Here's Our Upcoming Itinerary...SD with Kids. Advice?

Hi! Would appreciate any advice on this schedule. Travelers are two moms (we couldn%26#39;t convince the dads to join us with all the kids! LOL!), two girls (5) and two boys (8). All of us have traveled much and we%26#39;re accustomed to road trips. Girls are adventurous spirts; boys love history and the outdoors. One family is vegetarian. We%26#39;re all midly crazy.

We%26#39;re hitting some of MN and doing ND (Bismark/Mandan) the 4 days prior to this SD itinerary:

Day 1

Drive from Bismarck to Deadwood, to overnight at the Hampton Inn. Visit Deadwood that afternoon/evening. Recommendations on where kids can pan for gold?

Day 2

Remainder of Deadwood this morning (can anyone recommend a kid-friendly restaurant/diner for b%26#39;fast?). Travel to Mammoth Site for 2pm Jr. Paleontology program. Stay @ State Game Lodge for two nights.

Day 3

Do Wildlife Loop (on our own, right? don%26#39;t do the jeep tour?) Hike and explore the Black Hills; visit Sylvan Lake. Visit Mt. Rushmore in late afternoon/evening.

Day 4

Depart Black Hills, driving Badlands Scenic Tour with stops to hike and explore (Big Pig Dig). Visit Wall Drug (I know, but I did it years ago and I have to stop again. *smile*) Drive on to DeSmet. Overnight in covered wagon @ Ingalls Homestead;

Day 5

Finish exploring Ingalls Homestead, depart SD on Rt. 14 to hit Walnut Grove and Sleepy Eye (just to say we did). =)

Many thanks in advance for any advice.

Here's Our Upcoming Itinerary...SD with Kids. Advice?

In Deadwood, you can pan for gold at the Broken Boot Gold Mine. Make sure to leave enough time to drive down to Hot Springs. You%26#39;re used to traveling with kids, but add a slow going factor for the terrain, traffic and driving through a National Park (Wind Cave). Depending on the time, you could drive most of the Wildlife Loop road on the way from the Mammoth Site to the State Game Lodge and doing it in the late afternoon/evening would increase your chances of seeing more animals.

If you happen to get a lot of rain on day 2, head for Hot Springs early and stop at Evans Plunge for swimming. They allow you to leave and come back later the same day. It might be the highlight of the trip. ;-)

Looks like a fun trip. Enjoy.

Here's Our Upcoming Itinerary...SD with Kids. Advice?

Thanks for the gold-panning recommendation. =) Noted on the drive times (good points, for sure). I like how your thinking on the return from Mammoth and hitting the Wildlife Loop that evening. I%26#39;m reading conflicting info - are mornings and evenings equal in the increased animal traffic??

I like the idea of Evans Plunge - definitely on our list as a ';The Kids Need a Break'; day. *grin*

Are you in ND? Talk to me about the Bismarck attractions for kids. We%26#39;re planning on Ft. Mandan for an afternoon.

THANKS!!!!

If you have time, the kids might enjoy the nightly western shootouts in Deadwood.

When we visited, we took our daughter to one of the buffet breakfasts at one of the casinos. It worked out well, but unfortunately I don%26#39;t recall the name of where we went. I think many of the casinos have the buffets.

When you get around Custer, we greatly enjoyed eating at the Blue Bell Lodge. Great food and service!! We tried our first buffalo here.

It looks like you are doing a pretty relaxed pace which is good! If you find yourselves with any downtime, I highly recommend Wind and/or Jewel Caves. The rangers provide excellent tours and we found the formations very interesting. Kids (adults, too!) also enjoy Reptile Gardens %26amp; Bear Country in Rapid City.

Have a great time.

If you have time, the kids might enjoy the nightly western shootouts in Deadwood.

Hi! Thanks for the response and advice! We are definitely looking forward to the gunfight (the boys are! LOL!) Will look at the restaurant @ Blue Bell Lodge - thanks!

And, yes, we%26#39;re trying to keep it pretty ';loose'; regarding the schedule. This is the first time we%26#39;ll be traveling together so we don%26#39;t know each other%26#39;s ';travel patterns';, kwim? I%26#39;ve got the infor on the caves (my kids LOVED the caves in Virginia). Also noted Reptile Gardens and Bear Country too.

Will most places serve salads and/or vegetarian meals in SD? Our traveling companions don%26#39;t eat meat.

Also - any recommendations for lunch on Day 4...touring the Badlands?

Many thanks!!

Hi Travel Happy,

I remember seeing a post on here about someone else who was looking for vegetarian meals in this area. If you get a chance, you might want to research the posts. Maybe try the Rapid City forum??? I think you might find more vegetarian fare in Rapid City than in smaller towns. I honestly don%26#39;t recall anything vegetarian at the Blue Bell.

Accomodator, the local expert, can probably help out more on finding a vegetarian meal. I believe he/she responded to the post I am referring to.

Just in case you don%26#39;t get to Broken Boot Mine, there%26#39;s the Big Thunder Gold Mine in Keystone that has panning. It%26#39;s very close to Rushmore. There%26#39;s also a place others mention in Hill City where kids can pan.

Also, I forgot to mention that Sylvan Lake is an awesome place to picnic. The kids will love playing on the rocks surrounding the lake.

If you have any others questions, feel free to ask.

Hi,

I left info about Bismarck on the North Dakota forums. About wildlife viewing, some might argue the finer points of morning vs. evening, but there%26#39;s not a huge difference. For me it comes down to this: sunrise in Custer on June 21st is at 5:12 am while sunset is at 8:40 pm. Peak wildlife viewing is generally the hour before and hour after these times. Even with the advantage of bodies on central time, sunrise is still REALLY early.

Thanks for the heads up on veggie fare. We%26#39;ll find something I guess (not being vegetarian, it%26#39;s out of the norm for me to look for it! LOL!) I%26#39;ll do the search you recommend for sure.

And thanks for the note on the panning in Keystone. We just might need that - our schedule in Deadwood is tight as we have to get to Hot Springs to do the Jr. Paleontology dig Sunday afternoon (only tour open the whole week).

Sylvan Lake - definitely on our list. Will it be warm enough for swimming? =)

LilND - thanks for the notes on ND - perfect! And *very true* on the timing of viewing the Wildlife Loop. Especially since I%26#39;ve got one lazy-head who never wants to wake up. Good call. =)

I found the link to the post on vegetarian food.

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g54774-i674-k13443…

I hope it helps a little.

After reading through it, I found it didn%26#39;t come out and specifically name places that specialize in veggie fare. It may help some, as several places are mentioned. As I said earlier, Rapid City might give you more selection.

Good luck.

Perfect. Thanks, much!! =)

Another place to gold pan is in Hill City at Wade%26#39;s Gold Mill... my son loved it and even got a nice big gold flake.

If you are into caves... Jewel Cave is great. We enjoyed that tour more than the tour of Wind Cave.

We had some awesome pizza at a place in Custer SD. Not sure if your vegetarians eat cheese etc.. but this was a good option. Also salads etc.

Deadwood has a number of gambling places with breakfast buffets!! Maybe that would work...