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Wind Cave National Park

4.1 (95 reviews)

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Natural entrance
Glenn M.

What a great place to visit! The visitor center is an excellent place to learn about the Wind Cave! Just looking around the visitor center and walking to the natural entrance of the cave is so interesting. It was a pretty warm day to be outside, but after walking to the natural entrance to the cave and feeling the fresh cool air it felt like getting hit by air conditioning! Next time we are gonna make reservations to do a Cave Tour since they look real interesting! Please remember to make reservations for tours well before you visit! We say antelope on the nearby plain plus we saw a herd of buffalo! What a treat!! Hope to come back soon!

Wind cave geology
Wen C.

The elevators are being renovated when we visited, so unfortunately there were no tours. However, the visitor's center had informative displays about the prairie ecosystem, the Native Americans who call this place home, and about the cave itself. I thought it was pretty well done. The visitor's center also has a small gift shop. I walked to the natural entrance of Wind Cave, and I saw a few deer. They were so close and calm. I guess they're used to seeing people up close! Due to time restrictions, I couldn't do any hikes, although I saw plenty of wildlife on my drive to the visitor's center. It's on my to do list to return and have a guided tour of the cave, so watch out for my updated review, whenever the elevators are back online.

07.07.24 in Hot Springs SD
May A.

Our visit was incomplete [Hot Springs SD] Unfortunately the cave tours are temporarily suspended due to elevator replacement so we didn't get a chance to see the rare boxwork formations inside the caves but we still wanted to see the exhibits inside the Visitor Center. According to the National Park Services tours of Wind Cave will be closed beginning May 6, 2024 and continue into the late fall. A ranger-led guided tour took us to the natural entrance of Wind Cave. She began to tell us The Lakota Emergence Story which was both educational and entertaining... "and this was how the first bison herd came about..." hmm, interesting indeed. There are no entrance fees to enjoy the trails, scenic drives, and the visitor center. However, the cave tour has associated fees that is not covered by the annual pass. We did see a lone bison grazing on native grassland prairies. Looks like we have to give South Dakota another visit when that elevator is fixed. Review #3495

Tom G.

I'll start by saying that we weren't able to get a cave tour. We did hike around the area, which is cool and say some bison, which was even better.

Emily D.

I love the National Park Service! Nicest rangers I've met, beautiful grounds, and bathrooms. You'll see animals while you're here!

Main entrance to park.
Leah W.

We drove to go see these caves. We arrived after the last tour. Our fault for not checking. We were in the area. You can still walk to see the entrance or have a picnic. Quiet area and lots of other trails and caves at this park. We didn't javelin time to venture out. No fee to enter the park only of pyu take a tour. Bathrooms are located on the top floor and bottom floor. The upper and bottom floor has several lots of memorabilia. Only gave 4 since I wasn't able to rate the caves. The staff were nice and helpful. Maps were also at the visitors center.

Even the Bison enjoy the view
Jennie M.

Wind Cave National Park is so much more than just a cave. I mean, even beyond the cave experience it is almost 34,000 sq feet of prairies and grasslands occupied by Bison and groundhogs. At some point, the dirt pushed up by the underground dwellers turns red instead of flesh toned. It seemed for a moment that I could be in the southwest of the country. It is worth the drive through if you are in the area...whether or not you go to the cave at all. Personally, I chose not to do the cave tour because I would need the accessible option. This leaves you often looking through from where you are to another room. I chose to save my stamina for other parts of my adventure.

We saw 3 herds of bison.

We attended the garden of Eden tour with ranger akex, he did an amazing job. The tour was one of our favorites and we have been to all the national park cave tours. I was slightly concerned as we have had hip and knee replacements but it was no problem.

Mark E.

100% worth the trip!!!! The caves were awesome and enjoyed by our whole family. We took the Fairgrounds tour. It was 1.5 hours and it was listed as a strenuous hike. However, that rating is based on stairs and our six year old was able to do it easily. There are ~5 different tours. Some very short and accessible. And the longest I believe is a 4 hour candlelit tour. The price was not that much and you are paying for a guide. Our guide Dave was very knowledgeable and kept it exciting for the kids. The guide takes you down 150 feet in an elevator and you start exploring from there. Adults will need to duck in several spots, as there are low ceilings. The views were awesome. It is boxwork created and you can see different stages throughout. It can take a bit of a drive to get here, but you won't regret it.

Watch out for pedestrians
Stephen P.

It's a different kind of cave than many you'd tour, and that makes it fascinating. It doesn't have the water fed features like stalagmites/stalactites but instead dissolved boxwork, which is nothing like you see anywhere else, along with a bit of frostwork and popcorn. Don't forget the park has a surface too, with lots of bison, pronghorn, & prairie dogs, as well as some great views. The visitor center has good information displays but was clearly setup decades ago, it isn't a modern approach. The Fairgrounds tour says "strenuous", but as long as you can walk up a couple flights of stairs, there's nothing difficult. All tours are on recreation.gov, be sure to book in advance any time of year -- I saw several disappointed people turned away. They keep some tickets for day of, but get there before they open at 8am.

Danielle P.

Visited Wind Cave National Park a few yrs ago on a 2 week road trip visiting several ntl parks. South Dakota has alot of outdoor hikes and history. I was really shocked how much natural beauty is in this state. The people where really helpful the entire trip. Make sure you get a yearly park pass, some of the parks didn't require a pass to enter. Much cheaper if you prepare before going to save a few coins. Plenty of free parking and clean bathrooms inside. I highly recommend if you want a cave tour to make advance reservations. We didn't have any issues when we went, I'm assuming its all about timing. The guide was knowledgeable and gave us plenty of time to wander thru. I've been to several caves thru out the USA, each one has its own uniqueness. This particular cave has alot of box formations and indigenous history. Lots of wildlife, buffalo, prairie dogs, etc...riding around just enjoying the nature was gem for us on this entire trip! Of course I have pics, still playing catch up on yr old reviews. Tip- Dont miss Custors State Park, it a must to see. Dani~

Sarah E.

Get your tour tickets and enjoy exploring this national treasure. Really cool cave, not typical with stalagmites or stalactites, but that's what made it interesting. Plus you can explore all things above ground, too. There's some great hiking trails and neat wildlife to check out. Worth coming off the beaten path to see this place.

Tracy L.

This was a really cool cave tour. The Ranger was extremely knowledgeable and made the experience enjoyable. I liked the Natural walking tour, but there are so many different types of cave tours. You can literally get a different experience each time. Wear comfortable shoes, ones with decent traction. Take a jacket with you. It is cold in the cave, even during the hottest summer days. You can not take any bags or purses in the cave.

Sunrise in Wind Cave

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I didn't go down into Wind Cave (went to Jewel Cave instead), but did go down to the visitor center.

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Custer State Park

Custer State Park

4.7(281 reviews)
15.3 mi

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!

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Custer State Park
Custer State Park - Bison Center

Bison Center

Custer State Park - Sylvan Lake Kayaking

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Sylvan Lake Kayaking

Jewel Cave National Monument - Wet cave.

Jewel Cave National Monument

4.2(65 reviews)
21.3 mi

Jewel Cave is a must see if you're passing through Custer, SD. It is so amazing and wonderful site…read moreto see and experience the creation our planet's gives us. Such a rich historical site in geological formations; will leave you in awe. The cave is so big and such a mystery leaving you with so many questions that go unanswered. The guides give you a good explanation on how things formed and happened in the cave but it still makes you question the answers they give. The planet offers so much beauty and this cave is one of the beauties it offer. Stop by and experience the underground mystery at Jewel cave.

I love caves, and I loved the Scenic Tour I went on! This cave is one of the world's longest caves,…read morewith passages still being explored and mapped out to this day. I thought the tour was very well done, and I saw a lot of calcite crystals (and other formations) which gave the cave its name. Be warned though, you have to bundle up for the tour as the inside is 49°F / 9°C year-round, and you must wear closed-toe shoes. The Scenic Tour itself is a guided tour that has over 700 steps and covers 1/2 miles underground. Some of the pathway's ceilings are low, so if you're tall be sure to duck when the ranger tells you. There is lighting all the way so you can see when the low sections are coming. I learned a lot about the cave, its history, and how it's currently being maintained. The steel walkways have catch trays for lint and other stuff that falls off of guests, and when they clean it annually it has around 17 lb of "stuff". They really try to balance cave preservation with accessibility to the public. I highly recommend this tour.

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Jewel Cave National Monument - Jewel cave sign

Jewel cave sign

Jewel Cave National Monument
Jewel Cave National Monument

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Mount Rushmore National Memorial - 07.04.24 July 4th at Keystone SD

Mount Rushmore National Memorial

4.4(786 reviews)
22.0 mi

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.

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Mount Rushmore National Memorial - 07.04.24 George Washington

07.04.24 George Washington

Mount Rushmore National Memorial - 07.04.24 Miss South Dakota, Joelle Simpson

07.04.24 Miss South Dakota, Joelle Simpson

Mount Rushmore National Memorial - Outside

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Outside

Wind Cave National Park - hiking - Updated May 2026

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