best sites to see in South Dakota

I am interessted in taking my three children (ages 11,12 %26amp; 14) to Mount Rushmore this summer. We will be driving from Wisconsin. I%26#39;m wondering, if we only have three full days to sight see, what are the things we should do? I%26#39;ve also heard of a Hot Spring you can swim in. Has anyone heard of this and is this near where Mount Rushmore is?

best sites to see in South Dakota

You can see Mt. Rushmore, drive through Custer State Park and see the wildlife, and see Crazy Horse. The kids might like to pan for gold while there. There is also the Badlands, Spearfish Canyon and Deadwood.

Good restaurants and things to do in Keystone if that will be your base.

best sites to see in South Dakota

There are alot of things to do in this area. Lots of museums, history and culture that the kids probably won%26#39;t be interested in. Lots of touristy things they%26#39;ll probably love.

There%26#39;s the Reptile Gardens, with one of the largest reptile collections around, giant tortoises, and, I think, alligator or crocodile wrestling shows. There%26#39;s Bear Country, a drive through wildlife park. There%26#39;s the Cosmos mystery area. Some call it a tourist trap, some call it spooky. Balls roll up hill, other wierd effects. Optical illusions? There are 7 or 8 caves to tour. The best are Wind Cave and Jewel Cave, both run by the national park service. Also lots of hiking and wildlife viewing opportunities. On your way to and from Mt. Rushmore on Hwy 244, be sure to watch for mountain goats, especially on the west side of the monument.

I think the hot spring your thinking of is called Evan%26#39;s Plunge in Hot Springs SD, about 50 miles from Mt. Rushmore. http://www.evansplunge.com/

It%26#39;s located on the site of a huge hot spring. The water is 87 degrees. It also has waterslides and a health club.

Thanks for the great ideas! We will definitely do some of those. For sure Custer State Park. Evans Plunge sounds like the place I heard about. Hopefully, we will be able to do that as well. Does anyone know if it is worth going to Mount Rushmore during the 4th of July or am I better off picking a different date? Also, is Deadwood a good place to stay? I%26#39;m trying to figure out how our itinerary should be and where we should stay overnight. For instance is it too much to want to see Mt. Rushmore, Custer State Park,Crazy Horse Memorial, plus whatever else is in that area in one day? How far apart is everything? If we can do all that is one day, we still would have two full days for touristy things.

Deadwood isn%26#39;t centrally located to the attractions you are talking about. Hill City, Custer (city or the state park), or Keystone would be closer.

Mt. Rushmore has fireworks the evening of July 3, the whole site will start filling up with people in the morning, not really a good day to sightsee there.

Ordinarily you could see Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse and Custer State Park in one day, however, over the time of the 4th, traffic will be slow and you might want to give Custer State Park its own day.

With three full days and lots of energy you%26#39;ll be able to see alot. (In two weeks you might not be able to see everything.) I%26#39;ve not been to Mt. Rushmore on the 4th of July, but I%26#39;ve heard its extremely crowded starting early to mid afternoon with people waiting for the fireworks. I think it might eat up alot of your limited time.

To give you an idea of distances, from the interstate in Rapid City to Mt. Rushmore is 25 miles. Bear Country, Reptile Gardens, Cosmos, at least one cave and the town of Keystone are all on the way. Hot Springs is 50 miles further south from Mt. Rushmore with Crazy Horse, Custer and Wind Cave along the way. Hot Springs also has the Mammoth Site, an archealogical did. Check their website as they sometimes have Jr. Archeaologist digs for kids. Jewel Cave is 13 miles west of Custer. Deadwood is about 50 miles north of Mt. Rushmore. And nearby Spearfish Canyon is worth a visit. There are walking trails and hikes that you might enjoy.

Custer State Park is just south of Mt. Rushmore. A nice scenic drive would be Hwy 244 which runs by Mt. Rushmore to Hwy 87, called the Needles Highway, to US16A, which goes east for 9 or 10 miles then north. The northward portion is called the Iron Mountain road. This road has some one lane tunnels and if you%26#39;re diving north through them they frame distant veiws of Mt. Rushmore. I%26#39;d recommend skipping the wildlife loop portion of Custer State Park this time because it eats up alot of time and if you drive it at mid day you don%26#39;t see much wildlife.

Staying in Keystone will put you close to alot of the things you want to see and there are lots of choices for where to stay.

Yikes! I kinda rambled here. I hope it helps.

I think I%26#39;ve read that Mt. Rushmore has strolling character presidents on July 3 as part of the entertainment. But I%26#39;ve also read the characters are there on the 4th as well. Can anyone confirm this?

I think if they have some of the entertainment from the 3rd also going on the 4th it would be less crowded but equally patriotic. You just won%26#39;t see the fireworks, but they%26#39;ll still do the evening lighting ceremony won%26#39;t they?

Has anyone actually been there on July 4th and can confirm or deny if there is any ';leftover entertainment'; going on?

Thank you so much for this great information. I think it would be best to pick a date other than the 4th. Also, the Mammoth Site, Caves and Evans Plunge would be fun. The distance information was very helpful! Things aren%26#39;t as far to get to as I thought. We will definitely have to be very motivated but I think it will be worth it. If anyone thinks of other sites, please let me know.

Just so you%26#39;re clear; did you know the independance day celebration at Rushmore takes place on the 3rd not the 4th right? So the day with all the crowds is July 3rd. I%26#39;m thinking the 4th would be a better day to go.

Thanks for clearing that up. I wonder if it would still be ok to visit SD around that time. Even if we stay away from Mt Rushmore on the 3rd. Or is the summer a time when any time I pick the crouwds will be huge. Also, we will be driving through Minnesota on I-90 through to Rapid City. I%26#39;ve found The Corn Palace in Mitchell and Badlands Petrified Gardens but are there any other sites to see on the way? Does anyone know if Sioux Falls is a nice place to stop? I saw that they have a waterfall there.

I love this site, everyone has given such valuable information!

When leaving Mitchell, stop at the Lewis %26amp; Clark visiting Center. about an hour from Mitchell,right around Chamberlin. Spectacular views from here and very interesting facts and displays from their expedition.

This in my opinion is where the West begins,right across the Missouri River and thru the roving hills of SD. By the way on the way down from the visitors center stop at Big Als Oasis for a 5 cent cup of coffee...just like Walls Drugs.. but no Ice Water..