SouthDakota
3
Day Itinerary •
USA
Three days in South Dakota gives you the essential Mount Rushmore State experience, from the extraordinary presidential monument of Mount Rushmore and the magnificent Crazy Horse Memorial to the most extraordinary badlands landscape in North America and the vast American bison herds of Custer State Park. This route covers the heart of South Dakota. The extraordinary Black Hills with their granite peaks, gold rush towns and the Needles Highway, the most dramatic drive in the Great Plains, the extraordinary Badlands National Park moonscape of pinnacles and spires and the legendary Wall Drug roadside institution.
Best Time To Visit
May to September. Badlands very hot in summer.
Getting There
Fly into Rapid City Regional (RAP)
Getting Around
Rental car essential throughout
Budget Per Day
Approx $100 to $170 per person per day
Difficulity
Easy to moderate, some Black Hills hiking
DAY 1
BLACK HILLS
MORNING
MOUNT RUSHMORE AND THE CRAZY HORSE MEMORIAL
Mount Rushmore National Memorial is the most extraordinary presidential monument in America, its extraordinary 60-foot carved faces of Washington, Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Lincoln in the Black Hills granite giving the most recognizable landmark in South Dakota. The Crazy Horse Memorial nearby is the most extraordinary ongoing sculpture project in the world, its extraordinary 563-foot carving of the Lakota warrior on Thunderhead Mountain dwarfing Mount Rushmore in scale. Rushmore free, parking $10. Crazy Horse entry $15. Drive: 25 min drive
MIDDAY
NEEDLES HIGHWAY, THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY MOUNTAIN DRIVE IN THE GREAT PLAINS
The Needles Highway through Custer State Park is the most extraordinary scenic drive in South Dakota, its extraordinary 14-mile route through the eroded granite pillars and spires of the Black Hills passing through three one-lane tunnels cut through the living rock and giving views of the Cathedral Spires, the Needle's Eye and the extraordinary granite landscape that gave the highway its name. The drive is impossible for RVs and trailers. Entry with Custer State Park pass $20. Drive: 30 min drive
AFTERNOON
CUSTER STATE PARK WILDLIFE LOOP AND BISON HERDS
Custer State Park is the most extraordinary state park in South Dakota, its extraordinary 71,000 acres of Black Hills ponderosa pine forest and open grassland sheltering one of the largest free-roaming American bison herds in the world at over 1,400 animals. The Wildlife Loop Road at dawn or dusk gives the most extraordinary bison encounter in the Great Plains, the herds frequently blocking the road entirely. Wild burros, pronghorn and elk are also extraordinary. Entry included in park pass.
💎 HIDDEN GEM
The extraordinary Sylvan Lake in Custer State Park is the finest hidden lake in the Black Hills, its extraordinary granite boulder shoreline and crystal-clear water surrounded by ponderosa pine giving the most extraordinary swimming lake in South Dakota. The short loop trail around the lake is extraordinary. Free with park pass. The filming location for National Treasure.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Keystone Cafe, Keystone The finest breakfast near Mount Rushmore. Extraordinary local eggs and strong South Dakota coffee. | Lunch: Palmer Gulch Lodge dining room Outstanding Black Hills lunch. Local South Dakota bison burger and craft beer near the Needles. | Dinner: State Game Lodge, Custer State Park The most extraordinary dining in the Black Hills. Local bison and trout in the historic 1920 lodge.
DAY 2
BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK
MORNING
BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK LOOP ROAD, THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY LANDSCAPE IN THE PLAINS
Badlands National Park is the most extraordinary landscape in the Great Plains, its extraordinary 244,000 acres of eroded buttes, pinnacles and spires of banded sedimentary rock rising from the South Dakota prairie in formations of red, orange, yellow and white that glow most extraordinarily at dawn and sunset. The 40-mile Badlands Loop Road past the Big Badlands Overlook, the Pinnacles Overlook and the extraordinary Yellow Mounds is the finest scenic drive. Entry $35 per vehicle. Drive: 1 hr drive
MIDDAY
DOOR AND WINDOW TRAILS AND PRAIRIE DOG TOWN
The Door and Window trails in the Badlands are the most extraordinary short hikes in the park, their extraordinary 0.75-mile combined route through a gap in the Badlands Wall giving access to the inner badlands basin with its extraordinary formations visible from nowhere else. The Roberts Prairie Dog Town is the most extraordinary black-tailed prairie dog colony in any national park, its extraordinary network of mounded burrows and resident burrowing owls giving the finest wildlife encounter in the Badlands. Free with entry. Drive: 20 min drive
AFTERNOON
WALL DRUG AND THE BADLANDS SUNSET
Wall Drug is the most extraordinary roadside institution in America, its extraordinary complex of stores, cafes and attractions in the tiny town of Wall built on the legend of free ice water offered to travelers since 1931. The extraordinary collection of Western art, animatronic dinosaurs, a replica Mount Rushmore and the finest 5-cent coffee in America make it the finest free roadside stop in the Great Plains. The Badlands at sunset from the Big Badlands Overlook is the most extraordinary light in South Dakota.
💎 HIDDEN GEM
The extraordinary Sage Creek Wilderness area in the western Badlands is the finest hidden section of the park, its extraordinary remote grassland giving free-roaming bison herds, black-footed ferrets and bighorn sheep in a landscape entirely unmarked by any tourist infrastructure. Free with park entry. The most extraordinary hidden gem in Badlands National Park.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Cedar Pass Lodge, Badlands Extraordinary Badlands breakfast with views of the spires. Local eggs and strong coffee at dawn. | Lunch: Wall Drug Restaurant, Wall The most legendary roadside lunch in America. Extraordinary buffalo burger and 5-cent coffee since 1931. | Dinner: Cedar Pass Lodge dining room The finest restaurant in the Badlands. Local South Dakota bison and trout with extraordinary park views.
DAY 3
WIND CAVE AND DEADWOOD
MORNING
WIND CAVE NATIONAL PARK, THE FINEST CAVE IN THE BLACK HILLS
Wind Cave National Park is the most extraordinary cave in the Black Hills, its extraordinary 95 miles of mapped passages containing more boxwork cave formations than any other cave on earth, the delicate honeycomb of calcite fins covering the cave walls in a pattern found nowhere else in the world in such extraordinary concentration. The Natural Entrance Tour gives the finest introduction to the cave. Above ground the park shelters a magnificent bison herd. Entry free, cave tours approx $12. Drive: 1 hr drive
MIDDAY
CUSTER STATE PARK BUFFALO ROUNDUP COUNTRY
The annual Buffalo Roundup in late September is the most extraordinary free spectacle in South Dakota, when cowboys on horseback herd the entire 1,400-strong Custer State Park bison herd into corrals in the most extraordinary livestock event in the Great Plains. The Wildlife Loop Road through the rolling grasslands of the park gives year-round extraordinary wildlife encounters with bison, pronghorn, bighorn sheep and wild burros. Free with Custer State Park pass. Drive: 30 min drive
AFTERNOON
DEADWOOD, THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY WILD WEST TOWN IN AMERICA
Deadwood is the most extraordinary Wild West heritage town in America, its extraordinary 1876 gold rush Main Street of Victorian buildings, saloons and casinos preserving the legend of Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane and Seth Bullock in a National Historic Landmark district unlike any other in the Great Plains. The Mount Moriah Cemetery above the town where Wild Bill and Calamity Jane are buried is the most extraordinary historic cemetery in South Dakota. Cemetery entry $3.
💎 HIDDEN GEM
The extraordinary Jewel Cave National Monument near Custer is the third longest cave in the world at over 200 miles of mapped passages, its extraordinary hydromagnesite balloons, moonmilk and nailhead spar formations entirely different from Wind Cave nearby. Tours approx $8. The most extraordinary hidden cave experience in the Black Hills.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Deadwood Social Club, Deadwood The finest breakfast in Deadwood. Extraordinary local South Dakota ingredients in the most historic saloon building. | Lunch: Pitchfork Fondue, Custer The most extraordinary outdoor lunch in South Dakota. Local bison and beef cooked over open flames in cast iron. | Dinner: Deadwood Social Club The finest restaurant in Deadwood. Extraordinary local Black Hills cuisine in the most atmospheric setting.
DAY 4
MORNING
MIDDAY
AFTERNOON
💎 HIDDEN GEM
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
DAY 5
MORNING
MIDDAY
AFTERNOON
💎 HIDDEN GEM
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Where To Stay
Rapid City, Night 1 Hotel Alex Johnson or Rushmore Hotel and Suites. Approx $110 to $200 per night. Custer or Hill City, Night 2 State Game Lodge or Custer State Park Resort. Approx $100 to $180 per night. Wall or Badlands, Night 3 Best Western Plains Motel Wall or Badlands Interior campground. Approx $60 to $120.
Top Tips
1. Mount Rushmore at dawn before the crowds arrive is the most extraordinary experience. Parking opens at 5am.
2. The Crazy Horse Memorial is far more impressive than Mount Rushmore in scale. Night laser show extraordinary.
3. Custer State Park Wildlife Loop at dawn for bison herds blocking the road is the most extraordinary free drive.
4. Badlands at sunset when the spires glow orange and red is the most extraordinary light in South Dakota.
5. Wall Drug is free to enter and the most extraordinary roadside institution in America. Coffee 5 cents.
6. Wind Cave has more boxwork cave formations than any cave on earth. Book tours at recreation.gov ahead.
Total Budget
$100 to $170/day