On July 1, 2023 we set out with two kids and a fully loaded transit van for what promised to be an adventure of epic proportions! We ventured through 14 states and reached SIX high points on our journey! We learned a lot of valuable lessons and created some memories that will last a lifetime!
We spent months planning our month-long adventure, which started from our home in Chattanooga, TN and would end at Yellowstone National Park, where we would spend several days before heading back home. We mapped out stops at parks, playgrounds, museums… anything that would let our boys get out some energy so we could continue on the road. I don’t want to spoil the ending before I even begin, but we did NOT make it to Yellowstone and we did NOT make it an entire month. Our number one rule when traveling is to stay flexible. Regardless, we had an exciting 14 day journey that led us all the way to North Dakota and back home. And don’t worry — we’re planning to make Yellowstone its own trip in the near future so stay tuned!
Arkansas – Mount Magazine (Signal Hill)
We left home and headed west towards Mount Magazine State Park in Paris, Arkansas, which is the home of the Arkansas high point. We made an overnight stop in Jackson, TN which wasn’t the most memorable other than I think this is where my kids developed a love for hotels (more on this later). We did drive a little past Jackson to the Tennessee Safari Park in Alamo, TN where we fed all kinds of exotic animals from the window. It was pretty funny and a little scary to have a giant ostrich trying to stick its head in the van, though I think my youngest son was a bit traumatized. Definitely worth a visit for some laughs and the animals seem to have plenty of space to roam or so I convinced myself to not feel guilty.
From Alamo it was about 5 hours to Mount Magazine State Park so we tried to map out several tops the kids would enjoy to burn some energy. We got really lucky and found Riverfront Park in Little Rock! This place was incredible with a splash pad and tons of slides, rock walls, and tunnels. It was a million degrees so the boys loved cooling off the in the splash pad and we let them play until they were absolutely exhausted. If you’re driving through Little Rock put this place on your list to stop! With or without kids it’s a fantastic place to stretch your legs and take in some beautiful sights. Also, it made the last two hours of the day’s journey SO easy – hello car naps!
We made it to Mount Magazine in the early evening and by the time we got camp set up and did a little exploring we decided to save the hike to the high point for the next day. We woke up bright and early and after a little breakfast started the short climb to Signal Hill, the highest peak in Arkansas at an elevation of 2,753 ft. It’s about a 1.5 mile hike out and back, and while there isn’t a view at the top it did make for a nice nature walk. We signed the log at the top and took our family photo, and headed back down. The campground and park at Mount Magazine was really beautiful, but it was really hot and the flies were out of control – it was hard to be outside for long and our van was filled with flies when we went to sleep the first night. We were supposed to camp here for two nights but decided to make it a one night adventure and head out after our hike.
On the road again! After Mount Magazine the next high point on our journey was Mount Sunflower in Weskan, Kansas, with about 700 miles between the two points. We headed west towards Tulsa, Oklahoma where we would spend one night and stopped at a water park called Alma Aquatic Center. This place was awesome and we spent hours riding water slides and swimming. There was also a playground and pavilion where we could play and have lunch – great stop! We needed a break from the heat so we got an Airbnb in Tulsa, which we definitely quickly realized was easier and way more comfortable than van camping – who would have guessed?! Anyway, after a much better night’s sleep sans flies we kept on trucking – stopping in Muskogee, OK because Malcolm wanted a picture with the courthouse, and ironically the entire place kind of smelled like weed. You might have to be a little familiar with Merle Haggard for that to make sense. 🙂 From here we entered the great flat farm land of Kansas! We stopped at an amazing children’s museum in Wichita, and made it to Dodge City on the 4th of July. We debated on finding a state park to camp so we wouldn’t have fireworks waking up the kids at all hours, but opted for a hotel since it was a billion degrees outside and we were planning to spend a couple nights to give the kids a break from the road. I am usually really good at picking places to stay and found a hotel with an indoor pool for us … turns out I chose a hotel next door to an arena where the LARGEST fireworks show in Dodge City would be taking place at 10pm! All is well that ends well and the kids slept like champs, but the irony made us laugh. There is also an amazing water park in Dodge City called Long Branch Lagoon where we must have spent hours playing and sliding and eating popsicles. The boys LOVED it!
Mount Sunflower – Kansas
Mount Sunflower is the highest natural point in Kansas at 4,039 ft. in elevation. It’s not a mountain at all, just a long drive through some serious agricultural and – acres and acres of farm land as far as the eye can see until you reach a dead end road and there sits a beautiful metal sunflower monument marking the high point. There is also a log book, picnic tables, and a free little library. Mount Sunflower is located on private land and is so beautifully maintained – huge thank you to the landowners for allowing folks to visit. You wouldn’t notice any change in elevation, but it is just high enough to see miles and miles of nothing but land and in our case absolutely beautiful blue and sunny skies. The longer we stayed we actually noticed some storm clouds and rain started to roll in. This was a really serene moment for us, realizing how far we had journeyed so far and how lucky we were to get to experience it with our boys. And our journey was far from over!
From Mount Sunflower we drove about 300 miles to Fort Collins, Colorado where we would spend one night before continuing west. We found a playground and a fun brewery for dinner and decided to treat the kids to a “fancy” hotel for the evening. It was fancy because it had seven floors and glass elevators that we rode up and down over and over and over. Later my oldest son would tell us this was his favorite part of the trip (insert one of those face melting emojis). Fort Collins is a super cool town and reminded us a lot of Chattanooga. I loved that just barely outside the city center there was a lot of farm land with views of the Rocky Mountains – I could definitely see our family living there one day. Anyway, after the boys went to sleep that night Malcolm and I shared a bottle of wine and talked about the rest of the trip. We were on day 7 and everyone was starting to feel a bit fatigued knowing that we had another 3 weeks on the road if we wanted to hit all of our planned stops. We decided it made the most sense to cut out the Yellowstone piece of the trip entirely and head straight up to the Dakotas to complete our hikes there, and then head home. That would give us another week on the road and definitely made us feel at peace knowing we could handle that. If you have traveled with kids you know that traveling with kids is hard. If you have not, let me emphasize that TRAVELING WITH KIDS IS HARD. It is also amazing and absolutely worth it, but being flexible with plans is the only way to do it successfully. So, we woke up with a new plan and feeling refreshed by our decision. The kids were excited too and we promised to take them to Yellowstone as its own adventure soon. Next stop: Cheyenne, Wyoming! Malcolm and I had been to Cheyenne before and since it was only an hour drive it was a good place to stop and play. We found another playground and even found a YMCA with child care so we could get a workout in before heading to our next high point. This was a fun stop and we definitely appreciated having a moment to ourselves. Colorado and Wyoming are such incredibly beautiful states – we will definitely be exploring more here!
Panorama Point – Nebraska
About an hour drive from Cheyenne is Panorama Point in Kimball, Nebraska, which is the state’s high point at an elevation of 5,424 ft. Like Mount Sunflower it is not a mountain, just a small monument in the middle of a giant field. It is also located on private property AND in the middle of a working bison farm, which means the gate to enter could be locked at the owner’s discretion. Please keep this in mind if you are planning to visit – since we were an hour away we decided to take the chance, but there is no way to know ahead of time if it will be open or closed. Thankfully for us it was open and we got to drive right up to the point marker. Once again, huge thanks to the owners for allowing people to visit! We saw a ton of bison, which was really cool and in the distance you can see the mountains of CO and WY. There is a metal desk next to the monument to sign the log book. Also, about a mile away is a three-state marker where Nebraska meets Colorado and Wyoming. We weren’t sure we were going to get to check this one off our list and I’m so glad we did!
We spent the night somewhere in Wyoming before finally making our way into the Black Hills of South Dakota, which would turn out to be some of the best parts of our entire trip! Our first stop was in Hot Springs, South Dakota where we stopped at Evan’s Plunge Mineral Springs — a naturally spring fed pool and the oldest tourist attraction in the Black Hills. We kept driving through Wind Cave National Park and finally to Custer, where we got to see the Crazy Horse Memorial and Mount Rushmore. Crazy Horse is still under construction, but I would highly recommend making a donation to the foundation and visiting the museums to learn about the history. Crazy Horse will be the largest sculptural undertaking in the world — and it’s really impressive to see in person, even unfinished. There were people actively working on it while we were there; one man told us the next piece to be completed would be Crazy Horse’s left hand and forearm and part of the horse’s mane and it would take 5-10 years! Mount Rushmore was equally as impressive to see in person! Again, I would recommend parking and visiting the museums and gift shops, and there is a walking path that gets you pretty close to the mountain. It was raining so we didn’t stay too long, but we appreciated getting the opportunity to see it in person.
Black Elk Peak – South Dakota
After doing the tourist stuff we headed to our camp for the next few nights at Fort Welikit — a super cool and kid friendly campground close to Custer State Park. We loved it here and highly recommend it to anyone traveling through with kids! They have a big general store with most anything you need, a big kids play area, laundry facilities, clean bathroom/shower facilities, etc. Our boys definitely made some good childhood memories here making friends and playing hide and seek until dark. I can’t say enough good things about this place! Anyway, we chose this spot because of the close distance to Custer State Park where the trail head to Black Elk Peak is located. Black Elk Peak is South Dakota’s high point at an elevation on 7,242 ft. The Black Elk Peak Loop trail is 7.1 miles out and back and gains about 1,469 ft. in elevation (all of this is basically in the last mile). We knew this would be a tough climb with the boys but we prepared with lots of water and snacks, woke up and bright and early, and headed out. Custer State Park is beautiful and the surrounding Sylvan Lake is truly majestic. I wish we would have planned more time to explore the park itself, but we had a mission. The hike started out rough and we weren’t sure we would finish – it was July 9th so it was hot and the boys were already asking for snacks less than half a mile into the hike. We found our groove eventually and the boys did fantastic. I think my 5 year old walked nearly the entire time with a few piggy back rides here and there. Thankfully there are plenty of grassy areas to stop and take a rest on the way up. It was a pretty populated trail and very well marked with a low chance of getting off trail and really no need for AllTrails or any other map, but we always have one just in case! Once you reach the top there is an old fire tower that is no longer in use, but you can climb it to see the panoramic views. The entire climb took us about 5 hours — the descent was much faster because my 2-year old slept most of the way. This was a really tough climb and I was so proud of us for reaching the top. It’s truly hard to find the words to describe this one! We celebrated with pizza and chicken fingers at one of the restaurants in the park and headed back to our camp.
White Butte – North Dakota
The day after climbing Black Elk Peak we left our campsite at Fort Welikit and headed north to White Butte, the highest point in North Dakota. This was about a 4-hour drive so we made several stops along the way. We did stop in Sturgis, but aside from that this was a really remote drive and there wasn’t much to see or do. White Butte took us forever to find! We were using old directions — copying this from AllTrails for anyone considering this hike so you don’t have the same issues we did… “As of June 2022, significant improvements to the trailhead approach have been made. On Hwy 85, between mile markers 43 and 44, and bracketing the entrance to the North-South dirt/gravel road (140th Ave SW on Google Earth) that takes you 5 miles south of Hwy 85, there are large green highway signs clearly indicating “White Butte—Highest Point in North Dakota”. No more guessing and hoping you make the correct turn. After traveling 5 (4.9?) miles south on that dirt/gravel road, turn right (and this turn also now has a white arrowed sign indicating “White Butte”) and go one mile west. AND THEN (this is new) turn left and go one mile south on the newly upgraded (still private property) road that previously required walking in double muddy ruts along the cattle fence one mile south from the old “parking area”. You will still go by the old abandoned farm house. You will then arrive at a real (but still unpaved) parking area, capable of easily handling a dozen cars or more, even full size RVs. The parking area is now at the actual trailhead, reducing the hike by 2 miles.”
Once we did find it the directions above were correct – large parking area and easy to see where the trail begins, although we were the only ones there. We left a donation in the box and headed up the mountain. White Butte has a total elevation of 3,506 ft. and only gains about 546 ft. in elevation on the way up. It’s an easy hike and it about 0.8 miles to the top. It was steep in places, but the only thing that made this one a little scary were the “BEWARE OF RATTLESNAKES” signs and the tall grass. It was really overgrown during our visit so I carried my youngest son the whole time and my oldest walked behind my husband who used a stick to clear the path as we walked. Aside from that is was a little steep in places, but we reached the top easily, signed the register, and headed back down. The views from the top are really pretty and there is no shade at all, so make sure to wear appropriate sun protection if you’re visiting in the summer.
Since this area was so remote we decided to make it a long van day and drove another 3 hours to Rapid City, South Dakota where we stayed for a night at the Grand Gateway Hotel — a super old hotel with a funky vibe and a water slide that made the kids incredibly happy! They must have swam and played for hours, which made for a good night’s sleep and an early start to the next day, which was just fine with me because we were heading to Badlands National Park, which was about an hour away from Rapid City. We came in the back entrance to the park and drove from one side to the other. This place was absolutely magical and felt at times as though you were looking out at a different planet. We saw so many bison, a big horned sheep, and a ton of prairie dogs. My grandparents used to tell me about their many trips to the Badlands so getting to visit was really special to me. Our planet is really cool and once again I just have so much gratitude to get to share it with my boys. We took our name through the Badlands and stopped at some of the gift shops once we reached the main entrance.
Hawkeye Point – Iowa
Once we left the Badlands we drove a bit further and stopped at another hotel with a water slide in Mitchell, South Dakota (I told you in the beginning my kids developed a love for hotels) and we were just fine with that since our energy levels for camping were quite low. From there we made our way to Sioux Falls, South Dakota where we stopped at Falls Park for some play time, and then to Hawkeye Point, the highest point in Iowa at 1,670 ft. in elevation. Hawkeye Point is really well cared for with an observation tower, summit register, farming equipment displays, and some fun photo ops. Big thanks to the owners of the land for allowing visitors! This was our last high point of the trip and we were glad for the wide open spaces and it was really beautiful, even for flat farm land.
We spent the night at a sweet little Airbnb in Council Bluffs, IA and were really excited because we were just a couple days from making it home. Our next stop was St. Louis, which was a 6.5 hour drive, so we stopped at as many parks and playgrounds as we could on the way. We got an Airbnb in St. Louis and did some the touristy stuff – saw the Arch, though we didn’t go inside or take the official tour, and the City Museum, which is INCREDIBLE, and took the kids to a fun microbrewery where they played Pac Man and other games. The next day we made it all the way to Murray, Kentucky where we got a cute little cabin with a lovely red door and celebrated the final night of our trip with a fire and marshmallows!
This trip was definitely one for the books and even though our plans changed over and over we still knocked out six high points and made some incredible memories with our boys! Thanks so much for reading!
