Planning possible trip in June

My sister%26#39;s getting married in Leavenworth, KS in June and my husband and I were thinking about making the drive to see Mount Rushmore and other attractions.

I%26#39;ve read some other posts but not finding exactly what I%26#39;m looking for.

What are the must do%26#39;s? We%26#39;re in our late 20%26#39;s and no kids. We wouldn%26#39;t be camping or anything like that.

Is Sturgis a must-see? I mean, outside of the motorycyle rally, is this a must-see?

Are the caves pretty? I couldn%26#39;t find hardly any pics online (we%26#39;re big cavers).

Deadwood sounds cool, and I figure since we%26#39;re in the area, we could go check out Devil%26#39;s Tower.

Having said all that, if anyone could help me with hotel suggestions and other info would be much appreciated, and thanks in advance.

Planning possible trip in June

You%26#39;ll find most of your answers on previous posts of this forum. Check out slrtravelplanner%26#39;s advice on this post:

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g28962-i673-k24985…

A few specific answers, though:

There%26#39;s very little to do in Sturgis if it%26#39;s not Rally-time. There is a motorcycle museum that%26#39;s open year-round and a few other motorcycle related places.

Both Wind Cave and Jewell are certainly worth your time if you%26#39;re interested in caves. Make tour reservations a little bit in advance--at least a day or so.

Planning possible trip in June

As Accomodator pointed out, a lot of your questions have been covered on the forums. As far as pictures of the caves, if you do a google or yahoo search of ';images'; by typing in Jewel Cave or Wind Cave, you will find a load of pictures. Jewel Cave has a bit more beauty than Wind, but Wind has the unique formation called boxwork. There%26#39;s a picture on nps.gov under the Wind Cave section that provides an example of boxwork, which resembles spider webs. If you really enjoy caves, as I do, I%26#39;d recommend seeing both, and you can always add in some of the privately owned caves in the area.

Devil%26#39;s Tower is easily doable from Deadwood If you are interested in the gambling scene in Deadwood, keep in mind the casinos are quite small--nothing glitzy. The casinos are actually located in old stores.

When we visited, we didn%26#39;t bother going to Sturgis, since we are not bikers.

As far as hotels, I am a big fan of the Roosevelt Inn in Keystone (rosyinn.com).We really enjoyed our stay there, and the pizzeria was excellent. Rooms were clean and spacious. Many have balconies.

Have fun planning!

Okay according to you guys this has been covered but I read ten pages of posts and still ended up confused.

So it sounds like the must-sees are now

Mt. Rushmore/museum, Custer State Park, Wind Cave National Park, Jewel Cave National Monument, The Badlands National Park and Devil%26#39;s Tower. I figure Sturgis is not for us and even Deadwood looks a bit touristy but both are possibly worth a stop-off on the drive to Devil%26#39;s Tower.

Now more questions (which I really really appreciate):

Is Keystone the best place to base?

I%26#39;m confused on what Wall is exactly.

As far as Custer/Badlands state parks go, what exactly is happening there? I mean is it like just driving/walking around taking in the scenery? And are they open at night? I read on another post that there are cabins or the like.

Can we do this in 3 days? It%26#39;ll take us one day of driving both ways, and I%26#39;d really like some downtime for part of the trip and not spend the entire trip in the car either. Should we make it 4 days?

I%26#39;m probably forgetting stuff that I wanted to ask.

Thank you very much to both of you that replied.

Hi Kat,

Yes, I would add a fourth day to your trip just to give you extra attraction time. We spent 11 days in this area and were never looking for things to do. The more time, the better.

As far as a base, the most central locations are Keystone, Hill City or Custer. As far as Keystone being best, we liked it there, but it, too, is touristy souvenir shops surrounded by a boardwalk. There is also mini golf and an apline slide. Hill City has shops as well, but depending on your style, you may like it more. It%26#39;s about 10-12 miles from Keystone and has a more ';adult feel.'; We have a daughter, so the touristy feel of Keystone didn%26#39;t bother us, and we also didn%26#39;t spend enough time in town to let it get to us. Custer is closest to Custer State Park and offers some mom/pop motels, chains and lodging at the park itself. Really, location wise, any of these towns are great.

Wall--Wall is known mainly for Wall Drug, and most incorporate it with a Badlands trip. Wall Drug is basically a souvenir lovers paradise--a real tourist trap, imo. Some people really like it; it was not for me. You will see tons of signs for it along I90 on the way to the Badlands. You will probably get tired of seeing them, but I think Wall Drug is something everyone feels he/she has to experience once. You can get just about anything at Wall Drug--souvenirs, food, medicines, free ice water, and they even have taxidermy and a mechanical dinosaur. Yes, you will see it all here. I think we spent all of 40 minutes before we had had enough.

Custer/Badlands: Custer is a state park, and the Badlands is national park. The Badlands are very unique in that they just seem to suddenly appear in the prairie. If you check out nps.gov for these also, you can get an idea on what they look like. The colors of the hills and canyons are amazing and vary with natural lighting. There are some short trails to take, but even more pullouts and photo ops. IMO, it%26#39;s more of a drive through national park. Custer State Park consists of many ';road units.'; Hiking is also an option here, although I didn%26#39;t not do it, so I am not familiar. The Needles Hwy is a beautiful drive through the Black Hills and allows you to see ';the needles,'; (granite spires), along with some narrow tunnels. Iron Mountain Road is known for its pigtail bridges and tunnels that frame Mount Rushmore. The Wildlife Loop is a flat road where you will see many types of animals in the wild, including wild burros, bison, prairie dogs, pronghorn, big horned sheep, and deer. If you drive it around dusk or dawn, the animals will be most active. Sylvan Lake is a beautiful area surrounded by rock formations. It%26#39;s a great picnic spot and you can walk the entire circumference of the lake. Some people can spend a couple of days in Custer SP alone. I would not recommend seeing either park after dusk, as you need light to really enjoy the beauty of both.

Gettng back to your time frame, if you stay in Keystone, Hill City or Custer, you will need a good 1/2 day to get out to the Badlands and back. You could probably see something small later once you get back (i.e. Mt Rushmore lighting ceremony in eve, or possibly Crazy Horse). You will also need a day to cover Deadwood/Devil%26#39;s Tower. Deadwood has some very interesting western history, including the Adams House/Museum and Wild Bill Hickok%26#39;s %26amp; Calamity Jane%26#39;s graves. That will leave you with 2 days for your caves, Custer State Park, and anything else. You will have full days, but you will be able to experience most of the must sees.

I know you have been getting confused/overwhelmed reading all of our posts. I think it would help if you got a travel guide for the area at travelsd.com. This book will provide detailed descriptions and pictures so you can understand all the places mentioned here on the forums. nps.gov is also a great site that will give you an idea on the Badlands, Devil%26#39;s Tower, and the 2 caves. Many of the places we mention all have websites that will help you as well.

I hope this helps you a bit more. Let us know if you have more questions.

Just wanted to thank you again. I definitely sent off for the travel brochures! Thanks!

Glad to be of help. After you look at the guides, you may have more questions, so feel free to stop back to talk to us. Have fun planning.

If you are driving from Kansas, you could drive through the Badlands on one of your driving days, though it would make for a long day.

The drive to Devil%26#39;s Tower is over an hour from Deadwood, and a round trip with spending time at the Tower, will take about 4+ hours out of one of your days.

If you want downtime rather than more car time, I would substitute Sylvan Lake in Custer state park. It%26#39;s a beautiful area, with an easy hike around the lake, or up onto the rocks, and a small beach. However, the water will be very cold in June.

We stayed in Keystone this past Aug-Sept and really liked it. A bit touristy, but isn%26#39;t that what a road trip is all about? The Alpine Slide was great, wonderful views and you have a choice of either riding back down in the lift or sliding back down the mountain. They even have a small restaurant at the top to get food and drink. The Borglum museum is there and we loved the Red Garter Saloon. Every hotel there is right around the boardwalk, so no matter what hotel you choose, you are right there in the middle of town, within walking distance to everything. They pack a lot in a fairly small area.

We were there for 4 days and didn%26#39;t see everything we wanted to, so are going back this late August to re-visit and see more. Last Summer%26#39;s trip was a spur-of-the-minute thing after we got back from the Virgin Islands, so we only had about 4 days.

The natural beauty of the land and the unbelievable serenity is amazing and that%26#39;s why we are doing 14 days this coming summer.

Custer is beautiful, Bear Country was fun, The Mystery House is intriquing and Wall was a ';trip';(-:

We took the 1890 train from Keystone to Hill City, a hot, hot ride and you don%26#39;t get much time in Hill City, about long enough for a bathroom break and to buy a bottle of water. They do sell drinks on the train, but when we went they only had soda, so if you want water, bring your own.

Mt. Rushmore in itself is amazing. Be sure and do the Presidential Trail.

The trip from Kansas City took about 10 hours, a very easy straight-forward drive. We didn%26#39;t leave until around 2:00 in the afternoon, and got into Mitchell around 9:30 at night. Spent the night and stopped for breakfast in Chamberland, amazing views when you reach the Missouri River! Arrived at Mt Rushmore around 1:00 that day.

We didn%26#39;t get to Deadwood, Devil%26#39;s Tower or Sturgis, but plan on having enough time this coming summer to do all that.

Now that we have been there once, we know what we want to see.

You will love the beauty of this area and most of all the spirituality of the area. Our 14 yr old dd is a beach nut, and even she wants to give up the beach trip this year for S. Dakota and the surrounding area.

Have a great trip, we can%26#39;t wiat to go back.

Aside from Rushmore if you have not seen Crazy Horse before then check it out for a comparison in mega carving.

If doing Devils Tower Deadwood is a good place to stay. In that age group with no kids and if you don%26#39;t particularly want a pool check out Hickock%26#39;s Iron Horse Inn. Very reasonable price and great ';period decorated'; rooms in a very old building. Lots of dining options in walking distance.

Custer is a better location for visiting Jewel and Wind caves as well as wildlife in Custer State Park. We%26#39;ve usually stayed a the Bavarian Inn Motel which is clean and comfortable but pretty basic. Has a pools indoor and out. The German restuarant is pretty good too. Also, Custer is pretty close to Crazy Horse.