Community Forums

jerztime · 10-27-2019, 12:16 PM

We’ll be heading to South Dakota next year (either in May or early Sept.) to see Mt. Rushmore. We plan on staying near Rapid City as we hear it’s centrally located. We are interested in what else folks think is worth seeing and how many days we should plan on staying in the area to see the best things. Also - we’ll be heading to SD from NJ, so let us know if there are any MUST SEE places we should stop & visit on the way out (we’ll probably take the 80-90-route, not sure yet where we will head north to catch 90 into Rapid City). And if you've stayed at a great campground in the area please share that info as well. Thanks!!

wjohnson913 · 10-27-2019, 12:25 PM

We stayed at Elkhorn Ridge in Spearfish. Very nice resort. Close to Deadwood and maybe 30-35 miles to Rushmore.
Badlands National park a little farther but an easy day trip. The whole are around Spearfish is very nice. I’d avoid the crowds during Sturgis rally.

Agesilaus · 10-27-2019, 12:46 PM

There are a number of sites around the Black Hills area:

Rushmore- (Quick visit IMO, maybe 2 hours)
Crazy Horse monument-(never been but some find it worth while)

Two Federal park caves- (4 hours each but you need to get there early for tour reservations)

Custer State Park (buffalo, prairie dogs and other critters; near the caves. Either camp there, make reservations early, or spend at least a half day)
Badlands National Park (maybe 60-90 minutes away. Time depends on you, drive thru in a few hours, hike the trails will take longer)
Wall Drug (tourist trap but very interesting one--near Badlands spend a couple of hours)

Minuteman Missiles--unless they are doing the silo tours skip this one. Its located east of Badlands)
There is a great gem and mineral museum in Rapid City at the college.

Deadwood-(if you are into gambling and/or boozing)
Devils Tower NM--(a couple of hours west of Rapid City, takes a few hours to walk around the base of the tower and see the prairie dogs)

As for the drive in via I80 and I90, check nps.gov for their map. I'm sure there are a number of minor parks and such. It's out of our usual area. But there are forts and such in the park system in that area. You can also use google type in --State Name--, tourist sites. And you'll find a bunch of places in each state. We don't spend much time in the central plains or the north east. I personally escaped from Jersey many years ago and haven't looked back...heh.

I might suggest on the way back to continue west on I90 which will take you by Devils Tower and Little Bighorn NM (which I avoided for years but when we finally stopped found it to be interesting-a couple of hours). Anyway that will run you past the Teddy Roosevelt NP south unit which is worth a day, camp in the area and visit the park.

twogypsies · 10-27-2019, 12:51 PM

If you do a Google on what to do around Rapid City many sites come up. Here is one:

https://www.visitrapidcity.com/things-to-do/attractions

Old-Biscuit · 10-27-2019, 01:13 PM

Agesilaus touched on several places of interest.

Mount Rushmore......
Plan for a DAY visit and then do a NIGHT visit
TWO completely different events/affects.

Crazy Horse Monument
Been in 'construction' since 1948......FAMILY has found a gold mine/Tourist Dollars
Drive by.....stop out on hwy and have a look otherwise PASS!

A trip to Hot Springs and the Mammoth Museum is worth while.
Active indoor dig site

https://www.mammothsite.org/

robertkathy · 10-27-2019, 01:15 PM

we enjoyed crazy horse more then mount rush more do not forget to take a piece and watch the 15 minute movi
you may also want to check out buckhorn wy pop. is 2

**Lt Dan** · 10-27-2019, 02:42 PM

Also, be sure to visit Custer State Park just outside of Keystone with herds of wild bison and deer. The Crazy Horse Monument is okay if you are looking for something to do, but not high on my list of things to do. The Needles Highway is a very scenic drive, just not in a large vehicle like a motor home or pickup pulling a trailer.

jonmarks · 10-27-2019, 03:01 PM

I second the recommendation to drive through the Badlands. And be sure to stop in at Wall Drugs. You’ll see the signs for miles. If you have a motorcycle or a toad, be sure to catch Iron Mountain Road. Definitely not in your rig. There’s something else. I need to think for a minute.

accsys · 10-27-2019, 04:14 PM

We have been to the area three or four times and prefer Custer State Park, Gamelodge Campground due to its close proximity to the Wildlife Loop. You can see our blog entries for Custer State Park for 2009, 2105, 2016 and our stay at Elhorn Ridge in 2016. Reservations for Custer State Park need to be made far in advance!

Bahamaniac · 10-27-2019, 05:52 PM

We visited Rushmore, Crazy horse, Deadwood, and Sturgis. Spend the time and visit Mammoth site. Definitely worth the time. This was the tail of a 3 week trip.

tankcj · 10-27-2019, 06:09 PM

Drive through the Needles eye granite tunnel on Needles hwy in and take a drive on Iron Mountain Road in Custer to experience more tunnels and the pigtails!

jerztime · 10-27-2019, 06:38 PM

great info - thanks! What kind of winds did anyone encounter in May/June or end of Aug/early Sept? we hear they can be wicked!

Elf · 10-27-2019, 06:53 PM

We were through there last year at the beginning of September. The winds were not bad most of the time. One afternoon we were at one of the Laura Ingles Wilder locations and the wind picked up. We just stayed the night in the parking lot and headed out in the morning when the winds had calmed down.

As for Mt Rushmore, we went in the late afternoon. That gave us a chance to see it in the daylight. We had dinner there and then went out for the night show. It worked out great to be able to see both.

Another stop on I-90 is the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD. We parked for the night in Mitchell at the Cabela's. They have a large area for RVs and there were probably a dozen for the night. Shopped at Cabela's and then unhooked and went to the Corn Palace. Just a quick place to check out on the way.