South Dakota Trip

[cyfanatic]

I have chimed in twice in this thread with negative comments...let me say that in no way represents my view of a trip to Rapid City and all that is around that region. We drove out there about 5 years ago and had a great family trip! I really enjoyed the sights and would go there again with my family!

[iccyfan]

Wall Drug is the biggest waste of time since the Wisconsin Dells.

It serves a purpose. If you're driving out from Iowa, take the Badlands Highway loop and see the sights. The loop basically ends at Wall Drug where you get back on I-90 - have dinner and let the kids rampage around a little before driving on into Rapid City.

OP asked for some logistics. We drove from eastern Iowa to Omaha on Saturday morning and caught the Henry Doorly Zoo that afternoon. Sunday morning we drove to Rapid City, catching lunch in Mitchell and spending 20 minutes tops at the Corn Palace. We were at the Badlands highway loop by late afternoon and had dinner at Wall Drug before driving on to Rapid City. It was a pretty long day and we probably short-changed the Badlands, but our pass was good for a week and we caught it again on the way out.

[JRCampy]

The wife and I spent 5 days in the Black Hills area last August, and for the most part it was a pretty great trip. We camped four nights, one night near the Badlands, and three nights in or around Custer State Park. The Badlands are great, although some of the trails are not very kid friendly.

We stopped at Wall Drug to get our "Free Ice Water", it's about the biggest tourist trap you can imagine.

Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse were both very interesting, and although you can see both as you drive by from the road, the exhibits at both make them both worth the stop.

We went to both Wind Cave and Jewel Cave, both were really cool, figuratively and litterally. We went on the Lantern Tour at Jewel Cave, if we were to go again we'd probably try a different one as we were told you get to see a lot more of the crystal formations in another part of the cave. Also although my wife would be allowed to go on the spelunking tour at Jewel Cave, my large rear end would prevent me from joining her... if you've been to the Jewel Cave visitors center you know what I mean. ;)

We spent pretty much an entire day hiking around Sylvan Lake and up near the Catherdal Spires in Custer State Park. Next time we're planning to hike all the way to Harney Peak, we ran out of time on this trip.

The food overall was pretty mediocre, stay away from a place called Ruby's in Keystone, way overpriced and not very good. We ate at a place in Custer called Sage, I would highly recommend that, best meal we had on our vacation. There is also a pizza place in Custer that I cannot remember the name of, but it was on the main east/west road through town, toward the west edge of the city, they had pretty good pizza.

[Colorado]

My 6 year-old still talks about the Badlands but she's too young to remember our trip to Deadwood. I recommend Rushmore, Custer SP, Badlands, hiking trip in Black Hills and Wind Cave. There was also a mock shoot out in front of our hotel in Deadwood that would be entertaining to kids.

[HandSanitizer]

You guys are awesome!!!

Here is more info..
we are only in the Custer area for 3 days. Then we go to Estes Park and Greeley CO to visit relatives.
wanted to drive though the Badlands loop before going to Wall then to Custer.

Does anyone know about how long it takes to see each one of these attractions?? It seems like all the stuff below is around the same area.
Flinestone bedrock city- Custer --------------
Custer State Park-Custer---------------------
Jewell Cave -Custer--------------------------
Crazy Horse - North of Custer --------------
Big Thunder Gold Mine - Keystone, SD--------
Mount rushmore - Keystone, SD---------------
Bear Country USA - Custer-------------------Someone told me 1.5 hours
1880 Train - Hill City/Keystone-------------
Reptile Gardenss - Rapid City---------------
Thanks again.

[GeronimusClone]

You guys are awesome!!!

Here is more info..
we are only in the Custer area for 3 days. Then we go to Estes Park and Greeley CO to visit relatives.
wanted to drive though the Badlands loop before going to Wall then to Custer.

Does anyone know about how long it takes to see each one of these attractions?? It seems like all the stuff below is around the same area.
Flinestone bedrock city- Custer --------------
Custer State Park-Custer---------------------
Jewell Cave -Custer--------------------------
Crazy Horse - North of Custer --------------
Big Thunder Gold Mine - Keystone, SD--------
Mount rushmore - Keystone, SD---------------
Bear Country USA - Custer-------------------Someone told me 1.5 hours
1880 Train - Hill City/Keystone-------------
Reptile Gardenss - Rapid City---------------
Thanks again.

Cosmos Mystery Area - A fun-filled Black Hills attraction near Rapid City and Mt. Rushmore!
In the same area, you won't regret it.

[Steve]

Try to schedule your visit to Mount Rushmore late in the day so you can take in the flag retiring ceremony followed by the lighting of the monument as darkness settles in. Even if you've seen it in the daytime, it's worth it to take in the night lighting effect.

[cyfanatic]

Try to schedule your visit to Mount Rushmore late in the day so you can take in the flag retiring ceremony followed by the lighting of the monument as darkness settles in. Even if you've seen it in the daytime, it's worth it to take in the night lighting effect.

I agree with this. We took in the night/lighting ceremony and it was awesome! Went back a couple days later to see it in the day and while it is impressive no matter the time of day...the ceremony in the evening was very very cool!

[CarolinaCy]

You guys are awesome!!!

Here is more info..
we are only in the Custer area for 3 days. Then we go to Estes Park and Greeley CO to visit relatives.
wanted to drive though the Badlands loop before going to Wall then to Custer.

Does anyone know about how long it takes to see each one of these attractions?? It seems like all the stuff below is around the same area.
Flinestone bedrock city- Custer --------------
Custer State Park-Custer---------------------
Jewell Cave -Custer--------------------------
Crazy Horse - North of Custer --------------
Big Thunder Gold Mine - Keystone, SD--------
Mount rushmore - Keystone, SD---------------
Bear Country USA - Custer-------------------Someone told me 1.5 hours
1880 Train - Hill City/Keystone-------------
Reptile Gardenss - Rapid City---------------
Thanks again.

Flintstone Bedrock City is pretty small. There is a train that takes you around the park, makes 1 stop - entire trip is probably 15-20 minutes. There's also a little "theater" where the Flintstone gang performs a couple of musical numbers, prob 15 minutes long. The majority of the park is just mock houses, cars and statues of the characters. You can also take a ride in the Flintstone family car around a go-kart track. All in all, I'd say you'll kill an hour minimum, possibly up to 2 depending on how long your kids want to play in the playground area.

Bear Country USA really depends on how long you want to stay. The first 1/2 is spent driving through the wildlife area, then you can get out and see the animal exhibits in the rest of the park. We probably spent close to 2 hours there, just because our daughter liked watching the bear cubs wrestle with each other.

[JRCampy]

You guys are awesome!!!

Here is more info..
we are only in the Custer area for 3 days. Then we go to Estes Park and Greeley CO to visit relatives.
wanted to drive though the Badlands loop before going to Wall then to Custer.

Does anyone know about how long it takes to see each one of these attractions?? It seems like all the stuff below is around the same area.
Flinestone bedrock city- Custer --------------
Custer State Park-Custer---------------------
Jewell Cave -Custer--------------------------
Crazy Horse - North of Custer --------------
Big Thunder Gold Mine - Keystone, SD--------
Mount rushmore - Keystone, SD---------------
Bear Country USA - Custer-------------------Someone told me 1.5 hours
1880 Train - Hill City/Keystone-------------
Reptile Gardenss - Rapid City---------------
Thanks again.

Custer State Park - The park is huge, so you can't really put a time on how long it takes to go there. There are a lot of things to do and see so it really depends on what you want to do. Obviously if you want to hike you can spend all 3 days just at Custer SP and not see everything. The highlights are Sylvan Lake, Needle Hwy and the freerange Buffalo.

Jewel Cave - You can probably do Jewel Cave in about 3 hours, it depends on what tours they have open and when. You can call ahead and reserve a time for your tour, so that will save you a little bit in the end.

Crazy Horse - Will take between a couple minutes and several hours, again it depends on what you want to get out of it. You can literally drive by and see it from the road, but you want to learn more about how they're carving it and see some of their Native American exhibits it'll take longer.

Mount Rushmore - Again, you can drive by and see it or stop to get some of the history behind the sculpture. I'd say plan on at least 4 hours if you want to watch some of the movies they have running and to see the various exhibits.

Can't speak for the rest, we didn't hit up any of that stuff. We did pass the Flintstones thing in Custer, looked deserted when we were there, don't know how much fun that would be.

[HandSanitizer]

Man...I would love to just walk around and hike etc...but I have a 3, 5 and 9 year old. I think spending a week in a cabin up there when my kids are 10, 12 and 16 would be cool though.

[2020cy]

3 yr. old is going to hamper some activities. Hopefully, he/she sleeps good in the car, then you and the wife can take turns doing stuff with the other 2.

[Gizmo]

Go to Hot Springs and see the Woolly Mammoth dig. They discovered and old tar pit that killed a number of these and you can go in and walk around the dig site. Very interesting. Also, there are several places that serve Chuckwagon suppers that have a western meal and western music with the meal. Also very entertaining for an evening.

[Wesley]

Skip eating at Slugger Sam's Steaks. Gristle in their steaks.

Buy some Indian trinkets for remembrances.

[Ms3r4ISU]

It serves a purpose. If you're driving out from Iowa, take the Badlands Highway loop and see the sights. The loop basically ends at Wall Drug where you get back on I-90 - have dinner and let the kids rampage around a little before driving on into Rapid City.

OP asked for some logistics. We drove from eastern Iowa to Omaha on Saturday morning and caught the Henry Doorly Zoo that afternoon. Sunday morning we drove to Rapid City, catching lunch in Mitchell and spending 20 minutes tops at the Corn Palace. We were at the Badlands highway loop by late afternoon and had dinner at Wall Drug before driving on to Rapid City. It was a pretty long day and we probably short-changed the Badlands, but our pass was good for a week and we caught it again on the way out.

Oh, you're one of those dads -- with a stopwatch and a full tank of gas that you don't want to waste. (Secretly smiling.)