Has there been anybody who's traveled South Dakota? Looking for any information, travel tips and other suggestions.
One state I need to add to my arsenal of "places visited" is South Dakota. I've heard good things about it during my travels from other vacationers. I'd like to road trip it I think across it. I've been told you need to b/c there is a lot of cool things that you need to see throughout the state.
Here are a few places I've been told to check out.
- The obvious locations: Mount Rushmore, Black Hills, Badlands
- Not so obvious: Bear Butte, Deadwood & Wall Drug
Has anybody traveled to these places?
Reply to this Yes! South Dakota is one of those surprising locations where you wouldn't honestly believe how fun it is to travel through unless you've done it. I think I've been to each place that you mentioned already (not sure about Deadwood though). I will second what you'd already been told.
Badlands - a wonderful place full of geologic history. We camped for free at the Sage Creek campsite in the more remote section of the National Park. There is much more than just eroded sandstone. Prairie dog town, herds of buffalo, beautiful wild-flowers....loved it.
Mount Rushmore - Definitely more of a "gotta do it to check it off the list" than an "oh my gosh that's so amazing" venue.
Black Hills - very scenic, good camping. Bit of rock climbing there too I noticed although we are not rock climbers.
Bear Butte/Devil's Tower - pretty sure this one is in Wyoming but it is worth a look. Again, good geology and there were falcons nesting while we were there. It's more a day-trip.
Wall Drug - not a must see, but any means, although after seeing roads signs for miles you feel obligated to stop. Very good marketing on their part.
Other places I'd recommend: The National Grassland and Prairie Headquarters/Musuem/Ranger Station (something like that) is near Wall Drug. We enjoyed learning about the history of the grasslands much more than the kitch of the near-by tourist mecca.
Also, there is a great agate/quartz bed around this tiny, tiny town of Fairmont. We blogged about all the locations above in South Dakota (and a few more) starting with
Wind Swept and Desolate and if you're looking for more S. Dakota options, here's a link to all the rest of the
South Dakota blogs submitted but other Travelbloggers.
Reply to this Don't forget to check out Chief Joseph Monument. But my favorite is Bear country. At Bear Country you get to drive in among the animals. The bears are so funny.
They have some good wax museums. One of them is of all the presidents in Keystone.
If you are there in the summer - you want to go to the Passion Play. It is an outdoor play and worth the money.
There are some caverns you can tour and those are always fun. The one I can think of is in Leads.
Even if you have small children - you want to skip the Flintstones place - just plain bad!
There are some package deals you should check out before going. Other wise the way they kill you on cost is in parking. It is about $11 to park to see Mt. Rushmore. And I think it is around $20 for Chief Joseph.
Reply to this You might consider taking a roadtrip to Devils Tower in WY which is not too far away.
If there's a rodeo while you're there, you might want to check it out. Check out the animals at Custer State Park and the Needle's Hwy scenery.
Crazy Horse Monument.
Have a buffalo burger.
We had a whole road trip planned for this summer but gas prices and the economic downturn convinced us to put it on hold. It is definitely one of our must see destinations and hopefully we'll eventually be able to use our planned itinerary.
Reply to this How about Palisades Park, Dinosaur Park or Storybook Land? Other places...well you can check this one:
South Dakota .
Bon voyage! ^_^
Reply to this 
