';Rock and Pine Adventures Buffalo Cave Rock Art Tour';

Has anyone done this tour?

I am interested in petroglyphs and know that Craven Canyon is off limits. I know you see some petroglyphs during the Wild Horse Sanctuary tour, but I do not know how much you see.

With Buffalo Cave I am concerned about the difficulty of hiking. I am 65 and hike regularly in the Harriman State Park area of New York, but my sisters do not hike. One would try Buffalo Cave and the other would not. We could all do the Wild Horse Sanctuary Tour. Any advice?

';Rock and Pine Adventures Buffalo Cave Rock Art Tour';

I have not done the tour you mentioned, but I have been to the Wild Horse Sanctuary. The petroglpyh par of the tour is fairly short, as they aren%26#39;t too many drawings to see. Despite its high price, we did find the sanctuary worthwhile, as it includes some time up close with the horses and a tour of the land. There have been a few movies filmed there. I think you%26#39;d enjoy it.

Have a great time!

';Rock and Pine Adventures Buffalo Cave Rock Art Tour';

Thanks for replying. I hve read good things about this tour and we may choose to do this as we can all three participate.

sturgis bike week 2009

my husband is talking about us going to bike week in sturgis next august.what can us first timers expect??we are coming from the uk so won%26#39;t be arriving on the bike.any tips and pointers for us sturgis virgins?

sturgis bike week 2009

Sturgis is a great experience whether or not you are on a bike (unless you have a thing against bikes, black t shirts and leather). The Black Hills are beautiful and there are many interesting things to do while you are there. There are folks of all ages and walks of life on all kinds of bikes (but mostly Harleys), displays/vendors of all types, concerts, bike demos, races, hill climbs, and tours of the Hills. There is plenty of food and drink. Clothing is sometimes somewhat optional (bikinis and chaps aren%26#39;t unusual as well as topless; (body paint makes that legal). There are some wonderful sights to see all within about 100 miles in any direction.

The Ace Cafe (London) had a large tent set up out there this year. You might get some information from them too, if you haven%26#39;t already. We took our one year-old grandson who loves motorcycles to Sturgis and he loved it as did our son-in-law who was quite awed by the rally and the Black Hills in general. We started going out there in 1975 and have seldom missed a year.

Do you know where you want to stay? You might want to get on that as soon as you can as rooms fill up quite far in advance. We made our reservations at the campground in Rapid City (we bought a bike-hauler trailer) in February. Room rates also go up during the rally so if you see something on the net, they will usually have a disclaimer that normal rates do not apply during the rally. You can have helpful information sent to you by checking out www.blackhillsbadlands.com, guide@campsd.org or www.campsd.org, or by using Trip Advisor further. Please keep in touch if I can be of further assistance.

sturgis bike week 2009

thanks lollyminnieapolis

it sounds like loads of fun.can%26#39;t really imagine myself in a bikini( i wouldn%26#39;t inflict that sight on anyone ) but i%26#39;m sure my husband will enjoy everyone in their%26#39;s,especially the body paint!!!!in about another 4 weeks the airlines will have flights available for the week we need for next years bike week so we will be looking to book a flight.as soon as we get a flight i will be booking a motel.we don%26#39;t mind too much if we have to stay out of town.we have checked out the sturgis web sight and it does look amazing.thanks for the advice and if we need to know anything else i%26#39;ll post a question,cheers.

Trip Report 8/29-9/1/08

We went to the Black Hills at the same time as the previous poster. We left Minneapolis on Friday night 8/29 and stayed at the Microtel in New Ulm which was a nice reasonable hotel. Then we visited DeSmet, SD, home of Laura Ingalls Wilder. We saw the Loftus store, which was okay..and the Surveyors House. I think the price of the tour was reasonable. We also visited the graves. The town is very small, but it is nice to see where she lived.

Then we visited the Corn Palace which is what it is. I appreciate all the hard work to put that together. It is just something that you see from the outside, but it is a bit cool.

Then we stopped at the rest stop at Chamberlain, which had some interesting displays. The Akta Lakota Museum at St. Joseph School is actually a very good interesting free museum, by donation only. We then went on to the Badlands. The Badlands were very hot, but the views were excellent and it had some interesting trails which were easy to walk with boardwalks.

From there, we went on to Wall Drug. Yes, it is tacky. Yes, it is overpriced. And to me, it was fun. I can appreciate all the old photos and memorabilla put together in one place..like an old fashioned store, so I was glad that I stopped there. It is a fun diversion after the long drive. From there we went to the Black Hills, and spent 2 hours waiting to get into Alpine Inn. The food was good, but not worth a 2 hour wait, although the service was fine.

The next day, we did the Wildlife Loop, Needles Highway, and Iron Mountain Roads at Custer State Park. I especially liked the Needles Highway, but was bored by the Iron Mountain Road. We ate at the buffet at the Game Lodge, which was a good deal, but the food was okay. They had good desserts.

We took a trail ride at Blue Bell Stables, which was fun. Then went into the shops at Keystone, and went to the Big Thunder Gold Mine. The mine itself was interesting, but the tour was too short for the money.

We then went on to Mt. Rushmore. I liked the Presidential Trail and Mt. Rushmore was awesome. The night ceremony was a bit disappointing. There was also a good gift shop there.

We stayed at the Super 8 in Hill City. Hill City is centrally located and a cute town. The Super 8 is in a good location, although we had a problem with the keys and the staff got annoyed with helping us. The next day we went to Spearfish Canyon. Roughlock Falls were beautiful with many nice trails to see the falls. A beautiful place for a picnic. It is an easy hike with many beautiful views.

We then went on to Deadwood and saw the Moriah Cemetary, which was interesting, Adams Museum, which was a very good museum (the museum at the Information Center across the street is interesting as well), and the shootout at Saloon #10. The actor who played Wild Bill was very good. He got right into the part and readily posed for pictures and was very personable to the crowd. From there we went on to North Dakota Theodore Roosevelt Park. I will post that on the North Dakota forums.

Trip Report 8/29-9/1/08

Angeleyes,

Sounds like you had a really nice trip. We, too, enjoyed the Adams Museum %26amp; House in Deadwood. The Big Thunder Gold Mine was rather overrated, but we did like the gift shop there. They were having some great end of the season sales when we were there 2 years ago. Our daughter said the tour was ';lame.';

Thanks for reporting back!

what is considered the best time to travel

I am planning a road trip to Mt Rushmore. Plan on camping on the grounds. Is two days good enough, and when is a good time to go? Coming from the south end of Colorado.

Linda

what is considered the best time to travel

Near term, as in this Fall or pre-planning for next summer? Also two days is more than enough for just Mt. Rushmore but a little short for seeing many of the other sights in the Black Hills.

There is no camping right at the national monument ( http://www.nps.gov/moru/ ) but there are lots of options nearby...both private run ( www.blackhillscampgrounds.com/index.htm )and at Custer State Park ( sdgfp.info/parks/Regions/Custer/custersp.htm ) or Bear Butte State Park north of Sturgis ( sdgfp.info/parks/…BearButte.htm ).

Coming up from CO via I-25 and US 18 %26amp; 85 to Newcastle (backdoor to Black Hills) is relatively quick and should be very doable from Colorado Springs in one day. Spring (May-June) is the prettiest time with the grasslands being greener but it can also offer much cooler weather and even snow. July 4th can be very busy at Rushmore. Late July %26amp; August have frequent afternoon thunderstorms...a camping consideration. Fall can be very pretty as the trees turn (those that do anyway) but nights can be pretty chilly for camping.

Post a few more details of interests and general time frame for more help.

what is considered the best time to travel

There is also a forest service campground at Horse Thief Lake which is very close to the monument. I don%26#39;t believe they have showers or flush toilets. Check on the Black Hills National Forest website for operating season dates.

Best time? Generally May through October but May and late September/October might make for cold camping.

The busiest time is in early August during the Sturgis Rally followed by mid-June through mid-August.

If I had to pick my favorite time I%26#39;d say right now (early September) or early June.

Where to stay?

We will be travelling up from the Fort Collins area via Cheyenne to Keystone on Tues 23rd June 2009. We will be staying 2 nights so we can see Mt Rushmore, Custer State Park, Jewel Cave, etc... before leaving the area first thing on Thurs morning (to get to Red Lodge).

Any ideas of where abouts we should stay? What accomodation? etc...

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Where to stay?

Hi,

I saw your post asking about K Bar S Lodge. Here is their webpage:

kbarslodge.com

Unfortunately, they do not provide pricing, but I have read from other posters on this site that rates range anywhere from $100-$140, depending on time of year you are staying. It really gets rave reviews on here.

For staying in the Black Hills, most people choose Hill City, Keystone or Custer as a base, as they are central to the attractions. Keystone is the most touristy of the 3 and including souvenir shops galore and a ';boardwalk.'; It is centrally located to Mt Rushmore..you can be at the monument in about 5 minutes. Hill City is about 10 miles from Keystone and has a nicer downtown with nicer shops, imo. It%26#39;s also home of the Alpine Inn, an excellent lunch spot serving classic German fare and great desserts! For dinner, they serve only filet, so if that is not your taste, check out the lunch. It gets busy at night..go early..waits can be long! (This is why we did lunch, plus I am not a big steak eater). We didn%26#39;t spend a whole lot of time in Custer, but it did seem to have a western feel as did most of the area. I preferred Keystone %26amp; Hill City over Custer.

As far as hotel recommendations, we liked the Roosevelt Inn in Keystone when we were there in 2006. We stayed in a family suite, but other room types are also available. Their website is rosyinn.com. If you decide on it, be sure to ask for the internet rate. They don%26#39;t offer it unless you ask. I also have a review on this site if you%26#39;d like to take a look.

Have a great trip.

Where to stay?

You might also try one of the Custer State Park lodges if you%26#39;re looking for a lodge/mountain setting. They are more expensive than most hotels in Hill City/Custer/Keystone but can make for a rewarding stay. Most of the rooms have renovated in the last year or two so be sure to check the dates of any reviews that you read. I prefer the Sylvan Lake Lodge (for a combination of ambiance and location) but others like the State Game Lodge or cabins at Blue Bell. www.custerresorts.com is the website.

We stayed at the K Bar S Lodge in Keystone in May and enjoyed our stay. We paid about $100 per night. Great views and a great hot breakfast each morning. When you visit Custer State Park try the buffet at the Lodge. The food is great and the lodge is very historical. Several US presidents spent summers at the Lodge.

Just got back and stayed at Mt Rushmore White House Motel in Keystone. What a fun, fun little town. Right by Rushmore, in fact you can see Mt Rushmore from the town. Very close to Custer national Park, every thing in town is in walking distance, lots and lots to do in Keystone. If you have kids, they will absolutely love Keystone. Our 13 yr old dh didn%26#39;t want to leave.

Hotel was clean, safe and right there on the main drag, just don%26#39;t eat in the hotel restaurant, Railhead.

Have fun, we certainly did.

You can PM me for details or other info.

I love the idea of the lodges at Custer State Park. How close are they to doing the typical tourist things like Mt. Rushmore and Badlands, etc?

The Badlands should be considered a day trip from the Mount Rushmore area so staying at a Custer State Park lodge is really no different than Hill City or Keystone as far as that trip goes.

Most itineraries spend at least a day in Custer State Park so the lodges help that day. As far as distances to Mount Rushmore and other attractions, it isn%26#39;t too bad. You%26#39;re goign to be driving to most of these places anyway. But staying at one of the lodges is more remote than in town--there won%26#39;t be a lot of really close options for restaurants and activities. If you%26#39;re traveling with teenagers who aren%26#39;t big outdoor enthusiasts, I%26#39;d suggest a town like Keystone. If you%26#39;re not bringing kids and would like a lodge feeling, try one of the lodges. If you have small children, they may like the cabins at one of the lodges.

I will be traveling with my husband and two girls, who will be 9 and 10 at that point. Husband couldn%26#39;t care where we stay, as long as it has a decent bed. The girls would prefer somewhere they can swim but would also be happy with a place where they can just get outside and run around some.

I figured that the Badlands would be a day trip from wherever we stay. We will have three days in the area and would like to do Mt. Rushmore, Badlands and the scenic drive through Custer. We%26#39;d also like to fit in the Crazy Horse monument since we saw it on a tv show. The girls are not too interested in the cave since we%26#39;ve been to Lurray Caverns a few times. I also wonder if it is too far to go to Deadwood one night and if we did go there, what we%26#39;d do????

Just as a follow up, I thought I read that there was a swimming beach on the lake at Custer. Is that right? The kids would love that!

nose mask

thick hair

Which Helicopter Service to use in the Black Hills

We are going to the Black Hills within the next few weeks and are considering a scenic helicopter ride once there. We have seen about four helicopter services, Rapid Helicopters, Badlands Helicopter Rids, Black Hills Areial Adventures and Rushmore Helicopters.

Does anyone have any experiences or comments that they can share regarding any of this companies that will help us make a good choice?

Which Helicopter Service to use in the Black Hills

I had relatives take the Badlands helicopter tour. They said it was really, really short. That%26#39;s all I know.

Which Helicopter Service to use in the Black Hills

We are going to the Badlands this coming summer and wish to go for a helicopter ride. Did you ever learn anything more?

We used the Black Hills Aerial Adventures.... its was only $65. (They has a $40 option too).

If you know what to expect - I think you wont be disappointed.

Normally helicopter rides cost $150-$200. Black Hills Aerial Adventure was the first that I had seen with a ride for $40. The priced lured me into pulling into their lot. While there I actually decided to go for the $65 ride. (The $40 ride is for 6 miles and $65 is for 9 miles).

The mileage is very deceptive as it does not give you an idea of how long the ride will last.

The 9 mile ride - lasted for about 4 minutes. (So the $40 ride will last about 2 minutes). Basically the chopper lifts off - flies south and gives you a right side profile view of Crazy horse. (This is probably where the $40 ride ends). The chopper then begins to fly around Crazy horse and you get a left side profile view of Crazy horse. Thats it - the chopper proceeds to land.

In the brochure, they said that we would see bison at Custer State Park. We assumed that the chopper would atleast fly towards CSP and look for bison. But looks like, if you are lucky and the bison are out - then the pilot would point to them at a distance.

So was the ride worth it.... Yeah, it would have been if the company had set our expectations by telling us how long the ride would last (in minutes instead of miles - which is very vague to our land lubbers). But because they didnt - I felt a little jipped. Because you dont know how long the ride will last and the pilot doesnt even tell you that he is heading back to Earth, you kinda feel let down when you realize that you are about to land.

My advice - dont spend time taking photographs from the chopper - as they dont come out too well. Take a couple and spend the rest of the time enjoying the ride. Get someone to take a pic while you are in the chopper - that will be something for your scrap book.

It was fun and my wife loved the ride.

http://www.coptertours.com/tours.html

3-Day Itinerary - Black Hills

Hello,

I%26#39;m flying into Rapid City with a buddy of mine for Labor Day weekend. Arrive Thursday night and leave on Monday morning so we only have three days.

We want to go to Deadwood but don%26#39;t want to leave it for the last day as it will be a bit far from the airport. So the plan is to go to Deadwood on Day 1.

My question is. Will there be enough time to do all the other stuff - Badlands, Mt. Rushmore, Custer Park, Crazy Horse Memorial, caves, etc...?

Your advice is greatly appreciated.

Mario

3-Day Itinerary - Black Hills

On the first day you could take Hwy 16 out of Rapid City, hitting 16A - Iron Mountain Road and through the Custer State Park wildlife loop into Custer (Jewel Cave), hwy 385 past Crazy Horse, through Hill City and into Deadwood. If you leave early in the morning it would only take 4 - 6 hours depending on how many stops and how long you stay. I don%26#39;t know how long you%26#39;re planning to stay in Deadwood, but if time runs short you can take 14A out of Deadwood and head back to Rapid City on 90.

Day two you can head out to the Badlands. That will take 3 - 4 hours, again depending on how many stops and how long at each. I recommend going early as you see much more wildlife. When you return to Rapid City you could take Hwy 44 into Rapid City catching Hwy 16 and head for Rushmore making a stop at Keystone (touristy, but quaint).

Day 3 If you want to go to Devil%26#39;s Tower, you can catch the freeway west to Hwy 85 making a left at Belle Fourche (Hwy 34) through Alladin (supposedly the oldest still operating store in the country) and Hulett to Devils Tower. You can exit right out of Devils Tower and get back on the freeway at Sundance to head back to Rapid City. This is about a 4 - 6 hour trip, again depending on stops.

Hope this helps some. Enjoy your weekend.

3-Day Itinerary - Black Hills

A lot depends on how much of a particular site/sight you want to see. Crazy Horse alone could easily eat up a half day if you really examined the museum part closely. Touring caves can also take time...both waiting for a tour to start as well as the tour itself. While the badlands are scenic in an unusual sort of way they are probably not worth devoting an extra half day to get to and back. Especially with so many other things clustered together or easily seen on a circular route that minimizes backtracking.

Depending on the time of day on Thursday that you arrive (and can realizticaly leave the airport) taking I-90 op to Spearfish and driving the canyon (if still light out) would accomplish some sights. Then depending on what activities in Deadwood you could spend most of a day there...but aside from a few historical things the big draw there is the casinos. It would be doable with an early start to see Rushmore and then loop down through Custer park to cut over to Custer and just north to Crazy Horse. But most of the Custer wildlife is in the south areas of the park which would mean taking 87 south all the way to 385 then back over to Prangle before heading north. This would make for a pretty long day....or less time at any stops. Too bad you can%26#39;t split the stays...one/two night north and one in Custer because Alt-16 and 79 is a pretty quick way to the airport.

Thanks for the feedback. I think we%26#39;ll do the Badlands on Day 1 and try to hit Mt. Rushmore at night, stay at Keystone.

Day 2 - Do Custer National Park, one of the caves and crazy horse memorial.

Day 3 - Go to Deadwood early in the morning and come back at night to Rapid City.

My suggestion:

Friday

- Stay in Rapid City.

- Take in Wall and Badlands (maybe taken in a tour)

Saturday

- Leave Rapid City (overnight in Hill City - Comfort Inn or Holiday Inn recommended)

- Take Highway 16 %26amp; 385 to Jewel Cave (1 1/2 hours)

- Jewel Cave (2 hours) (make reservation)

- Lunch in Custer (1 1/2 hour)

- Take Highway 89 to 87 (Needles Highway)(1 hour)

- Take Highway 16A (Iron Mountain Road) (1 hour) - we saw more wildlife on this road than we did in on Wildlife Loop in Custer Park

- Mount Rushmore (2 hours)

- Back to Hill City (Super at Alphine Inn)

- (maybe back to Mt. Rushmore for lighting ceremony)

Sunday

- Leave Hill City - (overnight in Rapid City)

- Crazy Horse (a bit of backtracking necessary)

- Take Highway 16 %26amp; 385 to Lead ( 1 1/2 hours)

- Take Highway 14A (Spearfish Canyon)(1 hour-no stops)

- Deadwood (maybe a tour, Saloon #10 shootout, lunch at Stockade)

- I-90 to Rapid City.

Enjoy!

Just came back from the weekend in the Badlands. It was great!

Day 1 - Went to Wall, then the Badlands and ended up at Mount Rushmore. Did the day and night tour.

We also did a helicopter tour around the Badlands that was fascinating.

Regarding Keystone...

Day 2 - Drove to Custer Park from Keystone - excellent drive. Did the scenic loop around Custer and the hiking trail to the fire tower. Met a bison along the trail.

Continued the trip to the Wind Cave. As an aside, all the bisons that we saw were just before the scenic loop started and just after it finished.

The Wind Cave tour was good as the guide was helpful.

After Wind Cave, had lunch at Hot Spring and continued to the Wild Horse Sanctuary. Kind of late at 4:30pm to do a two hour horse tour in 91º weather. Instead of the tour, we made it to Crazy Horse to end the day. That was impressive. I wish we had more time so we could get up to the top.

Stayed in Hill City. Much better than Keystone

Day 3 - Woke up early and drove to Devil%26#39;s Tower. Not that far of a drive if you get up early. We were back at Spearfish by noon. Did the scenic drive at Spearfish and ended up in Deadwood for the night/afternoon.

We stayed at Deadwood Dick%26#39;s. Not bad at all.

I totally recommend to go and visit the Badlands/Blackhills for a weekend or so.

Cheers and thanks for everyone that helped out.

Glad you had a great time, and got to see all there was to see, sounds like you accomplished a lot in your short time period.

You did accomplish a lot in a short period of time! I%26#39;m glad your enjoyed your visit. I found the history of Crazy Horse to be even more fascinating that Mt. Rushmore. Many people do a just a drive-by, but you really do need to experience it once. Thanks for reporting back!