Planning on taking the wife and kids to SD this summer, We've never been so looking for any advice.  I see that Sturgis is Aug 2nd - 11th.  We would be there July 20th - 23rd.  I know there will be a lot of bikes but I assume it will be a decent time to be there? Ive already checked and rooms seem reasonable and available so I assume we are missing most of the rush.  We will be booking rooms in the next week or two so Im not worried about availability later on.  Tell me what I need to work on with my plan and any suggestions on what to see.  The kids will be 6.5 and 9.  Im sure the 9 yr old will love every bit of it.  The 6.5 yr may get bored with some of it but she loves to swim so if nothing else, she will enjoy swimming at the hotel pool each night.

We will be coming from the East and stay in Mitchell the first night.  The next morning we will work our way through the Badlands on the way to Rapid City.  It looks like Hwy 240 goes through part of the Badlands and then goes north to Wall but theres another road that keeps going west and ends up on Hwy 44.  We would probably go up to Wall just to say we went there but I assume jumping back down to Hwy 44 would be a more scenic route to Rapid?

We will be staying in Rapid City for 3 nights so we will have the full day we to travel from Mitchell to Rapid and the 3 more full days to do whatever.  Any advice on what to go see and what routes to take to get there are greatly appreciated.

Mt Rushmore is a definite, plan on going for the lighting ceremony.  I think I'd like to go out to Devils Tower.  We love scenic drives and I know there is a lot out there.  I'd appreciate any insight on your opinions of the must see routes to take and also the ones that can be skipped and not miss much.

I copied this list from another post in SD Hometown and highlighted the ones in red that we plan to do because we have heard about them or seen pictures.  The ones not highlighted I know nothing about so any advice on any of that would be great.

Rapid CityBear Country
Highway 16 going south out of Rapid 
Iron Mountain Road 
Needle's Highway 
Custer State Park (especially the Wildlife Loop) 
Alpine Inn in Hill City (EXCELLENT legit German food) 
Highway 385 
Sylvan Lake 
Pactola Reservoir 
Rochford Road 
Nemo Road 
Sugar Shack south of Deadwood/Lead (dumpy place with OUTSTANDING burgers) 
Spearfish Canyon 
Crow Peak Brewery 
Miner Brewery 
Mammoth site

Thanks in advance.

A few of your potential destinations are close to each other or lead to each other. HWY 385 goes from Deadwood to Hill City and the Sugar Shack and Pactola are both on 385.

HWY 16 south out of Rapid leads also to either Hill City or Keystone. Bear Country is on that road. Keystone is 2 miles from Mt Rushmore and is basically the start of Iron Mt Road. Iron Mt ends in Custer State Park where the wildlife loop starts. Where the wild life loop ends you take a left and that scenic road takes you to Hot Springs where the mammoth site is located. Rapid is about 45 minutes from Hot Springs on HWY 79.

If you sit down with a map, you might be able to see everything on your list in 3 days.

Having lived all over in the US and been around the world, HWY 44 across the state is one of my most favorite drives of all time. I would suggest taking 37 south out of Mitchell, and go West on 44. It'll be boring the first half hour, but will get good soon. Zero traffic, very little civilization, rolling hills and calm.
As far as the Hills, renting a family sized SXS somewhere near the Sugar Shack and doing the trails for the day is pretty cool. Wind Cave is awesome. The parks are good. Needles Highway is cool, stop at some of the turn offs and let the kids explore. Fun for adults too. On the way there or the way back, make sure to plan a day in the Badlands. July will be pretty hot, so bring water. Also one of my favorite spots in the world. You can look out forever and see nothing but landscape, with random wildlife visible in the distance, not a single structure in site. Kids will love climbing around and exploring - burning off energy.
Avoid the touristy towns. Western SD is littered with them. Full of stupid gift shops and a bunch of crap. You can drive past the Corn Palace in Mitchell while you're there, but going inside is something you don't need to do. Your kids will want very badly to stop at Wall Drug, but you will hate it very much. Taking 44 across the state will avoid the temptation and 1000 billboards advertising to your kids that you need to stop there.

My wife and I always ride out to the Badlands on 44. It is a nice ride. The Badlands are one of our favorite spots, it is really unique and the Bighorn sheep are pretty cool.

Yeah, I'm in Texas, but we've got family places in the Custer area, so we average getting up there every other Summer.  Agreed that 44 is a great road, though it's not as much fun in a big motorhome.  We've explored all up and down the Hills.  Deadwood and Sturgis are OK, but they're like Wall Drug - mostly tourist traps with difficult parking.  Hill City, Spearfish and Custer are much less touristy.  If you hit Deadwood, stop in for the show at No. 10 saloon.  Beer is cold and not outrageously priced.

The Badlands are fun, just do hikes early in the morning.  If you're into hiking and views, definitely do the Notch and Window Trails.  Entrance fee went up at the first of the year.  We've always RV'd, so can't comment on the lodges in the area.

I didn't see Crazy Horse on the list.  I'm biased about how good it is because we can see it from both Mom and Dad's places.  I enjoy visiting the museum and try to do the night time light show every few years.  Fair warning, it's more about the family building the monument than about Crazy Horse the man.  It's still pretty interesting and they have a lot of historical pieces in there.  Just do Rushmore first, or you'll be heavily underwhelmed by the size of that carving compared to Crazy Horse.

If you're a beer person, Miner Brewing in Hill City is pretty good.  We've not been to Sick-n-Twisted yet.  I'm completely underwhelmed by Crow Peak - they've got huge quality control issues.  There's a new brewery that started in Custer last year called Mt Rushmore Brewing Company.  I liked there beer just as much as Miner's, but the food at Mt Rushmore is much better.  Both places have nice outdoor patios.   You could also hit Firehouse Brewing in Rapid.  They've been around a long time and have pretty much dialed it in.  They also do growlers to go.

Definitely hit Custer SP.  We buy an annual pass every time we go because we spend that much time in the park.  There's a movie in the Visitor Center that's worth seeing.  And the wild life loop is usually good for Bison - just be prepared to be patient as traffic goes nuts.  There are some fun gravel roads in the park, though some of them were closed last summer for logging operations as a result of the big fire they had.   Hiking trails that you could do include Black Elk Peak (formerly Harney Peak) and Cathedral Spires.  If you do either of those, leave some time for the spur up to Little Devil's Tower.  You won't regret it.  One last great scenic stop is the Mount Coolidge Fire Tower.  On clear days, you can see into the Badlands.  We visited it last Summer and got an invite from the fire watcher to check out the inside of the tower.  That was EXTREMELY cool.

Can always recommend Sugar Shack for burgers - try to hit it at off times though, and be patient even then.  Alpine Inn has been hit or miss for us.  Baker's Cafe in Custer has pretty good burgers, a better breakfast menu and monster cinnamon buns that are more famous than they probably should be.  Warm them up in the microwave.  There's a taco trailer next to the VFW in Custer that's surprisingly good.

Pactola Reservoir is interesting.  You used to be able to rent a pontoon boat there - not sure if they are still available.  We've not done it, but family has.   I'd like to do some back-road exploring in that area next time we go.  South of Pactola on 385 is a place called Horse Creek Inn.  They have a very good Prime Rib.  It's a small place, so they do run out.  They're steaks are also good.   Chute Roosters in Hill City used to be good, then it was bad, then it was good again.  Not sure what the current state of the place is.

And while I'll take grief for it, I still like visiting Wall Drug everytime we're passing by.  It's a fun place to take a break, and fuel prices in town seem to be reasonable.  I like their breakfasts.  Stay away from the burgers.  People watching can be outstanding.

If you need groceries in the hills - hit Krull's Market in Hill City or Lynn's Dakotamart in Custer.

If you've got a family of bicyclists, Google Mickelson Trail.  Many, many miles of gravel bike trail on old rail beds.   For mountain biking, check around Spearfish.

Yes, 16 from Rapid is the way to get into the Hills.  
Bear Country underwhelms us - but we travel to South Africa every couple of years.  Now that's wildlife.
Needle's Highway is scenic, just be prepared for big crowds/slow traffic on weekends.
My wife digs the Mammoth Site in Hot Springs.

Sometime in the next 5 or so years (when were closer to retirement), we'll probably get us a Summer place up there.

Thanks for everyone’s advice so far.  I forgot to list Crazy Horse but it was one I wasn’t sure about.  I was leaning towards driving by it but not actually going to the visitor center.  I’ve read on here, plus other forums, and reviews that a lot of people say it’s a waste.  We will play it by ear and possibly stop if we have extra time.  If it was just me and the wife, we would consider it more but I have a feeling the kids, especially the youngest wouldn’t enjoy it.

Depending on your kids' interests, Reptile Gardens and the SD Air & Space Museum might be stops worth adding to the itinerary.

IMHO it's a waste.

There is also the minuteman missile silo east of rapid. Super cool but not something for the little ones I guess

MMM the Sugar Shack, now I want a Bacon Cheese Burger!!

@Eric_Cartman

I'm interested in hearing from you about this trip you took.

My family will be coming in from the west, after leaving Glacier NP.

I was originally planning on just seeing Mt. Rushmore, but this thread has made me realize we probably need to plan for more time in SD.

Your instincts are correct, Crazy Horse is just a garbage tourist trap (with actual garbage blowing around) compared to Rushmore. If you just have to see it, drive by, don't bother turning off of 385.

@CKyleC

There is a tremendous amount of things to do in the area.  Whether you spend a day or a week, you won’t be disappointed.  Is this possibly a once in a lifetime trip or do you expect to be back at some point?  If you can make it back at some point, I wouldn’t cut your trip short in Glacier to see the Black Hills.  Make the Black Hills a trip of its own to get the full experience.  If you think there’s a chance you might not make it back then by all means, squeeze as much time in as you can for the Black Hills

What is the age range and size of your family?  What are your interests? The area is a great family destination.  We ended up spending 1 night in The Badlands and 4 nights in the Black Hills. We could’ve spent twice as much time and still not see it all.  My wife and I are into scenery, wildlife etc but this was our first “scenic” trip with the kids.  Never been to Glacier but the wife and I have been to Yellowstone, Grand Teton and Rocky Mountain National Parks.  Yellowstone is still probably our favorite but we are waiting a few years to go back for when the kids are a bit older.  We wanted to go somewhere new and we knew the Black Hills would be good but it far exceeded our expectations.  

Back in 2016 when the wife and I went to Yellowstone, we had a very similar idea to go out of our way a little bit too go through the Black Hills on our way and see Rushmore and whatever else there is. Many people on forums said not to try to do both and just go to Yellowstone and do the Black Hills in a separate trip.  I thought I knew better and was still considering doing it anyway and spending a day or two in the area to see the main attractions and we figured if we really liked it, we could always come back.  In the end, we decided to skip the Black Hills and do it with the kids at a later date.  Part of me thought if We went and saw it once, we might not be excited to go back so we decided to take the kids whenever we went so they could see Mt Rushmore.  

I’m glad we didn’t go through the Black Hills in 2016 because it made last years trip that much more exciting seeing it all for the first time.  However, I won’t be like the other people and tell you not to add it to your trip.  As I said before, if you think there’s a chance you won’t ever make it back to the area, squeeze in as much time possible.  Even if it’s only a day or two, you can see a lot of the highlights.  

I’m no expert on the area and everyone has different interests and ideas of fun but once you figure out how much time you have to spend there, I’d be happy to help with any recommendations and share what our favorite stops were.
.

Thanks for replying!!

There is a better chance we never make it back to Glacier than to SD, just because of the proximity. My wife and kids have never been on a trip like this. I'm interested to see how much hiking and exploring they are in to vs. just seeing the "post card spots". That's part of what has made this hard for me to plan. Our normal family vacation consists of going to the gulf for a week. I'm interested to see if this changes that.

My kids are 9 and 12.

We have to spend at least one full day in the Black hills area. My son is CRAZY about trains and we are going to make sure we ride the 1880 train in Keystone.

Also, on what I'm calling our "driving days", I'm trying to keep windshield time to 8hrs or less. I know there will be stuff that grabs our attention while on the road, and this is also an attempt to budget time for that.

We stayed in Hill City pretty close to the 1880 train but we didn’t ride it.  Mt Rushmore is obviously a must see and if you have a full day, I would do the train as early as you can and then try to hit Rushmore in the evening.  They were doing construction at Mt Rushmore last year so we weren’t able to walk the trail or see the museum and the nightly lighting ceremony was only 15 minutes long.  I think I was told the lighting ceremony is over an hour under normal operation and is a must see. Even in the abbreviated version we saw, it was really cool.  They will have the time listed when the ceremony starts so you could try to get there early enough to walk around and see it in the daylight and then stick around for the ceremony.  As part of going to Mt Rushmore, IMO it is a must to start at the south end of Iron Mountain Road and drive up to Mt Rushmore.  It is an awesome drive and if you travel it from south to north, Mt Rushmore is perfectly framed in a couple of the tunnels.  

If you can manage any extra time there, Needles Highway is another must see.  If time permits, a stop at Sylvan Lake and hiking around it is pretty cool too.  If one full day is all you have, I think you could fit everything except Sylvan Lake in.  I don’t know how the train schedule works but if you could finish the train by late morning, you might have time for Needles, Iron Mountain and Rushmore.  If that were the case you would want to start your morning on the train in Hill City and when you get back to Hill City, take Needles too Iron Mountain and then up to Rushmore.  It would be a busy day and you wouldn’t have much time for stopping along the drives but it IMO it would be worth it to be able to see it all.  As you long as you don’t stop too much on the drives, you should have plenty of time at the end for Rushmore.  Full disclosure though, we did Needles on a separate day and as I said, part of Rushmore was closed so I’m not exactly sure how much time you can spend there when it’s all open.

There's a train museum in Hill City.   I've not been,  but it appears to get good traffic from train fans.


Yeah,  this.  We try to keep driving to 300 miles or less a day.  Last time I returned from the Hills on a solo trip,  it took 4 days to get back to DFW.  

We're hoping to head that way in 3 to 4 weeks, staying in Custer for 10+ days.  

FYI, the tourist attractions etc. have been opening up over the last couple of weeks. Covid protocol in place.

Just got back from off-roading up there again and thankfully the Sugar Shack never closed nor did they remove any tables or do any of the other chinaflu nonsense. The burgers were as delicious as ever.

Deadwood was open too but the restaurants closed at 8 and many tables had been removed. Most people were living normally but there were a few nuts with masks and gloves.

Spent quite a bit of time in the Hills & Badlands, many times with kids, several without. If you've got kids, The Black Hills Institute Museum in Hill City is a great place. They're the folks who discovered the T-Rex Sue, & the gov't took it away...The Train is supposed to be nice, but not if you have kids that "need" activity all the time. I'd strongly recommend a trail ride, too. Just something about seeing it on horseback that's different from on foot. Down by Custer, there's Circle K, good folks & I'd trust them with my non-horsey family.  The Journey Museum in Rapid City is fantastic, a good rainy day or 103 degree day)outing. Be forewarned, it's absurdly honest about what went on regarding Native American tribes. I used to take a tour group there, & finally quit going in after 3 visits, it was too depressing. Hot Springs has a place to swim that is neat & nostalgic if you're into that kind of thing, & also has Mammoth Site. Hike up Black Elk Peak from the parking lot at Sylvan Lake, you will NOT regret it.   Beware of rattlesnakes in the Badlands, they've had a good year. Do NOT drive offroad in the Badlands if it's rained recently...the soil turns to this fantasticly slippery mud. Another very cool hike is Hell Canyon in the southern Hills by Wind Cave. Breathtaking & not too terribly long. Did it with 2 teens & a 6 year old.

Thanks for all the info...

Keep it coming

Making a visit to Rushmore and the local area the first weekend in October.

Interested in renting a quad. Will have my wife and two boys 9 & 12. Any recommendations on places to rent?

Do I need to reserve early? Not looking for challenging trails, just good views and a fun half day exploring.

I have pig hunting to trade!

Thanks!

First week in October is off season so no crowds, no lines. It can get cold and possibly snow then be 70 degrees the next day so pack jackets. You can rent side by sides anywhere, Custer, Hill City etc.

Any recommendations on trails/locations?

It’s a quick trip since the kids are in school so I got one shot at getting this part correct.

I don't know who's the best to rent from, but there are alot of places with ATV, UTV and now Roxor rentals in the Hill City and Deadwood area. As for 4x4 trails there are a lot of cool trails all over the hills, the Mystic/Rochford area is a pretty cool area to explore with some good views.

All rental places will give you a map and/or download a trail map onto your phone. With the trail map app, they can track you so if you get stuck or pop a tire they know where you are. They will or should also recommend trails near by.

I'm doing the APC Warfighter Challenge in MT at the end of the month, so on the way home I'll be passing through SD and expect to spend several days doing so.  Fishing is one of the primary activities I intend to be doing while also checking out Mt Rushmore, the Black Hills and the Badlands.  Pactola Reservoir and the creek flowing from it do look worth fishing after checking out some video on Youtube last night.   What other places in that area or along the east should I check out for fishing?

At the end of October there's a good chance there will be several feet of snow in the Hills. Good luck!

Looks like a warm up next week, but it should be closing in on the time that the waters in Lake Oahe just north of Pierre will be cooling down. After that you should have a chance at some monster Walleye.

As long as a lot of wind isn't the forecast I'll likely check it out. I'll have a kayak with a 6hp outboard with me.

SD is one of the windiest states in the US. Seems like it's ALWAYS windy.

Pick one of the dams on the missouri, climb down the rocks at dusk, and throw rapala husky jerks, original floaters, or a jig/plastic in current seams.  You'll pile walleyes on a good night plus white bass, smallmouth bass, and probably snag a paddlefish or two.

See my thread a little further down titled 1880 Train.  We had a great time last year. When we come back I'm going to schedule a full day in The Badlands.  Still thinking about moving to SD, VA gets worse all the time.

A follow-up for my trip.

I spent a few cold nights in my trailer in Walmart parking lots and skipped going to Lake Oahe. Monday morning 10/26  I completed the Mitchell to Rapid City leg.  One photo stop was Mt Rushmore.  Continuing on that road leads to the Pactola Reservoir where I planned to do most of my fishing. The roads to the boat ramps and catch-and-release creek below the dam were all iced over, but there was a mostly clear overlook parking lot and primitive restrooms.  I strolled down the steep bank to take a look and could clearly see trout swimming all along the shore.

I returned to the truck for some rods and lures, and got started.  They were not having any of what I was throwing. They would approach and within a foot would just turn away.  A Mepps spinner was the only thing slightly enticing.  So back to the truck for some trout nuggets, hooks and split shot.  I learned that tossing it and an leaving it there unable to be seen, the trout would swallow it with no trace of them taking it.  I'd eventually reel up and find one on the line. Unfortunately this means deep hooking. I found that if I keep the bait shallower I could watch them take it.  They would suck it in and spit it out several times.  So the tactic was to go for a hookset as soon as they sucked it in.  This worked great and I could hook them in the lip and release them with no issue. These were the first trout I had ever caught.  


Of course I did keep keep one for dinner that first night. I couldn't pass up the opportunity, so when I headed back down to the city I made a stop a Walmart for a gas camp stove, cast iron pan, foil and some seasoning.  I cooked it in the Flying J truck stop parking lot.



I also kept another the next day for dinner and cooked that one in the parking lot of the reservoir visitor center overlooking the reservoir.


But that happened after some other firsts earlier in the day.  I slowly worked my way along the now less icy road to the western boat ramp.  The lot was completely empty and the weather was in the 60s so everything was melting.  This time I launched the kayak.  The reservoir is known for having rainbows, browns and lake trout. I figured I could catch more rainbows but I didn't know what else to expect.  There was some wind making the middle and south side choppy so it was harder to find the rainbows.

I caught my first ever pike on a 6th Sense crankbait I got just for this trip.  I also caught another smaller one.




On the return trip all the snow and ice was gone, temps in the 70s and the east ramp was easily accessible.  I didn't quite get my limit of 5 trout.  I then decided that if I could get my daily limit the next day then I would just head straight home rather than make some other fishing stop along the way like Lake Oahe. After catching just one my dog managed to snag a treble hook on a Rapala minnow. Before I could get that all slacked and cut from the line he got it hooked inside his nose. I didn't have any wire cutters with me and some guys fishing for lake trout nearby didn't either so I had to go back to my truck to get them.  I was able to cut off the lure and a point that wasn't embedded.  One point was in past the barb, the other just barely poking in. But he was no longer complaining and freaking out.  So back to fishing we went. I was able to find trout in numbers and biting in the same area as my first day and fairly quickly filled my limit.



I got the fish all dressed and got out of there ASAP so I could get Uzi to a vet. I found a place just in town along the road to the reservoir. I was expecting a pretty big bill but it was only $206 for everything incl meds.  They had to knock him out to do it.  While they did they I made trip to Walmart for some food.

I brought home 9 trout totaling 12.8lbs without heads and guts.

Awesome! Sounds like you had a great time!

Thanks for visiting!

Lots of nice pike and rainbows in pactola. Too bad you didnt get hooked up with a big lake trout. They get huge in there.

I fly fish down on the basin/creek quite a bit.  Its gotten crowded over the last few years and since its catch and release the fish are pretty smart but still catchable.