South Dakota, Montana and Wyoming

South Dakota

The south-western corner of this state has a number of places that are well worth visiting and relatively close to each other. If you prefer to stay outside the main towns a very good option is Custer State Park, from which all the sights mentioned below can be visited on day trips.

Custer State Park

This is a relatively unknown park outside the USA judging from the small number of foreign visitors I encountered during the week I spent there. This may be because it lacks the spectacular sights that draw thousands of people to other, more famous, destinations like Yellowstone or Yosemite. But if you’re not looking for majestic peaks or towering waterfalls, there is much to see in Custer SP. For me, the standout feature are the three very different scenic drives. If you take the Wildlife Loop Road, you are almost certain to see the park’s magnificent herd of bison.




Bison herd on Wildlife Loop Road
(click on images to enlarge them)

The Iron Mountain Road is an excellent approach route to Mt. Rushmore as it takes you through beautiful scenery, tunnels hewn through solid rock and over wooden bridges, all the while offering glimpses of the famous landmark in the distance. Finally, the Needles Highway winds its way through dramatic rock formations before arriving at picturesque Sylvan Lake, where you can stroll, swim or hire a canoe. Another highlight is the State Game Lodge, highly recommendable for the quality of its accommodation and restaurant, which serves excellent bison and elk dishes. All in all, this park is a little gem which exceeded all my expectations.

Link: https://gfp.sd.gov/state-parks/directory/custer/
Link: http://custerresorts.com/lodges-and-cabins/state-game-lodge/

Mt. Rushmore

View from the Presidential Trail

Even though you’ve probably seen hundreds of photos of this iconic site, it still has the power to impress due to the size and quality of the sculpted heads of ptesidents Washington, Jefferson, (Theodore) Roosevelt and Lincoln. Take the Presidential Trail for a closer look (https://www.nps.gov/moru/index.htm).

Crazy Horse Memorial

Just off Highway 385, north of Custer, is the granite memorial to the famous Teton Sioux warrior Crazy Horse. Only his face has so far been completed and judging from the scale and detail of the model of the finished product, which is on display in the visitors centre, it will be many years before it’s completed. Definitely worth a visit (https://crazyhorsememorial.org/).

Badlands National Park

Turnout in Badlands NP

Another good day trip from Custer SP is to Badlands NP. Take Highway 79 to Rapid City and then Highway 44 to the Sage Creek Road turn off. Despite being unpaved, this road is perfectly drivable in a normal saloon car. It takes you past farms and fields until you enter Badlands NP, where the first thing you encounter is the Roberts Prairie Dog Town, a community of cute rodents that you won’t be able to resist photographing. You then turn right onto Highway 240, which takes you through the spectacular Badlands landscape with plenty of turnouts where you can park and take a closer look at the colourful rock formations (https://www.nps.gov/badl/index.htm).

As you approach Interstate 90, take half an hour to visit the Prairie Homestead, an interesting site featuring the original home of a pioneering settler family (http://www.prairiehomestead.com/).

Finally, on your way back to Custer SP, stop off at Wall Drug, a huge store which sells “trinkets, art, clothing, Christmas ornaments, leather goods, jewelry, and everything in between!”, as their website boasts (http://www.walldrug.com/).

Deadwood and Lead

Street in Deadwood

The last day trip I did from Custer SP was to these two gold-rush-era towns. I was expecting them to be more evocative of the 1870s when they were founded, but there are many modern buildings among the older restored ones. That said, it’s pleasant to stroll around and visit some of the stores and saloons that endeavour to recreate the frontier-town atmosphere, when the likes of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane lived here (https://www.deadwood.com/).

Nearby is Lead, with its enormous open-cut mine (http://sanfordlabhomestake.com/).

The Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway is also close:(http://www.spearfishcanyon.com/scenicbyway).

 

Montana

Little Bighorn Battlefield

Before arriving at this site I’d been reading a book about this legendary battle (“The Last Stand” by Nathaniel Philbrick) and trying to imagine the terrain over which the different phases of the encounter unfolded. Visiting the site really brought the story to life and made it much easier to envisage where and how the engagement developed. I strongly recommend anyone interested in the Indian Wars and this battle in particular to visit this national monument and take a guided visit with Apsalooke Tours. The park rangers also make a great effort to help visitors relive the skirmishes that took place here over the two days (June 25-26, 1876) that the battle raged, including how some of the soldiers were wounded with all the gory details. One girl fainted while listening to one of these accounts, although I’m not sure if this was due to the graphic nature of the descriptions or because of the intense heat! The visitor centre shows an interesting video about the battle (https://www.nps.gov/libi/).

Last Stand Hill

The nearby Custer Battlefield Trading Post has a café and sells a wide variety of Native American products (http://laststand.com/pages.php?pageid=6).

Wyoming

Devil’s Tower

This impressive geological feature is a must-see if you’re driving between South Dakota and the national parks of Wyoming. Geologists agree that the tower was formed through a process called “igneous intrusion”, although there are different opinions about what happened after that. These theories are explained on interpretative signs found on the Tower Trail, a 1.3 mile paved path that takes you all the way round the tower. It also has great views of the surrounding countryside. There is a prairie dog town near the entrance to the park (https://www.nps.gov/deto/index.htm).

Sheridan

I used this as a base from which to visit the Little Bighorn Battlefield, which is an easy 90-minute drive north from here on Interstate 90.

Other places in and around the town that are worth a visit are the Sheridan County Museum (http://www.sheridanmuseum.org/); the Historic Sheridan Inn (https://sheridaninn.com/), which has a good restaurant; Trail End Historic Site, the mansion home of cattle baron and politician John Kendrick (http://www.trailend.co/kendrick-mansion.html); the Brinton Museum and adjoining house (http://thebrintonmuseum.org/); and the Fort Phil Kearny Historic Site, near where the Fetterman Massacre occurred in 1866 (http://wyoparks.state.wy.us/Site/SiteInfo.aspx?siteID=21).

A good place to have dinner in Sheridan is Frackleton’s, on Main Street (http://www.frackeltons.com/).

Cody

Entrance to Buffalo Bill Center of the West

Several hours’ drive over the Bighorn Mountains brings you to Cody and its Buffalo Bill Center of the West. This superb complex has five excellent museums all under one roof (https://centerofthewest.org/).

A good place to stay is the Irma Hotel, which was built by Buffalo Bill himself and named after his daughter. The restaurant is decorated to evoke how it must have been in Buffalo Bill’s day and the food is very good. It was full on both nights I was there. Outside there’s a large porch where you can listen to live music and every evening there’s a re-enactment of a wild west gunfight right outside the hotel (http://www.irmahotel.com/).

Yellowstone National Park

The world’s very first national park is vast and full of spectacular sights. Be prepared to do a lot of driving to get to the main attractions, especially if you’re staying outside the park – West Yellowstone has lots of motel-style accommodation options (https://www.nps.gov/yell/index.htm). Top of my list is the Lower Falls and the canyon below it. There are many excellent viewpoints from which to see the falls, but the view from Artists Point is the most impressive.

Lower Falls from Artists Point

My second favourite spot is the Mammoth Hot Springs, where a series of boardwalks lead to terraces that mineral-rich waters have covered with a brilliant white substance called travertine. Other highlights are Lamar Valley, where you can see a herd of bison, the Grand Prismatic Spring, Old Faithful Geyser and the nearby Inn. If you have a bit more time, other interesting sights include Gibbon Falls, Tower Fall, the Upper Falls and the Hayden Valley. The approach road from Cody is also very scenic.

Mammoth Hot Springs

I stayed in West Yellowstone at the Three Bear Lodge, which I highly recommend for both the accommodation and the restaurant (http://www.threebearlodge.com/).

Grand Teton National Park

This park, with its impressive range of mountains, is due south of Yellowstone. I spent two whole days there, so I was able to visit all the viewpoints, but if you have only one day the best viewpoints, in my opinion, are the Oxbow Bend Turnout, the Mount Moran Turnout and the Jenny Lake Overlook. The impressive Jackson Lake Lodge is worth a visit with its panoramic views.

Bison herd and Grand Teton peaks

A good base for visiting the park is the town of Jackson to the south. Don’t miss the Museum of Wildlife Art, just outside town (https://www.wildlifeart.org/).

A good place to stay is Buckrail Lodge, which is only a few blocks from the downtown area (https://www.buckraillodge.com/).

The Snake River Grill is an excellent place to have a gourmet meal (http://snakerivergrill.com/).



Jackson Lake and Grand Teton peaks from Jackson Lake Lodge

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Costa Rica

Central Valley

Poás volcano

A trip to see the smoking crater of this volcano is a very nice excursion from San José and can be combined with a visit to the nearby La Paz Waterfall Gardens. The drive from the capital is an experience in itself as the countryside surrounding the volcano is extremely green and beautiful. First you climb past coffee plantations, through small towns and then, as you approach the foothills of the volcano, the terrain becomes steeper and more abrupt and you are surrounded by fields of the deepest green where cows graze and every bend in the road reveals another breathtaking panorama, including views all the way down to the floor of the Central Valley far below. Once you arrive at the volcano, you pay an entrance fee, park and walk about a kilometre to the viewpoint overlooking the crater, which is an impressive sight with its lake of milky water and constantly-emerging plume of gas. There is also a good gift shop at the entrance.


Poás volcano

 Click on the photo to enlarge it.

La Paz Waterfall Gardens

This excellent attraction is an ideal complement to a visit to nearby Poás volcano. The gardens are beautifully designed and full of local fauna and flora. There is even a walk-in enclosure where tame toucans will perch on your arm for a photo. Here you can see most of the wild cats that live in Costa Rica in relatively spacious enclosures and looking reasonably healthy and content. There is also a trail that takes you past the impressive waterfalls that give the gardens their name. The on-site restaurant serves up a good buffet lunch. www.waterfallgardens.com

La Paz Waterfall Gardens

 

Café Britt

A visit to this coffee plantation and roasting plant is highly recommended. It’s led by two guides who give a real insight into the history and process of coffee production in Costa Rica during an entertaining and humorous tour that is quite different from any other tour of this kind I’ve taken. There is also an excellent shop and restaurant on the premises. www.cafebritt.com/

Orosí and Ujarrás

If you fancy driving back to San José on a different road, you could take Route 10, which goes via Turrialba. This was the main road to the coast before the Zurqui tunnel was built making Route 32 the fastest way to Limón. Nowadays it’s used by mainly local traffic and is consequently pretty quiet, although it is a bit of a switchback with lots of hills and bends to negotiate. Having said that, it winds its way through very attractive countryside and allows you to visit two of the oldest churches in Costa Rica, at Orosí and Ujarrás. The former is still in use and has a small museum attached. The latter is a ruin situated in a small park that you have to pay a fee to enter. There are many other places in this area that I unfortunately didn’t have enough time to visit. Even though I didn’t stay there myself the Orosí Lodge looks like a great place to base yourself while you explore this part of the country. www.orosilodge.com

Hotel Santo Tomás (San José)

Conveniently located about 10 minutes’ walk from downtown San José, this hotel is in a large, characterful old house. The owner is a very friendly American who has lived in Costa Rica for many years and who often appears at breakfast time to talk to the guests and help them in any way he can. The other staff are also very welcoming and helpful. The only downsides are that the breakfast doesn’t exactly encourage you to leap out of bed in the morning and smoking is forbidden anywhere on the property, even though there is a large open-air area. www.hotelsantotomas.com

Los Volcanes Hotel (Alajuela)

Due to its proximity to the airport, this hotel, in an old mansion in the centre of Alajuela, is a good place to stay if you’ve just arrived in or are about to depart from Costa Rica by air and don’t want to spend the night in San José. The owner and staff are very friendly and the breakfast is excellent. The rooms are comfortable and clean and it’s very reasonably priced. hotellosvolcanes.com

 

Atlantic side

Rainforest Adventures Atlantic Aerial tram

This attraction is on Route 32 between San José and Limón and is worth a visit if you’re going that way. You ride above and through the tree canopy in metal gondolas, which is an experience in itself. I didn’t see much wildlife as it was pouring with rain most of the time, as it often does in this part of the country, so don’t forget to bring waterproof clothing.

Tree of Life Wildlife Rescue Center and Botanical Gardens (Cahuita)

Well worth a visit. The guided tour is very interesting and you get to see lots of different animals and birds that you may not see anywhere else, although this depends on what is in residence at the time. I saw a kinkajou, a jaguarundi, a paca, some coatis, peccaries and all the species of monkey that live in Costa Rica. Most of the animals originally came from private homes and had been acquired when babies. As soon as they got bigger their owners realised they were unsuitable as pets and one way or another they wound up at the Center. The main fact that those who run Tree of Life would like their visitors to take away with them is that most wild animals do not make good pets. The Center also has a small shop selling attractive paintings by local artists. www.treeoflifecostarica.com

Baby sloth at Tree of Life

 

Sloth Sanctuary (Cahuita)

I really recommend a visit to this sanctuary. The owners do excellent work rescuing and rehabilitating sloths that have been orphaned or injured. The visit begins with a tour of the facilities which includes explanations of how the different sloths came to be there. Then you are taken on a boat trip along the backwaters of the Estrella River, where you may see local wildlife. I was lucky enough to see a tayra ( a large member of the weasel family). www.slothsanctuary.com

Cahuita

If you prefer to stay in a quieter village on the Caribbean coast, I would recommend Cahuita rather than Pto. Viejo or Manzanilla. The former is a very touristy place and the latter seems to be a bit lacking in sleeping and eating options. Cahuita, on the other hand, has plenty of both, including the excellent El Encanto Hotel and the equally recommendable Sobre Las Olas restaurant. There are also a number of interesting places to visit nearby, including Cahuita National Park, the Sloth Sanctuary and the Tree of Life Wildlife Rescue Center and Botanical Gardens. The entrance to the national park is at the southern end of the village, which is the start of a very pleasant walk along a path that runs parallel with and very close to the beach. I saw a two-toed sloth, but I would probably have seen much more if I’d hired a guide.

Coati at Tree of Life

 

Pto. Viejo de Talamanca & Manzanillo

The route from Cahuita to Pto. Viejo is a very pleasant drive. Downtown Pto. Viejo is a bustling, noisy place with lots of restaurants, bars and places to stay and has a very different vibe from quiet, laid-back Cahuita. A bit further down the road is Manzanillo, which has a smaller centre than Cahuita and Pto. Viejo and not a lot of character as far as I could see.

Selva Verde Lodge and Rainforest Reserve

A very attractive and well-run eco-lodge just outside Pto. Viejo de Sarapiquí. The room I stayed in was large and simply, but adequately, furnished. There are two good restaurants and a pool on the property. The guide who took me across the river to visit the area of rainforest owned by the lodge was extremely knowledgeable and spoke excellent English. The lodge also organises river trips on the Sarapiquí river, during which I saw a sloth, iguanas and lots of birds. www.selvaverde.com

Chestnut-mandibled toucan at Selva Verde

 

El Encanto Hotel & Spa (Cahuita)

Set in a beautiful tropical garden, this enchanting hotel definitely lives up to its name. The hotel is very well managed by Alex and his efficient and friendly staff. My comfortable room was in a bungalow in the garden, where there is also a medium-sized swimming pool. A filling breakfast is served in the main building. There is a place to park your car within the property. A five-minute walk away up the road is what is generally considered to be the best restaurant in Cahuita: Sobre Las Olas. elencantocahuita.com

El Encanto Hotel, Cahuita

 

Sobre Las Olas Restaurant (Cahuita)

Located in a simple but atmospheric building right in front of the sea, this no-frills restaurant serves very well prepared dishes outside under the palm trees or inside. The fact that it was full all the time I was there is testament to its popularity and quality.

 

Arenal

Eco Termales Fortuna

Having never bathed in a series of open-air naturally-heated swimming pools, this was a memorable first for me. The pools are very tastefully integrated into the surrounding rainforest and as the number of visitors is carefully controlled it didn’t feel overcrowded at any time. The water is very warm, so it’s probably better to go towards the end of the day, when the air temperature is cooler. Monkeys and crested guans move around in the treetops above you as you lie there enjoying the soothing effect of the water. ecotermalesfortuna.cr

Místico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park

North of La Fortuna just past the bridge at the end of Lake Arenal you turn right and drive uphill for about two kilometres to reach this very well-run eco-park. The guide that showed me around spoke excellent English and made the three-hour circular walk extremely interesting and enjoyable. There is also a restaurant and a gift shop. www.misticopark.com

Butterfly Conservatory (El Castillo)

Up the hill from El Castillo village, this interesting nature-generation project with the main focus on butterflies is worth a visit if you’re in the area. You walk down from the reception into a valley and enter a series of enclosures where enthusiastic volunteers explain the life cycles of butterflies and frogs. Afterwards, you can return to the entrance via a self-guided “Rainforest River Walk”. There is also a good view of Arenal volcano (if it isn’t shrouded in cloud) from the road outside the conservatory. www.butterflyconservatory.org

Banded owl butterfly

 

Arenal Volcano National Park

The entrance to this park is just off the dirt road to El Castillo village (watch out for coatis and monkeys crossing the road or rooting about at the roadside). After paying your entrance fee, you drive a short distance to the carpark, from where you can do an easy circular walk to see lava fields from previous eruptions of the volcano. I saw more wildlife on the road outside the park than on the trail, but it was a pleasant stroll. www.arenal.net/arenal_volcano_national_park.htm

Arenal volcano

 

La Fortuna Waterfall

This impressive waterfall is about 20 minutes’ drive from La Fortuna. You can see it from the viewpoint at the top, but it’s worth descending the 600m to the base of the fall where there is also a swimming area. www.arenal.net/la-fortuna-waterfall-costa-rica.htm

La Fortuna waterfall

 

Monte Real Hotel (La Fortuna)

This simple-but-comfortable, motel-style hotel in the centre of La Fortuna is five minutes on foot from the town’s main street, where most of the restaurants and shops are to be found. The rooms are large and the beds comfortable. There is ample parking. The gardener will give you a tour of the riverside garden, including resident sloth, if you ask him. Breakfast is served just up the street in the El Río restaurant, but it’s worth the walk. www.monterealhotel.com

Don Rufino Restaurant (La Fortuna)

The fact that reservations are essential here is a reliable indicator of the quality of the dishes they serve. The tables may be close together, the noise-level high, the atmosphere hot, and the walls “decorated” with the inevitable large TV screens, but the food is very good and the service friendly and efficient. So if my caveats don’t put you off, I think you’ll enjoy your meal. www.donrufino.com

La Choza de Laurel (La Fortuna)

This is another good place to eat at in La Fortuna. Located in a huge, hangar-like, rustic-style building, it specialises in no-nonsense “typical” Costa Rican dishes that are filling and tasty. It’s within easy walking distance of the centre of La Fortuna and even has a small gift shop selling coffee and handicrafts. lachozadelaurel.com

 

Guanacaste

Pacific beaches

Playa Flamingo has fine white sand and there is a line of shady trees between the access road and the beach itself, so you’re not exposed to the full force of the sun’s rays all the time. What’s more, the setting is very picturesque with hills rising up on both sides and the area seems to have more or less resisted the temptation to turn it into another Tamarindo. However, there are a couple of multi-storey blocks at the northern end of the beach, so it may be just a matter of time before more high-rise monstrosities start to appear.

Playa Flamingo

 

Playa Tamarindo has become a tacky, overcrowded tourist trap since I was last there in the early 80s. In those days there was one hotel and a couple of simple restaurants, so you had to bring your food and night-life with you. Ah well, like they say, “nostalgia ain’t what it used to be”! Nowadays Tamarindo is packed with every tourist-oriented business you can imagine and the traffic’s so bad it may take you up to half an hour to drive the short distance from one end of the town to the other, especially at peak times over Christmas and New Year. That said, if you survive the initial shock, it’s not such a bad place to spend a few days.

Playa Tamarindo

 

Playa Ocotal, which is further north up the coast, just south of Playas del Coco has a small beach, limited low-rise accommodation and a very nice bar/restaurant right on the beach which goes by the name of Father Rooster Bar and Grill. www.fatherrooster.com

Playa Avellanas, south of Tamarindo, is what the latter used to be like thirty years ago and is home to the famous Lola’s bar/restaurant.

Playa Negra has a nice beach and a rather run-down, but very well positioned beach-front hotel.



Playa Negra

 

Hotel Pasatiempo (Playa Tamarindo)

This is a great place to “spend time”, as its name suggests. The attractively-decorated rooms are distributed around a tropical garden with a shallow designer swimming pool at its centre. The Monkey La-La bar and restaurant serves tasty snacks and cocktails. The staff are very professional and go out of their way to make your stay a pleasant one. It’s conveniently located just inland from the centre of Tamarindo, but only a five-minute walk from the beach. www.hotelpasatiempo.com