Questions for our road trip in June

Hi there,

I have always enjoyed the forum to get ideas for various vacations. In early June our family of 5 with 3 boys ages 13, 11 and 8 will go on a road trip from Georgia to CO, staying in Estes Park or Boulder area. Then we will drive to Black Hills on June 8th and stay for 2 nights, 3 days. Want to visit Custer State Park, Mt. Rushmore and more. I just read that Crazy Horse is expensive and to view from Highway instead?? We are a low-maintenance, adventuresome family who likes to stay away from touristy, attractions (i.e. the boys have never been to a Disney resort, as we like to have non-fabricated vacations). Keystone sounds like it is too touristy—do not like souvenir shops and the boys have already seen places with western mock shoot-outs). We will leave the area driving thru the Badlands. Then back to GA.

Question about lodging: so many places but on a budget and am looking at the Comfort Inn in Hill City at $89.99/nt. We prefer to stay busy all day, have picnics for lunch, and eat out for dinner, and have free b’fast for kids. Just need a clean place with 2 Queen or double beds. In looking at map it seems that Hill City is a good location? We also like to visit shops and the boys like to carry their skateboards in case they see a good area to burn off energy.

Activities: we will be bringing our mountain bikes so need trail ideas. Maybe horseback riding if we don’t do it in CO. Will visit Custer State Park, Sylvan Lake. Not interested in Chuck Wagon. Have seen many caves in VA so will pass on caves. Any tips on the drive thru the Badlands?

Weather: What to expect around June 8th?

Thanks so much!

Questions for our road trip in June

Hill City is a good, central location. The Michelson Trail passes through Hill City.

sdgfp.info/parks/…index.htm

Custer State Park has excellent trails, including mountain bike:

sdgfp.info/Parks/Regions/Custer/csptrails.htm

Also, the Hills are crisscrossed with logging roads as well.

Weather, the historical high is 99, low 39. Last year we had a blizzard the first days of June, but by the 8th, most of it was melted. In short, the weather could be anything, just as it is for spring in Colorado. Check as your vacation draws nearer.

Have a great vacation.

Questions for our road trip in June

Crazy Horse has a ';car load'; rate that basically comes out at a bit less than three admissions. $27 so divided five ways that%26#39;s not a lot more than many other attractions. Yes, you can see the mountain and carving progress from the highway but if you have never been there before to get a sense of what they are attempting to create it really helps to view from the big deck. Especially with the statue of the intended final version right there to compare. crazyhorsememorial.org/images/about-future.j…

There is a film about the process and history as well as a couple seperate museums - one for sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski (pronounced something like Core-shock Jewel-cuf-ski) and another for the Indian Museum of North America.

Personally we try to visit the center every 5-6 years and then take a peek from the highway on the in-between years.

Hill City a good choice,centrally located, and a nice quiet town.As for the Comfort Inn, we stayed there a few times,and enjoyed our stay.If visiting Crazy Horse for first time,I would pay the admission.

The nightly lazer show will be included in the admission.Never seen it,but heard it is great.

As for dining I would take a close look at the Alpine Inn, maybe with kids for lunch.Awesome lunch and prices very reasonable.No tips for driving thru the Badlands.Worth the drive.2 nights not much but better than 0,would try to add on one more night here.So much to see...

From your description of your family, Hill City is the perfect location for you. You travel style is exactly like ours as far as meals.

You have gotten great advice already from the others. The Mickelson Trail is known to be great for biking, and Blue Bell Lodge in Custer SP offers horseback riding. Sylvan Lake is a great place to picnic and for the boys to burn off some steam rock climbing.

As for Crazy Horse, I agree 100% with Sequim on paying the %26#39;carload'; fee. It is really a good value when you think about it--cheaper than a movie with snacks. The history behind the memorial is every bit as fascinating as Mt. Rushmore, if not more so. Where you can run into some extra expense is if you spend the money to take the bus down closer to the monument. You really don%26#39;t have to do this to get a good perspective. Crazy Horse should be seen from within at least once.

I will make just one comment on not seeing one of the caves in the area. Wind Cave has a very unique formation called boxwork that resembles spider webs. Wind has the largest concentration of it in any cave. One room is just filled with it--amazing. Your family be interested in seeing this, as I don%26#39;t think any of the caves in Virginia are similiar. If you drive the wildlife loop in Custer SP, Wind Cave National Park joins this road and would be easily incorporated. Just a thought. Now, we are cave lovers, and to us, we always find something unique about each one we visit. I know some think they are all the same.

The Badlands can get quite warm, but I would imagine June 8 should be pretty good. I think the more excessive heat comes later.

Also, definitely check out the Alpine Inn while staying in Hill City!! Fabulous! They only serve filet mignon for dinner, but lunch is traditional German fare with excellent desserts as Joeman mentioned. If you go for dinner, get there early! It gets crowded because it%26#39;s so reasonably priced and good!

Though I am not going to give any advice this time around (since you have been given good advice already); I do want to commend you on your choice of doing the meals the way you do-we also did the same when our kids were young and we still do though most of the time it is just the 2 of us now. Picnics were very important to us and they have brought many wonderful memories of those trips....!

I think you%26#39;d be happy in Hill City, or Custer, or even Keystone-it%26#39;s more touristy but not overwhelmingly so. I thought Custer was a pretty neat laid back town and would stay there again. I also think your family would really enjoy the Badlands. Just driving through the Badlands will take a couple of hours to do properly. We%26#39;ve always enjoyed a little hiking and very minor climbing and have been fortunate to be able to spend the night in the area so that we can experience it during the day, at dusk, and in the morning. We%26#39;ve seen some great wildlife at dusk and early in the morning and have enjoyed the mid-day hours for hiking and exploring.