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.

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.

I had an amazing opportunity on our previous trip to take the whole family to see this awesome park…read morelocated just a few miles away from Mount Rushmore. one of the things that really excited my family and I was the wildlife road that you could take got to see some amazing animals freely grazing right on the sides of roads. It was a great experience I was told that if you want to see even more come earlier and you will thoroughly enjoy how much our life is out and about we went about 1 o'clock and still having to enjoy the time seeing lots of wildlife This wildlife road definitely can take you about two hours to drive on so be prepared for that if you take the wildlife road After that, we continued on to see the eye of the needle and many other amazing places they had inside the park. After driving around, we stopped by the lake. They have some beautiful deck seating for you if you decide to either go in get some food and eat on the deck area outside or take it to go either way it is a great atmosphere inside the gift shop plenty of smiling faces and Nice People working in this area. Oh, I definitely think that it was a world park and every person we encountered whether it was a park range or a worker they were very nice and courteous easy to talk to and we definitely just enjoyed our time there

We started off our day at Custer State Park. We began by going into the visitor center, which is an…read moreabsolute MUST DO. Why? Because when you walk in there is a large scale model of the park and they mark it to show the last reported sighting of bison. The volunteers then showed us how to find that area, and they also showed us another visitor center along the way where they recommended we stop to get further updated information. The bison were located at the southern end of the park, so the beginning of our drive was just through beautiful landscape, without much wildlife at that point. We stopped as instructed at the next visitor center, and got an updated status of the bison, as well as directions on how to find them, as you needed to go off on one of the side roads. We headed off, and then as we rounded the bend on the road there they were! Hundreds of bison as far as you could see. It was absolutely amazing. You can easily pull to the side of the road and stop, and you can roll down your windows and just observe - it was incredible. Several times we were stopped along the way as they crossed the road in front of us. It was absolutely one of the highlights of our trip to South Dakota. After we finished driving through the herd, we continued our journey and ended up at the Blue Bell Lodge for lunch, which we highly recommend. From there, we drove the Needles Highway, a big portion of which in our case was done in the rain. But despite the rain, there was still lots to see, even though a lot of it for us was from inside the car, where we periodically rolled down the windows to take pictures. I would say our day at Custer State Park was absolutely the best experience we had during the entire stay in South Dakota, so I would highly, highly recommend it!

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.

I definitely recommend putting this on something you go and visit in your lifetime. It is a very…read moreamazing monument from the time you walk up through the main gate you can start to see the monument and it's just amazing at the work that was put into it they have lined the pathway with the flags from all 50 states and it just kinda gives you this amazing walk up experience and that if you haven't seen you early enjoy. My family and I spent about an hour and a half there which is a great amount of time you can walk up get some great photos plenty of park Rangers around to talk to get directions and tell you a little bit more about the park They do offer videos certain times of the day that are very informative. They have a full-blown theater at the foot of the mountain, which is really amazing when people can perform and things like that which I had no idea that was there until later. And then they have this amazing easy to travel trail. You can do about 50% of it with the stroller and get close up to the monument and take a great photo but then there comes an area where it says I have almost 450 steps so we stopped right there and turned back, but it does do a loop around the whole area with spectacular views. I definitely think that this is a great place to go and visit really peaceful place well-maintained. They do have restaurants and gift shops there so if you're ever in South Dakota, go and give this place a visit

Last summer, June 2025 - completed my quest to visit all 50 states. ND and SD were my last two -…read moreand no visit to SD would be complete if you didn't stop off to see Mount Rushmore. I don't remember how much parking was. There are signs there. Or check the site. Just follow the signs, grab a ticket and pay for it at one of the kiosks. It's not rocket science. You'll figure it out. Usual shops for gifts and things but know it's tourists' prices. Multiple exhibits where you can learn about how the memorial came to be before taking a walk on the trail that gives you a closer look. Don't forget to grab some shots of the way leading up to the memorial of all 50 states' flags and plaques. Admission is free - and check the site for different events like lighting ceremonies. Didn't catch that but maybe next time. I say that because I can see myself visiting the area again. Lots to see and do out there.

There's a whole hidden world under the prairie. The Garden of Eden Tour took us deep underground…read morethrough narrow passageways and into rooms full of rare boxwork formations and delicate honeycomb patterns that make this cave so special. Down there, everything feels slower. It's quiet, cool, and feels almost untouched. Then you step back outside and it's a complete contrast. Open skies, rolling hills, and bison grazing in the distance like something straight out of a movie. Two totally different worlds in one park.

It's getting really depressing to be on a National Parks road trip through the US during a…read moregovernment shutdown. Wind Cave National park was really nice and convenient and had a few interesting things to see. Unfortunately the visitors center and all the restrooms were closed even though there was a park ranger sitting in his running truck in the parking lot trying to avoid the visitors that walked up to him. I can't blame the park for the shutdown and I did really like the ease of navigating the simple beauty here. We caught a glimpsenof a buffalo and saw some prairie dogs (I love prairie dogs!) but I doubt I will ever be back to see it when it is fully operational.

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!

Free WiFi. Bathrooms. Info. Reasonable place to work for a bit. Electric car and RV charging.read more

From the owner: The Custer Area Chamber of Commerce will promote a positive business climate by encouraging…read morecommunity unity, growth and development. When you're up for adventure, stay in Custer, South Dakota and be minutes-not miles-from the best climbs, trails and family fun of the Black Hills. Located on the edge of Custer State Park, Custer and the surrounding area offers travelers unique lodging, dining and shopping opportunities, as well as unlimited family fun. This uncrowded mountain town is a natural playground for all adventure seekers. Plus, you're just minutes from Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial, and Jewel Cave National Monument.

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.

The best. Jessica has been so incredibly helpful to us on our last two trips booked through her…read more Both involved airline delays and more time than expected spent in airports. Jessica was cheerful, efficient, and unbelievably helpful and immediately booked us on different flights (and booked us a hotel when the delay included an overnight stay in Dallas). It was FABULOUS to have this type of assistance and truly turned what could have felt like a stressful nightmare into a relatively minor inconvenience. I cannot say enough wonderful things, Jessica is the best!!

This was the first place I called to start my husband and I's travel plans this fall. One lady…read morethere started emailing me and provided information but was not knowledgeable about anywhere to stay, excursions to take, and was not overly helpful. I worked with her though and was finally getting the plans ready to pay for when she stopped progress and said the company needed $200 before she could do anything further or research any more details. Come to find out that was way higher than any other place, and because of this, I called the Bursch Travel Agency in Gillette who was way better, more helpful, and got every detail right on my trip before asking for money. I'm happy I went with Gillette's Bursch because everything turned out perfect, and I did not make all the progress just to have it stopped because of money. So just a fair warning that this company cannot look up more than a few things without requesting money.