Badlands, Custer, etc. - Is a week too long?

Hi - I am interested in a trip in late September to South Dakota - Badlands, Custer and area. We love to day hike, see great and different scenery and find adventures. Is there enough to do in this area to stay for a week?

Is the hiking spectacular - or just interesting?

Thanks,

Sue

Badlands, Custer, etc. - Is a week too long?

Hi

You can see a fair bit of it in 4 days, a visit to Devils Tower in Wyoming included. Add another day for visiting Badlands NP. So that leaves 2 full days for hiking. I%26#39;m not much of a hiker so can%26#39;t tell you about that but I%26#39;m sure our local expert and others will give you more info. As a start try this website: www.blackhillsdiscovered.com

Late september is a great time of year for a visit!

Tet

Badlands, Custer, etc. - Is a week too long?

I, too, am not much of a hiker, but you will have plenty to do to keep you busy for a week. Some spend a couple of days at Custer State Park alone.

There are also several underground adventures, namely Wind and and Jewel Caves, which are operated by NPS. There are privately owned caves as well. To me, these are spectacular. Wind Cave has one of the largest concentrations of a formation called boxwork in the world.

The Badlands will warrant a daytrip, as will Devil%26#39;s Tower as Tet mentioned. If you are highly adventurous, you can ';climb the tower'; with a proper permit.

You ask about if the hiking is spectacular or interesting. To me, this is a personal opinion. There are many areas of the Black Hills that are quite unique to me, but one again, this is my opinion, which could be way different from yours. You really can%26#39;t compare the scenery here to what you would find in the Grand Tetons, for instance, or probably even Glacier National Park (I have not been, so I am going strictly by pictures!)

Another good website is travelsd.com, where you can order a trip planner and get an idea for the attractions in the area.

Have fun planning!

You%26#39;ll find plenty to do for a week--especially if you like to hike.

I would say the hiking is great. No, you won%26#39;t be climbing the Grand Teton but there is great day hiking. You%26#39;ll find more trails here that are accessible for day hikes in a closer vicinity than you%26#39;ll find in the bigger mountains further west.

The best hiking scenery is in northern Custer State Park and in the adjacent Black Elk Wilderness. The Needles Highway is near here. Try trails such as Sunday Gulch, Cathedral Spires and Little Devils Tower to Harney Peak. Other Custer State Park trails that are worth trying out are Lovers%26#39; Leap and Grace Coolidge Creek.

The (arguably) second best hiking is in Spearfish Canyon. You can find trails right off of the road or you can try Little Spearfish Creek.

Another good area is on Rapid Creek and Slate Creek west of Silver City which is about half way between Custer State Park and Spearfish Canyon.

The Badlands are a completely different environment from the Black Hills. You%26#39;ll want to try the Castle Trail for sure. You can also try the Sheep Mountain Table Trail.

You%26#39;ll find yourself spending the majority of the week in the Black Hills. As for the Badlands, most drive through in a few hours. If you%26#39;re more adventurous, you could spend up to two days but that might be a little long.

The best hiking map for the Custer State Park/Black Elk Wilderness trails is:

鈥ationalgeographic.com/product/鈥?46.html

You can find Custer State Park info at:

sdgfp.info/Parks/鈥?0Map

Badlands:

鈥ationalgeographic.com/product/鈥?20.html

Also try Black Hills National Forest for maps and info:

http://www.fs.fed.us/bhnf/

OMG-plenty to do for a week, including surrounding areas. Take your time, relax and have fun. Important to do that. Sleep in or go to bed early. Read. Hike slowly. Read all the markers. See the visitor center movies. Shop. Hiking is great here, a bit different than most places. Certainly different than MA! What do you consider adventure? U will have a wonderful time, especially with a week to do all of it!

Welllll - adventure for us was hiking in the Canadian Rockies, Kayaking on the Colorado River, Slot canyon hiking in Utah, everything in Yosemite and Yellowstone (our favorite), just generally stuff that makes us say WOW. My husband gets bored with many nature hikes and strolls but if it%26#39;s different scenery from the usual and wildlife around, he will be happy. Thanks for the input.

sue

Coming in to this one a little late, but my son and I were out that way last year for about 10-11 days. We wished we had more time. Spent time in Spearfish area, visited Devil%26#39;s Tower, Spearfish Canyon, Custer State Park, Badlands, Rapid City. Took our time, slowed down from the frenetic pace of the East Coast, got lost a few times, and were tearful to leave. It was one of the best holidays we%26#39;ve had yet.

You%26#39;ll have a wonderful time!!

Thanks for the great replies. This is definitely in the planning stage but this information - especially on the hiking - really helped decide to go.

sue

Our family went to Badlands/Custer area over a year ago for 10 days over July 4th. We too wish we had more time. If you like to hike, you will want at least 3 days in bad lands. Yeah you can ';do'; the badlands in a couple of hours, but do you even get out of your car? No. We enjoyed hiking during the morning and evening... it is way to hot during the afternoon (at least in July). I would have loved to have scene a storm in the Badlands.

We also took alot of time in Black Hills and Custer. We had picnic lunches every day and took in a different area.

One side trip I would highly recommend, is to go to the Mamouth dig site (sorry can not remember the name, just the experience). It was a lot of fun and we all learned something new, but don%26#39;t tell the kids it was more than just a fun thing to do.

i am sure if we would have had more time, we could have hiked alot more and gotten of the paths. Take your time and you will find things to do.