For decades this was a gravel pull off of Skyline Drive. Now paved it is a great location for…read moreviewing West Rapid and The Blackhills.

Rapid City was chosen to be the location for our USAF group's reunion this year. It was a good…read morechoice because of the proximity to some great attractions like the still-under-construction Crazy Horse Memorial, Custer State Park, and, of course, Mount Rushmore. It also offers a great and diverse food scene that I wished we had more time to sample. While we were here, we did experience a lot of construction getting around town with road blockages but once we found a parking spot we found a very walkable city with plenty of shops and restaurants. We also found a recent addition we were told about - presidential statues located on street corners throughout the downtown and immediate surrounding area covering up through the current. We only had time to see a few of them but it's definitely a unique addition.

Rapid City was fun. Had to pass through to get to Mt. Rushmore and we didn't get the feeling of…read morebeing unwanted. Unfortunately I had this horrible idea that Koreans were not welcome but that wasn't the case. The people said hello and chit chatted with us for a bit. My favorite question to ask Mid-Westerners is, "have u ever seen the beach?" followed by, "ever see a Californian beach?" Many of the elder gents were servicemen so the answer was yes. Most of the younger ones said, "No." Rapid city is where Hardees discovered me LOL. FYI: Hardees = Carls Jr. When i walked in... The burgers names were 1/4 lber or 1/2 lber (famous star/superstar). When i asked for a big carl, they were like O-o hahaaha. Good times. Can't wait to go back. Rapid city is where i also had to fix a flat for my truck. A friendly man warned us that our tire was really low due to some road debris and even guided us to a tire shop. I forgot the tire shop name and all that but he went in and spoke to his buddy to "take care of our pals here." The tire shop patched up my thingy for $20 and we were off. They could've totally ripped us off and make us wait for a new tire and all that but thank goodness Mid-Westerners or Dakotans retain an old-fashioned trait called integrity. Thank you Rapid City for the wonderful experience.

July 4th at Keystone SD!…read more On our way to Mount Rushmore we passed by this charming town with many family-friendly activities and attractions, shops, street vendors and dining options. It looked like this was a popular destination for visitors to the Black Hills. We decided to stop here first and see what kinds of souvenirs we could bring home. Finding parking was a challenge but we were able to snag an open spot. It is Independence Day and also election year so many of the merchandise were patriotic things that are Red, White, and Blue all from apparel to non-clothing souvenirs. We poked our heads in some of the shops... bought some stuff and we wore them at Mount Rushmore. There were a lot of locals and tourists... Keystone was busy. Fun stop! Review #3490

Keystone, a town with a distinct western ambiance is about a 10 minute drive from Mount Rushmore…read more The major road that takes you to Rushmore runs right through Keystone, population about 350. Established in 1883 as a mining town, Keystone still celebrates the Black Hills gold rush with establishments like "Gold Diggers", a shop specializing in Black Hills gold jewelry. The Black Hills Central Railroad (1900) has a depot in Keystone, tickets available.There are places to eat in Keystone as well. Keystone House Restaurants, Peggy's Place or a deli sandwich at Teddy's deli.. The National Presidential Wax Museum displays every President, several notable Sioux chiefs, inventors and international figures. The wax figures are the creation on internationally recognized artist, Katherine Stubergh. Among her accomplishments are wax figures created for the movie "Gone with the Wind". Another notable museum in Keystone is the Rushmore Borglum Story, a museum dedicated to the artist that created Mount Rushmore.

One of the noted scenic drives in Custer State Park but note that this is not actually in the state…read morepark. It is in the northwest side between keystone and the state park entrance. You can drive from the north to south but views are better from south to north! There are plenty of tunnels, bridges and lookout stops to take in the views. There is a lot of history along this road and it os worth using the "guide along" app and the black hills tour to get a deeper insight into that piece of it while you are driving the road. I wouldn't say this is a "must see" but if you are making your way back up to Rushmore or keystone from Custer this is the way to go and worth taking a little extra time to enjoy all of the views.

Iron Mountain Road is one of the best scenic drives in the Black Hills. It is part of the Peter…read moreNorbeck National Scenic Byway and it connects Custer State Park with Mount Rushmore. This road twists and turns through Black Hill. It's a beautiful road to drive but there are two places where you can get a very unique view of Mount Rushmore. On this road are two tunnels, the Scovel Johnson Tunnel and the Doane Robinson Tunnel, where you can see Mount Rushmore through the tunnel. I would suggest, to get this view, it's best to drive Iron Mountain Road from south to north (which is the direction you drive when you are driving to Mount Rushmore!). As you drive through the tunnels, Mount Rushmore will be right in front of you. You will start off by seeing Mount Rushmore off in the wayyy distance, and as you keep driving, Mount Rushmore continues to get closer and closer! Driving through the Iron Mountain Road tunnels also means that you'll be driving through Black Hills National Forest. Note: All Iron Mountain Road Tunnels are a one-lane tunnels. There is no entry fee to drive through Black Hills National Forest.

The food is excellent as is the ambience!! Great service and we highly recommend this exquisite…read morerestaurant!!!

Food: Just okay. I ordered the pappardelle with mushroom. Some of my pasta was stuck together, and…read moreoverall could have used more sauce. The lasagna was good as well as the salads. The complimentary bread is appreciated though. Something to note: while this Italian restsaurant offers different pasta and pizza dishes, they do not offer entrees like chicken parm, steak, etc. Service: okay. It was attentive but also a little anxious to rush us. We were eating as a family, which means several young kids and a baby. Maybe the server interpreted most of us not actively eating as we were done, but there was still food on our plates, and my parents were eating their dishes. The server asked us if our plates were ready to be cleared away and if we wanted dessert, which felt a bit premature for the meal. Ambiance: It's a nice large space inside. You get a view of the open kitchen that's in the back. There's tons of seating options including booths or tables. There is also Sabatino's pizzeria next to this restaurant!