South Dakota Family Itinerary
Maggie @ Mt. Rushmore
Badlands Area, Wall South Dakota
Things to do
Badlands National Park
Hiking: Notch Trail, Window Trail, and Door Trail are all family friendly.
Overlooks: There are tons of stunning overlooks to see if you are more of an experience the park by car fan. You can get out and see the badlands near and far.
Jr. Rangers: Make sue you grab your Jr. Rangers booklets when you enter the park and complete before you go. Badges are so fun to earn while traveling. It’s always a highlight for my little ones.
Wall Drug
Grab coffee, souvenirs, ice cream and more! This can definitely feel like a tourist trap, but it’s a great place to stretch after a long drive, grab some stickers, and try some huckleberry ice cream YUM! You will also find fuel in this little town, groceries, and laundry.
Where to Stay
My favorite option is to boondock overlooking the badlands. You can car camp, RV, or use a tent. It’s free, just pack out what you take in. If you are not set up for boondocking, there is a nearby KOA with RV, campsites, and cabins. The National Park also has campgrounds inside of it for a fee. Reservations required.
Black Hills, South Dakota
Things to do
Mount Rushmore
We loved this stop. Kids still talk about how much fun it was to learn about how it came to be. Riggs really liked the dynamite demonstrations, and all the exhibits. The Junior Ranger book is a great tool for young and old to take in all the information in a fun way. There are trails and plenty of photo ops. You do have to pay for parking whether you have an NP pass or not. We highly recommend grabbing some ice cream and bison chili as well!
Custer State Park
We recommend you DO NOT MISS THIS. One of our favorite parts of South Dakota.
Hiking: There are tons of trails here. Our favorite was Sunday Gulch off Sylvan Lake! Incredible views, running water with little waterfalls all over. We loved it. This could be challenging for some with the rock scrambling and rail portion, but we found it to be the perfect amount of fun. If hiking with little ones, keep hands free to help them in some sketchy spots and make sure they have some trail experience.
Paddling: Lake Sylvan is a picturesque spot to paddle, swim, and walk. We had fun taking our paddleboards out and walking around it, exploring the area. You can rent paddle equipment right there.
Scenic Drives: Iron Mountain Road is an incredible drive. We saw so much wildlife and the views are worth it! There are low clearance tunnels. Not big rig friendly. Distance: 17 miles takes a hour+
Needles Highway
Gorgeous, scenic drive! Filled with really pretty view points, trailheads and more. The road is 14 miles. Expect it to take 45 to 60 minutes depending on traffic. The tunnels are tight and have low clearance. DO NOT take your RV. Our F3f0 single wheel lifted truck was tight going through some. Do not chance it.
Scenic Drives include amazing view points of Mount Rushmore, tunnels, and more!
So you can see just how tight some of the tunnels are!
Wind Cave National Park
Two parks in one! A beautiful prairie filled with wildlife and underneath one of the longest most complex cave systems in the world! To explore the caves you will need tour tickets you can book on the NPS site. Do not forget the Junior Ranger program here as well!
Bear Country
A fun drive through wild life park, that you can also get out and walk through a portion at the end! We saw baby bears, coyotes and wolves! It was a fun stop for the whole family. You pay individual admission up to $80. Once admission reaches $80 that’s the max you’ll pay per vehicle.
Crazy Horse
We missed this spot, but have heard it is a great eye opening learning experience. We will have to return and see for ourselves!
Boondocking
We used IOverlander to find a free campspot in the Blackhills close to all of our desired plans. We had incredible views! Make sure to read the Forest Service website for rules and to leave no trace!
Deadwood, South Dakota
What to do
Shopping : There are a ton of fun shops for souvenirs and western apparel.
Shoot Outs, Stagecoach Rides + Historical Shows: Check Deadwood.com for schedules of live re-enactments in the Historic Deadwood. We caught The Shooting of Wild Bill.
Food + Bars: There is a wide assortment of bars and places to eat. We loved Mustang Sally’s! The shakes and burgers are delicious.
Events: Catch an event at Days of ‘76 Event Complex with a view. We caught a monster truck show the weekend we visited. They have concerts, rodeos and more regularly.
Where to Stay
We stayed at The Lodge, Deadwood. There was big rig friendly parking and the trolley ran hourly. So we didn’t have to drive anywhere to get to and from where we wanted to go. They have a fun indoor pool, casino, and restaurants on site. It was a nice break from our camper for a few nights.
Nearby…
Spearfish Canyon, Devils Tower, and Hot Springs are both nearby if you’d like to continue the adventure!
