Trek South Dakotas Black Hills in 5 days

For us, the Black Hills of South Dakota are only about a five hour drive away, so we planned a windy drive through Wyoming to go visit all the Black Hills have to offer.

Day 1: Arrive in Rapid City, South Dakota and visit Mount Rushmore

Since our arrival time was early afternoon we stopped at Mt. Rushmore.  Mount Rushmore is about 20 minutes from Custer, SD and around a hour from Rapid City.  Parking at the site is $11.  

NOTE: National Park Passes DO NOT cover the cost to park at Mt. Rushmore.

For us, it took us about a hour to walk around the Memorial, check out the bookstore and gift shop.  Those with children can take advantage of the Jr. Ranger program.

Note: Mt. Rushmore is lighted for 1.5 hours after sunset each night, with a nightly program.

Day 2: Jewel Cave National Monument (13 miles west of Custer and 53 miles from Rapid City) and Wind Cave National Monument (20 miles south of Custer)

We chose to have a cave packed day and explore both the caves in the Black Forest Area.  The first stop was at Jewel Cave.  Since it was the winter season only the Scenic Tour was offered for $8 a ticket.  You can call and reserve tickets for this tour up to 7 days prior to when you plan on visiting (1-605-673-8300)  This tour is great for those who have a little fear of caving or those who are not as sure footed.  The tour is completely on a raised metal pathway and an easy walk.  As someone who has been caving before, I thought this tour was way to commercialized, although I still enjoyed the opportunity.  One of my goals is to return and do the Wild Caving Tour.  Although this cave wasn't my favorite, I still recommend the visit and have had friends take other tours who had a 100% positive experience.

What to expect?  The tour starts at the visitors center where you load up an elevator and head down into the cave.  From here you are let out onto a platform for your first look at the cave before continuing on the tour.

Note: The caves stay at 49°F (9°C) so you might want to bring along a jacket.

From Jewel Cave, we headed to Wind Cave, having a picnic lunch in the car.  Again, since it was winter season, only one tour was offered, the Garden of Eden Cave Tour (Tickets for this tour are $7 per person). However, when we arrived they upgraded our tour due to the number of visitors that day.  This tour is also very accessible.  For this tour we took a walkway down into the cave with numerous stops along the way.  I thought this tour was a much better and even if we were on a paved path the cave seemed much more natural.

What to expect?  From the visitors center you head out down a paved path toward the cave and enter the cave through a set of doors.  At the end of the tour, we left the cave through another set of doors and headed back down a path to return to the visitors center.

NOTE: At Wind Cave you have the opportunity to see tons of wildlife!  We saw deer, tons of birds and BUFFALO!!

Day 3: Visit the Crazy Horse Memorial, Custer State Park and Mineral Springs, SD

Our first stop of the day was the Crazy Horse Memorial.  At $10 a person, I thought the entry price was steep; until we went inside.  Not only do you get to view the memorial, there are rooms and rooms of things to look at.  Everything ranging from artist drawings, to details about construction to handmade items.

After Crazy Horse we headed into Custer State Park, although there is tons of hiking we just did a scenic drive since it was snowing.

Due to the snowy weather, we ended up skipping the hot springs and decided to try out some of the Wineries we saw along HWY 385.  If time permits during your trip and wine is your cup of tea, I recommend trying one of South Dakota's Wineries out!

Day 4: Badlands National Park, Minuteman Missile Site and Wall Drug

Badlands National Park is a little over a hour drive from Rapid City due east on Interstate 90.  We chose to enter the National Park via the West Entrance and drive the main road stopping and taking short hikes at areas that peaked our interest.  When you come out on the other side stop at the Visitors Center to look at the museum then continue on HWY 240 toward I-90 and stop at the Minute Man Missile Silo Visitors Center.  We found this to be a little hard to find but with only a few other buildings in the area, its easy to regroup and figure out where you should be.  The visitors center has an informative video and will provide tours and directions to the actual missile site.  This site can be accessed on your way back to Rapid City on I-90.

After finishing up at the Missile Silo, head back on I-90 with a stop at Wall Drug, an iconic symbol and stop for those traveling in and around the Black Hills.  

Wall Drug Fact: Wall Drug started as a drug store in 1931 and survived the depression by offering free water to travelers.

While we chose to focus our time on the natural things the Black Hills have to offer, there is so much more to explore.  HWY 16 from Rapid City into the Black Hills has numerous tour attractions from Bear to the reptile center.  A little further away are the well known towns of Sturgis and Deadwood, two towns that would be worth a visit.

Day 5: The slow return home and a stop at the Mammoth Site

On our way home we decided to stop at the Mammoth Site, only to find they weren't open on Sundays.  I usually check all those things before we head out on our trip, but this one slipped through the cracks.

DISCLAIMER: Prices, locations, tours, policies and attractions may have changed.  Please use websites listed for the most up to date information.