Early July Black Hill - Family of 4 with baby

Greetings! I%26#39;ve read so many great posts and was hoping to get some advice myself. We%26#39;re going to the Black Hills area early July from Central IL. We%26#39;ve got 2 kids (age 6 and 1). We have anywhere from 7-9 nights that we can spend, and we%26#39;re on a budget (who isn%26#39;t?)! We%26#39;d like to do as much as possible, here%26#39;s what I%26#39;ve got. Please please please give me suggestions or changes to my itinerary!

Normal, IL to Rapid City, SD = 926 miles

Day 1 - Drive to Sioux Falls, SD (583 mi or 9 hours)

Day 2 - Drive to Rapid City, SD (348 mi or 5 hours) arrive by 2pm (possible stop at Wall Drug)

Day 3 - Rapid City Area

Day 4 - Rapid City Area

Day 5 - Deadwood Area

Day 6 - Deadwood Area

Day 7 - Going Home - Drive to Missouri Valley, IA area (539 mi)

Day 8 - Arrive Normal, IL

Things to see/do in Rapid City area:

- Mt Rushmore

- Crazy Horse

- Custer National Park

- Silver Lake

- Wind Cave

- Cosmos Mystery Area

Things to see/do in Deadwood area:

- sightseeing in Deadwood

- Devils Tower, WY

- Spearfish

Early July Black Hill - Family of 4 with baby

Hi,

Just to clarify, you say you have 7-9 nights, which would actually equate to 10 days max (10 days,9 nights). You are listing 8 days, which means 7 nights. If you can add time to your trip, I%26#39;d strongly recommend it.

The 2 nights in the Deadwood area are fine for the purposes of seeing Devil%26#39;s Tower and Spearfish Canyon. You will save a bit of money by staying in Lead, imo.

The balance of the trip, other than drive time, should be based out of Keystone, Hill City or Custer. These are good locations for the Black Hills attractions. We have personal experience with the Roosevelt Inn in Keystone and were quite pleased. I have a review on this site if you%26#39;d like to check it out. They have family suites, but I don%26#39;t know if they%26#39;d be available for you at this late juncture. They only have a limited number of them. These also may very well exceed your budget. The disadvantage of travelling here in July would be having peak season lodging rates, but economical choices do exist.

As a side note in case you are looking for information on-line, it%26#39;s Sylvan Lake, as opposed to Silver Lake, which is part of Custer State Park (it%26#39;s not a national park).

I highly recommend stopping at Badlands National Park as opposed to Wall Drug. Wall Drug is very touristy and is really not much more than a huge souvenir shop. The eerie scenery of the Badlands is really fascinating. I think your 6 year old would enjoy it.

Since you have young children, I%26#39;d recommend adding Reptile Gardens and Bear Country to your itinerary. The wildlife loop, part of Custer, is really fun also. Reptile Gardens has a lot of neat shows where alligators, birds and snakes are the stars! There are neat exhibits as well. We enjoyed the huge tortoises! Bear Country is a drive through zoo with bears, deer, big horn sheep, etc, with a walk around area at the end. I%26#39;m not familiar with the Cosmos area, but I have read that some have found it enjoyable.

Your 6 year old might also like a gold mine tour, along with some panning.

Just a thought, but I would proceed with caution on taking the baby into a cave. Jewel Cave has a very short discovery tour (around 20 minutes) that would serve as a good intro for you. Wind Cave has longer tours. Your older child would enjoy it, I%26#39;m sure; you just never know how a very young child will react to being underground. Also, Jewel is a much more open cave than Wind.

I hope this helps. Let us know if you have any more questions. We%26#39;d be glad to assist you in any way we can.

Early July Black Hill - Family of 4 with baby

Slrtravelplanner: Thanks for your advice! I do realize that there are some errors in my planning as I typed it quickly (time is short with a baby learning to walk!) As for time, we can take up to 8 nights/9 days.

We%26#39;ve looked into the Roosevelt Inn - I think my daughter (6 year old) would like the Keystone location. And yes, the prices for lodging are very high (imo) that time of year!

We do not plan to take the baby to the cave, my husband will probably just take our daughter to that attraction.

Again, thank you so much for your time! I will let you know if I have other questions.

Cara