara Falls through New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and South Dakota, with a quick stop on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. Dana is great at travel planning and set up a perfect 8-day itinerary for Niagara Falls to Mount Rushmore (aka The Heads) and all of the interesting things to do and see on the way.

Day 1: Buffalo, New York & Ontario, Canada

View of American side of Niagara Falls from the Maiden of the Mist.

To start the trip, Dana met Alicia in Boston so we could take the short flight to Buffalo, New York together where we would start our Niagara Falls itinerary. We arrived late in the morning and went to check out our car for the long drive to Mount Rushmore, which we promptly named Eleanor (it’s bad luck not to name your car on a road trip!). Of course for lunch we had to get Buffalo Wings in the namesake city where they originated. Recognizing the life-long feud between Anchor Bar and Duff’s (and giving in to our starving bellies), we decided to choose the one closest to the airport - Duffs it was! Even though we had already been to New York together twice before, we still made sure to pair our wings with a local beer (a local beer and a local meal are our criteria for having “been” to a place). 

After lunch, we got ready to make the drive to Niagara Falls. We visited the American side of Niagara Falls first and took the iconic Maid of the Mist tour. Even though this is considered to be a very “touristy” thing to do, it did not take away from the wonder of the experience. The view of Niagara Falls was breathtaking, and the force of the spray in some spots was so powerful you literally had to hold your breath while viewing. The Maid of the Mist is worth adding to your Niagara Falls itinerary and a perfect way to start a drive to Mount Rushmore!

We crossed over the border into the Canadian side of Niagara Falls where we stayed in the adorable small town of Niagara on the Lake. We spent the evening exploring (we even found a working old school pay phone booth!) and enjoyed tasting the local ice wine - a sweet white wine from grapes that freeze on the vine during the winter. There are a lot more places to visit in Niagara on the Lake than we expected!

Day 2: Ontario, Canada to Cleveland, Ohio via Pennsylvania 

Cherry picking at a roadside farm just outside Erie, Pennsylvania

In the morning, we crossed back into the United States and started the first official leg of our road trip to Mount Rushmore. We spent the first half of the day journeying through Pennsylvania, and in true road trip fashion, we made two unscheduled stops along the way. We love to use road trip planning tools like RoadTrippers and AroundMe to find interesting places to visit. We took the scenic route (Alicia refuses to take the boring highways) and stumbled upon the small local winery, Mazza Wines. We of course decided to take the detour (because who can resist visiting a local winery on a road trip?!). We enjoyed a wine tasting and  each left with a bottle to bring home. 

We didn’t drive too much further before we saw a hand made sign advertising “cherry picking” on the side of the road. Fun! We pulled off again and we each filled a basket with delicious local cherries. What a great car snack!

Back on the road again, we crossed over the border into Ohio and found a couple cool places to stop on the way to Cleveland. We stopped for a quick lunch at White Turkey Drive-In, an authentic 50s diner, and then made our way to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. We enjoyed exploring the different exhibits in the museum; however, since neither of us know much about music, the true majesty of the place may have been lost on us. We still would consider it a must-see place to visit in Cleveland though, music guru or not!

There were a few more things to do in Cleveland so we headed out for a night on the town. We ate a yummy dinner at Melt Bar and Grilled (if we lived here we’d weigh over 200 pounds each!) and then did a little bar hopping in downtown Cleveland. We enjoyed flights of local beers at Great Lakes Brewing Company, and then we hit up a few more bars down the street. We met a couple of local guys who we chatted with about our trip. One of the guys informed us that downtown Cleveland is not always safe, and we should be careful when we are walking around at night. He told us he was worried about two girls alone on a road trip to Mount Rushmore. As he said that, he proceeded to flip open a switchblade and point it in our direction. Our initial reaction (obviously) was to think...uh...yeah, we’re not safe...from YOU! It only took a moment to recognize our misunderstanding. The guy’s intention was to offer us the knife as a way of protection if needed. We all had a good laugh about it, and we gratefully accepted the blade (at least as a funny memory if nothing more). We chatted for a little longer before heading back to our room for a good night’s rest after a long day. Luckily, the knife was not needed, though it has found its way on other trips, including our 10-day road trip to Idaho, Montana and Wyoming (you can read about that trip here)….you know, just in case we had to fight off a bear or something.

Day 3: Independence, Ohio to Sandusky, Ohio

Fourth of July fireworks over Cedar Point Amusement Park in Ohio

Happy 4th of July! We fittingly woke up in Independence, Ohio (spending the night in downtown Cleveland was just not in the budget - and we are always looking for budget-friendly travel options - nor apparently safe according to the locals). Alicia squeezed in a quick run before we hit the road (packing tip: bring trail shoes if you plan to both run and hike so that you don’t have to pack two different pairs of shoes. Alicia loves these and has taken them all over the world!). One of the best places to visit in Ohio is the famous Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky. Nothing says great road trip stop like an amusement park! When we arrived, we were slightly disconcerted at the lack of security (definitely not like Disney World), especially since it was a national holiday and all. There were no metal detectors, and no one even checked our bags! But who can resist visiting an amusement park on a road trip!?

Alicia (not surprisingly) is more of a thrill-seeker (Dana does NOT like coasters with big drops), but we found lots of roller coasters and rides throughout the park that we both enjoyed. Our favorite was the Mantis! This is for sure a great place to visit for roller coaster and amusement park fans. As the afternoon waned, we settled ourselves on the beach of Lake Erie to watch the fireworks and celebrate America. 

After closing down the park, we headed out and in true road trip fashion, started looking for a place to stay the night. It was already dark and we quickly realized that it wouldn’t be as easy to find a hotel on the drive to Chicago, our next stop, since we were not driving on a main highway and it was a holiday. We were both exhausted, and to make matters worse, Dana (the perpetual driver), was starting to develop a migraine from all the coaster bumping throughout the day. The first two places we stopped were already booked. Then we came to a run-down strip of a motel that was WAY below Alicia’s standards (and even a bit dirty for Dana), but they had a room available. We were worried about how long we would have to continue driving to find another vacancy, so we decided to suck it up. It wasn’t awful (but probably in the bottom 5 places we’ve ever stayed)...as long as you didn’t look too closely at anything you would hope to be clean. (note from Alicia: it was awful)

Day 4: Sandusky, Ohio to Chicago, Illinois via Indiana

Amish horse and buggy ride in Shipshewana, Indiana

We survived the night and were pretty ready to continue on our road trip to Mount Rushmore and got out of there ASAP, heading west and quickly crossing the border from Ohio to Indiana. We spent the morning living simply in the Amish Country of Shipshewana, a unique must-see place to visit in Indiana. We took a horse and buggy ride where our kindly driver gifted Dana with a bouquet of wheat, and afterward we asked to take a picture with him (in retrospect we hope we didn’t get this poor man shunned. We’re realized Amish people are not supposed to take photographs. Learn from our mistake!). And of course, we did a little shopping and picked up some local jellies and jams for our family and friends. 

We made a quick stop on the way to Chicago to visit Notre Dame University before driving across the border from Indiana to Illinois. We decided to splurge on a nice hotel in one of Chicago’s best neighborhoods to visit, Lincoln Park, (after slumming it the night before) and we found a budget-friendly deal using the travel planning tool, Hotel Tonight. We also got fancied up (aka we wore the one dress we each brought on the trip and Dana wore makeup) and treated ourselves to a delicious Italian dinner. After dinner, we of course found a brewpub where we could each try a beer sampler. We’ve officially visited Illinois, and we haven’t even made it into downtown Chicago yet!  

Day 5: Chicago, Illinois

As often happens on a road trip, we only had one day to experience Chicago! What is the best thing to do if you have one day in Chicago? There are so many places to visit in Chicago so we started with an Architectural Boat Tour. It was relaxing and a great way to see a large portion of the city in a short amount of time. And bonus-they served mimosas aboard our boat (which caused a great debate: is champagne with fruit juices other than orange juice still considered a mimosa? Comment with your opinion and help us put this debate to bed!)! Next, we headed over to Millennium Park, another must-see in Chicago, where we visited the famous Cloud Gate sculpture commonly nicknamed “The Bean”. We enjoyed being tourists and taking silly and artsy pictures. The bean has to be on any Chicago itinerary! We continued to casually stroll through the park, viewing additional sculptures, unique architecture, and Lurie Garden.

View of Chicago’s skyline from the Architectural Boat Tour.

For lunch, we met up with Dana’s friend, Jenni. Jenni had been living in Chicago for about a year and was happy to show us around town! We ate at Giordano’s Pizza where we ordered a couple of Chicago’s famous deep-dish pizzas to share (another thing you have to do in Chicago!). We were not disappointed! We continued playing tourist and went next to the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower) Skydeck. The views were spectacular. It was amazing, although slightly disconcerting, to step out onto the Ledge with its glass floor extending 4.3 feet out from the Skydeck and over 1,353 feet in the air. We completed our 1-day Chicago itinerary with dinner and drinks, followed by a trip to Navy Pier. 

Day 6: Traveling through Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and South Dakota

The “World’s Largest 6-Pack” in La Crosse, Wisconsin

Today was our main road driving day with about an 8-hour drive from Chicago to South Dakota on the way to Mount Rushmore. We finished driving through Illinois (by the end of the trip, we had found 29 states and 2 Canadian provinces playing the license plate game!) and crossed into Wisconsin. We stopped for lunch in the college town of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. We relaxed by the water at the student union for a bit to enjoy some delicious street corn and a Wiscon beer, Spotted Cow. For lunch, we had the best foods to try in Wisconsin: fried cheese curds, bratwursts, and (of course) a flight of Wisconsin beer. Now that we’ve “officially” been to Wisconsin, it was time to get back on the road.

Traveling across I-90 (America’s longest highway), there are lots of small roadside places to visit on the way to Mount Rushmore. In La Crosse, Wisconsin we stopped to see the “World’s Largest Six-Pack,'' 6 giant beer tanks painted to look like cans at the Heileman Brewing Company Old Style brewery. We then headed over the border from Wisconsin to Minnesota where we visited the Jolly Green Giant, which marks the midway point of I-90, in the roadside town of Blue Earth. We made a final stop in Minnesota for our local meal and beers. It was just after sunset when we crossed over the border from Minnesota to South Dakota. We drove until we were getting tired and then found a place to stay for the night. A plus to planning a road trip that follows a major interstate is it is very easy to find a hotel at the last minute!

Day 7: Badlands National Park, South Dakota

An amazingly unique place to visit in South Dakota on the way to the Badlands is the Minuteman Missile nuclear silo. Yes, you read that right. You can stop on the way to Badlands National Park to visit a missile silo! Out in the middle of the desert, down a dirt road with no one else in sight, we waltzed right up to an old Cold War-era missile silo. Other than a small chain-link fence and a plaque, there wasn’t much to mark the site of the giant silo in the ground. It was one of the more unique things to see on a road trip and very interesting up close. A Mount Rushmore road trip must-see!

And of course, what would a road trip to South Dakota be without a stop at the iconic Wall Drug Store, a mismatch of random stores and shops made famous by the outlandish - and frequent- road signs leading up to the store for miles. Dana bought a small hiking bag for the Badlands (that she still uses for hikes to this day!).

Sunset over Badlands National Park

After a full day in the car the day before, we were ready to give our legs some work hiking Badlands National Park. We arrived in the early afternoon and decided to hike the Medicine Root Trail,  a 4.5 mile loop trail through mixed-grass prairie with great views of the Badlands. Right away, we began seeing signs cautioning “Beware of Rattlesnakes”. Furthermore, we could actually hear the snake rattles as we looked out through the prairie grass. Better be extra careful! 

We arrived at the Medicine Root trailhead and began our hike. We were about a half-mile in when we realized we were definitely NOT on the marked trail (OMG, rattlesnakes!). We retraced our steps back to the start of the hiking trail, stopping once to examine the skeletal remains of a small animal (maybe a nearby rattlesnakes already ate their lunch??), and luckily made our way back without any incident (phew).

On our second try, we managed to stay on the hiking trail (which was actually very clearly marked). The first half of the hike was rocky. We had to climb over various sized rocks and boulders in certain areas to continue on the path. About halfway through our trek, we stopped for lunch (PB&J, our go-to on the move meal). We finished the second half of the loop trail through the grassy prairie. Although the trail is considered to be highly trafficked, we did not see any other hikers (maybe because it is 100 degrees outside?!). We enjoyed the quietness of being alone in nature, and we were very grateful not to get bitten by any rattlesnakes! The Medicine Root hike is a really fun thing to do in the Badlands.

Note from Dana: The Medicine Root hike in the Badlands one of my favorite hikes to date. It is mostly flat (which is great for a Floridian hiker), but the terrain is still interesting with the different rock formations (some of which you have to climb over) and the change in scenery going from rocky to prairie. 

We ate dinner in the park. Alicia got a Bison burger to sample the local must-try food in South Dakota (Dana ate a bite just to say she tried it). Then we watched the sunset over the Badlands before calling it an early night.

Day 8: Black Hills of South Dakota

Mount Rushmore National Memorial

Our first stop on the last day of our road trip before hitting Mount Rushmore was to visit the Crazy Horse Memorial. We took a short guided tour and learned that the memorial will depict Oglala Lakota warrior, Crazy Horse. It has been under construction since 1948. Even incomplete, the massive sculpture was a site to see in South Dakota. We decided to contribute to the Memorial Foundation, and in return, we each went home with a chunk of rock that had been excavated from the mountain. 

Our next and final stop of the road trip was Mount Rushmore National Memorial. The landscape once again changed from desert plains to a lush green forest. We even saw mountain goats on the drive to Mount Rushmore! We really enjoyed this iconic sculpture that is such an important symbol of American culture. We heard that it was smaller than you expect it to be but were pleasantly surprised and in awe of the sheer size of the monument. We meandered through the beautiful park to get different views of the four colossal presidents through the natural landscape of the surrounding trees. Sometimes it gets a bad rap, but we think Mt. Rushmore is an important place to visit on a road trip in the United States.

And with that, it was time to say goodbye. We drove to the airport in Grand Rapids, South Dakota where we dropped off Eleanor (it’s more expensive to drive a rental car one way, but well worth it in this case) and prepared for the long journey home. Over our 8-day road trip from Niagara Falls to Mount Rushmore, we traveled 1,873 miles through 8 states and 1 Canadian province. Not too shabby! It was another awesome Dana & Alicia Adventure. Until next time :)

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