Black Hills Family Trip - Tipi Lodging?

I%26#39;m traveling to the Black Hills w/my family for a week stay around the 4th of July. My boys (10 %26amp; 7) would love to stay in a Tipi for a night. Any suggestions?

We%26#39;d also love recommendations for:

Chuck Wagon Dinner

Pow Wow

Hiking/Biking

Trail Rides

RV Campground

We are planning to stay at the KBarS Lodge our first night and the Blue Bell Lodge the last night. We have 6 nights in between for RV Camping or other.

We plan on doing the following (any suggestions/comments are appreciated):

Mt. Rushmore Fireworks

Crazy Horse

1880%26#39;s Train

Wind Cave

Scenic Drives

Big Thunder Gold Mine

Safari Ride

Rock Climbing Class

Hiking

Fishing

Has anyone gone on a balloon ride?

Thanks!!

Black Hills Family Trip - Tipi Lodging?

I am not a camper, so I can%26#39;t be of much help there. However, I have seen Palmer Gulch KOA mentioned on this site a few times. It%26#39;s located in Hill City.

I can comment on your attractions list. I assume by some of the activities you mention (i.e. scenic drives, hiking, rock climbing, safari ride) you will be in Custer SP. This is a not to be missed attraction in the area.

Do you plan on driving out to the Badlands? I see you%26#39;re from Chicago. I don%26#39;t know if you%26#39;re driving, but I am thinking you might be seeing these coming or going if you are driving.

If time permits, I%26#39;d highly recommend driving out to Devil%26#39;s Tower and doing Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway either on the way out or back. I also think you kids (and you) would enjoy seeing Jewel Cave (very different from Wind), and possibly Reptile Gardens and Bear Country in Rapid City.

If you stay in the Hill City/Keystone/Custer area, Devil%26#39;s Tower and back will be a day trip. Ditto for the the Badlands unless you see them enroute out or enroute home.

If you find yourself running short of time, I%26#39;d personally cut the train ride and even possibly the gold mine. They are both nice, but not must sees, IMO. The nice thing about the Black Hills area is that you can fit a lot of things in since the attractions are relatively close together.

Hope this helps some. Have a great trip!

Black Hills Family Trip - Tipi Lodging?

Thanks for your input! From what you and others have said I think we%26#39;ll go to Jewel Cave first and go to Wind Cave if we have extra time.

Am adding Devil%26#39;s Tower to the itinerary. I know it%26#39;s far but I don%26#39;t know when we%26#39;ll be back and it sounds like something we should see.

We%26#39;re planning on seeing the Badlands on the way from Sioux Falls and then stopping in Wall before heading to Keystone. Is that enough time? I thought we%26#39;d pack a picnic.

Do you think we should try to go to Deadwood?

I%26#39;ve also heard that the theatre in CSP is a good experience.

Also wondering if you or anyone else has experienced a Pow Wow over that time period (6.27 - 7.6) that they would recommend.

Hi,

I%26#39;m glad to see you are adding Devil%26#39;s Tower to your itinerary. As long as you allot a day to travel out and back, you will be fine. You can easily stop in Deadwood if you choose on the way back. We liked the Adams House/Museum there. Deadwood also some live ';shootouts'; along with casinos, which you may or may not be interested in. They are quite small, and honestly, other than walking the downtown, we haven%26#39;t spent much time in Deadwood. You also have Wild Bill Hickok%26#39;s %26amp; Calamity Jane%26#39;s graves.

You will have a full day enroute from to Sioux Falls to final destination of Keystone, but it is do-able with an early start. It%26#39;s about 4 hours to get to the Badlands from Sioux Falls. Most people spend 2-3 hours in the park, mostly driving through, seeing the visitor%26#39;s center, and doing some short walks. A picnic is perfect for here. You can stop at Wall Drug if you wish. We didn%26#39;t spend too much time here..too touristy, and then head on to Keystone, which will take a little better than an hour. You will probably be arriving close to dinner time.

I have driven by the Black Hills Playhouse but not seen any shows. It%26#39;s website is blackhillsplayhouse.com You can find a show schedule and ticket prices here. It looks like a typical small town theatre, and my local theatre experiences have been pretty good. My hometown here in NJ has many local productions.

I can%26#39;t be any help to you on the pow wow question, so hopefully someone with direct experience can assist you.

Have a great trip, and please post a trip report when you return so we can read about your travels.

Hi, this is Wanda from the South Dakota Office of Tourism. You%26#39;ve gotten some fantastic suggestions from other posts, and I just wanted to address a couple of your other questions regarding a tipi stay and pow-wow.

For a tipi-stay, you might want to look into the Allen Ranch near Hot Springs, S.D. Their website is http://www.gwtc.net/~allenranch/. I%26#39;ve never stayed here myself, so I can%26#39;t offer any personal experience, but it%26#39;s worth looking into. While you%26#39;re in the Hot Springs area you could check out the Wild Horse Sanctuary, Evans Plunge (natural hot spring pool), the Mammoth Site and/or just take a walk down the historic main street.

As for a pow-wow schedule, check out the State Tribal Relations website at http://www.state.sd.us/oia/powwow.asp.

I hope this information helps and you have a wonderful trip!

Probably a bit late, but can%26#39;t hurt to check, but Beaver Lake Campground (west of Custer) also has a couple teepee%26#39;s.