We are finalizing our trip to the Black Hills. This is our itinerary so far: Drive to Badlands National Park from Mpls., stay two nights in Interior, SD possibly at the Circle View B %26amp; B. Tour Badlands one day (is that enough time?) Then on to Black Hills, stay three nights in Hill City, possibly at the Coyote Blues Village B %26amp; B. Would like to visit Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Custer State Park, one of the caves (which one?), or anything else along the way. Looks as though 44 is a scenic highway, from Interior. Where is the Needles Highway I am hearing about? Are we planning too much with too little time?
Thanks for the help!
Badlands, Black Hills tripThis sounds like a very GOOD plan. One FULL day in the Badlands is a good idea. You can see sunrise/sunset. Hike on established trails. Drive through and stop at pullouts. See wildlife. Catch a ranger led program if you have time. Go to an evening show in the campground if you%26#39;re there in the summer. We love the Badlands, but one or two full days is usually enough.
The Needles highway is Highway 87 from Custer State Park to just south of Hill City. blackhillsbadlands.com/home/鈥dbhprintmap
As far as caves go, the BEST ones are the ones in the National Park system: Wind Cave and Jewel Cave. Jewel Cave is ';prettier'; but Wind Cave is very impressive and unique also, with all of it%26#39;s boxwork. It has more to see above ground with the National Park. I love caves and will sometimes visit 5 or 6 in one trip. Just because the privately owned ones aren%26#39;t as long as the ones in the National Park system doesn%26#39;t mean they aren%26#39;t worthwhile in their own right.
I enjoy the 1880 train from Hill City to Keystone and back, but that may just be because I%26#39;m REALLY into history.
If you enjoy hiking, the walk to the top of Harney Peak is very enjoyable.
Children would enjoy the Cosmos Mystery area. My kids always had a blast there and have many good memories. It is a little cheesy and ';touristy'; but we thought it was just plain fun.
Badlands, Black Hills tripI agree your plan will work well. One day is plenty of time for the Badlands, and with 3 nights in Hill City, you can accomplish a great deal. Everything on your list is do-able in 3 days. Be sure to see Mt Rushmore in both day and evening hours. The lightening ceremony is wonderful---very moving as it honors our veterans.
The map link from Gibby is great. This is the map we used when toured the area, and it was very helpful.
As far as caves, I, too, love caves, and would think nothing of seeing as many as possible. We visited 4 on our trip, including the 2 operated by nps: Wind %26amp; Jewel. Jewel is a pretty open cave with many formations including popcorn, cave bacon, stalagmites and stalagtites. Wind is more closed in, so it%26#39;s not for the claustrophobic. Someone on our tour actually had to leave, but we have no difficulties. Wind Cave has the largest concentation of Boxwork, a formation that resembles spider webs, of any cave. Go to nps.gov to see pics from both caves to give you an idea of the formations in each. These 2 really are the best in the area, imo. Jewel is the 2nd longest cave in the world, and Wind Cave ranks #5, I believe. The park rangers employed by the park service do an outstanding job with tours. If you decide to tour Jewel, I%26#39;d recommend advanced reservations, as there is nothing to do on the surface at Jewel except the visitor%26#39;s center, which is quite small. There also seemed to be fewer tours at Jewel as well. Wind Cave has more surface activities as gibby mentioned and more tours. If I had to choose between the 2, I%26#39;d pick Jewel.
The Needles Hwy. is beautiful and offers some of the best scenery in the hills. Be sure not to miss Sylvan Lake. It%26#39;s a great picnic spot, and you can walk the entire circumference of the lake for some gorgeous views. Kids love to climb on the rocks.
Have a great time, and be sure to come back with more questions if they come up.
Thank you all so much for the great help and suggestions....my husband and I are both in our late 60%26#39;s, so hiking a small distance is definitely an option. This sounds like a lot of fun! I was there about 25 years ago and husband has not been there since he was a child.
Thanks again!
Another question....we had planned our vacation the last week in May, however, I forgot about the Memorial Day weekend. Would we be better off going the week before or the week after? What is the weather like then?
The week of Memorial Day is a good week. It might be rainy and probably won%26#39;t be really warm, but generally you%26#39;ll find temperatures in the 60s. Tourist businesses really ';open up'; that week but aren%26#39;t too busy.
This was a long time ago (25 years), but my husband and I were married Memorial Day weekend, and honeymooned in the Black Hills and Badlands. It was cold and rainy the whole time. I remember doing cave tours to warm up! Many fond memories. Itinerary had to be adjusted some, but there was plenty to do to keep us busy. Not many people mention the Journey museum in Rapid City, but it is something very enjoyable if you are into history, especially American Indian history. When we were there, there were a lot of technical aspects to it. Not so much artifacts as story telling... Somewhere we need to go back to someday.
Harney Peak has been mentioned alot. Approx how long is that hike and how hard?
Here%26#39;s a link to a website outlining the hike route:
sylvanrocks.com/index.php/harney-peak-hike.h鈥?/a>
I have not done this before, so I don%26#39;t have first hand knowledge, but I have read positive feedback.
Accomodator probably has direct experience.
Have fun.
The Sylvanrocks description is a little confusing for the Harney summit. Check out this map: sdgfp.info/Parks/Regions/Custer/csptrails.pdf
The basic way that most people go starts at Sylvan Lake and takes 9 to the top and then they take the same route back. If you%26#39;re in reasonably good shape it takes about an hour each way doing this. Families and hikers that aren%26#39;t in the best shape usually take 1.5-2 hours each way.
However, I%26#39;d HIGHLY recommend taking the loop route that starts at Sylvan Lake and take Trail 4 to the top and then Trail 9 back to the lake. Trail 4 takes you by the Cathedral Spires for a close up view. The views are good for almost the whole way up on Trail 4 whereas on Trail 9 it%26#39;s pretty much just a summit view when you get to the top. This route adds about an hour to your loop. You can also take the Little Devils Tower spur on this route. Little Devils Tower is just that--a rock formation that looks like a little Devils Tower.
The map linked above shows two of the other great hikes in the same area--the Sunday Gulch trail and the Cathedral Spires trail.
Highway 44 is very desolate...not scenic at all.
Drove it once, which was more than enough.
Fronnie make sure to dine at the Alpine Inn in Hill City.A Must....especially if you are a desert person.
Always can use more time in the Black Hills...
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