Fallston → Badlands → Black Hills → Rockies → Santa Fe

Thanksgiving 2026 · Mazda CX-90 AWD · you, your wife, your daughter, and the shih tzu · leave Thu Nov 19, 8:00 AM · arrive at Dad's Tue Nov 24 · Thanksgiving Thu Nov 26 · home Sat Nov 28

Two changes from the last plan:
1. Colorado now avoids the cities. The old route ran down I-25 through Cheyenne, Fort Collins, Denver, Colorado Springs and Pueblo, which is almost entirely urban. The new route goes through the mountains instead: North Park → Willow Creek Pass → Grand Lake → Byers Canyon → the Blue River valley → Hoosier Pass (11,542 ft) → South Park → the Collegiate Peaks → Great Sand Dunes → Taos. It's about 190 miles longer, and you arrive at Dad's Tuesday instead of Monday, with one more hotel night. That still leaves Wednesday free before Thanksgiving.
2. US-16A is closed in Keystone for a bridge replacement, from Oct 5 into spring 2027. That changes how you get to Mount Rushmore and Iron Mountain Road on Saturday. It's already built into the plan below.

At a glance

Day	Route	Driving	Sunset	Sleep
Thu 11/19 Fri 11/20	The long drive: Fallston → I-90 → Badlands Loop → Wall	~1,605 mi · 28–29 hr	4:18 pm	Hansen Inn, Wall BOOKED
Sat 11/21	Rushmore → Crazy Horse → Custer State Park → Wind Cave	~210 mi · 5–6 hr	4:23 pm	Hot Springs, SD BOOK
Sun 11/22	Wyoming plains → Vedauwoo → North Park → Willow Creek Pass	~480 mi · 10 hr	4:42 pm	Grand Lake, CO BOOK
Mon 11/23	Byers Canyon → Blue River → Hoosier Pass → South Park → Collegiate Peaks → Sand Dunes	~290 mi · 7 hr	4:47 pm	Alamosa, CO BOOK
Tue 11/24	Rio Grande Gorge → Taos → High Road → Santa Fe	~165 mi · 4.5 hr	4:52 pm	Dad's
Wed–Thu	Santa Fe · Thanksgiving Thu 11/26	—
Fri 11/27 Sat 11/28	Straight home on the fast route: I-40 → I-44 → I-70	1,877 mi · ~32 hr	Home Saturday evening

Drive times come from routing software and don't include stops. Every time shown on the trip is local time. You move from Eastern to Central time in Indiana and from Central to Mountain time near Murdo, SD, and you stay on Mountain time from then until you start home.

Before you leave

Pick up the CX-90 Wednesday, Nov 18 at Enterprise Fallston, 1612A Bel Air Rd, (410) 877-0313. They're open until 6 PM. Load the car Wednesday night.
Check it at pickup: make sure it's AWD (every CX-90 is), that you have unlimited miles, that your wife is on the contract as a driver, and that it has adaptive cruise with lane-centering.
Check the tire tread with a quarter. Colorado's Traction Law can be turned on during storms. An AWD car meets it only if the tires have at least 3/16" of tread. If you can see the top of Washington's head, ask for a different car.
Bring your own E-ZPass. Every toll road on day 1 takes it: the PA Turnpike, the Ohio Turnpike, the Indiana Toll Road and the Illinois Tollway. If you use your own, turn down Enterprise's toll device so you don't pay its daily fee.
Download offline Google Maps for western South Dakota, southeast Wyoming, North Park in Colorado, the San Luis Valley and northern New Mexico. Cell coverage drops out in all of them.
Bookmark these road-condition sites: sd511.org · wyoroad.info · cotrip.org · nmroads.com
Buy an ice scraper, a snow brush and a cargo liner. Pack a cooler, and wool blankets that ride in the cabin, not the cargo area.
Book the 3 open hotel nights: Hot Springs, Grand Lake and Alamosa. They're listed under Lodging at the bottom.
Return: the Fallston branch is open Sat and Sun 9–2 and Mon–Fri 8–6, and it doesn't take after-hours returns. Plan on Sunday 9–2 or Monday.

Thu Nov 19 → Fri Nov 20 · The long drive to the Badlands

Fallston → Wall, SD · about 1,605 mi including the Badlands Loop · your pace with stops is roughly 27–32 hours

8:00 AM ET	Leave Fallston. I-83 N to Harrisburg → PA Turnpike (I-76) W → Ohio Turnpike (I-80/90) → Indiana Toll Road.
~7–9 PM CT	Chicago. Take I-294 (the Tri-State) around the city to I-90 at O'Hare rather than going through downtown. By then rush hour is over.
overnight	I-90 W: Rockford → Madison → La Crosse → across Minnesota. Use the overnight hours to trade off driving with your wife.
Fri dawn	Minnesota and eastern South Dakota at first light. Sunrise is around 7:30 CT.
optional	Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD, Exit 332 20 min: a building covered in murals made from corn. It's free and odd.
optional	The Dignity statue at Chamberlain, at the I-90 rest area above the Missouri River worth it 15 min: a 50-foot steel Lakota woman holding a star quilt. This is also roughly where Mountain time begins.
~9 AM–2 PM MT	Leave I-90 at Exit 131 (Cactus Flat / Interior). Taking the Loop Road from here also lets you skip a westbound I-90 work zone east of Wall, where traffic is down to one lane at 45 mph (scheduled through Nov 22).
at Exit 131	Minuteman Missile Visitor Center 20–30 min. It's open Friday; it's closed on Sundays and Mondays in winter. Dogs can't go inside, so one person waits with her.
plan 1.5–2 hr	Badlands Loop Road (SD-240), driven westbound must see: Big Badlands Overlook → Door/Window trail viewpoints → Cedar Pass → Ben Reifel Visitor Center → Fossil Exhibit Trail → Yellow Mounds → Pinnacles Overlook → leave at the Pinnacles entrance → Wall. The best overlooks come last, at the west end, so time those for the late-afternoon light. Be at Exit 131 by 3:00 PM at the latest. Sunset is 4:18. Dogs are allowed on the roads and at the overlooks, but not on the trails.
by 3 PM	Delta-09 missile silo, Exit 116, 6 mi east of Wall 15–30 min: you look down through glass into a real Minuteman II silo. It's open 9–3 only, so if you get in too late, do it Saturday at 9 AM instead.
evening	Wall Drug must see: buffalo burgers, donuts and 5¢ coffee. The main store closes at 6 and the café at 5. Then check into Hansen Inn, 114 4th Ave, (605) 279-2501 ($30 dog fee for the stay). Call them with your updated arrival time.

If you get to Wall early (around 9–11 AM): check in, sleep until about 2 PM, then drive the Loop Road eastbound from Wall to about Cedar Pass and back. You'll finish at Pinnacles Overlook at sunset.

Sat Nov 21 · The Black Hills

Wall → Rushmore → Crazy Horse → Custer State Park → Wind Cave → Hot Springs · sunrise 6:57 · sunset 4:23

6:30 AM	optional Sunrise at Pinnacles Overlook, 15 min from Wall. The Badlands catch the first light, and you'll likely have it to yourselves.
7:30 AM	Check out of Hansen Inn. Fill the tank in Wall. If you missed Delta-09 on Friday, it opens at 9 and is a 6-mile detour.
→ 9:15	I-90 W → Rapid City → US-16 W. US-16A is closed in Keystone where it meets SD-40, so follow the posted detour; your phone's maps will already have it. Another way that avoids Keystone entirely: stay on US-16 to its junction with US-385 near Hill City, then take SD-244 east to Rushmore. That adds about 20 min.
9:15–10:30	Mount Rushmore must see: the faces get the morning sun. Parking is $10; there's no entrance fee. The visitor center is open 8–5. Walk the Avenue of Flags and the Presidential Trail boardwalk. Dogs are allowed only in the parking areas, so take turns.
10:30–12:00	Take SD-244 west, then US-16/385 south to the Crazy Horse Memorial 45 min. It's open 9–4:30 and costs about $30 per car. The mountain carving is still unfinished, and the museum is very good.
12:00	Lunch in Custer. Check `sd511.org` for the status of Needles Highway.
1:00–2:30	Custer State Park. The park pass is about $25 per car. Head east on US-16A to the State Game Lodge and the Peter Norbeck Visitor Center. Then drive Iron Mountain Road (US-16A) north from the south end must see. That's the direction where the pigtail bridges and rock tunnels frame Rushmore. Go as far as the road is open, then turn around. Expect short flagger stops at a curve-straightening project on 16A.
if open	Needles Highway (SD-87) 60+ min: granite spires, Needle's Eye Tunnel (8 ft wide; the CX-90 fits, but it's tight) and Sylvan Lake. It probably will be closed, because the state shuts it with the first snow and keeps it closed until April 1. If it's open, do it before Iron Mountain Road.
2:45–3:45	Wildlife Loop Road must see 18 mi · 1 hr: about 1,400 free-roaming bison, plus pronghorn, prairie dogs and wild burros. Late afternoon is when the animals are most active. Stay in the car near the bison.
3:45–4:45	SD-87 south through Wind Cave National Park: open prairie, more bison and prairie-dog towns at sunset (4:23). The visitor center is open daily. Cave tours have set times and dogs aren't allowed; call (605) 745-4600.
~5:00 PM	Hot Springs. Evans Plunge, a warm-spring pool open since 1890, is open until 6 PM Saturday. One person stays with the dog.

Sun Nov 22 · Wyoming → North Park → over the Divide

Hot Springs → Lusk → Cheyenne → Laramie → Walden → Willow Creek Pass → Grand Lake · about 480 mi · about 10 hr of driving with 9.7 hr of daylight · leave at 6:15 AM so the mountain stretch comes in the afternoon light

6:15 AM	Leave Hot Springs on US-18 → US-85 S through Lusk, WY, across the open high plains. Sunrise is 6:57.
en route	From Lusk down toward Cheyenne you're inside the F.E. Warren Air Force Base missile field, which holds active Minuteman III silos. You'll see small fenced compounds with antennas. Look, but don't stop at them.
~10:45	Cheyenne. Get gas and food at the edge of town, then take I-80 W.
~11:30	I-80 Summit and Vedauwoo, Exit 329 worth it 20–30 min: big granite formations right off the interstate, and the Lincoln head monument at the 8,640-ft summit rest area. Check `wyoroad.info`: this stretch has some of the worst crosswinds and closures in the country.
~12:30	Laramie. Fill the tank here. After this there's almost nothing for 150 miles.
12:45–3:00	WY-230 southwest along the Laramie River, past Woods Landing, into Colorado (it becomes CO-127), then CO-125 to Walden. This is empty ranch country with the Medicine Bow and Never Summer ranges on the skyline. The road is usually open in winter, but check `wyoroad.info` and `cotrip.org`.
~3:00	Walden: North Park, which Colorado calls its moose-viewing capital. Drive slowly south on CO-125 through the Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge, and look for moose in the willow bottoms.
3:30–4:40	Willow Creek Pass scenic 9,621 ft · Continental Divide: forest and meadows on CO-125, and the pass rarely closes. You'll cross it in the last light. Then Granby, and 15 minutes north to Grand Lake.
~5:15 PM	Grand Lake: a log-cabin town on Colorado's largest natural lake, at the west entrance of Rocky Mountain National Park.

If Sunday runs late: stay in Granby instead. It's 15 minutes closer and has more motels. If weather closes I-80 or WY-230, the backup is I-25 south from Cheyenne → Fort Collins → CO-14 up Poudre Canyon and over Cameron Pass to Walden. That route is still beautiful, and it skips Denver completely.

Mon Nov 23 · The heart of the Colorado Rockies

Grand Lake → Granby → Kremmling → Silverthorne → Breckenridge → Hoosier Pass → Fairplay → Buena Vista → Poncha Pass → Great Sand Dunes → Alamosa · about 290 mi · about 7 hr of driving · sunrise 6:59 · sunset at the dunes 4:47

7:00 AM	optional A dawn drive into Rocky Mountain National Park's Kawuneeche Valley, a few miles north of Grand Lake: the Colorado River headwaters, and some of the best odds anywhere for seeing moose. Trail Ridge Road is closed for the winter, so go as far as it's plowed and come back. Then walk to the lakefront.
8:00	Grand Lake → Granby → US-40 W → Hot Sulphur Springs → Byers Canyon scenic: 8 miles where the highway runs beside the Colorado River between rock walls → Kremmling.
9:00–10:15	CO-9 south up the Blue River valley, past Green Mountain Reservoir, with the Gore Range rising to the west. It's one of the prettiest valley drives in the state → Silverthorne → Dillon Reservoir → Frisco.
10:30	Breckenridge coffee and a walk: Victorian Main Street with the ski runs behind it. The ski season has just started, so expect some crowds even on a Monday.
11:15	Hoosier Pass must see 11,542 ft · Continental Divide. There's a pullout at the summit. Then Alma, at 10,578 ft one of the highest towns in America, and down into South Park, a huge high basin ringed by fourteeners. Hoosier Pass is usually open, but it can close in storms, so check `cotrip.org`.
12:00	Fairplay → US-285 S over Trout Creek Pass → the Collegiate Peaks Overlook just before Buena Vista must see: a long wall of 14,000-ft peaks, Princeton, Yale and Harvard, right in front of you.
12:30	Lunch in Buena Vista, or in Salida's historic downtown, a 10-minute detour. Get gas.
1:15–3:15	US-285 S → Poncha Springs → Poncha Pass (9,010 ft) → into the San Luis Valley, a vast flat valley between the San Juan Mountains and the Sangre de Cristos → CO-17 south past Villa Grove → County Lane 6 → CO-150 to the dunes.
3:15–4:47	Great Sand Dunes National Park must see: the tallest dunes in North America, with snow-capped peaks behind them. Leashed dogs are allowed on the main dunes, a rare rule for a national park. Walk out onto the first ridge for sunset at 4:47. The visitor center is open 9–4:30.
~5:45 PM	Alamosa, about 40 min away.

If you have to reach Dad's Monday instead: drive Grand Lake → Hoosier Pass → Buena Vista → US-285 straight through Alamosa and Antonito → Santa Fe. That's about 370 mi and 8.7 hr. You keep Byers Canyon, the Blue River valley, Hoosier Pass, South Park and the Collegiate Peaks, and you give up the dunes and Taos.

Tue Nov 24 · Rio Grande Gorge, Taos, the High Road

Alamosa → Antonito → Tres Piedras → Rio Grande Gorge Bridge → Taos → High Road → Santa Fe · about 165 mi · 4.5 hr of driving · sunset in Santa Fe 4:52

6:30 AM	optional Sunrise at the dunes. The first light comes over the Sangre de Cristos onto the sand. It's 40 min each way, so it adds about 2 hours to the day.
8:00	US-285 S → Antonito → into New Mexico over open sagebrush at about 8,000 ft → Tres Piedras → US-64 E.
~10:00	Earthship Biotecture, on US-64 just west of the bridge optional · 30 min: off-grid houses built from tires and bottles. They look like something from another planet.
~10:30	Rio Grande Gorge Bridge must see: walk out over a 565-ft drop to the river. It's free and takes 15 minutes.
11:00–12:30	Taos Pueblo must see: continuously lived in for about 1,000 years, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It's open 9–4 and costs $25 per adult. It can close without warning for tribal events, so call (575) 758-1028 Monday. Assume the dog stays in the car with someone.
12:30–1:30	Lunch at Taos Plaza.
1:30–4:00	The High Road to Taos scenic, driven south: NM-518 → Las Trampas (the 1760s San José de Gracia church) → Truchas, a ridge-top village with views of Truchas Peak → Chimayó (El Santuario, and Rancho de Chimayó for red chile) → Santa Fe. If it has snowed recently, take the Low Road instead (NM-68 through the Rio Grande canyon, 1.7 hr). The High Road is narrow, winding, and slow to get plowed.
~4:00 PM	Arrive at Dad's in Santa Fe.

Wed Nov 25 – Thu Nov 26 · Santa Fe & Thanksgiving

Wednesday is free: there's no driving. Close options: the Plaza and the Palace of the Governors, Canyon Road's galleries, Meow Wolf, and Bandelier National Monument, 1 hour away.
Thanksgiving is Thursday. Note that the Wind Cave, Great Sand Dunes and Mammoth Site visitor centers all close on Thanksgiving, which doesn't matter for this plan.

Fri Nov 27 → Sat Nov 28 · Straight home

The fast route: I-25 S → I-40 E (Albuquerque, Amarillo, Oklahoma City) → I-44 (Tulsa, St. Louis) → I-70 E (Indianapolis, Columbus, Wheeling) → Breezewood → home. That's 1,877 mi, about 34 hr of driving, which is about what your 32-hour straight-through runs take.
Leave Friday by 6 AM MT and you're home Saturday evening Eastern time. That also keeps you ahead of the heavy Sunday-after-Thanksgiving traffic.
Return the CX-90 Sunday 9–2 or Monday 8–6. There's no after-hours drop at Fallston. Detail it first: the cleaning fee for dog hair can reach $450.

Lodging

Night	Where	Status · options
Fri 11/20	Wall, SD	BOOKED · Hansen Inn & Cabins, 114 4th Ave · (605) 279-2501 · $30 dog fee for the stay · call them with your updated arrival time
Sat 11/21	Hot Springs, SD	BOOK · Stay USA Hotel & Suites, (877) 411-3436, $20 per pet for the stay. You must call before booking to get a pet room. · Super 8, 800 Mammoth St, $20 per pet for the stay · Baymont (dogs up to 40 lb)
Sun 11/22	Grand Lake, CO (Granby as backup)	BOOK · Spirit Lake Lodge, downtown Grand Lake, open all year · (970) 627-3344 · ask about their dog policy, because I couldn't confirm it · Grand Lake has many pet-friendly cabins and rentals · Granby: Snow Mountain Ranch (YMCA) has dog-friendly cabins
Mon 11/23	Alamosa, CO	BOOK · Comfort Inn & Suites (rated the #1 value among Alamosa's pet-friendly hotels) · Holiday Inn Express & Suites (pet-friendly, recently renovated) · Best Western Alamosa Inn. Great Sand Dunes Lodge, at the park entrance, is closed November through March.
Tue 11/24 →	Santa Fe	Dad's

Road watch list

Where	Day	Risk	Check
I-90 near Wall	Fri	Westbound is down to one lane at 45 mph east of Wasta and east of Wall (scheduled through Nov 22). The Loop Road gets you around most of it.	`sd511.org`
US-16A in Keystone	Sat	Closed for the bridge replacement; detour in place	`sd511.org`
Needles Hwy (SD-87)	Sat	Probably closed for the winter	`sd511.org` / `gfp.sd.gov`
US-85 and I-80 near Cheyenne and Laramie	Sun	High crosswinds and ground blizzards; I-80 closes often	`wyoroad.info`
WY-230 / CO-125	Sun	Remote two-lane roads with few services; Willow Creek Pass rarely closes	`wyoroad.info` · `cotrip.org`
Hoosier Pass (CO-9, 11,542 ft)	Mon	The Traction Law can be activated, and the pass can close in storms	`cotrip.org`
High Road (NM-518/76)	Tue	Narrow and plowed late after snow; switch to NM-68 if so	`nmroads.com`

Altitude and the dog

You'll sleep at 8,369 ft at Grand Lake, 7,544 ft at Alamosa and 7,199 ft in Santa Fe, and cross 11,542 ft at Hoosier Pass. Drink plenty of water, especially the first night at altitude.
A shih tzu's short snout makes thin air harder on her. Keep her calm and hydrated, and keep her warm at the overlooks, which run about 20–30°F with wind.
Where she's allowed: Badlands roads and overlooks (not trails) · the outdoor site at Delta-09 · the Great Sand Dunes main dune field. Not allowed: the Rushmore grounds beyond the parking areas, any cave tour, and the Minuteman visitor center.