Longest and Last homestead gold mine in Lead, South Dakota (near Deadwood)…read more Everyone should check this gigantic hole out for themselves. The history is interesting, except for the fact that wealthy entrepreneurs exploited the common folks during the 1929 depression and bought their gold claims/homestead for less than market value. The museum was informative and had incredible exhibits but lacked a feature movie to chronically narrate its evolution.

This was not in my itinerary to go here. It was recommended by our friends who are residence of…read moreDeadwood. For sure make a quick stop here in Lead if you're on your way to Deadwood. Pretty cool to learn and see the mine from above ground. It was active until 1998. There are tours available.

So happy we stopped in for some local information. The staff were super friendly. There was lots of…read moregood information. A gift shop was inside along with information displays. And cute area for kids to discover bones while digging. Very clean washrooms too.

We had a hiking boot failure in the Badlands. It was hot, and the boots were old, the soles…read moreliterally popped off at the same time on our hike. We needed a new pair of boots, because we have a lot more hiking and camping to do before we get back to California. A billboard for Cabela's drew us in. After a prolonged hiking boot search, some fudge, some gawking at the taxidermy, an elk sandwich, and some gawking at guns we were on our way. But we weren't quite sure where we were going. And so my honey suggested the Black Hills Visitor Information Center, which is located right where Google maps says Cabela's is. A wonderful woman gave us loads of brochures for unique hotels and B&Bs in the area, as well as a few restaurant recommendations. Lots of information for weary travelers. Lots of stuf for us to look at as well, there was a large landscape with lights to show places of interest and where we were in relation to those places. That was about all we had the energy for. We called The Hotel Alex Johnson first, and that is where we are staying. It's great, we've reviewed it as well. Another tip for you if you are traveling: www.hotelcoupons.com. Offers reduced rates for lots of hotels in the area.

Loved this area and enjoyed the solitude, the hike, the lake and the trails. Definitely recommend.read more

Fabulous! Great little store inside, and some history too. Books and a few gift items available…read more Be respectful and do not take pictures of their holy items. Kind people running it. Answered a question I had about snakes. I love learning and they teach you what you need to learn. God bless.

Trump was indoors here. Looks to of brochures & Don was a wealth of information. We were given a…read moremap of all the locations of the presidents & more. The visitors center had an adorable children's corner.

A must visit in the area! Friendly staff, easily accessible and loads of information for whatever…read moreyou want to get into in the area.

From the owner: The Black Hills Visitor Information Center, located on Interstate 90 at exit 61 in Rapid City, is…read morethe unofficial east entrance for the Black Hills region. We'll make sure to welcome you to the area and our friendly and knowledgeable staff is ready to help with an array of free services like: * expert trip planning * free wi-fi * clean bathrooms * ATV and forest recreation passes * free maps, brochures and travel guides designed to smooth your way and max your vacation fun in the Black Hills & Badlands * reservations * weather reports and road conditions Or stop in our gift shop to pickup exclusive Black Hills Road Trip gear, local coupons or other great South Dakota-made products and souvenirs. We are open year-round, summer hours are 8 a.m.-6 p.m., seven days a week.

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.

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!

Devil's Tower National Park is worth the trip. We were very lucky because around this time, mid…read moreApril there was hardly anyone here. It felt like we had the park to ourselves. It is set up as a round about. You walk around and experience this force of nature from different angles. The hike is moderate and has power wheelchair access. Gift shop, clean restrooms, plenty of parking and easy trail. Also Mount Rushmore is only a two hour drive from here. So you can kill two birds with one stone.

So, we planned a National Parks tour of the US a month before the federal government decided to…read moreshut down and, not gonna lie, it's been rough. Devil's Tower was one of our best visits so far though and even with the shutdown they had the visitor center open! My husband likes to get his national parks passport stamped and this was the first one he was actually able to get. He has missed out on 5 others already. This area was beautiful and we really enjoyed our time here. I absolutely love prairie dogs and we spent quite a a while watching them. They have lots of viewing areas here and even just walking through the park you will see them. We also took a few short hikes, though dogs are not allowed everywhere and we travel with our pup. I highly recommend a late September/early October visit because the weather was gorgeous and definitely helped us enjoy our day here.

Tower Trail is a good family friendly hike that will get you right up next to Devils Tower. Got a…read moregood laugh that the NPS posted a sign that the trail is not ADA compliant. Somebody must have not had enough common sense and complained about a trail not being accessible.

Tower Trail is the trail you'll want to do to get as close as possible to Devils Tower. it is a…read moreloop around Devils Tower. this loop is the most popular thing to do in the park. This trail is pretty easy and gives you some great views of the tower. If you want to truly be quick and not hike the whole 1.3-mile paved trail, then you will want to start off the loop going LEFT when you are starting from the visitor center. (There is a spot once you start the trail where there are seemingly 2 ways to go, straight and to the left.) Then soon you will see the massive Devil's Tower in front of you. but I would recommend doing the whole tower trail (just 1.3 miles) it will give you different angles of Devils Tower. it is the only trail that is paved. However, do remember that climbing on the rocks isn't allowed without a permit so stay off of the boulders.