Vacation in the Black Hills

[Al_4_State]

The little brewery in Ten Sleep is a fun stop

 

[aauummm]

How about Bobkat's Purple Pie Place in Custer. Yummm!

BOBKAT'S PURPLE PIE PLACE, Custer - Menu, Prices & Restaurant Reviews - Tripadvisor

Bobkat's Purple Pie Place, Custer: See 1,782 unbiased reviews of Bobkat's Purple Pie Place, rated 4.3 of 5 on Tripadvisor and ranked #8 of 35 restaurants in Custer.

www.tripadvisor.com

 

[CySmurf]

Going to take the family through the Black Hills area this summer for a few days. Kids are 11 and 8 years old, going to see Mount Rushmore. Any hidden gems or places anyone recommends to visit while in the area? Probably only going to spend 2-3 days before containing on to Wyoming for an extended family gathering later in the week. Probably going to stay in Rapid City I would guess but also would like to visit Deadwood while in the area either as a day trip or maybe stay our last night there before we head out. Would like recommendations for lodging too if you have any.the West side

Def stay in a hotel in Rapids City...particularly on the west side. If you look east. it looks like regular Midwest.
You look West though?. it looks like the Wild West. Pretty cool.
Devils Tower may be an attraction you can go and see.

 

[Frak]

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.

I will say if you are claustrophobic at all, avoid those caves. I did not enjoy the wind cave.

 

[ianoconnor]

How about Bobkat's Purple Pie Place in Custer. Yummm!

BOBKAT'S PURPLE PIE PLACE, Custer - Menu, Prices & Restaurant Reviews - Tripadvisor

Bobkat's Purple Pie Place, Custer: See 1,782 unbiased reviews of Bobkat's Purple Pie Place, rated 4.3 of 5 on Tripadvisor and ranked #8 of 35 restaurants in Custer.

www.tripadvisor.com

Seconded

 

[CyCrazy]

We stayed here 2 years ago and it was fantastic.

Mount Rushmore KOA Resort | South Dakota Campground

Enjoy our luxury camping resort and lodge located near Mount Rushmore and in the heart of the Black Hills. Book your camping vacation Today with KOA!

koa.com

 

[ClonerJams]

Went there as a kid and remember camping at devils tower. Not sure how far away that is from the Black hills but it was cool

 

[Inthesystem]

Wall Drug is cool once and the donuts are fantastic.

Deadwood's Cadillac Jack's has a pool and one of the connected hotels can be affordable depending on the night but it's a casino with a small food court. Up the hill a couple miles from Deadwood is the Sanford Lab Visitor's Center which is fun if you're into the science for a short time.

Sanford Lab Homestake Visitor Center

sanfordlab.org

 

[cyclone13]

Sylvan Lake is beautiful. Needles Highway is a must.

Take in Mount Rushmore at night and attend their evening closing ceremony - very moving experience as you stand together with your fellow Americans. We went during covid...I think only 10% of people were wearing masks.

Deadwood is ok...a bunch of stores and casino's.

Stay in Hill City area and eat at the Alpine Inn one night. We stayed at the Double Diamond Ranch at Three Forks.

This. Always enjoy this occasion

 

[Cy4All]

Going to take the family through the Black Hills area this summer for a few days. Kids are 11 and 8 years old, going to see Mount Rushmore. Any hidden gems or places anyone recommends to visit while in the area? Probably only going to spend 2-3 days before containing on to Wyoming for an extended family gathering later in the week. Probably going to stay in Rapid City I would guess but also would like to visit Deadwood while in the area either as a day trip or maybe stay our last night there before we head out. Would like recommendations for lodging too if you have any.

We have camped at Horse Thief Campground a couple times. It is a nice Campground if your into that. Visit the badlands on the way out. Make a trip to Deadwood and go to I believe it's the Number 9 Saloon, where Wild Bill Hicock was killed. Last time we were there they did a reenactment of the shooting and had kids from the audience play some of the characters. Your kids are of the right age if they are still doing that. It's probably just on Saturday's but worth it if you have the time. When you head to Wyoming try to get to Devils Tower.