First time to SD - help please!

HI! Wow - you guys have a lot of great info here!!

We are heading out to see Mt. Rushmore in June %26amp; I would like some help with planning the activities since you guys are more familiar with what is actually %26#39;doable%26#39;.

We have one 8 yr old son %26amp; we are driving from CO - we should be there near noon on Weds %26amp; leave Sat or Sun.

1. any big recommendations on where to stay so we are sort of centralized? I just emailed Calamity Peak Lodge, but have also looked at a few places in Custer ... or maybe even Lodge at Palmer Gulch ... thoughts?

we want to see:

Mt Rushmore

Custer State Park (wildlife loop %26amp; swimming at either Sylvan Lake or Legions Lake - is this when we would also see Needles?)

Mammoth Site

Reptile Gardens

Bear Country USA

Badlands

Hadn%26#39;t planned on seeing but now think we need to see:

Jewel Cave

Everything Prehistoric

Cosmos

Panning for Gold (Suggestions)

I think we will just see Crazy Horse from a-far %26amp; we don%26#39;t plan on going to Deadwood or Devils tower during this trip.

Anything I am missing?

Any help is greatly appreciated!! THANKS :)

First time to SD - help please!

Hi,

You have a lot planned in a limited time. While I always say the best thing about the area is the close proximity of attractions, but be careful to not plan too much.

First and foremost, stay until Sunday. You will need the extra day to see what you have planned.

Second, I%26#39;d make a base in Keystone, Hill City or Custer. These are the most centrally located towns that will give you a great feel for the hills. It sounds like you prefer lodges over the more commercialized hotels? If so, you would probably enjoy staying in Custer SP. The options are endless.

I have personal experience at the Roosevelt Inn in Keystone if you like the more commercialized hotel. Their website is rosyinn.com. We were very pleaed with the hotel. They have family suites, an indoor pool, and a great pizzeria on site.

Ok..Let me give a whirl at a possibly itinerary for you:

Wed..Arrive by noon and check into lodging at Hill City, Keystone or Custer. See Mt. Rushmore by day and return for the lighting ceremony.

Thurs..daytrip to the Badlands (this will eat up most of day--so try to get an early start). Possibly stop at Wall Drug if you%26#39;re interested in seeing it. On the way back, you can stop at Reptile Gardens and Bear Country. This will be a full day, so you might opt to cut either Reptile or Bear depending on your stamina and operating hours of both attractions.

Friday..Custer SP..Sylvan Lake (swimming, weather permitting), Needles Hwy., head out through the town of Custer to Jewel Cave for the tour (Advance reservations recommended). Depending on where you stay, this could be your day for viewing Crazy Horse from afar.

Saturday...Once again, depending on where you stay, head for the Wildlife Loop via Iron Mountain Road, and then head down to Hot Springs. You can see the Mammoth site. On this day, you might also want to visit Wind Cave, as it joins the Wildlife Loop. After all this, you can do anything you can possibly fit in that you haven%26#39;t seen.

Sunday..head home

I personally think it will be tight to fit in all the activities you have mentioned. I would cut out the Cosmos if time runs out, along with Everything Prehistoric. I really liked Everything Prehistoric, but if you go to the Mammoth Site, there%26#39;s really much more of the dinosaur genre to see there.

If you get time for gold panning, Casa Azul, a regular poster on here, recommends Wade%26#39;s Gold Mill in Hill City. We didn%26#39;t pan for gold, but we did visit Big Thunder Gold Mine in Keystone. It was an interesting tour.

I just want to make one comment about Crazy Horse. I know you have a lot planned and wanted to view it from afar, but if you can find time, I would really recommend stopping. It should be seen once. The history of the monument is even more fascinating that Rushmore, IMO, and the Native American exhibits are worth the admission price alone.

As I mentioned before, the itinerary I posted is rough and is pretty packed. Once you get your lodging set, we can give it another attempt (and probably better!). There are others who may well have much better ideas!

Your son is at a perfect age for the area. He will love it, and so will you. Have fun planning, and stop back with more questions.

First time to SD - help please!

When going to Mt. Rushmore, consider your tolerance for crowds. It can get really busy there. You might want to go early in the a.m. Note that it charges no entrance fee, but there is a $10 charge to park in the ramp. If there was free parking there, I didn%26#39;t see it. My 8 year old liked the Jr. Ranger activities at Mt. Rushmore the best of all the National Parks we visited in the vicinity.

We panned for gold at Big Thunder Mine in Keystone, largely because it was very close to Mt. Rushmore. It was fine.

The roads in Custer State Park and the Needles Highway are narrow and winding, so plan for driving slowly, not anything close to 55 mph.

We stayed in Custer State Park and liked the quiet park surroundings. (See my review of Legion Lake Resort).

Thanks for the input!

Here is what we have planned:

Staying in Keystone Weds - Sat:

Weds - on our way up stop at the Mammoth Site, possibly Wind Cave %26amp; possibly Mt. Rushmore by night

Thurs - Bear Country USA %26amp; Reptile Gardens

Fri - Custer State Park %26amp; Mt Rushmore

Sat - Badlands %26amp; Wall Drug then up to Deadwood. Site see in Deadwood in the evening Staying at Hickok Iron Horse in Deadwood.

Sun - Spearfish Canyon to Belle Fourche to Devils Tower %26amp; then home to CO!

Great to have a general idea of what we are doing %26amp; when!

Hi!

I%26#39;m glad to see you%26#39;re staying the extra day. I think your plan will work pretty well. Bear Country %26amp; Reptile Gardens won%26#39;t take an entire day on Thursday, so you may be able to add an activity that day. Maybe you could add Jewel Cave, gold panning, or an actual stop at Crazy Horse??

Where did you decide to stay in Keystone?

Hi

Thanks for the Thursday info!

We are staying at the Presidents View Resort in Keystone, for the money I think it will be decent to rest our heads %26amp; for our son to swim in the evenings, since we don%26#39;t plan on being at the hotel much.

I was just looking at the property the other day, someone had some questions on it. They have suites that looked quite nice.

If you have a chance, please post a review of the resort and/or trip report. We%26#39;d love to hear how everything went!

Last year we did the Badlands/Black Hills trip.

Just some thoughts, no right or wrong answer. Dikd the mammoth site and found it fascinating but would have spent our time elsewhere looking back. Mt Rushmore is great did not do the lighting ceremony and regret it every day. Sylvan Lake (we stayed in the cabins) is very nice. If you are hikers, Harney Peak is a great way to spend 5-6 hours round trip from Sylvan Lake. Got kick out of Reptile Gardens. Jeez! the biggest turtle I have ever seen was out for a stroll. Did not do Bear Country. Other people are correct about the roads. Got to Sylvan Lake after dark and did go out again until daylight. Aside from the hairpin turns getting there, the really ';big rock'; that started to move right next to the van was actually a buffalo eating on the side of the road. That was kind of the last straw for my nerves that night.

Needles highway is spectacular. Right before you get to the famous skinny little tunnel, there is a parking lot and we did some climbing around there.

Caves are every personal preference. We did not do them and are okay with that. Some people prefer Wind over Jewel and others aqree the exact opposite.

Wildlife Loop road-animals like the early morning s and early evenings. I would never get so close as to pet a buffalo but when the darn donkey just woujld not get out of the middle off the road I got out to take a picture. He just wandered over to me like we were old friends. Scratched his nose, took his picture, wondered if I was supposed to do that but was so captivated by it all, I just did.

We did the Crazy Horse from afar. One of our friends did and said NEVER again. Another family we know did it and loved it. Keep in mind this is not a national park area. Some people may be surprised it is a private enterprise trying to privately raise a lot of money to to finish it.

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