My 11 year old son has been wanting to see Mt. Rushmore and the old western sights in South Dakota for a long long time, and with our $CND finally being worth a bit more in $USD we are going to be able to go, it is a once in a lifetime trip for us so I want to try and get as much advice from anyone who lives in the South Dakota or who has vacationed there, and I really appreciate those who take the time.
Where is a good place to base if we want to see Mt. Rushmore, view some unique caves, pan for some gold, go rock hunting, and whatever other fun stuff there is to do for kids?
We will have our car, and plan on tenting for two or three nights then going to a motel for a night or two. Will 7 days be enough to see everything there is to see.
I have agreed to stay in Deadwood for 1 night, I guess my husband has to have one day of fun, are there things my son and I can occupy ourselves with there, while my husband takes advantage of his one ';big boy'; day I am allowing him?
My son is a real rock collecting nut, so if anyone has recommendations on what caves to see, or if there are any mine tours etc., I would truely be grateful.
I am also taking notes by reading the other posts in the forum, and hope to post questions that I have from them in this thread, so I am not taking the great advice already on the thread for granted,
Thank you in advance for anyone who might have the time to provide me some advice
Any help planning our trip to South Dakota in late aug 2008
Everything you have mentioned sounds like it will work. Seven days is ample. Late August is a great time to visit. There will be sufficient things for you and your son to do while your husband has a little fun in Deadwood.
I would suggest about 3/4 of your nights in the Hill City area and about 1/4 of your nights in the Deadwood area. There are hotels and campgrounds all over both areas. While in the Deadwood area, you can see Spearfish Canyon and Devils Tower. You could stay entirely in one area but it sounds like you%26#39;ll be alternating between camping and hotels so moving around a little bit should be easy.
For tent camping I%26#39;d recommend one of the Custer State Park campgrounds if you%26#39;re looking for showers. A nice campground in the Deadwood area with facilities is the Spearfish city park campground. If you%26#39;re okay with just an outhouse, any Black Hills National Forest campground will work.
A note about rock collecting--the federally owned lands are very strict about people not removing any rocks. I%26#39;ve known people that have gotten ticketed for it.
Any help planning our trip to South Dakota in late aug 2008
jjocko,
Since you are reading the other posts I won%26#39;t reiterate most of the items I%26#39;ve touched on in recent posts.
Your whole family will love the Black hills. Seven days is a good, solid trip there. I would definitely base out of Hill City or Custer if your focus is Rushmore, the caves and rocks/fossils.
Since your son is into rocks and fossils, make sure you stop at at least one rock shop. There are dozens of them in the BH. There is a really nice one on the state park side of Custer and another on the west side of town, headed out toward Jewel Cave. I don%26#39;t know of any places he can actually dig for minerals but the folks working in the rock shops could advise that. The shop on the east side of Custer has a lot of minerals and rocks from foreign places and is really interesting just to browse through. I have a nephew that loves rocks and minerals and he really enjoyed it there. You can even pick up a geode for him to crack open himself and discover what%26#39;s inside.
Your son would probably also enjoy the Ft. Hays supper show www.mountrushmoretours.com/chuckwagon.html
It%26#39;s a little pricey but you go early and check out real functioning blacksmith shops an other things then you go inside for dinner and a show. The show was great - similar to a Riders In The Sky performance. We went with several kids and they had a ball. It%26#39;s held at the set where they filmed ';Dances with Wolves';.
Also don%26#39;t miss a cave tour. Jewel cave was really nice and there has been one other recommened from other posters.
There are tons of things to do in the BH and it%26#39;s really just a matter of choosing what. The nice thing is that everything is so close together that you can squeeze in many things in a day. Very important on those once in a lifetime trips!
Since you have some time before you go you can send away for a South Dakota travellers guide. That%26#39;s helpful for planning. The site is: www.blackhillsbadlands.com/go.asp?ID=364
Enjoy yourselves and feel free to pm me with any specific questions!
Erin
Hi:
I would second camping at Custer State Park. They have a few different lodge areas. We stayed in a cabin at the Legion Lake Lodge, but they have camping areas as well. If you stay at Legion Lake you also have a nice lake close by that your son can swim in when you want to take a break from sight seeing.
I have 10 yr old boys and when we went to SD last summer one of their favorite things was the Badlands. I would seriously consider taking a trip to see them (I think about 1 1/2 hours from Custer). We really enjoyed some of the trails because you can (safely) hike and climb through some areas of the Badlands. Like another poster mentioned you cannot take rocks from most areas, so you would have to visit a shop to pick some up. We stayed in cabins inside the Badlands (Cedar Pass Lodge)...they were tiny, but clean. One word of caution: it was really hot when we were there, and the Badlands area is very arid, so you need to be careful with heat exhaustion. If you choose to take only a daytrip to the Badlands, I would suggest you get started really early in the morning.
If you are looking for a little ';western/cowboy'; type experience you can also ride horses at BlueBell Lodge (also at Custer). In addition to the stables, you can book a ChuckWagon dinner at Bluebell...kinda corny, but fun as well. We did both of these things and they were enjoyed by all.
Be sure to drive on the wildlife loop through Custer State Park...we had the most luck with seeing animals in the morning.
We also enjoyed Crazy Horse, and even got to see a few dynamite blasts while we were there!
Hope this helps, I%26#39;ll post again if anything else pops into my head.
Kelly
You will love the area. The others have given you very good advice already, but I can add a few things.
We visited in late August of 2005. It was an awesome time to visit. Crowds are light, and we were fortunate and had some very cool weather (unusual).
For a base, I would recommend Hill City, Custer (as others have said) or Keystone. Keystone is more touristy, but we used it as a base and enjoyed it. There%26#39;s lots of souvenir shops, but we were so busy that we didn%26#39;t have time to spend in town. I think we only walked around one night in town. The rest of our time was spent exploring.
In Keystone, you will find Big Thunder Gold Mine where you can pan for gold. Their gift shop was quite nice. It had lots of rocks/gems for sale, and in late August, everything was being sold at a reduced price. When you do Deadwood, you can go over to the neighboring town of Lead, where you will find a mining museum and another gold mine you can tour. Its name escapes me, but the South Dakota guide will have it listed. Lead is a small mining town..not too much there. If your 11 year old is into history, the Adams House/Museum is nice to see. The tour guides at the house are excellent!! As was previously said, you can spend a couple of nights here and see Devil%26#39;s Tower and Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway.
Custer State Park is great. Be sure to drive the wildlife loop (early in the am or early evening are good times), Iron Mountain Rd, and Needles Hwy.
Everything Prehistoric in Hill City is another rock lover%26#39;s paradise. Another god attraction is the Mammoth Site in Hot Springs. Here you will find a good gift shop with lots of gems for purchase. Your son will find the site quite interesting, as more fossils are discovered every day.
Does your son enjoy horses? If so, you can visit the Wild Horse Sanctuary near the Mammoth site in Hot Springs. It%26#39;s a pricey admission, but worth it if you love mustangs. The tours are small and the guides give a lot of specialized attention.
Both Wind %26amp; Jewel Caves are must sees. They are operated by NPS and have fascinating formations. You will see my comments a lot on these two attractions. My family loves caverns, and these two are quite different from each other. You can visit the nps.gov website to see the pictures of formations in each cave. Wind Cave is a bit more closed in and not for someone claustrophobic. Jewel is more open and has more exquisite formations, imo. For Jewel Cave, you might want to make advance reservations, as tours fill up quickly.
I would also recommend Reptile Gardens and Bear Country right outside Rapid City. Reptile Gardens has some great shows and exhibits, and Bear Country is a cute drive through zoo with a small walking area at the end of the loop.
For train lovers, there%26#39;s the 1880 train between Hill City and Keystone.
Crazy Horse is something to see as others have said, and be sure to visit Rushmore in the AM and go back at night for the lighting ceremony. The ceremony is very moving.
As another said, the Badlands is best visited early in the am. We lucked out and went on an overcast day that was cool and breezy, but I know many who have gone through in 100 degree heat. Not fun!! I am sure Wall Drug would make your rock collector happy. They have souvenirs galore!
Sorry I can%26#39;t help you with camping, as we did motels the entire trip. I%26#39;m sure Custer SP would be great for camping.
Have fun planning, and be sure to come back when you have more questions!
During your husband%26#39;s day in Deadwood, you could take your son to Gulches of Fun.
http://www.gulchesoffun.com/fun.htm
The gold mine tour in Deadwood someone else mentioned is the Broken Boot.
http://www.brokenbootgoldmine.com/
And watch for the shootout on Main Street in the evening before the Trial of Jack McCall at 8 pm. It%26#39;s been awhile since I%26#39;ve attended the Trial, but I recall it as fun.
Deadwood has a KOA with a pool.
http://www.koa.com/where/sd/41108/index.htm
Great, thanks for the links for things to do in Deadwood I will read them tonight !
If you haven%26#39;t found it already, deadwood.org is comprehensive listing of what%26#39;s available to do in Deadwood.
My in-laws just gave us some hotel nights as a gift, so we are booked in Hill city for 3 nights, Rapid City for 3 nights and Deadwood for 2 nights between August 22 - 29th. Are there things to do in Rapid City ?
Your son might enjoy the Homestake Gold Mine tour in Lead (town next to Deadwood). I haven%26#39;t been there since the mine closed in 2002, so I don%26#39;t know if they have changed the tour since then. You do get a sample piece of ore from the mine and we still have ours from over 10 years ago!
I second the recommendation of the Mammoth Site in Hot Springs. My kids loved it!
If you enjoy hiking, hike up to the top of Harney Peak to the now-abandoned stone fire lookout. The trailhead is at Sylvan Lake (which is lovely) and it%26#39;s not a difficult hike (our 5-year-old and 7-year-old did it). Beautiful country and great views of the Black Hills from the top. (If you know where to look, they say you can see the back of Mt. Rushmore from up there.)
jjocko:
For three nights in Rapid City, I%26#39;d spend one day going to the Badlands. The rest of the time, you could check out:
Skyline Drive (with a stop at Dinosaur Park)
Downtown--with a stop at The Prairie Edge store
The Journey Museum
Canyon Lake Park
Reptile Gardens
Bear Country USA
You might want to ride the City View Trolley around town.
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