Phase 3 — Rockies & Great Plains#

Home Base: Salt Lake City, UT
Best Season: April–June (wildflowers, mild) or September–October (harvest, less heat)
Avoid: July–August in Kansas/Oklahoma/Texas (brutal heat, tornado season peaks May–June)
Estimated Duration: 3–4 weeks
Estimated Miles: ~4,000–4,500 miles round trip

Why This Phase#

The Great Plains are one of the most underrated parts of the country — genuinely alien landscapes that most travelers skip. South Dakota has one of the best road trip corridors in America (Badlands + Black Hills + Wall Drug + Crazy Horse). Texas is so vast it almost requires its own phase. Oklahoma and Kansas hold deep American history — Native nations, the Dust Bowl, the cattle drives. This phase gets the interior done efficiently.

Recommended Route#

Salt Lake City, UT
  ↓  (I-80 E / WY-789 N ~4.5 hrs)
Casper, WY → Devils Tower National Monument, WY
  ↓  (I-90 E ~1.5 hrs)
Rapid City, SD — Black Hills base camp
  ↓  (US-16 / SD-244 loop — Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Custer SP, Sylvan Lake)
Black Hills Loop, SD
  ↓  (I-90 E ~1 hr)
Badlands National Park, SD
  ↓  (I-90 E / US-83 S ~4 hrs)
Valentine, NE — Nebraska Sandhills
  ↓  (US-83 S / US-20 W ~3 hrs)
Scottsbluff / Chimney Rock, NE
  ↓  (US-26 E / I-80 E ~2.5 hrs)
Lincoln, NE
  ↓  (I-70 E ~3.5 hrs)
Topeka, KS → Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, KS
  ↓  (I-35 S ~2.5 hrs)
Oklahoma City, OK
  ↓  (US-270 S / I-40 W ~2.5 hrs)
Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, OK
  ↓  (US-183 S / I-40 W / US-83 S ~3 hrs)
Amarillo, TX — Cadillac Ranch
  ↓  (US-87 S / US-285 S ~3 hrs)
Big Bend National Park, TX (detour ~4 hrs south)
  OR
  ↓  (I-20 E ~7 hrs)
San Antonio, TX
  ↓  (I-35 N ~1.5 hrs)
Austin, TX
  ↓  (I-35 N ~3 hrs)
Dallas/Fort Worth, TX
  ↓  (I-35 W N / I-40 W ~6 hrs)
Amarillo TX → I-40 W → Albuquerque NM → I-40 W / I-15 N
  ↓  (~9 hrs total)
Salt Lake City, UT

Note: Texas is enormous. Consider splitting TX into a separate dedicated mini-loop (San Antonio → Austin → Dallas → Big Bend) if time allows.

State Files in This Phase#

Phase 3 Camping Strategy#

Free/dispersed:

• Buffalo Gap National Grassland (SD) — near Badlands
• Black Hills National Forest (SD) — dispersed sites throughout
• Nebraska National Forest (NE) — smallest national forest in US, unique sandhills
• Cimarron National Grassland (KS) — free, remote
• Big Bend Ranch State Park (TX) — primitive, stunning, very remote
• Guadalupe Mountains NP backcountry (TX) — permit required but free with America the Beautiful Pass

Budget paid sites:

• Custer State Park (SD) — one of the best state parks in the country, worth paying
• Palo Duro Canyon State Park (TX) — "Grand Canyon of Texas," worth every dollar

Urban overnight spots:

• Walmart: Rapid City SD, Sioux Falls SD, Lincoln NE, Oklahoma City OK, Amarillo TX, San Antonio TX, Austin TX, Dallas TX

Phase 3 Shower Plan#

• Planet Fitness: Sioux Falls, Omaha, Lincoln, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, Amarillo
• Pilot/Flying J: I-90 (SD), I-80 (NE), I-35 (OK/TX), I-40 (TX)

Phase 3 Practical Notes#

• North Dakota detour: Optionally tag on Theodore Roosevelt NP (Badlands of ND) before or after South Dakota — adds 1–2 days but rounds out the Great Plains chapter and adds the 49th state mentally
• Tornado awareness: Oklahoma and Kansas in May–June are prime tornado alley. Download the NOAA Weather app. If camping during storm season, know your shelter plan — a van provides zero tornado protection. Have a plan to get to a solid structure quickly.
• Big Bend: One of the most remote national parks in the lower 48. Cell service essentially nonexistent. Carry significant extra water and fuel. The drive from Alpine to the park entrance is 80 miles one way on a good road. Worth every mile.
• Texas fuel: Big Bend area has very few gas stations — fill every chance you get
• Route 66: The Oklahoma section of Route 66 is the most intact and authentic. Add this as an east-west thread through the state.

Phase 3 Drone Overview#

Great Plains offer wide open skies and minimal airspace restrictions — some of the easiest drone flying in the country.

• No-fly: Badlands NP, Wind Cave NP, Jewel Cave NM, Big Bend NP (national parks)
• Legal standouts: Badlands periphery on Buffalo Gap National Grassland (launch just outside park boundary — dramatic badlands formations from above), Enchanted Highway ND (large metal sculptures in open prairie — stunning from above), Palo Duro Canyon (Texas state park — check state rules, but often permitted outside congested areas), Wichita Mountains WR (check USFWS rules — some wildlife refuges allow drones, some don't), Carhenge NE (open private field, usually permitted)
• Wide open prairie skies make for excellent timelapse and storm photography (responsibly, from safe distance)