Just got back from a long weekend in the Black Hills. Since I came here this spring looking for advice, I figured I would give a follow up post on how the trip went.
Day 1
We drove out west and got to Wall around 7 pm. We did the whole Wall Drug thing when we got there. After about 5 minutes of being there I had more than enough. It is nothing more than a tourist trap selling crap. This is a definite skip in the future. After we checked into our hotel we drove around and the rodeo was in town. I think everyone within a 50 mile radius brought their horse. It was redneck heaven. We walked around and looked at the horses. Our 2 YO loved it.
Day 2
We left Wall fairly early and drove down into the Badlands. I thought the Badlands were pretty cool. It is a must do. We took the gravel road to Prairie Dog Town. At PDT we saw prairie dogs, antelope, a fox snagged a prairie dog, and bison. We actually had bison cross the road about 50 ft in front of us. That was as close as I wanted to get (in the car). They are massive, majestic creatures. Very cool. We also saw some bighorn sheep on the side of the road driving thru the park.
From there we checked into our hotel in Rapid City then went to Bear Country. I would argue that this was the highlight of the trip. Another must do. We saw all kinds of animals up close and personal. I bet there was close to 80 bears. They were everywhere. The animals were fairly active too considering it was 90+ degrees. The driving part was cool and the walking part with the smaller animals was equally as cool. The bear cubs are super energetic. My daughter had a great time.
Next up was Reptile Gardens. We saw the snake show and the alligator show. Both were cool but I don’t think it is a must do. I would probably do it again. The kid was fine because she got to run around most of the time.
We decided to take Iron Mountain Road to Keystone before we went to Mt Rushmore. That was an awesome drive with some really cool views of Mt Rushmore. My kid loved going thru the tunnels. In Keystone we walked around a little. Each town has their own little shops which basically makes a stop at Wall Drug obsolete. We ate at Ruby House. Food was excellent. We missed out on the gunfight that happens a couple times a day. My in-laws had seen that before and thought it was pretty cool. From there we went to the lighting ceremony at Mt Rushmore. The story telling leading up to the lighting was interesting but the lighting of the mountain was very underwhelming. I thought there would be a light show or some big moment leading up to the lighting but they just flipped a switch and lights came on. We didn’t even know it was coming.
Day 3
We drove out to Custer and went past Crazy Horse. We just pulled over on the side of the road to look at it. It looked the same as it did 15 years ago when I saw it. We ate lunch at Black Hills Burger and Bun Co. on the recommendation of someone in the other thread. It lived up to the hype. The Hot Granny was awesome. We even bought some of the jalapeno jelly sauce that goes on the burger. It is a small place (like 10 tables) so you might want to put your name in then go peruse Custer.
From there we drove thru Custer State Park. The wildlife loop was an incredible waste of time. They had all the bison penned up about a mile from the road. There were 4 donkeys on the road that we got out and fed some carrots. That was cool and the kid enjoyed it but she can feed grass to cows at home and it would be just as cool. Other than a few antelope there was no other wildlife. We even drove ¾ of the gravel roads that break off from the main drag. I probably won’t ever do it again.
From there we took Needles Highway up to Sylvan Lake. I thought Iron Mountain Road was a cooler drive and Sylvan Lake was also kind of a bummer. I thought it was going to be a crystal clear mountain lake but it looked like any other dirty lake I grew up going to with a little better scenery.
We went to Storybook Island in Rapid City. It had just rained so no one was there. Our daughter loved it. It is a good thing to do if you have some time to kill and kids need to burn off some steam. We ate at Firehouse Brewing Company. All those fire trucks parked along the interstate paid off. BBQ was pretty good. Beer was good, not great. The place is huge so you shouldn’t have to wait. Not sure I would go out of my way to go there tho.
Day 4
We went up to Deadwood and went to the Broken Boot Gold Mine. It was really cool. They show you how to pan for gold. You get $3-$4 dollars of gold. The tour is relatively short, about 30 minutes, and really interesting. It is not fun chasing a 2 year old around in a gold mine. Depending on the maturity of your kids, I’d wait to bring them until you don’t have to worry about them laying in the soot or shoving rocks in their mouth. They will be dirty.
We walked around Main Street for a while and we ate somewhere. We didn’t do any gambling since we had the kid along. Then we drove out to Devil’s tower. It is a long drive out in the middle of nowhere. It is cool but I’m not sure it is cool enough to spend a half day driving out there and back. I’d probably skip that if I had the chance to do it again.
We got back to our hotel that was connected to the Watiki Waterpark and went swimming. This was a huge hit with the in-laws, wife, and 2 year old. They had big slides which we’re really fun. My daughter couldn’t get enough of it. There is also a smaller area where the kids can run around and go down slides.
Day 1
We drove out west and got to Wall around 7 pm. We did the whole Wall Drug thing when we got there. After about 5 minutes of being there I had more than enough. It is nothing more than a tourist trap selling crap. This is a definite skip in the future. After we checked into our hotel we drove around and the rodeo was in town. I think everyone within a 50 mile radius brought their horse. It was redneck heaven. We walked around and looked at the horses. Our 2 YO loved it.
Day 2
We left Wall fairly early and drove down into the Badlands. I thought the Badlands were pretty cool. It is a must do. We took the gravel road to Prairie Dog Town. At PDT we saw prairie dogs, antelope, a fox snagged a prairie dog, and bison. We actually had bison cross the road about 50 ft in front of us. That was as close as I wanted to get (in the car). They are massive, majestic creatures. Very cool. We also saw some bighorn sheep on the side of the road driving thru the park.
From there we checked into our hotel in Rapid City then went to Bear Country. I would argue that this was the highlight of the trip. Another must do. We saw all kinds of animals up close and personal. I bet there was close to 80 bears. They were everywhere. The animals were fairly active too considering it was 90+ degrees. The driving part was cool and the walking part with the smaller animals was equally as cool. The bear cubs are super energetic. My daughter had a great time.
Next up was Reptile Gardens. We saw the snake show and the alligator show. Both were cool but I don’t think it is a must do. I would probably do it again. The kid was fine because she got to run around most of the time.
We decided to take Iron Mountain Road to Keystone before we went to Mt Rushmore. That was an awesome drive with some really cool views of Mt Rushmore. My kid loved going thru the tunnels. In Keystone we walked around a little. Each town has their own little shops which basically makes a stop at Wall Drug obsolete. We ate at Ruby House. Food was excellent. We missed out on the gunfight that happens a couple times a day. My in-laws had seen that before and thought it was pretty cool. From there we went to the lighting ceremony at Mt Rushmore. The story telling leading up to the lighting was interesting but the lighting of the mountain was very underwhelming. I thought there would be a light show or some big moment leading up to the lighting but they just flipped a switch and lights came on. We didn’t even know it was coming.
Day 3
We drove out to Custer and went past Crazy Horse. We just pulled over on the side of the road to look at it. It looked the same as it did 15 years ago when I saw it. We ate lunch at Black Hills Burger and Bun Co. on the recommendation of someone in the other thread. It lived up to the hype. The Hot Granny was awesome. We even bought some of the jalapeno jelly sauce that goes on the burger. It is a small place (like 10 tables) so you might want to put your name in then go peruse Custer.
From there we drove thru Custer State Park. The wildlife loop was an incredible waste of time. They had all the bison penned up about a mile from the road. There were 4 donkeys on the road that we got out and fed some carrots. That was cool and the kid enjoyed it but she can feed grass to cows at home and it would be just as cool. Other than a few antelope there was no other wildlife. We even drove ¾ of the gravel roads that break off from the main drag. I probably won’t ever do it again.
From there we took Needles Highway up to Sylvan Lake. I thought Iron Mountain Road was a cooler drive and Sylvan Lake was also kind of a bummer. I thought it was going to be a crystal clear mountain lake but it looked like any other dirty lake I grew up going to with a little better scenery.
We went to Storybook Island in Rapid City. It had just rained so no one was there. Our daughter loved it. It is a good thing to do if you have some time to kill and kids need to burn off some steam. We ate at Firehouse Brewing Company. All those fire trucks parked along the interstate paid off. BBQ was pretty good. Beer was good, not great. The place is huge so you shouldn’t have to wait. Not sure I would go out of my way to go there tho.
Day 4
We went up to Deadwood and went to the Broken Boot Gold Mine. It was really cool. They show you how to pan for gold. You get $3-$4 dollars of gold. The tour is relatively short, about 30 minutes, and really interesting. It is not fun chasing a 2 year old around in a gold mine. Depending on the maturity of your kids, I’d wait to bring them until you don’t have to worry about them laying in the soot or shoving rocks in their mouth. They will be dirty.
We walked around Main Street for a while and we ate somewhere. We didn’t do any gambling since we had the kid along. Then we drove out to Devil’s tower. It is a long drive out in the middle of nowhere. It is cool but I’m not sure it is cool enough to spend a half day driving out there and back. I’d probably skip that if I had the chance to do it again.
We got back to our hotel that was connected to the Watiki Waterpark and went swimming. This was a huge hit with the in-laws, wife, and 2 year old. They had big slides which we’re really fun. My daughter couldn’t get enough of it. There is also a smaller area where the kids can run around and go down slides.
