One of my favorite places to visit is The Black Hills, SD. There is so much history throughout the area, and the scenery is absolutely amazing. My personal top five things for people to do are special to me. Every trip that I have taken since I was young had to include each of these.
While you are visiting these areas be sure to pack food, drinks, and other things you may need in case of an emergency. I learned from personal experience that it is needed. You should also have your camera ready. I promise you will have great pictures to show off when you return home.
#5-Bear Country USA in Rapid City, SD-My last visit to South Dakota was actually my first time visiting Bear Country USA, and I am happy I made the visit. I enjoyed driving through the 250 acre park and seeing the different animals. Of course my favorite animals were the bears. They were roaming freely through there area without much interference from others. They did cause a few traffic jams, which were taken care of pretty quickly.
The cost of Bear Country is fairly reasonable. For my mom and I it was about $28. The only reason I had not visited before is due to the fact that I am usually traveling with more people. I still recommend it though.
#4-Needles Highway (Highway 87)-Needles Highway gives you a lot of amazing rock formations, exciting tunnels, and the views are magnificent. There are a few tings that you can do while taking the drive, one of my favorite stops is Sylvan Lake. My top reason for enjoying Sylvan Lake is because one of my favorite movies, National Treasures 2, was filmed there.
While on the drive be sure to stop at the lookouts and enjoy the scenery. When you are getting closer to the east end of the Highway there is a rest area that has a cave in the mountain. It does not go anywhere, but the kids love going in it. This is also a great place for a picnic.
#3-Wildlife Loop-After your ride on Needles Highway you can continue on to the Wildlife loop. I love this ride because of the different animals that you see. You can see a variety of animals on the loop depending on the time of day that you go. I found that you can see more if you go in the evening. Make time to take a few of the back roads that are marked for public use. You can see more animals on these roads, because they are not highly traveled.
#2-Iron Mountain Road-Iron Mountain road is my favorite road to travel on when I visit South Dakota. It has amazing tunnels that do have width restrictions. The pig tail bridges are remarkable to look at. The views are the best though; you have hair pin turns, pig tail bridges, and if you look through a couple of the tunnels they actually frame out Mount Rushmore. There is a stop at the top of the mountain that has perfect views of Mount Rushmore.
#1-Mount Rushmore-Mount Rushmore is one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. I think everyone should make the trip to visit it at least one time in there life. Visiting the park is about $15 for the family, and you get so much history from the visit. You can take a long walk through the park, and be prepared for a lot of steps. Then visit the museum to learn about the history of Mount Rushmore. They have a lot of different activities for kids, so be sure to stop by the visitor center first if you have kids with you. Do not forget to stick around for the lighting ceremony.
