GRISWOLDDAD
Parenting, Entertainment, and Travel Tips
Things to Do in South Dakota
*For the top yearly events in South Dakota, click here.
Badlands National Park
In the Badlands National Park, there are a good number of "must sees" like the Badlands Wall, Conata Basin, White River Valley, and some of the least disturbed prairies in the country. Once you enter the Badlands National Park, it feels like you've entered an other-worldly landscape. You've never seen anything like it! Many of these sites can be seen by driving Badlands Loop Road, which has many overlook stops. The Visitor Center is a good source for info and directions.
The most popular trail, The Notch Trail, leads to an amazing view of the Badlands Wall and takes about 2 hours. The trails of this park are labeled by difficulty. It's recommended you take water with you as the dry desert air and grit and sand can be really taxing. Trust the difficulty recommendations, Saddle Pass trail basically goes up one side of the Wall and back down the other side. It is steep, and the loose sand makes it a bit treacherous. Once you start getting high up on the wall...maybe slip a little...you start noticing that IF you fall...well, it'd be bad. Notch trail on the other hand wasn't that bad. There was a wooden ladder that had to be climbed and a section that was about 10 feet in distance that had a steep drop off on one side, but beyond that, it isn't too difficult.
The Cedar Pass Lodge is a great place to stay, with cabins and wonderful views.
Belle Fourche
Visit Belle Fourche to see the Geographical Center of the United States monument.
Custer
Custer State Park is in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The park is filled with breathtaking scenery, camping sites, trails, climbing, and free roaming wildlife like buffalo, wild donkeys, and prairie dogs. You'll want to get off the main roads to see more wildlife, but the most popular drives are Needles Scenic Byway and Wildlife Loop. The "Needles" are the spires of the Black Hills.
This park isn't far from Mount Rushmore and well worth the detour. There are also camping and Cabin options to stay in the park, which is a good idea since the wildlife is more abundant in the evening or early mornings.
Deadwood
The last of the quintessential Old West Towns in my tour of Tombstone, Dodge, and Deadwood. Famous cowboys like Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, and Seth Bullock called this town home. All three are buried in Mount Moriah Cemetery. The saloon Wild Bill was shot in the back during a poker game (with his poker hand of aces and 8's which became known as the "dead man's hand") is still there and thriving as a restaurant and gambling place with live entertainment, Old Style Saloon No. 10. Speaking of that death and the ensuing shootout with Bill's killer, Jack McCall and Jack's trial, the re-enactment of these events can be seen three times a day during the summer. Adams House and Museum is the late 1800's home that was renovated, complete with furnishings of the time, by the Mayor Adams of Deadwood in the 1930's and combined with an old west museum.
Film Star Kevin Costner's love of the old west shows up in Deadwood as well. The actor purchased a historic building, renovated it to what it originally looked like, actually re-adding the 3rd floor it once had, and turned it into a frontier themed casino and restaurant with Costner movie memorabilia named The Midnight Star.
While Dodge City tricked me with it's motel that someone just slapped a famous cowboy name on and was just not a good place to stay, Deadwood has the Bullock Hotel, which actually is a historic hotel and casino from the cowboy days and a very nice place to stay. It was built by Seth Bullock, the first sheriff of Deadwood. Supposedly, the ghost of Seth haunts the hotel to this day, protecting it.
Tours of Deadwood are available as is horseback riding.
Just outside of Deadwood, in direct eyeshot of Bullock's grave, you'll find Roosevelt Tower. Bullock built this tower to honor his friend, Teddy Roosevelt. When he died, he asked to be buried in a place from which the Roosevelt Tower could be seen. Granted, the pine trees have grown tall enough to impede the view these days. Coincidentally, when you visit Mount Moriah Cemetery, you'll notice Bullock isn't near anywhere else. It's a bit of a hike to see his grave, high up on a hill.
Fort Meade is nearby and originally built in 1878 to protect mining towns of the surrounding area like Deadwood. At the museum, you learn things such as this is the place that took the Star Spangled Banner from an honored song to becoming the National Anthem!
Tours of Deadwood: Original Deadwood Tours, Boot Hill Tours, Blacktail Horseback Riding Tours
Playing Poker in Deadwood
Deadwood
Midnight Star
Original Saloon No. 10
Roosevelt Tower
Mount Moriah Cemetery
Bullock Hotel on the Streets of Deadwood
Seth Bullock's Grave
Wild Bill Hickok's Grave
Keystone
Mount Rushmore is up there with the Statue of Liberty and the Liberty Bell as the epitomic symbol of AMERICA! It is simply amazing that a sculpture of this magnitude is even possible, on the side of a mountain no less. Things to do while there include walking the Presidential Trail that leads up close to the monument, visiting the Lakota, Nakota, and Dakota Native American Heritage Village, or attending a Ranger talk or walk, or just listening to the audio tour.
Don't forget, from mid May until September, the monument is lit up at night and lets you view it in a different form of beauty... or... in a different light. Pun intended. Also, there is a pull-off that allows you to get a profile pic of George Washington.
Nearby, the Crazy Horse Memorial is another giant rock carving like Mount Rushmore. Its mission is to honor the culture, tradition and living heritage of North American Indians. When fully completed, it will be the world's largest mountain carving.
In the next-door town, Hill City, you'll find a lot of touristy shopping, everything from T-shirts and knickknack type shops to art stores selling paintings, pottery, and wood carvings.
Mitchell
Mitchell is home to the Corn Palace. "For over 120 years, the World’s Only Corn Palace has attracted the unusual, the notable, and the road-weary." This is a multipurpose arena\auditorium used for local attractions and events, but the cool factor is the palace itself is entirely corn-themed with giant murals (changed yearly) made out of colored corn.
Corn Palace
Rapid City
This town has made a very unique tribute to the US presidents throughout the years. There is a statue of every president since George Washington littering their downtown area. There's one on virtually every street corner!
The town also has a fun and free public dinosaur park and another free kids park called Storybook Island that has playground equipment and fun things to do for the little ones all based on storybook and Cartoon characters.
Looking for a good and fun place to eat while in town? Head over to Fort Mays Old West Town and Dinner Show. You can get great chuck wagon style cooking, see a country western music show with a touch of comedy, and even see a replica Old West town with actual set pieces from "Dances With Wolves".
Wall
Wall Drug is hailed as America's #1 roadside attraction. You can have fun panning and mining for gems and fossils, spend time with the animated T-Rex, play in the Branding Iron arcade, see the train station water show, see the western art gallery, climb on the giant Jackalope and all the other photo-op animals and vehicles, or simply SHOP through all the souvenirs. You can grab food here as well, 5 cent coffee and a full menu. In a different area of the store, there's a Malt Shop!
This place made the map back in the 30's while Mount Rushmore was being built. They were off the beaten path and not getting a lot of business until they put signs out at the highway offering free "Ice Cold Water" for anyone who stopped by. Over time, more and more kitsch was added, making it the great, must-see stop that it is today, and, of course, they still offer the free water.
