Advice on what city to stay in.

We are traveling to SD in June. We have 2 boys, ages 9 %26amp; 12. We are interested in some of the fun tourist things, Bear Country, Roo Ranch, Custer State Park, Reptile Gardens, Alpine Slide, Mount Rushmore and the Badlands. Not too interested in the caves. Where would be the best location for us to stay? Any advice would be appreciated. I would be looking for a place with indoor pool, micro and fridge in the room. Nothing fancy. Thanks!

Advice on what city to stay in.

Hi Freezin,

For the usual Black Hills sights, the best places to ';base'; are Keystone, Hill City, or Custer. Keystone is pretty touristy with its ';boardwalk'; lined with souvenir shops. You will find plenty of hotels here, including chains and Mom/Pops. Hill City is a similar concept, but much less touristy. You have shops, but they are a bit nicer, imo---not all the t-shirt shops you find in Keystone. Hill City also has chain hotels and a really great restaurant called the Alpine Inn. They have reasonably priced food, but they only serve filet mignon for dinner. If you aren%26#39;t beef eaters, try it for lunch for some great German fare. The desserts are excellent! Custer is a bit more rustic, IMO, but does have mom/pop motels and chains also.

I%26#39;m not sure about you, but the kids would probably enjoy Keystone the most. You have the alpine slide here, plus a gold mine, and mini golf. When we visited, we stayed at the Roosevelt Inn in Keystone, which is right next to the alpine slide. Keystone is very convenient to Mt. Rushmore, so it would be very nice to stay here if you are planning a trip to the nightly lighting ceremony. You would have a very short ride back to your hotel. The Roosevelt Inn does have a small indoor pool, and the rooms have micro/fridges. We stayed in a family suite here and really enjoyed the extra space. Their suites have great layouts.

I noticed you don%26#39;t make any mention of Devil%26#39;s Tower. I highly recommend a daytrip here. You could probably hit the Roo Ranch coming or going. I%26#39;d also recommend a drive through Spearfish Canyon to see some lovely waterfalls.

Enjoy your trip!