We are leaving on Sunday and heading to the Black Hills. We are staying near Deadwood and we are planning on going to Devils Tower and Mount Rushmore. What are some other “must sees” when we are out there?
Also, we are bringing 2 4-wheelers and plan on doing some riding in the state forest. We are picking up permits & maps when we get there.
My daughter REALLY wants to ride horses when we are out there. Can anyone recommend a good place that does trail rides?
Thanks!
My family and I stayed at Custer State Park this summer and loved it. There are trail rides available at the Blue Bell campground. Not sure of a phone number to get more info, but I think they had 2, 4 and 8 hour rides through some pretty cool country.
The Cosmos Mystery area is pretty cool 
also Crazy Horse monument was alright when they were working on it (years ago) not sure if they are actively working on it now. 
Have fun !!! I love the Old West 
If time permits, make sure to see a cave or two.
Been years for me so can’t remember which would be the best, but I’m sure you could ask around.
Pretty cool!
You will want to make time to go see the Mammoth dig.
second the bad lands.
Wind Cave, Mammoth digs in Hot Springs, Custer Park, Badlands at sunset, Deadwood nites is currently going on (not sure when it ends) are things my family enjoyed seeing multiple times out there. Jewel cave lantern tour is neat!
If time allows and your looking for some awesome scenery, hit the back roads. The highways are great, but a lot of little out of the way things to see that really shows the beauty of the Black Hills by getting off the mainstream paths. Plus if your into history, they placed a ton of historical markers and a lot of things to read.
Also, we missed out on stopping in at some of the small museums along the way and have made that a priority on our next trip. Most are not advertised and a little hard to come by. But they have a lot of cool artifacts from the progression of moving west and settlements. Definably one of my favorite places in the USA!
One last thing – I bought each of my daughters a little nikon camera/rechargeable batteries, and larger SD cards. Made it a contest to see who could shoot the most pics on our trip. Turned out being one of the best vacation ideas for the family. Each girl shot more than 2000 pics each. Great way to capture so much on a trip like that.
Have a safe trip and enjoy – so many cool things to see! 
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Spearfish Canyon Its where they filmed; Dances With Wolves winter scenes.
Helicopter ride over and in the Badlands.
I think Devils tower is about a 350 mi roundtrip so we passed on that this summer.
Drive the needles highway and later in the day Game loop in Custer state park.
Loved Crazy Horse and the Badlands loop
Neat gold mine tour a couple miles out of Deadwood
Jewel cave was cool but colorless unlike other caves I have seen.
Blue Bell in the park and Palmer gulch on the Mt Rushmore road both had great horseback trail rides. Book early for the best times
X2 on the Needles Highway followed by the Game Loop in the evening. To really make that day complete, be sure to stop by Sylvan Lake (very small lake) before the Needles…bring a picnic, go for a walk around the backside of the lake to let the kids do some climbing around & get some great views and then stop by the little store for some ice cream! Plus, there are trout in the lake
If you have a really nice day and enjoy swimming, hit the beach at the south end of Pactola Reservoir, kick back and enjoy one heck of a view! Reservoir is also loaded with with trout and there is a Marina where you can rent boats/pontoons. I know it’s a deep reservoir, but if you have a fly rod, bring it…or use spinning gear with a clear casting bubble and fly behind it. Despite it’s depth, the fish this time of year should be feeding on bugs on top (you’ll likely see some dimpling if it’s calm out). If you get a boat, hit the shore/point straight across from the beach. If not getting a boat, walk out to the end of the point by the beach that drops off to deeper water and give that a try. The campground there (just down the road from the marina) is one of my favorites anywhere. Take a few minutes to check that out too if you’re going to the beach or marina anyway (for a future trip?).
Also love the caves and hitting the backroads, as well…
Enjoy, safe travels and make some great memories
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Bear country USA is worth a look at. Also hit up some back roads/towns along the way. Have a great trip
Will I see everything looks like it covered for things to do , so have a great time out there. 
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When I went out there with my family as a kid the thing that I remember the most was walking around the badlands. Really cool.
http://www.nps.gov/badl/index.htm
Badlands at dawn or dusk is absolutely beautiful. Watch out for all of the wild animals though during those times. Very easy to hit one.
FDR
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Watch out for all of the wild animals though
FDR
I have friends with family out in SD, right before you hit the Badlands. Snakes have been so bad that they have told family NOT to come now. I have done the whole trip with my family and we loved it. One morning I got up early for a drive through Custer park and got stuck in a heard of buffalo for over 2 hours. This was before cell phones so wife and kids were going crazy back at camp wondering what happened to me. Have a great time.
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Watch out for all of the wild animals though
FDR
Just got back from a week out West. Many have mentioned the Badlands which I totally agree with. The Badlands Loop drive is soo full of history and specatacular views. Take the time to stop at the overlooks and read the history items they have. If you want to see something really moving in my opinion, it is the Wounded Knee memorial.
Have a great trip
Peggy,
I made that exact trip last year with my wife and kids. I will have a lot of ideas for you and your family, just have to go coach football right now. I will get back to this thread later tonight.
Also, I have a book that details all the family fun things to do in that area. You are more than welcome to borrow it for your trip, I am located in Blaine so we are not far apart.
Ron
Mount Rushmore, during the lighting celebration. Visit and walk around before the scheduled lighting time. Very patriotic 
Bear Country, Visit early when they first open. They feed the animals then and they are all out in the open. Most important part and my favorite, park and visit the baby animals area. The Bear cubs playing king of the hill on the logs and in the trees is fantastic.
Needles Hwy Lots of great views. The needle itself is really cool.
Wildlife Loop Great place to view animals, bring something for the wild donkeys 
Badlands Lots of climbing and hiking, watch the signs and stay on the trails where there is one.
Harneys Peak Great long hike, bring water and lots of it. It is the highest elevation peak East of the Rockies to the Swiss Alps. Really great views.
Sylvan Lake Wonderful little lake with a decent beach, lots of climbing rocks on the back side.
Sioux Falls Visit the Falls Park, great place to stretch your legs. I also heard that they have a fantastic zoo.
Devils Tower Don’t need any explanation
Read a few of the Indian stories about how they though it was created. My kids thought it was a really cool story.
Spearfish Canyon Devils Bathtub is an amazing hike, you can get directions here: Devils Bathtub. Numerous other waterfalls.
D.C. Booth Fish Hatchery Located in Spearfish. Your husband and son will find this one of their favorite places on your trip, Guaranteed
I would bet all of BK’s fish bucks on it 
Now for some of the so so places we went:
Mammoth Site, Hot Springs, neet but not really worth it according to my kids.
Reptile Garden, intersting but other things were better.
Corn Palace, got to see it once and only once…..
Wall Drug, see Corn Palace….
Rapid City Geology Museum, interesting if your a rock nut, some other cool things.
Some of the other families we went with found some of these places interesting and liked them so please take my advise with a grain of salt.
P.S. don’t forget your free “Where the heck is Wall Drug” bumber sticker.
Have fun,
Ron
THANK YOU for all of the suggestions! All of these ideas have definitely added to the to do list.
Now we just need to pick up Tyler from camp tonight, wash his clothes tomorrow, re-pack and leave Sunday. 
Do the SD Badlands and as much as you can take in now while the kids are still young. In a couple years down the road do the North Dakota Badlands in Roosevelt national Park at and around Medora. We saw lots more wildlife there and the beauty of the landscape eclipses the South Dakota Badlands. Medora has a huge open-air theater with a production that has to be seen.
Have a safe trip!
-J.
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Have a safe trip!
-J.
What he said
I thought a trip through the Badlands, went without saying…..but I guess not 
if you camp in the badlands you can’t start a fire or charcoal grill, so plan accordingly. We thought that road which made it’s way down to…oh gosh Hill City? where you went through all the short tunnels, and as you approached each tunnel each one of them framed Mt Rushmore, it’s a very curvy road and we camped right at the top. Geesh that was a long time ago.
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