Visiting South Dakota

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Vash01

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I plan on visiting the national parks and monuments near Rapid City, SD in July. I made my reservation for the Mount Rushmore tour. I am going to have one more day for sight seeing (may be two days). I really want to see Badlands national park but can't find any tours. The only one i found won't accept single passengers, which i find rather unfair. Worst case i will rent a car for a day. It will be 90 miles each way, plus time in the park, which is supposed to be Huge.

SD seems like an interesting state. The Jewel cave and Wind cave national monuments are also within driving distance, but I may have to drive myself. I really prefer enjoying the scenery while soneine else does the driving. I wont have the time to drive to Teddy Roosevelt NP in North Dakota, unfortunately. My time off from work is very limited (4 days total)

I did find one tour for single travelers, but it was not clear if that means i would be the only one on the tour. I wouldn't like that. The questions i posted on line for the tour organizers went unanswered. FSU is so much more reliable and efficient! Anyone has any experience?
 
I've been to Mt. Rushmore and Badlands when I took my grandmother on a national park trip out west. I just admire the scenery while driving and stopping to walk around or take pictures, no experience with tours though. Very nice area, I think there's a reservoir in Black Hills you can do some relaxing and water recreation if you have a day too.

Deadwood is another place to visit if you are going to be right there.

If you do get a chance to drive around that area, the wildlife can be breathtaking, particularly just across the border in Montana, we really enjoyed it.
 
Custer State Park is very near Mt Rushmore and worth a drive. You could spend a lot of time there, but if time is limited, you can do some short scenic/animal drives.

The drive to Badlands is long, but flat easy driving. Badlands may be big, but you can get a sense of it pretty quickly. It's interesting landscape and worth the drive if you have time. Check in advance to see if there are ranger led tours the day you'll be there.
 
Garden Kitty said:
Custer State Park is very near Mt Rushmore and worth a drive. You could spend a lot of time there, but if time is limited, you can do some short scenic/animal drives.

The drive to Badlands is long, but flat easy driving. Badlands may be big, but you can get a sense of it pretty quickly. It's interesting landscape and worth the drive if you have time. Check in advance to see if there are ranger led tours the day you'll be there.
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Custer state park is going to be a part of my Mt. Rushmore tour. Also Crazy horse.
I have at least one full day to go to Badlands NP. If I can't find a tour, I may rent a car for a day to see it. I don't know if I can see Jewel cave too. I heard it is very pretty.
 
Vash01 said:
Custer state park is going to be a part of my Mt. Rushmore tour. Also Crazy horse.
I have at least one full day to go to Badlands NP. If I can't find a tour, I may rent a car for a day to see it. I don't know if I can see Jewel cave too. I heard it is very pretty.
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I love Badlands and have been there twice. I don't recall it taking all that long to drive through the park. The second time, we were heading east on the interstate and just decided to get off and go through the park again since it sort of parallels the road. It's one of my favorite parks, though we haven't done anything except drive through. IMO this one is more of a driving park. It really is possible to just drive though, stop at all the pull-offs, and not take that much time but still see some spectacular scenery. The Black Hills area is beautiful.
 
LOL. I am addicted to travel, Japanfan. :)

I am taking advantage of the 3-4 day weekends my current job provides.

Annie, thanks for the information. I read about how much Teddy Roosevelt loved the Badlands of the Dakotas. I read that the landscape in the Badlands NP looks like something from another planet. I have to see it.

Japanfan, I had tried to go to Mt. Rushmore last year but it was late in the season and the airfares were outrageous (like $1000 round trip from Phoenix). Right now they are much lower (though still too high- same as a round trip to Alaska, which I did recently). So I want to go this year. It has been on my bucket list for quite some time, and I am a big fan of the national parks system. So I try to see as many as possible.
 
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Speaking of Custer, on the day we drove into Black Hills area, we stopped at Custer's Last Stand, the Little Bighorn battlefield a couple hours away in Montana. It was a calm sunny day, no storm clouds. When we are up on top of the hills sightseeing the monument and graves, this jalopy comes driving by on a private road, being driven by a Native American. He starts playing really loud tribal music on the speaker setup in his car, and then chanting. A minute later there are like 50 mph winds, a little bit of a rain shower, but it was the wind more than anything, kicking up dust and dirt and pelting all the tourists in the face. It stung. People were getting blown over and taking cover. Then the car drove off, the music stopped, and the wind and rain were gone. Back to sunny skies.

I'm sure none of that will help you on your trip Vash, but it was one of the craziest things I've ever seen.
 
Glad you're going there, Vash. We made the mistake of not visiting the Badlands the summer we were there. It was towards the end of our trip, and we were pretty tired @ that point. If we ever get out there again, we'll have to do that.
 
It has been years since I have been in SD. I did go to Mt Rushmore during the day and at night.
They had a lovely light show at night. If they still do it and you have time - I would recommend.
 
^I don't know why but a light show feels kind of wrong.

I was at Mt Rushmore a few years ago, I only had time for a short visit as I was on my to Chicago (I didn't want to pass up the opportunity as I didn't know when I'd be as close to Mt Rushmore again as I was then) but something about it really grabbed me. I was there in late April, so it was fairly empty which might have contributed to that but there was just something about in general. I definitely want to go back, to Mt Rushmore and just generally the area.

Enjoy your trip, Vash!
 
Have you considered Devils Tower just across the border in Wyoming? It's quite spectacular yet contained, so you could have an excellent experience while using up only about half a day.
 
My wife and I were in the Dakota's several years ago. We enjoyed visiting the Fargo Dome, there was a monster truck event there. Family friendly and exciting!

The Bad-Lands and Black Hills are are very beautiful! We went to the USA President's Wax Museum witch is right by Mount Rushmore. And we sampled a selection of very good wines at the Prarie Berry winery. We do not drink but they allow you to spit out the wine into a vessle after you have tasted it. Very fun!

Dead Wood is wonderful. Kevin Kostner own's a casino there, I think he was very attractive in Water World. That was a great film.

We stayed far away from the Crazy horse place. My wife and I have heard it has looked the same since 1982 and the cost to go their is outrageous!
 
Wonderful! South Dakota is one of my favorite trips. A group of skating fans got together in Rapid City a few years ago for a skating show. It was memorable for so many reasons! The people were probably the best part of the trip - both fans and skaters.
We saw Mt. Rushmore even though the monument was closed. It was the first week of November and the weather was beautiful, cloudless and in the 70 s. We had Mt Rushmore nearly to ourselves. We went on to Crazy Horse and had that beautiful site nearly to ourselves as well. Please fit this in your itinerary!
We had no time for the Badlands. I hope to return and see more of this interesting state.
 
I went to South Dakota several years ago. I would strongly recommend renting a car and driving yourself to many of the places. The driving is very easy in the summer - roads are wide and not a lot of traffic, and it's not like you have to worry about snow in July.

Mount Rushmore itself was a bit of a disappointment. I feel like it was the opposite of the Grand Canyon, which is way more impressive in person, while Mount Rushmore is smaller and less impressive in person. Still, you can't go to Rapid City and not go there and it's something worth checking off the list.

I enjoyed spending time in the town of Keystone. I recall the Red Garter Saloon was fun. The Presidential Wax Museum was a bit of a lark. I also enjoyed driving through the Badlands and stopping in Deadwood on our way home.

That trip also included my worst ever border crossing experience coming down from Canada, but obviously you won't have to experience that.

StasiyaGalustyanLove said:
My wife and I were in the Dakota's several years ago. We enjoyed visiting the Fargo Dome, there was a monster truck event there. Family friendly and exciting!

The Bad-Lands and Black Hills are are very beautiful! We went to the USA President's Wax Museum witch is right by Mount Rushmore.

Dead Wood is wonderful.
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Most important question - did you bring the gun and/or bulletproof vest to any of these places?
 
Hello Mr. Erin,

We only brought bullet proof protection to Deadwood because my wife and I were worried that a town where so many people have been killed might still be a hot-bed of murder, saloon violence and other wicked behavior. You are also allowed to drink booze in public there, very loose place. But we made it through alive and with some very good pasta at an Italian place inside on of the saloons.

I will have to ask my wife where you were and were not allowed to bring guns, it seems like we were checking the information for every tour. We even got rejected from one of the tours because they only host one person at a time, we hoped it was one couple.

Also, I disagree about the driving! It is scary and difficult all year around, especially when the roads get over-run with buffalos. I like to eat their meat but fighting in traffic for them is awful, dangerous and disturbing!

Whatever the red garter is we did not go near it and I am glad! What is the purpose of a garter anyway, does it have something to do with helping two people consume their marriage or is it just the woman equivalent of a jock-strap?!
 
Erin said:
Mount Rushmore itself was a bit of a disappointment. I feel like it was the opposite of the Grand Canyon, which is way more impressive in person, while Mount Rushmore is smaller and less impressive in person. Still, you can't go to Rapid City and not go there and it's something worth checking off the list.
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I felt the same way about Mt Rushmore, but it was definitely worth the stop. I enjoyed it more at night because there were fewer people and it had a different feel to it. A lot of people don't like Crazy Horse but we actually enjoyed that more, maybe because of the Native American history.

Devil's Tower is awesome! I didn't want to leave.
 
annie720 said:
I felt the same way about Mt Rushmore, but it was definitely worth the stop. I enjoyed it more at night because there were fewer people and it had a different feel to it.
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Yes, I agree that it was still worth the stop and probably should have made that clear. Just thought I should set expectations appropriately low. I was there during Canadian Thanksgiving (~2nd weekend of October) and so there were definitely not a lot of people there even during the day.
 
Wow! I don't see how anybody could consider My. Rushmore any kind of a "disappointment".

I have to wonder what will completely impress people like that.
 
Peaches LaTour said:
Wow! I don't see how anybody could consider My. Rushmore any kind of a "disappointment".

I have to wonder what will completely impress people like that.
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I might be that somebody, given that I thought the Grand Canyon was (to quote my SIL) just "a big hole in the Ground".

Granted, we didn't see a lot of it. And we has just seen Bryce Canyon, Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Monument Valley, and the Four Corners. So, it's fair to say that our senses had been fully stimulated and satisfied already.

Also, it was really cold when we went to the Grand Canyon.
 
Japanfan said:
I might be that somebody, given that I thought the Grand Canyon was (to quote my SIL) just "a big hole in the Ground".

Granted, we didn't see a lot of it. And we has just seen Bryce Canyon, Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Monument Valley, and the Four Corners. So, it's fair to say that our senses had been fully stimulated and satisfied already.

Also, it was really cold when we went to the Grand Canyon.
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If there is snow along with the cold, the Grand Canyon look even more beautiful.

I think the Grand Canyon grow on you. The more you see it, the more its vastness, grandeur impress you. At least that's what happened to me. On first viewing, some people are blown away by its majesty, and some are disappointed because it didn't live upto their expectations.

I am hoping to visit the West Rim in a couple of weeks. It will be very different from the South Rim, which I have visited about 10 times.

I have still not been to Four Corners.
 
Peaches LaTour said:
Wow! I don't see how anybody could consider My. Rushmore any kind of a "disappointment".

I have to wonder what will completely impress people like that.
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I thought it was pretty obvious in my post what would impress me since I gave the example of the Grand Canyon in the very next sentence. Some things are less impressive in person than their pictures might suggest, some things are more so. I feel like Mount Rushmore belongs in the former category, along with the Mona Lisa (always my #1 example in this category). It's just smaller than you would expect.
 
Erin said:
I thought it was pretty obvious in my post what would impress me since I gave the example of the Grand Canyon in the very next sentence. Some things are less impressive in person than their pictures might suggest, some things are more so. I feel like Mount Rushmore belongs in the former category, along with the Mona Lisa (always my #1 example in this category). It's just smaller than you would expect.
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I don't think it has be about size and I don't think something has to be big to be impressive.
That said, I don't think I was "impressed" by Mt Rushmore. I was captured by it and it had nothing to do with its size. But then, it wasn't about size for any of the National Parks or monuments that I visited but the beauty of nature and the realization of what nature can create (or, in case of Mesa Verde, what mankind was able to create with our modern technology).
 
ballettmaus said:
I don't think it has be about size and I don't think something has to be big to be impressive.
That said, I don't think I was "impressed" by Mt Rushmore.
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Amen! Hallelujah! I could of written both of these sentences myself, I just showed them to my wife on the computer screen and she agreed and also yelled words from the holy scripts. My wife is an expert on large sculptures having studied a class in why Buddhism is satanic at a church college in rural Arkansas during her teen years. She learned about wicked Chinese statues that are much larger then what he have is USA, so as the queen of size she may be bias but she was not impressed by Rush More.

Mr. Rushmore is not the biggest thing you can see in South Darkota, but it is very white. We liked the white-ness.
 
Staslust - my husband always tells me, quartz, if you need it big, you’d better go buy it at the pink cherrie web sight. :smokin:

And my dad always said, don’t do yoga, that makes the devil happy. :revenge:

I’ve flown in an aeroplane to South Dakota, but we left immediately to go to NW Iowa because of the dakota holy roller farm folks with guns in one pocket and the bable in the other pocket. I dont not want to know what they might have in theyre third pocket. :yikes:

Anywho, NW Iowa is right to the bottom rightside of South Dakota, and we felt much saffer there because they just grow massive quantities of marijuana amongst the corn there in NW Iowa and there aint a sheerif for miles and you can sit on your front porch swing smokin a doobie and watch the Jon Deer vehicles go down the street to the co-op. Way more entertaining than getting a Rush from some mountain - who the heck even are those guys anyways?? :huh:
 
We go to the Black Hills of South Dakota often for vacation since we live only 6-7 hours away. Our top things to see and do there when we take newcomers are:
- Mount Rushmore (two hours is plenty of time there)
- Crazy Horse Monument (1-2 hours there)
- Custer State Park Wildlife Loop Road (high-quality dirt and paved road with 1300 bison and lots of other wildlife)
- Jewel Cave Natl Park (several cave tours to choose from, moderately strenuous)
- Wind Cave Natl Park (several cave tours to choose from, not very strenuous)
- Devils Tower (about two hours drive from Rapid City, 1-2 hours is enough time there, see the movie Close Encounters beforehand if you can)

Top places to stay:
- Custer State Park Game Lodge (historic place, new addition has very nice rooms, wildlife roam the grounds, fabulous restaurant)
- Sylvan Lake Lodge in Custer State Park (very scenic at high elevation in the pines with rock formations, fabulous restaurant)

Places that I'd consider optional to see:
- Badlands National Park (interesting rock formations but it will be over 100 degrees in July and oppressively hot)
- Deadwood (the town has history but is a tourist trap)
- Wall Drug on I-90 (a must stop if you are driving on the highway to Badlands, has very quirky souvenirs and exhibits, good food/snack place)

You can request a South Dakota Vacation Guide online to get more information and photos. We never spend less than 4 full days in the Black Hills as there is so much to see and do! We prefer having our own car so we can set our own agenda, plus many of these places are a fair driving distance from each other.

https://www.travelsouthdakota.com/r...de 2018&utm_content=South Dakota Travel Guide

https://gfp.sd.gov/parks/detail/custer-state-park/
 
Vash01 said:
If there is snow along with the cold, the Grand Canyon look even more beautiful.

I think the Grand Canyon grow on you. The more you see it, the more its vastness, grandeur impress you. At least that's what happened to me. On first viewing, some people are blown away by its majesty, and some are disappointed because it didn't live upto their expectations.
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I think we were just replete in terms of having had amazing sensory experiences. So it was time to rest the mind and eyes and revel in memories of beauty.

If we had spent time in Grand Canyon first and then gone to the other places afterwards, we might have had the same experience.

I have still not been to Four Corners.
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I highly recommend it. :)
 
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