Itinerary Blackhills: please help adjust/verify

Hi I%26#39;ll be going June 21st driving at night from northwest MN arriving in the morning in Rapid city on June 22nd. We are staying that first night at Backroads inn and cabins. (rapid city). We have three children with us. 10 7 and 1 year old.

Day 1- Rapid city:

Reptile gardens, Cosmos mystery area, old macdonalds petting zoo.

Day 2- driving to Hill City to stay at Palmer galch resort/mt rushmore KOA. Staying in the lodge. - Go to Custer park, Wind cave. (leaving most of the day for just those)

Day 3- Custer park maybe again and Mt Rushmore. The KOA campground has a lot for the kids so I am not planning anything else this day. (maybe an evening horse back ride at the palmer gulch ranch)

Day 4- Possibly go to Hot springs and check the mammoth site (did your kids enjoy this?) Evans plunge. Maybe an evening Mt rushmore trip since the lodge provides a shuttle.

Day 5- Start our drive home, going through the badlands, stopping at wall ';just to say we went there'; :P

Was going to do Bear country but we%26#39;re on a budget and I think after reading more about it, people are saying they were there 30 min tops, I think I will skip this one.

Has anyone done the chuckwagon dinner/shows? What about the maze, any opinions on this?

Is there anything you would change/modify based on amt of time, childrens ages, etc. anything very important I missed or something you take out? :) thanks in advance!!

Itinerary Blackhills: please help adjust/verify

Hi,

I think your kids would enjoy the Mammoth Site, especially if they are into dinosaurs and such. In Hill City, be sure to check out Everything Prehistoric. There%26#39;s lots of cool dinosaur skeletons, and it has a very reasonable admission fee ($5--they just started charging this year).

I would be cautious with the 1 year old in any cavern. Wind Cave is great, but there%26#39;s lots of steps and tight spots. The tour is rather lengthy if the baby doesn%26#39;t feel comfortable. You never know how babies might react in claustrophobic settings. I%26#39;m not saying don%26#39;t do it; just proceed with caution.

I haven%26#39;t done the chuckwagon shows or the maze, but I have heard the chuckwagon dinners are wonderful.

Glad to hear you are going to the Badlands! The scenery is great and the kids will love the prairie dogs.

Custer SP is all good!! Great scenery and wildlife. Sylvan Lake is a great picnic spot!

Have a wonderful time, and feel free to ask any additional questions.

Itinerary Blackhills: please help adjust/verify

Your kids might enjoy a short stop at Storybook Island in Rapid City. http://www.storybookisland.com/

Bear Country is a little pricey, but kids LOVE it. If you like scenery and something fun for the kids, you can try taking the 1880%26#39;s train from Hill City to Keystone and back. Keystone is fun to walk around and stop for ice cream. I haven%26#39;t done a chuckwagon dinner but all reports are that they are a lot of fun and the food is good. As you leave Rapid City going south there is a large water slide, weather permitting if you%26#39;re into that. Have fun!

Kids do like Bear Country. If you are concerned about your budget (with the price of gas I understand), check out blackhillstv.com. They offer a discount card for many attractions that could save you $. I believe the card costs $10-$15, but it%26#39;s well worth it for it what you save. It discounts Reptile Gardens %26amp; the 1880 Train for certain, and I believe the Cosmos and the maze are in there also. The website will show exactly what is included. If you plan on going to many of the attractions on the list, I%26#39;d recommend buying one. When we went 2 years ago, restaurants were included as well.

Hi Kittywompas1,

Your kids will love the Black Hills. I agree with slrtravelplanner that the Wind Cave tour may be a bit too much with a one year old. If you really want to see a cave, Crystal Cave Park advertises being the least strenuous cave tour and also has a replica Indian village and petrified garden. We didn%26#39;t get there this year so it%26#39;s on our list for next time.

I%26#39;ll also second the recommendation for Everything Prehistoric in Hill City. The biggest hit for my 6 year old son and 3 year old daughter was the sand table where they could dig for ';fossils';.

We saw Bear Country last year and the kids really loved it. It is spendy but check out www.BlackHillsDiscounts.com It may or may not save you money depending on what you%26#39;ll be seeing.

We just did the Mammoth Site and Evans Plunge last Friday. We had a GREAT time. Evans Plunge has a 1%26#39; baby pool and a 3%26#39; kids pool. Check the Mammoth site web page now to see if you can get you kids into the Jr. Paleontologist program.

Cosmos involves a steep climb up uneven stairs and some people get dizzy, but the kids will be fascinated. If you take the trail around Sylvan Lake, you might want to ask directions first. We apparently ended up taking a wrong turn and scrambling over rocks, at times with some sharp drop-offs. Ha Ha, cringe.

Ok this is exactly what I wanted. I think I will add the bear country, take out wind cave (sad) but maybe we%26#39;ll do crystal cave. I appreciate the feedback on that one! It makes sense now. I guess I wasn%26#39;t even thinking about it being really strenuous and all.

I will check out everything prehistoric and probably add the mammoth site too, since both the older boys love dinasours.

Ok, I had palmer gulch booked but now I%26#39;m rethinking and possibly want to go the cheifmotel. It would allow more $ for more activities, and I%26#39;m thinking the kids would have a blast at palmer gulch, but we probably won%26#39;t be there too much. They care ';mostly'; about swimming so that cheifmotel (good reviews) would be fine for that. Any suggestions on this??

Thanks so much again!

Another fun thing for the older kids (you included) is gold panning at Wade%26#39;s Gold Mill in Hill City! We had a great time there, my son was 9, loved learning to pan and actually got a few flakes of gold!!

I still remember the Cosmos Place that we visited...oh... about 40 years ago!! We did not have time to go there when we visited last.. my son was into caves then!

Have a great trip.

Kitty,

Just a thought on Wind Cave..

Are there 2 adults going? If so, maybe you and the other adult could switch off when touring. Maybe you could take the 10 year old while the other adult watches the 7 year old and the baby, and then the other adult could take the 7 year old and you watch the baby. The tours are about 2 hours long, so you would have to kill some time, but they do have a Jr. Ranger program the older kids would like. You can also spend some time on the surface viewing the wildlife.