Good scenic highways & tourist traps in Rapid?

Hey fellas - just got in to Rapid City SD from Nebraska and was wondering what other tourist traps and scenic highways you could recommend for this area?

I did the Custer State Park loop yesterday, along with Mt. Rushmore. Drove up this giant hill top with all the radio antennas this morning. I'm looking for drives that will put my 18 month old to sleep and me and the wife sane

Also if you have any local restaurants you could recommend I'd appreciate it too. Getting a little sick of fast food...

Thanks a lot!
-SWC

wall drug? get a bumper sticker.

Go to Wall Drug the head down to the Bad Lands and take the loop around. It's a nice trip. I just did it again myslef last Saturday on my Harley. You could also head up to Sturgis as they are starting to set up

Spearfish Canyon

Deadwood

Wow thanks guys, wasn't expecting such a fast response!

So I've got Wall Drug on the list for tomorrow followed by Sturgis then Spearfish. Thought about seeing Devils Tower while we're up that way but it depends on how my daughter's doing in the back seat. Good deal, if you can think of anything else I'd appreciate it.

four mile town west of custer, old west town pretty neat place you can walk around in and let the kids touchy stuff. some times they have reactors there doing quick draw. then you can eat at the wrangler in custer. it is the place where all the locals eat. good food fair price. then you can splurge at the purple pie place and have a piece of their most excellent pie.

In Rapid, breakfast at the Colonial House on Mt Rushmore RD, lunch at El Charrito (sp) on East North, dinner where ever your heart desires such as Golden Phoenix on West Main for Chinese.

Just food for thought as it were.

Check out the Needles highway

I had the Needles highway on the agenda for Friday. Is there anywhere in town where I can get buffalo meat served up? I know there's a place in Crawford Nebraska but that's a fair drive away.

Anywhere good to eat on LaCrosse street for breakfast? Did the Golden Corral thing the other day...long lines and huge crowds weren't fun.

this

also firehouse brewery in rapid!

Reptile Garderns, cosmos, presidents slide in Keystone are somethings your daughter might enjoy. Shit I enjoy them.

Whoops should have read first, 18 month old eh? Check it out anyway

In '07 there was a nice little place in Belle Fourche that served buffalo burgers, Don't recall the name of the place though.

The reptile gardens is kind of redundant for a Florida resident, we've got everything they offer there in our backyard 95% of the time

Did the Sturgis/Spearfish Canyon/Deadwood drive today. I had my wife spooked with all the falling rock signs and the nice new Ford Fusion rental car I parked under them. Might have to try that again tomorrow.

Been meaning to find the Firehouse Brewery, I keep forgetting where I saw it last in Rapid...

It's on Main St. 600 block, just down from the Gun Shop.

The Colonial House (already mentioned above) has buffalo on the menu if you're still interested.

As was said earlier, do the Tower. It's a pretty drive from Belle Fourche to Hulett. The downside to Devils Tower is it's about a 2-4 mile walk depending on what route you take. With an 18 month old, that could be tricky. If you get the chance, do a picnic there, as the NPS has (or they used to anyway) a prairie dog town right next to the picninc area. The vermin are pretty bold and will almost eat out of your hand, but the chillens love them. If you don't feel like the picnic thing, there's a decent restaraunt near the Tower that serves a good meal. Then you can complete the loop back to I-90 by going through Sundance to see the jail that once held, you guessed it, the Sundance Kid.

There's also the Vore` Buffalo Jump off I-90 about 3-5 miles west of Beulah on the frontage road.

Also, try Evans Plunge down in Hot Springs. Went there when I was a kid and it was a blast. But be careful. Road construction season is in full swing here and Hot Springs is overrun with it.

Drove through Hot Springs on our way up from Chadron, didn't go to Evan's Plunge but I went there as a kid and had a blast too. Maybe when Cloe gets older we'll roll through there again and actually enjoy it.

So we did the Needles highway drive. Was I supposed to pay to get in? From the time we left Rapid (1215) to the time we got back (1730) my daughter was screaming bloody murder, left leg was numb and my wife was ready to get out and walk home. But hey, I think we got some pretty good pictures out of it...and we learned once again that an 18 month old in a car for 4-5 hours straight wasn't the greatest idea I've ever come up with. Had a buffalo burger in Keystone that had epic fail written all over it. Tasted more like a sausage than anything else I'm thinking a trip to the Colonial House is in order for tomorrow.

God I wish I had more time out here, I was just getting around to finding my way through Rapid.

Yesterday I took a wrong turn out of Spearfish and ended up in Wyoming somehow. Don't ask me how it happened, I didn't even know it was possible but I ended up at some biker bar lost as a fart in a wind storm.

Definitely considering a career change to move out here, we saw two gigantic mule deer bucks along the road this evening, but my dumb ass forgot the camera. Full of fail, right? Thanks for the tips guys. Tomorrow is our last day in the hills before we fly out Sunday. It's been great out here, I really wish I had more time to spend here.

What career are you in?

I've got two years left on my enlistment in the Navy. I work on helicopters now, kind of considering a few other options. Getting out to go to school or just finding work around the hills. I really won't start considering what I'd like to do until I get to my year left mark next September.

I even live east river and love South Dakota. I have lived here just over nine months. LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!

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