Chuck Lien family park is basically the same area of Rapid City that Hanson- Larson Memorial Park…read moreclaims- the memorial park is a set of trails all over the few hills there and Chuck Lien is a spot of land right in the middle of those trails, as well as one large trail that is easy access right up to M Hill, one of the most well known spots in Rapid City where the giant white M sits along the hill. It's really beautiful area any time of year, and such a pleasant hike around- it's not too difficult or strenuous but it can still get you breathing a little hard and sweating which is a perfect hike to me. Referencing my review on Hanson- Larson park if you plan to visit this area would probably be pretty helpful, I'm repeating a lot of what I said there but I don't want to completely drone on. Basically, have a picture of the trails or you may get lost, and taking the Chuck Lien trail path is the biggest path and super easy to make it up to the top of M Hill, and boy is the view worth it!

Great park! Lots of picnic benches, clean new restrooms, water fountains and an awesome art…read moreinstallation about the history of the area. Nice for having lunch outside or taking a walk.

While it is not a place that will take a while afternoon, it is well worth the stop. Lots of…read morebeautifully visual habitat displays. It's very relaxing to just sit and watch the fish in the tank. There are tons of learning opportunities for kids! There are some hands on learning items are available in each habitat setting. And each habitat display has so much depth! There are so many small details that help make up the whole thing! There is also a nook of books for reading. I wish we had something like this where I am from! We didn't get to explore more.of the grounds, as a pretty heavy storm was coming gin and we left just as it hit. We will definitely stop by again next time we visit!

Highly educational. Great for homeschooling and learning about the outdoors . I give it 5 stars.read more

This stop was definitely not what we expected, but you can get a great view of the city from the…read moretop of this park. The statues are neat, but they are very old and they are more for education than for children to play on. I really liked how accessible the park was and how much information it gave. I would definitely recommend bringing children ages 5 to 8 spend some time here; I think they would really enjoy it. And as I said for adults, there is always that amazing view from up top. There is plenty of parking across the street and there's also a little building that was closed when we arrived, but it looks like they sell drinks and treats during regular business hours.

Dinosaur Park is a fun little stop, an especially good place for little ones (and big ones) to run…read morearound and stretch their legs. It's atop a hill with wonderful views of the surrounding area. There are mobility ramps as well as stairs to the highest point, so easy for everyone to get to the top. There is a decent amount of parking at the bottom. The gift shop/snack bar is located at the parking lot. LOTS of gift items and the snack bar has the usual hamburgers, fries, hot dogs etc, all at reasonable prices. Nice stop for 30-45 minutes!

Our visit to Reptile Gardens was absolutely unforgettable! From the moment we walked in, we were…read moreblown away by how well-kept, interactive, and family-friendly everything was. Traveling with our 5-year-old, this was easily one of the highlights of our trip. He was completely fascinated by the huge variety of reptiles--especially the giant tortoises and snakes--and the live shows were both entertaining and educational. The staff did an amazing job keeping kids engaged while teaching them fun facts along the way. The grounds are beautiful and easy to navigate, making it a relaxing experience for parents too. You can tell how much care goes into the animals and the overall experience. If you're in the Rapid City area, this is a must-do--perfect mix of fun, learning, and memorable moments for the whole family!

This place is cool! If you don't like reptiles you will…read moreprobably not enjoy it, but hopefully you would not come to a place called Reptile Gardens if you don't like them. There is a big dome here where you can walk among some free-roaming reptiles; but don't worry, most of the creatures here are in enclosures. Displays are mostly well labeled and in an amusing way. Obviously the people here love reptiles and have fun talking about them. There is a crocodile show that was informative and amusing. I think there are snake shows too. My favorite exhibit is the tortoise area. They are ancient! One is 120 years old and is still - um - frisky. You can touch them! Food was not great. Not many choices. I got a hot dog since it was cheaper than the other items and it was good. I got it "dressed" and the relish and onions definitely elevated it. Great selection of gift shop items. What's really awesome about this place is that - once you have paid admission and are inside - there are some "season pass" signs. If you take your picture with them it will act as a Season Pass for the rest of the year! We don't live in the area so didn't do it; but if we did we would have really taken advantage of that! We came here after going to Bear Country USA and this was by far my favorite of the two. Though I do REALLY love reptiles.

Pretty awesome and would not miss worth every penny! And the gift shop.......... Thee cubs are…read moreamazing

We tried to see Mount Rushmore in the morning but it was rainy and foggy and you couldn't see a…read morething so we decided to give Bear Country a try. It was well worth the $ and time. So fun, we saw so many neat animals but the star of the whole place was the baby bears playing. They were so fun to watch. We laughed and laughed at their antics. We kept hearing kids telling their parents it's the best place they'd been to and how much they loved it. There's a place to stop and clean off your windshield at the entrance since it's a drive thru park. That took about 45 min then they have a walk around area similar to a zoo. There's a small snack bar with reasonably priced snacks. A huge gift shop and bathrooms. One thing to note is they do not allow any pets into the walk around area including service animals which I was very surprised at.

I feel that this is an underused and underrated set of hiking trails in Rapid City. Anyone who's…read moresemi- local or has driven on the ever busy Omaha street knows about M Hill- where the large white letters "sMd" were created to give wave to the School of Mines in Rapid. What many don't know as well or maybe simply forget or don't think about is that you can pretty easily climb to the top of M Hill and see out over all of Rapid- it's pretty incredible at any time of year! Where we parked there was a map showing the dozens of trails that zig zag these sets of hills, and though it seems a little outdated taking a picture of it and referencing it really helped us to know where we were going and not get lost, so I'd obviously recommend doing that. There are also little stakes in the ground at intervals that tell you what trail you are on or what one is about to start, so if you actually pay attention to those and keep an eye on the map you shouldn't get lost easily. There are kind of two main ways to get to the top of M Hill- and easy way and a hard way. We took the harder way up, which is much more scenic, and the easier way down. The easier way you walk right towards the golf course and make a turn before you hit the bridge across the creek. This is such a great way to get outdoors and exercise, without being too crazy exhausting! With stopping and resting and enjoying the view, it took us about an hour and ten round trip to the top and back. Highly recommend!