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Vacation in the Black Hills

Hiking around Slyvan Lake is still my favorite hike ever.

Definitely check out Custer State Park, Wind Cave National Park, and do Needles Highway.
 
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Did this last year for two nights on our way to the Tetons, Yellowstone and Glacier.

First page hit the highlights. One thing I wish we would have done but didn’t is rent an ATV to go around. There were tons of them and it looked like a ton of fun. Guessing there are some off the main path trails. Mainly some them on the Needles highway:

Be sure when leaving into WY to head to Devils Tower. Worth the couple of hours s extra driving. Only took us a an hour to get there. Be sure to get in early though, the road in backs up and you are at the mercy of the parking lot getting empty to get in.
 
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We’ve went a few times now. There’s just a ton of things to do around rapid city. Both for kids and adults. It has the nature and scenery, but also enough other stuff to keep the kids happy. We always hit bear country. Needles hwy and sylvan lake are must stops. All of the little towns around Custer state park are fun. Deadwood is probably the most touristy, but it’s still fun with lots of bars and restaurants. We did a side by side rental out of deadwood that was a blast. Lots of trails around there. Rushmore is cool to see, but it’s more like a couple hour thing than a half day. Also, spearfish canyon is great and devils tower is worth the drive.
 
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Antihawk240 said:
Like others mentioned. Go to Custer State Park......but with your kids and their age here is the memory of the trip. Bring a bag of long plain nothing special CARROTS. Heck bring two. Yes Yes Yes see nature and see buffalo absolutely, you got to do it. But drive the loop until you find the donkeys. Roll the windows down and feed them the carrots. There will be a pile up of cars and rangers on hand to direct traffic. Just pull over and stick a carrot out the window and give it time. Trust me the Donkeys will find you. You will see a lot of cool black hills stuff but at 11 and 8 your kids will remember the donkeys forever, and they will pee their pants giggling the whole time.
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This is true
 
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2122 said:
My parents honeymooned in the Black Hills...lol....
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My folks did Black Hills and Yellowstone for theirs. They took us kids to the Black Hills about 15 yrs later, we actually stayed at the same cabins that they honeymooned at. :)
 
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Do the trip to Devil's Tower.

When you get back home,.....enjoy "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" with them.

They will be mesmerized.
 
1880's train
Devil's Tower

Went there in the summer of 2005, don't know how much things have changed since then. Drove from Douglas to Gillette, Wyoming. Literally 100 miles of nothing in between.
 
This is an incredibly DIVERSE region, in numerous ways.
You won't go wrong, no matter your itinerary.
All here that have posted suggestions...right on.

Crazy Horse?
For sure, a Never-Ending wip, and yep, playing the tourist $ game.
Still, I'd do it, minus expectations.

Have fun!
 
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Buy the National parks app and let it guide you through the Badlands and any other national park. It is awesome.

Catch the rodeo in Cody, WY as it is an educational experience. The Pounding Father's Restaurant in Custer was respectable.

As others have said, Custer State Park is worth it.
 
Rushmore, Custer, etc. have been covered and are exactly what the OP is looking for. I'll put in a plug the north Black Hills. Spearfish, both the town and canyon area are great and feel very anti-Rushmore. The George S. Mickelson trail is vast and perfect for runners, bikers or easy hikes. We rented a SxS and drove up to the Custer Peak fire tower. Unbeatable view up there. If you're in Lead its worth the trip up to Terry's Peak to look into the Wharf gold mine.

Devil's Tower is a must see, but my core memory of it as a child was climbing all over the massive rocks along the trail. Be aware there is a climbing closure in June every year to respect the Native American ties to the area. It's voluntary, but when we took our kids we weren't aware at first and people were immediately bothering us about it. Made it hard for the kids to enjoy.

Sylvan Lake has also been mentioned a number of times. Great hike, stuff for the kids to climb on and is more picturesque in it's natural beauty than any of the touristy stuff IMO. Don't miss it.
 
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I think people have hit most of the high points but I'll add a few:
  • Spearfish Canyon is pretty cool. Lots of hiking trails and waterfalls. Some filming sites for "Dances with Wolves" are in this area.
  • DC Booth National Fish Hatchery in Spearfish. This is less of an active fish hatchery and more of a museum for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (although they do still produce some trout, I think). Kids generally like feeding the fish at the hatchery.
  • If your kids are into dinosaurs, the School of Mines in Rapid City has a nice little museum on their campus.
I also want to add that you will see a lot of signs for caves in the area. The only two worth visiting (in my opinion) are those operated by the National Park Service - Jewel Cave and Wind Cave. The rest are privately-operated tourist traps. Anyways, I especially like the historic tour at Jewel Cave where they give you a lantern that you carry through the cave and the tour is led by a park ranger in a ~1920s-era uniform. I'm not sure if there's a minimum age for that tour but I first did it when I was ~10 years old without issue.
 
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Agkistrodon said:
I think people have hit most of the high points but I'll add a few:
  • Spearfish Canyon is pretty cool. Lots of hiking trails and waterfalls. Some filming sites for "Dances with Wolves" are in this area.
  • DC Booth National Fish Hatchery in Spearfish. This is less of an active fish hatchery and more of a museum for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (although they do still produce some trout, I think). Kids generally like feeding the fish at the hatchery.
  • If your kids are into dinosaurs, the School of Mines in Rapid City has a nice little museum on their campus.
I also want to add that you will see a lot of signs for caves in the area. The only two worth visiting (in my opinion) are those operated by the National Park Service - Jewel Cave and Wind Cave. The rest are privately-operated tourist traps. Anyways, I especially like the historic tour at Jewel Cave where they give you a lantern that you carry through the cave and the tour is led by a park ranger in a ~1920s-era uniform. I'm not sure if there's a minimum age for that tour but I first did it when I was ~10 years old without issue.
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I was going to mention the fish hatchery too if you’re in the area or going to devils tower. Was really well maintained 7 or 8 years ago when we went
 
Letterkenny said:
I drove through Thermopolis once. That's an amazing drive coming from the South on highway 20. The whole Bighorn mountains and valley to the west is a hidden gem. I love that area. Don't think I've been to Ten Sleep specifically. Both times I've driven over the Bighorns we went across the north part on highway 14. What a view.
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Have been to ten sleep small town but a really good ma pop cafe in town to eat great menu selection
 
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